Top

The Raw and The Cooked

Simple Meals + Honest Book Reviews + Practical Living

A Disappointing Follow-Up to Lincoln in the Bardo

Unfortunately, George Saunders’ Vigil, was a big disappointment for me. I went into this book with a lot of anticipation. I’ve been a longtime fan of Saunders, and Lincoln in the Bardo is one of my all-time favorite audiobooks. I still think about it nearly a decade later. It was one of those rare listening experiences that felt more like a performance than a traditional book—layered, immersive, and emotionally powerful, with dozens of narrators creating this chorus-like world between life and death.

So when I saw Vigil coming out, I didn’t even hesitate. I downloaded it immediately. I went in expecting something similarly original or at least emotionally surprising. Instead, I found myself feeling… underwhelmed.

…

View the Post

Leviticus 12:1–15:33 | Tazria + Metzora | “She Bears Seed” + “Leper”

We got chicks last week, which already feels a bit unhinged given the stage of life we’re in, but here we are. The chicks are somehow both very fragile and totally resilient at the same time. I keep checking on them – are they warm enough, are they eating, is this too much poop? It’s a lot of noticing, paying attention. Which is what Tazria and Metzora are about too.

…

View the Post

Leviticus 9:1–11:47 | Shemini | “Eighth”

I hope you had a really lovely Passover! My older two kids were off school for a solid 2+ weeks, we spent part of our time in South Florida visiting family, and then closed out their break with a Cardinals game last night (Boston beat them). Everyone goes back to school tomorrow morning, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my routine.

Last we left off, Aaron and his sons were to wait in the Tent of Meeting for seven days (that magical, sacred number seven, we will continue to see over and over), and on the eighth day, they newly ordained priests step forward, they are ready to carry out the service themselves. The elders assemble once more to bear witness. Once all has been complete, a fire comes forth from God and consumes the burnt offerings and the fat parts on the alter (Leviticus 9:24). It’s a moment of divine approval, of closeness, of everything working exactly as it should.

…

View the Post

Seasonal Reset For A Rhythmic Home

This episode is the final part of our series on building a rhythmic home. Over the past few weeks, we’ve built this together, layer by layer. We started with microhabits—tiny behaviors that set the foundation—then added daily and weekly flows for structure, and explored managing our home as an inventory: what comes in, what stays, and what we let go of.

Today, we’re zooming out. Our homes are not static—they shift, evolve, and grow, just like us and our children. When we fail to account for this, chaos sneaks back in. Today’s focus: the seasonal flow and learning to live with rhythms instead of constantly reacting.

…

View the Post

Leviticus 6:1 – 8:36 | Tzav | “Command”

The trees around our neighborhood have been budding this week, and it’s lovely to stop, pay attention and notice. Sometimes it’s the small things, you know? Parshat Tzav walks us through the rituals of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the purgation offering, reparation offering, the offering of ordination, and the sacrifice of well-being. It’s heavy with repetition, and a bit of a repeat of the instructions we already learned. But this time, something shifts. This is the first moment where it starts to move from theory into lived experience. By the end of the parsha, Moses performs the ordination ceremony on Aaron and his sons. It’s a true transition moment – the beginning of doing. The first real glimpse of na’aseh v’nishma—we will do, and then we will understand.

…

View the Post