Hey There, It's Amanda—ChatGPT, Adventures in Cake Baking & the Superfood Bowl I Have on Repeat

Call me a deluded optimist, but I think all the hubbub about ChatGPT signaling the end of media is nonsense. AI will answer our basic questions, freeing up companies like ours to do what we do best: be funny, personable, surprising, and a little weird. That is, be human!

In recent years, as companies like ours have fought for traffic from search engines, we’ve had to adapt our language and play into the algorithms. Every publication’s voice and personality, in the process, was flattened by shaping stories around keywords. Everything started to sound the same—hyperbolic yet dull. Let the goddamn bell toll on the boring era! So go ask Bing (powered by ChatGPT) if quinoa is gluten free, then come to us to watch Rick Martínez making Spicy Steak Empanadas, read about Anabelle Doliner’s mom’s Burmese Slaw With Frizzled Onions, and discover our exclusive Bamboo Nested Mixing Bowls.

What I’ve been up to when not ranting about AI:

Testing out incense, which I burn while I work at home—my salve for Zoom-fatigue. Current faves:

• Cinnamon Projects 12 AM Japanese-style incense
• Hibi 10 Minutes Aroma matches in Oak Moss scent

Teaching my husband, Tad, to bake his first cake—the Chocolate Dump-It Cake, of course. I took a few deep, deep breaths watching his wobbly icing technique, but he triumphed!

When we were in Ojai, California over the holidays, we got hooked on the “superfoods bowl” on our hotel’s breakfast menu, so I recreated it at home. Here’s a loose recipe. On a plate, layer the following:

• ½ cup chia pudding*
• ½ cup granola (try our Olive Oil & Maple Granola!)
• Unsweetened shredded coconut
• A mix of raspberries and blackberries
• Chopped salted pistachios

*For the chia pudding: Mix together ¼ cup chia seeds and 1 can coconut milk. Lightly sweeten with maple syrup and season with a pinch of salt. Let hydrate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, giving it a stir every hour or so.

What’s happening in Food52-land:

On Monday, February 27, I’ll be making Rigatoni With Vodka Sauce on Instagram Live—see you there!

Our editors headed to Win Son Bakery to document how to make one of Brooklyn’s most talked-about breakfast sandwiches. Much Instagram love followed.

Our most-popular new recipe from January? One-Bowl Lemon Cake With Citrus Glaze from Jessie Sheehan. And our most-viewed new video: Samantha Seneviratne's Trick for Quicker, Creamier Oatmeal for Genius Recipes.

Sophie Lou Jacobsen, a housewares designer known for her playful work with glass, just launched in our Shop. You may already know her colorful ripple cups from Instagram, and now you can get ‘em right here.

I picked up my first Silpat mat at E. Dehillerin in Paris in 1995. I still have it because it’s that useful, that sturdy. We proudly sell Silpat on Food52, and we recently expanded our assortment with new sizes and shapes.

From a flawed and idiosyncratic real human, writing from her tiny incense-filled study in Brooklyn,
Amanda

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