As I saddled up to my desk chair (which is an exercise ball at this point) at 7:45 this morning, the chill of the morning air still tingled in my bones.  Even my incremental adjustments on the thermostat seem powerless against the deep-seated shivver.  I am not made for this weather, I tell myself every year.  And yet, here I am, still in New England.

So, I quickly eschewed my to-do list to check out some food blogs, in the hopes that gorgeous photos of hot food would warm me up through some sort of Internet osmosis.

Then, I stumbled across this:

There is something so gorgeous about a bowl of hot oats.  This dish relies on buckwheat instead of your standard Quaker.  The buckwheat gives it a complexity that is tangible to tongue and taste, making it slightly earthier and heartier than your average hot cereal.

Jenn Cuisine is a food blog by a high school friend of mine.  I have seen her blog go from a hobby into an internationally read-and-recognized site for gluten-free and simple, flavorful cooking.  I couldn’t be prouder of her.  I mean, Jenn’s always been a smart cookie (hah, pun intended), but this blog features a creative side of her that years spent in math and science don’t always convey.  Her photos are vivid and tantalizing, and her writing is focused, relatable, and entertaining.  Now, happily married and living-and-working in Switzerland, her blog is how I keep tabs on her.  And on her breakfast.

Suddenly, the world feels a bit warmer.