Here’s a Friday treat: A special newsletter from guest writer Erika Owen. Erika is a travel and design writer with bylines in spots like Architectural Digest and Conde Nast Traveler—and a great eye for cheerful aesthetics. I hope you’ll enjoy her recs. Plus, keep an eye out next week for our readers' thoughts on staying playful.—Aliza Abarbanel, Executive Editor

P.S. Congrats to our Cozy Winter Giveaway winner, Nicole N.!

Hello, hello!

I don’t know what it is about seasonal transitions, but the start of spring has me feeling a “must rearrange all of the furniture and fill my walls with color” kind of way. That, and I always seem to be battling a major case of allergies. (“These trees, they’re trying to kill me,” my husband recently said in an extreme Jennifer Coolidge voice.) Anyway, I’m on a serious search for inspiration—a craving I’ve been filling with lots of Instagram scrolling, catching up on my favorite designers and artists, and a ton of walks around my neighborhood to stave off cabin fever.—Erika Owen, travel + design writer

This Week's Picks

3 Good Things with Sana Javeri Kadri

When I’m stuck in a cooking rut, I look to Sana Javeri Kadri for inspiration. The pioneering founder of Diaspora Co., a direct trade company working to make the spice supply chain more equitable, sustainable, and delicious, isn’t just the source of the most potent turmeric and cardamom I’ve tried. (But really, it’s incredible.) She’s also a wealth of low-waste, high-flavor cooking tips, and I’m thrilled to share her recs on what’s powering her kitchen right now.—Aliza

Sunday Stock

For me, making broth is my weekly grounding ritual, and the perfect building block for cozy home cooking. I fill a Ziploc bag in my freezer full of kitchen scraps (bones, shrimp shells, mushroom stems, onion peels—but no brassicas or squashes or they’ll make the broth bitter!) as I cook through the week. On Saturday afternoons, I’ll empty the bag into my stockpot with a hefty splash of fish sauce and apple cider vinegar (which helps break down the collagen in the bones!), carefully placing a dish towel on the lid to retain as much steam as possible as it simmers on low overnight until Sunday evening. Then I strain it into six large Mason jars to use as a base for rice, soups, stews, and more! 

Preserved Lemon Szn

It’s the last hurrah for peak citrus season, and if you've never made preserved lemons before, it's a very special ritual to usher winter out the door! I love that this recipe is especially spice-forward with nandini coriander and aranya black pepper. A little patience gives you a beautifully versatile acid for your pantry! Use it to brighten up a chimichurri, add depth to your winter saag, or blend into a green goddess dressing. 

Pasta With Alll The Spring Produce

This kale pasta recipe has been in my seasonal rotation for five years now, and it is at its ABSOLUTE PRIME in springtime. This is because you can sub the regular ole garlic in the recipe for an embarrassment of green garlic (brighter, headier, utterly delightful), and splurge on some foraged fiddlehead ferns (that come into season right as the snow starts to melt!) that can be blanched and tossed into the rich green sauce. I wait for it every year, and it’s always a reminder of how much I love spring produce! 

Follow Sana on Instagram at @sanajaverikadri and @diasporaco

🌶 Diaspora Co. Giveaway 🌶

Want to raid Sana’s spice rack? You’re in luck. We’re partnering up with Diaspora Co. and giving away a beautiful brass, hand-spun masala dabba with katories holding of their seven bestselling spices! Enter here.

This Week's Reads