My name is Zoë François, I’m the co-author of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and the body, heart and soul behind the website Zoë Bakes. I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to be a guest blogger on Baking and Books while Ari is on holiday with her family.
The day Ari asked me to be a guest on her blog, …

Chanukah is a celebration not only of lights and tradition, but also of scrumptious foods fried in oil. Potato latkes smothered in fresh applesauce, jelly-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot – both these foods are as much a part of Chanukah as lighting the candles of the chanukkiyah. Not bad as far as religious observances go eh?
I wrote about Chanukah …

Earlier this week I met an energetic Italian woman in the baking section of my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. After simultaneously reaching for the same book – then laughing because neither one of us was willing to take it (there was only one copy) – we began talking about our favorite recipes. Eventually we hit upon the topic of food & friends, and at this point she said something that still has my wheels turning: “I love America, but after ten years there is one thing I know for sure – Americans don’t know how to enjoy life.” Taken aback, I asked her why she had come to this conclusion. “I give you an example,” she responded. “In Italy, if I invite a friend for pizza or coffee after work it’s no big deal, they’re happy to hear from me and maybe they even bring their friends along. Why not? But in America… in America everyone is so busy! It’s all work, work, work and ‘I can’t go out because I have to get up early for work’ excuses. Coffee dates mean calling weeks in advance and maybe even then they cancel! That’s no way to live. Life is about people, about enjoying yourself. You Americans let life pass you by. Whoosh!”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to this – mostly because I knew there was some truth to what she said, and also because I was guiltily remembering all those times when I had prioritized the things I “needed” to get done. Was everything as urgent as all that? Probably not. Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. Yet, as writer D. Pagels once remarked, “some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way.”

Lately I’ve been receiving a lot of requests for quick & easy weeknight dinner ideas: “I loved the tofu scramble and sweet potato post,” wrote one reader named Nikki, “but even though the recipes were easy, I don’t want to wait for a potato to bake! Do you have anything faster? Please tell me it’s possible to have good food without spending much time in the kitchen.” Thank you for taking the time to send your thoughts my way Nikki, and your wish is my command. Not only am I featuring one of my go-to busy weeknight meals in this post, which I hope you’ll love, but I’ve added a “Quick & Easy” category to this site so that I can share more time-saving recipes in the future.

I first learned about madeleines about three years ago while my husband and I were watching “The Transporter” on television. There amidst scenes featuring crazed, gun-wielding villains, was a cozy little kitchen moment where the woman Frank Martin is protecting repays his kindness with a batch of freshly baked madeleines. “My mother used to make fresh madeleines every morning, …

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of final exams at school and, ungodly amounts of studying aside, you know what that means: comfort food… and lots of coffee. Stuffed pizza pie, banana bundt cake, spiced cream coffee, pumpkin spice lattes, chocolate … anything yummy, sweet or caffeinated is especially welcome in my home this time of year. Recently I added …