#5SmartReads- February 24, 2022

Abigail is the founder of This Needs Hot Sauce, a food newsletter. She also teaches cooking classes, writes for various publications and is always down to take a walk.

The Gratitude 10 (✨The Dos✨ ) 

Santos shares a really simple gratitude practice here. How to practice gratitude has been on my mind—I'm a big fan of journaling and savoring time with the people you love.

Making A CookMaking a Cookbook: Food Styling (XOXO Dorie)

Veteran cookbook author Dorie Greenspan takes us behind the scenes of a cookbook shoot, focusing on food styling. Styling can absolutely transform images (the before and after photos are incredible) and is such hard work, especially when you're styling delicate baked goods. It takes a village to bring any creative project to life and I'm all for acknowledging the teamwork.

Using The Ritual Of Food To Remember Those We’ve Lost (The Undefeated)

This holiday season, those not at the table will still feel present. Recipes and mealtime rituals are one of the ways loved ones can live on and Nneka M. Okona writes beautifully about this tradition across the African diaspora.

 A Return to Indigenous Mexican Cooking in New York City (Food & Wine)

I spent a year living in an Indigenous town in Guatemala and am constantly in awe of the resilience of Indigenous communities in light of centuries of continuous persecution and erasure. I'm thrilled that Mexican Chefs in New York are celebrating and promoting Indigenous dishes and cuisines and I'm excited to sample them and learn more about the traditions behind them.

The Escalating Costs Of Being Single In America (Vox)

This longread is deeply researched and hugely relevant. More Americans are living alone than ever, for many reasons, yet so much of society is set up for couples or nuclear families. Women, and Black women, in particular bear more of the financial costs of living alone and something needs to change. There are so many ways to have a fulfilling life and living alone should not be such a costly choice.