Three Things

Where to give, fried rice, a beloved book series wraps up

Good morning eaters and readers. No chit chat this morning — gonna get right to your weekly dispatch.

1. Where to Give

It’s impossible not to feel completely powerless watching what’s happening in Ukraine. As of this morning, two million refugees have fled their homes and their courage and resolve is astounding, as is the relief effort that has mobilized to feed and clothe and house families who have lost everything. Like many of you, I’ve found that donating has helped beat back a little of the helplessness. But where to give? I’ve been so inspired by people booking Airbnb properties in the region — that has to be one of the more creative ideas I’ve seen for sending cash directly into the hands of people in need. (Airbnb has even waived all guest and host fees to maximize the profits for Ukranian property owners; if it’s too difficult for you to choose a rental, you can give to the general Airbnb donation fund providing housing for refugees.) There’s a GoFundMe page for The Kyiv Independent to make sure they have what they need to produce safe, trusted journalism from the frontlines; The International Rescue Committee is, among other things, providing sleeping bags, blankets, medical supplies at reception centers on the Ukrainian/Polish border. And most of you know about World Central Kitchen, which has been handing hot meals (read: handing dignity, love, comfort) to families across five countries, on all borders — families who have left their entire lives behind. If none of these feel right, my friend Cara who works on democracy, human rights, and governance issues with USAID shared this site that recommends a range of reputable relief organizations responding to the crisis.

2. Kenji’s Vegetable Fried Rice

Does the world need another fried rice recipe? I didn’t think so until I made Kenji López-Alt’s Basic Vegetable Fried Rice from his new, somewhat astonishing book The Wok. (In the trade, we would call it a “category killer.”) The dish, which I consider to be an absolute cornerstone of a Weekday Vegetarian’s repertoire, has always been something I’ve kind of made up on the fly. Ginger here, soy sauce there, eggs before the vegetables…or, hmm, maybe after? BREAKING NEWS: If you uses actual technique, your dinner — by extension your day, your life — will be just a little bit better. And if you can rely on anyone for technique, it’s Kenji. The onetime Serious Eats columnist who now writes a column for the Times (and whose YouTube show, where he straps a GoPro to his forehead while cooking, is absurdly addictive) made a name for himself with his precise, exhaustively scientific approach to cooking. (On that note: check out this Q&A with Kenji.) Here’s his recipe.

P.S. I feel like The Wok is going to be one of our “Saturday Night Cookbooks,” i.e. something we cook from when we don’t feel like going out, but when we want a dinner to feel special and weekend-worthy. Two Saturdays ago we hit H Mart and loaded up on tamarind pulp, dried shrimp, pho and other groceries we never have on hand to execute his perfect pad Thai. Winner.

3. How to get a kid to love Greek mythology

I almost feel like March 8, 2022 should be a national holiday in my house: Dionysos, the twelfth and final volume of George O’Connor’s Olympians series is out today which means, at least in my family, it’s the end of an era. O’Connor started drawing the series — each volume devoted to one of the twelve Olympian gods — at almost the exact same time my daughter, Phoebe was discovering an interest in graphic novels, and we credit O’Connor’s books entirely with igniting her love for Greek mythology. Phoebe loves how his modern retellings render the gods into funny, complex, human (!) superheroes, and at any point in her childhood she was either reading one, anticipating the arrival of the next one, re-reading one, or recreating one herself. For those of you new to the series: There’s Box Set 1 (Zeus, Athena, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Aphrodite) and Box Set 2 (Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Hephaistos, and now, Dionysos). They make amazing birthday gifts for young readers.

Related: Remember this old fave? 121 Books: The Greatest Kids Books of All Time

P.S. Attn: Breaking Bad Fans…

…or anyone who has a thing for the 90s sketch comedy and stand-up scene, or people who might be craving a little escapism right now: I am listening to the audio version of Bob Odenkirk’s memoir Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama and it is every bit as entertaining as you’d think it would be. (And he hasn’t even met Vince Gilligan yet!) I can’t get over how many of his projects went absolutely nowhere. Another title might have been: Failure, failure, failure, triumph. And we know that’s always an effective formula to keep the pages turning.

See you next week,

Jenny