Something about me that I feel is off-brand is the fact that I’ve barely watched any Parks and Rec. I only sort of know what we’re talking about when we mark Galentine’s Day. I don’t know why I’m even typing this right now. Why am I not watching that episode? Anyway, it’s February 13th, thanks for being you, thanks for being here, thanks for sharing this newsletter with your pals…just thanks. My gifts to you:
TV to watch with someone you like or love (including and especially your solo self)
Roses are red,
Hootie’s name is Darius,
I’m late to this party:
Schitt’s Creek is hilarious
My mom and I tried watching Russian Doll a few nights ago and it was NOT what we needed. We needed funny. So we watched Schitt’s Creek instead. Are you into the Eugene Levy/Catherine O’Hara brand of humor? Get on board this train if you’re not already. (Buzzfeed link; find the show on Netflix)
Yellow’s the lemon
Green is the lime
Please, everyone, binge
One Day at a Time!
A year ago right now, this was my life: attempt to nurse baby, hand her over to other people to play with and diaper her and give her bottles during her brief wake windows, retreat to bedroom and pump alone. But usually I wasn’t alone, because I brought Mary Berry, Mrs. Maisel, or this impeccable cast along for company. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just the hormones that made me lol-weep at the end of every episode. Janine Brito (a writer on the show and a fellow Wash U ‘05 alum!) explains in this brief Instagram slideshow why a binge soon after the season is released can make a huge difference.
Treats to cook and bake
I didn’t include any recipes last week, and I heard about it! So here are a bunch.
Two easy, tried-and-true standbys that I always end up shoveling in my mouth while standing at the stove:
One-pot farro (Smitten Kitchen)
This corn (The Wednesday Chef) - I usually save it for summer, but she says it’ll work with frozen corn too
Still not hard, but a few more steps:
I keep daydreaming about this broccoli pizza (also SK), which a friend has made for me a couple of times but I’ve been too lazy to make myself.
I was skeptical about this chickpea stew recipe (NYT) when it went viral. I mean, sure, it sounded fine, because for millennia people have put together onions and chickpeas and spices and coconut milk, and why should this particular person get to profit off a slightly different version? Then I made it and it was good. The greens were good (I used collards), the mint on top was good, the yogurt dollop…it was just all really good.
Bookmark this nectarine and fennel salad (Sprouted Kitchen) for summer - it’s so bright and great.
This carrot salad (also Sprouted — not Smitten — Kitchen) takes awhile to assemble but it lasts for awhile in the fridge and I like it a lot.
For meat eaters, this chicken soup (from Not Eating Out in NY) sounds super comforting and also forgiving - read her long intro for lots of possible substitutions and omissions.
Here are some things I would bake for my galentines if I had unlimited time, energy, ingredients/budget, and a delivery fairy:
For breakfast: These cookies (A Sweet Spoonful) - full disclosure, I’ve never made these and they have a lot going on. But they sound similar to a carrot “lactation cookie” my friends recommended that I ate a lot around this time last year. The best thing about the cookies was that there was nothing over-the-top “lactation” about them. They just tasted good and were easy to remove from the freezer and warm up. So that made them lactation cookies. Because eating.
Everything cookies (Sprouted Kitchen) - I forgot all about these until I went digging through Pinterest a moment ago. I made them back when we lived on West Grace Street. They were just the right balance of salty-sweet.
For dinner: Plum crumble (Orangette) - it’s been ages since I made this but I remember it being very luscious. Like my friends.
For dessert: Fennel seed shortbread (Meera Sodha), which I have never made but would like to try, and World Peace Cookies (Dorie Greenspan), which are so delicious that I make them almost every winter even though the dough can be really finicky and crumbly.
Tell someone you love them because it’s a day that ends with “y,”
JCS
Images: Emily McDowell’s Instagram, gifs via Giphy
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