A couple of years ago some of my friends gave me a hot pot for my birthday. This year for my birthday we made a hot pot feast. We sat amongst mountains of mushrooms, lotus root, greens and wagyu, passing each other pieces of broccoli, handfuls of noodles and dishes of sauce.

This winter we spent many chilly nights eating indoors on the picnic rug, imagining we were outside and it was summer.

On the first warm spring night in September, Sari invited us over for dinner and made a delicious Mexican feast. She dragged her Persian rug outside into her garden and set it up with cushions. We sat under the stars, ate tortillas, and lounged around as if we were on her living room floor.