New beginnings, old love stories

and a recipe for salted chocolate shortbread cookies for your Valentine’s sweetheart

This week I got really excited about a storage locker.

In my mind’s eye it is already full of bins and boxes, items photographed, carefully packed, lists made. A mix of practical necessities and frivolous trifles, each one carefully considered. A lifetime of accumulation, whittled down bit by bit to a 10’ x 15’ space.

Getting that locker this week was the first step in the next chapter of our journey. A beloved home, soon to be sold and, with the turning over of a new leaf, new possibilities, old love stories and buried treasures abound. As I consider what will come, what will go, I’m acutely aware of the impermanence of mere things. And - at the same time - how objects, however small, can hold a weight beyond measure.

The story of a home

When a couple comes together to share a home, all sorts of complications can arise. From agreeing on what colour the living room should be and where to put the television, to the size of the bed, the art to display and the light fixtures to buy, tests of compatibility and compromise come into play.

The next layer down is even more tricky. Habits unobserved over dinner in a restaurant become glaring eyesores at close quarters. Loading the dishwasher is serious business. Keeping a month’s worth of newspapers, old food magazines that date back a decade or two, or even the envelope from a card may signal deeper hoarding tendencies that can drive your partner nuts.

Over time, we smooth out the wrinkles in our homes and create a space that is familiar and comfortable - even with that stack of newspapers. But when the time comes to dismantle our safe haven, and we have an opportunity to revisit our priorities and habits, it’s both exciting and daunting. The renegotiations begin, and with them, new discoveries about what we value and hold dear.

The meaning of things

When my sisters and I helped our father sell our family home, I saw firsthand what a lifetime of holding on can bring. From Christmas cards from years past carefully bundled with string, still in their envelopes (I come by it honestly), to old tools rusted from years of idleness, it was a full houseful of objects once valued, yet meaningless to us.

Still, there were certain things that caught my eye, and that have migrated to my home. A souvenir from Rome, a Madonna and child figurine that held pride of place in our kitchen, a yellow Pyrex bowl that my mother used for everything. They have blended seamlessly into the warp and weft of our belongings, a thread that connects me to lives lived long ago.

So now the hard decisions come. We are bound by finite future space, infinite possibilities to fill it. And that’s where the storage locker comes into play. It’s not meant to be a place of limbo; if we bring something there, it will come with us. In picking up each object and deciding whether it will be lovingly wrapped and packed, I am also deciding on a future space and place.

There are easy choices, and much that will be left behind. There are new negotiations too. We’ve never had a television so where to put it will be fun to figure out. The Pyrex bowl is a must. The Madonna and the souvenir tile - to be determined. A new home created with a lifetime of memories and the excitement of the yet to be discovered. Especially now and especially today, it’s a journey I look forward to embarking upon.

Watch this space.

Madonna of the Kitchen, keeping watch from amongst my cookbooks

Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

from Dining In, Alison Roman

makes two dozen cookies

I’m sure by now you have heard of Alison Roman’s famous chocolate chunk cookies. They blew up the internet when they first came on the scene in 2018, and they’ve been a staple sweet treat around here ever since. And right now, they’re especially good for Valentine’s Day.

Roman says that she created these because no chocolate chip cookie recipe satisfied her particular preferences. Shortbread instead of chewy dough; chunks instead of chips; both salt and sugar to finish, because everyone knows that sweet and salty together is magic.

The best part about these cookies is the make-ahead factor. Having an extra roll waiting to bake in the freezer is always a good idea. And something you can always make room for.

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) cold salted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped (but not too fine, you want chunks, not thin shards of chocolate)

1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork

Demerara sugar (for rolling)

Flaky sea salt

1. Beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice.

2. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, until just blended.

3. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap, fold over the dough and, rolling on the counter, form into a log shape. Logs should be about 2–2¼" in diameter. Keeping the logs wrapped in plastic, chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

4. Heat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush outside of logs with beaten egg and roll in demerara sugar. The sugar won’t stick evenly but that’s okay - you’ll still get a crispy sweet edge.

5. Slice each log into ½" thick rounds. Arrange on prepared baking sheet about 1" apart and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to brown, 12–15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Do ahead: Cookie dough can be made 1 week ahead. Tightly wrap in plastic and chill, or freeze up to 1 month. Cookies can be baked 5 days ahead. Store in plastic wrap or an airtight container.