Ken Carlton

It’s cold out there! And we’re talking everywhere from Florida to Montana. So what does it take to get a bunch of Hudson Valley, New Yorkers out on a bone-chilling Sunday afternoon? How about a cookie decorating class at the cozy and eclectic Bluecashew Kitchen Homestead in Kingston, NY. And not just any class, but an in-person tutorial with the founder of SweetAmbs Cookie Art, Amber Siegel.

In the glutted world of dream food careers, you will run across the full gamut from sous chef to challah baker, food stylist to saucier–and on and on and on. Beyondish has shined its culinary light on clam diggers and sea salt rakers, abalone farmers and tortilleras. It takes a lot to raise our editorial eyebrow. But when we encountered the personality behind the website “Food and Architecture,” we simply had to know more.

“Hello lovely readers!” That is the greeting food writer and fellow Substacker Layla Khoury-Hanold uses to open every delicious essay of hers. (Read Words with Layla HERE. She’s really terrific and I can’t wait for her memoir.) I’m a sucker for human kindness and I must confess, her salutation grabs me every time. So I cribbed it to start my Today’s Meanderings because I truly do consider you, lovely readers, my friends and family. Do you know there is a Comments section below?