The Kitchen
Sunday's lasagna, slowly.
A pan of lasagna, made the way my mother made it. Six hours, mostly waiting. The waiting is the recipe.
Carla
6 min
Vol. 01 · Issue 04
Tuesday, May 5th
For the family you actually have
In this issue
Letters
On being on time, sometimes
4 min · by Carla
The Kitchen
Sunday's lasagna, slowly
6 min · by Carla
Quiet Hours
A Tuesday-night bath ritual
3 min · by Carla
Recipes
Soup for a hard week
5 min · by Carla
A letter from Carla
On being on time, sometimes.
Ihave a friend who keeps a tidier kitchen than I do. She bakes bread on a Tuesday. Her boys eat cucumbers as a snack. I watched her unload the dishwasher the other afternoon — humming, patient, the windows open — and I thought: I would like to live like that. And then I thought: she has been awake since 4:30 am, and her husband is out of town, and she has been crying a little.
The tidiest kitchen in the world is not the same thing as a happy one. I write that down so I do not forget it. The dishes can wait an hour. They have waited longer.
“What I want for you this week is the smallest possible kindness — toward yourself, first, and then toward the people you love.”
So: be on time, sometimes. Be late on purpose, sometimes. Burn the toast. Let your daughter wear the wrong shoes. Sit down for ten minutes with a cup of something hot. I’ll be here when you come back.
— Carla
Read the rest of the letter →Read this week
Three small things,
for a Tuesday.
From the archive
Six small letters worth keeping.
01
Quiet Hours
A list of things that are fine to put off.
→
02
The Kitchen
What I order at the cafe when I don't know what I want.
→
03
Letters
Three sentences for the next hard conversation.
→
04
Quiet Hours
How to take a Sunday afternoon back.
→
05
The Kitchen
A grocery list that knows you are tired.
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06
Letters
On asking for help — and meaning it.
→
Sunday mornings
A letter from me, in your inbox.
One letter, one Sunday morning. A recipe, a small piece of advice, a question worth carrying through the week. Free, and a touch personal.
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The author
Hi. I’m Carla.
I write letters to families on Sunday mornings. I’ve raised my own. I’ve cooked a lot of soup. I’m not a doctor, and I’m not your mother — but I’m here, and I’d like to be of use.