Food

My asparagus convalescence – from a childhood spent eating the mushy, canned stuff – began late in my adolescence, when my mother boiled fresh spears, then napped them with homemade hollandaise.

Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved Birkenstocks, lentil loaf and an agenda.

My trick to throwing a great party – and I love throwing a great party – is to keep my stress level as low as possible. Because an at-ease host makes for at-ease guests.

The day I paid nearly $11 for a four-ounce box of “artisan” crackers, I had to wonder:

Full-fat cheese the secret to a healthy quesadilla

Happiness for Mom is a toasted cheese sandwich

Time for a confession. As a child, I never once celebrated Mother’s Day. My parents thought the holiday was nothing more than a cheesy excuse to sell greeting cards, and who was I to argue?

Easy, beautiful blend of eggs and veggies for Mom

It doesn't matter how skilled — or not — your kids are in the kitchen. This easy, fruity mousse parfait is a great Mother's Day project they can help with.

A tapas-style meal made up of a variety of small, appetizer-like bites is something we tend to associate with evenings and cocktails. But we thought the same idea of small plates would lend itself perfectly to a Mother’s Day brunch. So we came up with a variety of tapas ideas suitable for Mom’s big day.

Bright citrusy flavors. Splashes of colorful sugary confetti. Rich creamy frosting flecked with berries.

My relationship with my pressure cooker has been a rocky one. I blame the way we met.

No matter how unimpeachable whole-wheat pasta is in terms of nutritional cred, I’ve always found it off-putting.

Most cooks have a go-to party dish. For one Washington Post reader, it's a spinach quiche that's loved for its rich flavor, but not so much for its fat and calories.

I love Gwyneth Paltrow. I do – as an actress, as a celebrity, as an organic-hemp-clad organism gliding along the surface of life, occasionally shedding tendrils of blond hair that her followers may gather into some artisanal craft project for her website, Goop. I loved her when she and boyfriend Brad Pitt had matching hairstyles, and when she and boyfriend Ben Affleck had matching best friends, and when she and husband Chris Martin named their children Apple and Moses. I have seen her blockbuster movies, and her Britishy movies, and the movies for which I sat alone in empty theaters and murmured, “Oh, Gwynnie. Why?”