We can agree the first month of 2020 was actually three months long, right? I feel like I’ve lived a thousand lives. Most of January was spent following through on all my GoOd inTEnTioNs, which basically boils down to keeping a schedule and quite a bit of kale salad (see directly below). A little fatigued, very happy to be here, life can be a lot of work but that’s alright.
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one more chance for kale
Remember last month, when I suggested we all get into the Six Seasons cookbook? I finally through the winter section, so there’s more to talk about. Sloppy research? Idk. Better to be late and redundant than not show up at all? Idk! This newsletter is free! Joshua McFadden introduces his kale salad recipe with the casual mention that it began the kale salad revolution in 2007. Read this excerpt from the cookbook for his full perspective and the golden recipe. Despite demographic pressure I’ve never climbed all the way on board with raw kale—life’s too short to spend even more time chewing. Since the rest of the book proved trustworthy in so many ways, I made it myself in hopes of redemption. Turns out: the hype is deserved, the ingredients are simple but powerful, and maybe our kale just needs a little more loving.
Can I summarize his main tricks? Take back control and buy kale on the stock rather than prewashed in a bag! Cut out the woody stem and stack up the leaves, roll them up reaaaallly tight, then slice the kale bundle crosswise into very thin ribbons. Wash and dry. Another offhand tip in the book mentioned time in the freezer can soften tough leaves in a few hours, so I’ve been putting in mine before I start the rest of dinner. It definitely helps, and means you don’t have to gently massage your greens into loving you back. Once prepped, the kale keeps well in the fridge, and is ready to get sautéed with a ton of garlic and lemon at the end of its life cycle. I’ve never been the biggest salad lover (spinach/spring mix gets slimy, and it takes a lot of spicy arugula to fill me up), so finding ways to enjoy prepping/cooking kale is a bit of what we call a “game changer.”
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bright corners of the internet
Oh yes, I am still talking about libraries: Resources for the public! Access to new ways of thinking and learning! What bliss! Technology has pushed everyone to innovate, and librarians have adapted better than most. Beyond e-books and internet card catalogs, the digital archives around the world are PoPPiNg OFF. Most recently: Paris’s museums added over 100,000 images to the public domain for browsing and downloading. Not much can replace a physical trip to a quiet room, but it’s incredible that this collection of images is now available to anyone with internet access, you can zoom all the way in! I frequently turn to the New York Public Library Digital Collections for project research, I’ve loved their dense treasure trove since someone tweeted/posted about it years ago. There’s something new to love with every visit, but I’m forever taken by the art nouveau patterns, illustrated zoologies, and collection of menus. Lastly, I’m somehow 40 pages deep in the Pennsylvania Dutch Fraktur archives, but unable to close the tab in fear of losing this birth certificate, this pile of birds, or my place in another collection of delightful distractions. If you know of any others, send them my way!
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dream donuts
I’d mail each of my loved ones a mochi donut from Win Son Bakery if they’d arrive perfectly warm, but they’re fried to order so instead I’ll strongly suggest you make the newish Taiwanese bakery a priority next time you’re in a fifty mile radius of East Williamsburg. I think these donuts might also be gluten free?? Either way I'm eating them all, they’re as filling as a cake donut but not too sweet, and non-stop chewy the way I always hope a yeasty boy will be. Win Son seasons the donuts with sugar, spices, and a little bit of salt fresh out of the fryer, a revelation. The rest of the menu is worth falling in love with as well, particularly the upgraded Bacon Egg & Cheese in a scallion pancake, which exceeds to my wildest dream of a high quality Taco Bell breakfast quesadilla. Take some friends and try everything, but I’m betting it’s the mochi donut you’ll line up for seconds of.
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Dave Chang & Jerry Saltz: separately, together.
Dave Chang (of Momofuku, Ugly Delicious, & Lucky Peach rip) often implies only professional cooks or sports fans subscribe to his podcast, but I’m happy to report it is a delightful listen to someone who is neither. Covering a wide range of topics, Dave holds opinions stubbornly but is open to changing his mind with the perspective of his expert guests. He recently posted that his favorite conversation from 2019 was with New York Magazine’s self-declared “folk art critic” Jerry Saltz, please fire it UP! The episode centers on the human impulse to create things for an audience—meals, art, performances, writing, and beyond. I paused it so many times to take notes but won’t paste them all here, it’s very dense.
I’m a sponge for anyone who demystifies artistic practices and invites us to jump in (see last month’s endorsement of The Artist’s Way). Jerry Saltz is one such human: a lovable, lifelong New Yorker with a wide open heart towards the experiences of others. Expect an art critic to be cynical or pretentious? Not so the case with Jerry! Their conversation referenced Jerry’s standout article 33 Ways to Be An Artist. First published in 2018, it helpfully outlines well-traveled paths, questions to ask, and ways to consider what’s in front of you. In prepping this issue I discovered, Boxcar Children-style, that the article has been expanded into a full book to be published this spring. Very exciting, pre-order with me!
Alright alright, that’s that! Give me a literal shout if you want to chat about donuts or salads or podcasts or internet or anything else you love right now. I’m on twitter (some jokes) and instagram (some drawings) and the world wide web (some commercial art business).
xoxo,
Frances