Monica Kass Rogers

While practices honoring mothers date back to ancient times, the modern holiday of Mother’s Day originated in the United States. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers. For more than a century, the carnation has been the official flower of Mother’s Day. The flower’s

For a quick pasta sauce, pesto is one of my favorites. Although often made with basil, changing up the herb component brings bright variety to the garlicky sauce. This version—with parsley, cilantro, lemon, and pistachio, is a delicious combination. As with any pesto, you can add a bit more (or less) garlic to alter the

Sablé is French for “sandy,” an apt description for the delicate crumbly texture of these buttery, almond-enriched cookies that originated in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France. Also known as Sablé Breton, or French butter cookies, they are cousins to shortbread but are shaped into rounds rather than fingers. As I have been working more with natural sweeteners, these

“One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny, hot cross buns!” was once a British street-vendor cry heralding the sale of spiced and fruit-studded buns traditionally eaten on Good Friday. When I was a little girl, I loved the American version of these buns, soft and warm, with snow-white icing crosses piped over their glossy tops. Although

April’s showers and mild temperatures transform the Midwest’s barren winter terrain into a lovely green carpet of fresh growth. Foragers search the woods for wild ramps and mushrooms. Farmers markets come alive with asparagus and peas, spring garlic and parsnips, baby radishes, and, my favorite, snowy white fennel bulbs capped by feathery fronds. I’ve long