So, dear readers, what are you up to this weekend? I've been tasked with providing the cupcakes for a co-ed baby shower on Sunday, and as a result I've got visions of ganache-capped devil's food cakelets and cream-cheese-topped carrot cupcakes swirling in my head. No pink and blue buttercream here!

Also, we've started a new tradition of making pancakes on weekend mornings. I introduced Max to buckwheat pancakes two weeks ago (he liked them, sort of), last week we had buttermilk ones studded with blueberries that I picked last summer and froze, and tomorrow we're going to try whole wheat. Do you have a favorite pancake recipe?

Here's what I'm reading, cooking and craving this week:

Francis Lam waxes rhapsodic about Gabriel Kreuther's turnip sauerkraut.

I can't tear my eyes away from the soft, glowing pinks, creams, yellows and greens in these photographs of baby root vegetables.

Scaccia Ragusana looks like a cross between a jelly roll and a pizza, but in the best possible way.

Do any of you grind your own flour? Old-fashioned grain grinders are a dime a dozen here, so I'm tempted to give it a try.

Marisa's vanilla-flecked orange Creamsicle Jelly looks dreamy and I love the idea of stirring it into plain yogurt for the full Creamsicle effect.

Don't miss Sara Dickerman's little mustard overview in the Wall Street Journal and her blink-and-you'll-miss-it tip to swirl a spoonful of mustard into lentil soup before serving. Brilliant.

Might soy-pickled mushrooms be my gateway to cooking like a Momofukan?

And finally, I've been in an Edna Lewis state of mind lately, can't stop thinking about her, really. I've been re-reading her books and poring over her recipes. Then I found this short documentary about her life, which includes some stunning photographs of her as a young woman, regal as always, footage of her cooking, and some bittersweet memories from her friend and companion (and so much more) Scott Peacock. Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back in time, sit down for a roast chicken dinner at Café Nicholson with a slice of caramel cake for dessert, and see her peeking out of the kitchen now and then to gaze at her guests (Williams, Faulkner, Capote, Magnani!)

Have a nice weekend, folks. I don't really know what to say about what's happening in Japan right now. I keep writing something, deleting it, writing something else, deleting that, too. The footage is terrifying to watch; I can only imagine, though I don't want to, what it's like to experience it. I hope those of you who are in Japan are safe, and your loved ones are, too.