Rebekah Denn

Mar 18, 2025 | seattletimes.com | Rebekah Denn

IF YOU KNOW “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” the soup scene is significant. It takes place in the second book of the bestselling romantasy series by Sarah J. Maas, where heroine Feyre heats a bowl of soup for (no spoilers!) her romantic partner. The problem, for cookbook author Chelsea Cole: The pivotal passage never specified what kind of soup was on the stove.

Feb 20, 2025 | seattletimes.com | Rebekah Denn

FOR YEARS, Makini Howell has been called Seattle’s version of vegan royalty. Her Plum Bistro restaurant brought upscale vegan dining to the city in 2009, and Howell ran Plum and other vegan enterprises before closing the restaurants earlier this year. She also gained far-reaching experiences as a vegan personal chef to the stars, notably including Stevie Wonder on his “Songs in the Key of Life” tour.

Jan 21, 2025 | seattletimes.com | Rebekah Denn

FOR A FEW neighborly, spicy-sweet years, everyone could eat at Juliana Evari Suparman’s table. The North Seattle restaurant that Suparman opened with daughter-in-law Yusi Sasmitra in 2008, Julia’s Indonesian Kitchen, introduced people to Suparman’s native cuisine and family warmth. The little bungalow changed ownership in 2011 and later closed. But Suparman’s daughter, Patricia Tanumihardja, spent years cooking her mother’s recipes and striving to share them with others.

Jan 13, 2025 | civileats.com | Rebekah Denn

Spooning buttercream into a pastry bag, Kim Holloway is close to opening time. She pipes rosettes of frosting on trays of vanilla cupcakes—some plain vanilla frosting, some cookies and cream. With the aid of Holloway’s “partner in crime,” Kathleen Dickenson, they prop the lid of an old-fashioned school desk in Holloway’s front yard and fill it with cupcakes. Holloway adds edible pearls and glitter. Shortly after 3 p.m., the Little Free Bakery Phinneywood is open for business—the business of sharing.

Jan 5, 2025 | seattletimes.com | Rebekah Denn

LIBRARIES BROUGHT ME the world. Growing up in a then-rural part of Delaware, the highlight of my week was the Bookmobile’s weekly visit. When our own community library opened in a historic schoolhouse, I found a second home. The Little Free Library phenomenon of neighborhood book boxes of course charmed me when it began around 2009, and I wasn’t surprised to see it explode in our literate region. But the COVID-19 pandemic took it in a whole other direction.