Friday Eating & Reading
. What we're reading and eating (and buying and watching and listening to) this week:
A few weeks ago, we did what we've been meaning to do for about five years: We tore down some upper kitchen cabinets (that served mostly to collect mugs and jars we never used), installed open shelving, and re-tiled our backsplash. It took about 48 hours and not a whole lot of money, and the space feels completely transformed. We've been on a serious purging binge lately -- making daily trips to goodwill bins, cleaning out our horrendous dungeon-basement (complete with tag sale!) -- and the goal is to have only what we need on a daily basis on those shelves. Six dinner plates, six salad plates, six bowls, six highballs, and six tumblers. Here's to the easy upgrade and here's to simplifying.
Have you seen Smitten Kitchen's new book? Drop Biscuits with "Everything Bagel" spice, Perfect Blueberry Muffins (they are perfect, I made them), Pretzel Linzers with Salted Caramel, and, the best, a mix-and-match party cake builder. It's signature Deb from beginning to end.
On a five-hour drive to Rochester last month, I finally listened to every episode of the Dirty John podcast. Though it I thought it fell short of S-Town, it was all soap-opery and the narrator had the best noir-ish voice, and it was kind of perfect for a binge-podcast situation.
Or even better: A reverse advent calendar. (Thanks, Julie!)
Raising a Teenager (& annotated by a teenager)
Next time I roast some pork, I am so serving the coconut plantains from this menu alongside it.
Two movie winners last week with Phoebe (15 years old): 1) Say Anything: shocked and delighted that it completely holds up almost 30 years later and 2) Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, in theaters now. I might propose to Saiorse Ronan.
If my kids ate polenta and/or mushrooms, I'd make this Polenta with Mushrooms once a week.
I had no idea that the famous General Tso's Tofu Sub from No.7 Sub has been around so long. (Looks like a project, but I'm still determined to recreate at home.)
I'm reading Picture of Dorian Gray because it's one of those books that Phoebe has read seventeen times and, in spite of my English B.A., I have not read once. (I've said this before, but I highly recommend reading what your kids are reading and loving, if for no other reason than it's something to talk about at the dinner table.)
The only feed that gets me to momentarily forget the head-spinning headlines.
I linked to this kale salad in my Thanksgiving round-up, but it's so good I wanted to make sure you didn't think it was only for Thanksgiving. (You can use Parm in place of nutritional yeast if you're not interested in making it vegan. But please note: Having nutritional yeast on hand ups your game in the popcorn department.)
Dreamy Ramen with Ginger-Scallion Sauce
All I want for Christmas? Doug Jones in the Senate. (C'mon Alabama!)
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