Lately it seems like our life is all new – new house, new job, new colony of bugs in our mailbox…

But there’s something exciting about the possibility of it all, so we’re rolling with it – and it’s forcing us to switch things up and try a few things we’ve been meaning to try for years.

Like, for example, making ice cream – maybe Mark’s favorite food on the earth. It’s practically a crime we haven’t tried it before.

For our very first attempt at the cold creamy stuff — ever (it’s just crazy) — we worked with Ford and their super-clever new series Switch it Up to use one of our very favorite summer ingredients – sour cherries. And I have to say, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Be sure to check out the latest episode of Switch it Up — where in which Food52’s Merrill Stubbs challenges Joanna Hawley of Jojotastic to a new task — right here!

And follow along for our sour cherry ice cream recipe below!

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I grew up on the coast, with a vast ocean just a few miles from my home. I felt strangled in my small town, and when I stared at the ocean in the clean, crisp, salt air, I saw nothing but possibility. I never even considered a school in my own state…

Instead, I moved to California… and I cried for months, missing my trees, until the desert sand and warm ocean waves etched a permanent place on my soul.

Still, I thought there must be more… my heart needed to wander. So I packed my car and moved to the east coast. Away from my ocean, away from my trees… and I’ve lived here in Maryland and worked in DC ever since.

Here, the beaches have boardwalks. The smell of Old Bay, malt vinegar, and sunscreen fills the air… and for Mark, that smell is every bit as nostalgic as my own.

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For many years, I was a very well-behaved vegetarian. Tofurkey was my jam.

I blame Mark for my downfall — those delicious, meat-eating ways. 

The good news is that sometime before my behavior bit the dust, I discovered this sandwich.

… but don’t let the tofurkey fool you. This particular dish was, and still is, a necessity in the summer when grilling is at its best.

Sure, I might’ve given in to the total perfection that is bacon… and In-N-Out Burger… and, okay, you get the point…

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There was a time when I thought we led a pretty minimalist existence — the little voice that told me I could live in a tiny house was strong.

Then I moved.

In moving spaces, it suddenly occurs to a person just how much stuff they’ve managed to accumulate over the years. Clothes, linens, props, 40 place settings for the occasional gathering.

… okay those last two might be unique.

But whatever you might keep stuffed in your own closets and corners, there is one thing we all share — we all have a lot of stuff we don’t really need.

The truly precious items, the ones we’d mourn if they were somehow misplaced in the move, are fewer and farther between. And that’s all the more reason to do whatever we can to make sure they’re protected.

… as we settle into our new home and I settle into a new job, a lot of feelings seem to sneak up and overwhelm me on a daily basis. Worry, excitement, general terror, elation… okay mostly just the two. But life and the people we love somehow feel more precious in these times of increased intensity, and the lost connection to those we’ve held dear more stark.

I have only a few items to remember my grandmother, who, growing up, lived just through a trail in the woods… and some of the most precious items I own are her handwritten recipes.

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How do you like your eggs? I feel like this all-important question has haunted me since Runaway Bride. Because as much as I’d like to pick just one… I’m sorry, I like them all, and I like them pretty much every way.

Hard boiled on a salad or alone, fried on top of a sweet potato hash, scrambled on my toast, poached and smothered in hollandaise, or bathed in a beautiful red sauce with sausage and kale.

You might’ve seen shakshuka around – but you might not realize just how creative you can be with the dish. Since my vegetarian days have long fallen off the wagon, I couldn’t help but crave a little local sausage with my eggs.

… and since everything we’re eating is pretty easy these days – as in off a box (until Sunday!) and limited to those tools we can actually find – this dish fit the bill.

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