Recipes that begin with a memoir

I wanted to know how long to roast the squash. To find out I scrolled past a story about a grandmother, a trip to a market in a country I will not name, a divorce, a dog, and a reflection on the nature of autumn. The dog was fine. The squash was forty minutes at 200.

I understand why it happens. I do. There are reasons that involve search engines and advertising and the economics of writing recipes for free. I still think a recipe should start with the recipe. Put the memoir underneath. Call it “notes”. People who want the dog will scroll down to the dog.

Also: “season to taste” is not an instruction, it is a shrug written down.