Have you ever wondered what drove acclaimed writers, philosophers and musicians like Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre and Glenn Gould? After reading Slate's excellent series on the daily rituals of great artists, I suspect it might be coffee — although a comprehensive list would also need to include alcohol, amphetamines and very little food. 

When I was facing a significant birthday a few years ago (one that ended in a "0") I began my celebration at SFMOMA, specifically at the Blue Bottle Cafe with a slice of Thiebaud Cake: a chocolate cake covered in strawberry buttercream and filled with Lillet- and vanilla-poached strawberries.  Clearly it was going to be a good decade!  So when the cafe's co-owner Caitlin Freeman published Modern Art Desserts, a cookbook based on the art-influenced creations she sells at the SFMOMA cafe, I was very excited to learn more about these amazing desserts.

Do you remember recipe cards, those preprinted cards that were often sold in sets or by subscription? They would have a photo of the recipe on the front and the recipe was printed on the back. For some reason, I've always associated them with meals made from condensed cream soups and canned green beans. But the people at Middlewest have kicked that notion straight out of my head with their beautiful new food magazine, which consists of 10 double-sided recipe cards and nary a canned green bean in sight. 

Need a pick-me-up this Monday morning? Check out this imaginative and adorable latte art being made by baristas in Japan.

Who has two thumbs and loves avocaodos? This girl! And also, I'm guessing, a great many of you. But we've got nothing on Gaby Dalkin. Here is a gal who loves her avocados something fierce. We're talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a great many nibbles in between — her new cookbook has 80 different ways to work our favorite buttery green fruit into every meal of the day.

Your parents may have slipped the occasional note or doodle into your lunch bag, but graphic designer David LaFerriere has taken it one step further, adding a new surprise drawing to his kids' sandwich bags nearly every day. He started snapping photos of the mini works of art and now has a Flickr set boasting over 1,100 photos!

If you have yet to experience the pleasure of cheese and beer together, or if you're a strict believer in pairing cheese with wine and wine alone, here's a book to open, widen, and/or convert your mindset. 

And if you're already on the beer and cheese bandwagon, there's no question that this is a book for you. 

Whether you follow the paleo diet, you're curious about it, or, heck, you just want delicious recipes no matter what diet they happen to fit into, there are plenty of fantastic dishes here for you dive into. Michelle Tam's recipes on her blog Nom Nom Paleo are often Asian-influenced, often California-inspired, and always popping with flavor. The ones she includes in her e-cookbook are no exception.