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Many Republicans are avoiding town halls. Senators Cory Gardner, Thom Tills, Pat Toomey and Rep. Andy Harris were among the no-shows. (x)

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Starving Stray Dog Is Rescued and Taken to Pet-Friendly Restaurants All Over LA

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on not being silent

I found hope in an unexpected place this week. I’ve been feeling too much silence around me – and I’m guilty too, feeling at a loss for words and knowing that I’ve failed at being a loud enough voice against injustice.

And then I started reading my regular food bloggers. And I was surprised. I saw a mostly white, mostly female community speaking up. Here are wonderful writers who avoid polarizing topics address the racist, systemic injustices that are claiming the lives of black men and women every day.

I saw bloggers:

addressing white privilege // assembling peach caprese sliders urging us to fight hate with love // baking watermelon lime bars convoking compassion for refugees // roasting carrots with dukkah-feta cream

We need more of this. We need your voices just as much as we need your recipes.

Here’s an excerpt from a post – which you should read, in full – from Lily at Kale + Caramel:

The day Alton Sterling was murdered, I was supposed to post an image of ice cream cones spelling out the word “goals” with a line of html code on Instagram. It was part of an influencer campaign to illustrate how code has empowered people across the internet, and, in the weeks leading up, “goals” seemed a cutesy yet appropriate sentiment. And then Sterling was murdered. I postponed the post. I sat and watched, horrified, as, over the next hours, a growing business-as-usual silence spread over the industry for which I typically feel so much pride, my industry. People—"influencers"—continued to post their smoothies and tacos, not saying a word about the cataclysmic social and racial crisis we were in. I was silent that day, too. I, like so many, was speechless.

Here’s brooklynsupper on grappling with recent events:

I’ve been feeling like Guston lately. I’m deeply angry and sad about Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. I’m horrified by Dallas. And all the while, I’ve been repositioning basil leaves, scattering crumbs and pepper flecks, and selecting just the right rustic yet modern utensils. It feels hollow. I’ve always shied from discussing the wider world on Brooklyn Supper because it’s not the right forum for weighty issues and I don’t want to trivialize real problems by making them the intro to a recipe.

But even if this is an imperfect forum, it’s the one I’ve got and silence just isn’t an option.

Here’s a bit from Ashley at Not Without Salt on parenting:

I want to protect, to shield them from the gross realities of this world. I wonder if they are too young to know how broken this world is? I want them to stay that way. Wouldn’t it be nice for them if their hardest part of the day was that their brother didn’t give up his turn at the game when he was suppose to?

No.

I want to raise children who are sickened by a world who sees people as a color. I want our family to collectively stand for love and to be a loud, clear voice that advocates for that. How do I teach them to not see color, sexual orientation, religion, level of education, gender, age, etc. as a way to define, rate, and judge people when the world teaches them otherwise?

And here’s Joy the Baker:

Can we give energy and voice to the discomfort that this injustice and violence brings up in us?  Sitting with that discomfort long enough to at least have conversations about who we are and how we can change for the better.  How we can work past what we see as different in one another, simply to find equality in our value as humans on this earth together?  Equality under the law.  Equality, really, for one another in our hearts, minds, and actions.    

I, too, have been at a loss for words. I, too, have found it hard to find joy in the rest of the world when so much is broken. I, too, can do better and can speak out more.

There’s an important reminder here that food is a uniter. We can break bread together, and we can change minds of our co-diners. We can share new experiences together. Food can be so strongly woven into a community while it simultaneously builds bridges to others. But food can feel trivial too – how do we make our meals have meaning?

And that’s a challenge Green Kitchen Stories grapples with:

A recipe can seem so irrelevant in the midst of it all. … The truth is of course that food does matter. It is important, in many more ways than just for our physical survival. Food is memories, heritage, happiness, family and food is love. Food gathers people around a table and makes us talk. Many of our best memories are connected with food. We solve problems over food. We celebrate. We become friends. So maybe a food blog isn’t that meaningless. Food is after all more than just a recipe.

So thank you. Keep sharing your great recipes, and keep speaking up for compassion, justice, and equality. We need your voices more than ever.

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1.23.16 | Our first stop on our first day in Brussels: The Royal Place. The best view in the city, and you can always count on the waffle van parked there daily!

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(via Avocado Toast, Pure + Simple)

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#nerdprom dinner: brie/cherry/honey/almonds | bruschetta | pea/mint/pecorino pesto pasta w/ bacon | roasted radishes w/ walnuts, parsley, bacon, red onion | roasted garlic potatoes w/ paprika aioli | salted caramel sea salt brownies.

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Burgers, outside!

 Could it be? We were outside yesterday…

 We busted out the grill in Park Slope and slapped these rustic burgers together with spices and chopped onions to satiate the carnivores. 

 Grilled hella rare just the way we like, and cut with melted white cheddar, we at Broke Kitchen will argue that burgers are the greatest (and cheapest) customizable BBQ food of all time. Disagree? 

 “Cheese or no cheese, anyone?” the grill master offers to the group.

  We all glance at each other. We all want cheese, it’s decided, obviously. And anyone who doesn’t, they’re getting second string. Those guys can wait. 

  Buns are toasted and a debate is sparked over the proper time a burger needs to cook. Some say medium (they’re wrong), others take the moderate conservative approach and say medium rare (I won’t press them). I say bloody. “Slap its ass and send it on in.” That is a burger.

  On the back patio where we wait in earnest for the wafting smell of marbled ground beef, there is an iron table, its entire surface area covered with gourmet fixins. A fresh unruly arugula salad dressed in nothing more than a little olive oil and lemon juice. A bowl of homemade guac. Ketchup. Mustard. Chipotle sauce. Any questions? This is the food that tastes better outside and we couldn’t be happier that we are finally able to do this. More to come, for sure.

  Burgers + beer + birthday party = recipe for success! Try it at home!

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brownie sandwiches with coffee ice cream + salted caramel.

http://cornfedcook.com/2014/08/25/brownie-sandwiches-with-coffee-ice-cream-salted-caramel/

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Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, MD

Nestled among towering office buildings and parking structures, this 1940s-era gem adds a bit of local flavor to a gray neighborhood. And that flavor just happens to be pancakes with maple syrup.

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perfect spring lunch: this salmon + radish salad from @sweetgreen.

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From the Obama family to yours, Happy Easter!

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Bottomless pit for pie.

Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie via Smitten Kitchen

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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…The element that will continue to invade viewers’ brains long after the binge is over—the one that’s already spread like wildfire over social media and will soon be humming around offices all over the country—is the infectious theme song.

MORE: The Secret Behind Kimmy Schimdt’s Perfect Theme Song

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A post shared by Brian Hogan Stewart (@brianhoganstewart)

more than 100 young activists working to prevent gun violence take a minute to pose at the @genprogress #fight4afuture summit! #changetheworld (at Center for American Progress)

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History of Rap 5 

Justin. Jimmy. History of Rap 5 is here.

(Complete song list here)