This week’s newsletter includes my latest novel obsession, vegetable-forward January-ish recipes, and an epiphany: “When I went to the kitchen a few minutes later, I saw my stained-and-streaked, charred-bottomed, once-vibrant-orange Dutch oven, sitting on the stovetop as always. Well, I thought, appreciating its general well-loved-ness, at least that patina is something people can’t shortcut or fast-track or optimize. And then, another thought, as if delivered by lightning: You still have to live in this world. People say it for all kinds of reasons, but in this moment, staring at the heavy, hulking, realness of the pot in front of me, the concept felt almost like a religious mantra….”