Half Recipes This is Half Recipes, a column by Nina Coomes on what it means to feed and care for yourself and those you love.

You’re Going to Be Cared For: A Recipe for Braised Chicken Thighs

A Le Creuset Dutch oven telegraphs contentment and cheer—but for me, mine is a token of complicated bitterness and longing.

Jan 05, 2023
I’ll Teach You Everything I Know: A Recipe for Ninjin-gohan

What a gift it is to be asked to feed a person, but what a further gift for that person to ask if they might be taught to make what you make.

Jun 30, 2022
I Love You by Remembering What You Hate: A Recipe for Herby Salad

I find joy in being let into the idiosyncrasies of someone’s taste.

Apr 14, 2022
This is How a Friendship Ends: A Recipe for Miso Ginger Carrot Bisque

This is an essay about soup, but it is also about friendship. Or rather, this is an essay about soup and how a friendship ends.

Mar 10, 2022
Between Parent and Child: A Recipe for Kodomo-Don

I call it 子供丼 (kodomo-don), because it is only egg over rice. Something about it is simple, one rank lower in maturity than an adult dish.

Oct 19, 2021
For Anxious Loneliness: A Recipe for Mushroom Wafu Spaghetti

In adolescence, weekend lunches meant fending for ourselves. On certain Saturdays, my sister and I ate wafu spaghetti together.

Sep 08, 2021
Feed Yourself Like Someone You Love: A Recipe for Summer Vegetable Tuna Curry

The trick to a good nostalgic curry rice is to finish it with honey. Just a drizzle at first.

Jul 21, 2021