Summer this and that
The salad that is the best salad ever and a bunch of other things
Oh, hi! The summer is flying past, as it does. It’s June 1, then it’s June 30th, then it’s July 12th. It is always like this. All I want to do is watch Wimbledon in my pajamas.
Birdy was home for a few days, which was heaven on earth.
I’ve gotten to do some book events, which have been so, so lovely. Here I am in New York City, talking with the brilliant and hilarious Miwa Messer for the Poured Over podcast.
Here I am, *not* in New York City, talking with my dad on Facetime.
And here I am, a couple of years ago, waiting for my flight to Florida.
I wanted to mention again the idea of a travel apron, which is just a regular apron, only you wear it while traveling. Will people think you’re Amish? Maybe! I mean, I doubt it. But I have taken to wearing it in the car these days because I am often traveling directly to events, and I am often eating this
which gets sugary chile dust all over my clothes. Or I’m eating cheese popcorn or a melting coconut popsicle or, even, like banh mi or pizza, and I can’t tell you how much shit ends up on the apron and, therefore, not on my outfit, such as it is.
Related! New to us! The car bucket. Which we only started using because we happened to have a 5-quart utility pail in the car. But I love it.
It sits on the floor in the back, and everything goes into it: empty seltzer cans (Spindrift Island Punch oh my god) and coffee cups, tissues and mason jars and plates and dental floss and whatever else. I just bring it into the house at the end of the trip and sort everything into the garbage/recycling/dishwasher. Plus: barf bucket! Emergency toilet! I’m just saying. I did buy an iced tea from McDonald’s that was in such a massive cup that it filled the whole bucket. I was like, “Did I just drink 5 quarts of iced tea?” I had to pee all the way to Maine (not in the bucket). On that trip we listened to the podcast Bone Valley because
recommended it and I will do whatever she says. It was so good.
That’s me on the floor at our friends’ house in Maine, trying to seduce their wary cat, who hates me. “Lie very still on my yoga mat, and I’ll surround you with treats.” I was like: Of course! I have zero shame when it comes to cats. None at all. Lie very still while I smear your naked body with chicken fat. Okay!
I hope you enjoyed my travelogue, ha ha ha.
The salad is basically this Melissa Clark salad, from the New York Times, though I make it from a slightly tweaked version in her excellent Dinner book.
Actually, I think I tweaked it back to something more like the original version, ha ha ha! I skip the shallots and the ginger. I toast the coconut in the toaster oven. My peanuts are salted, I cut the tofu into strips after frying it, and I use blanched green beans and/or sliced radishes instead of the bell pepper. I drain the tofu by wrapping the whole block in a dish towel and putting a cutting board on top of it. Oh, also, I use Bragg’s liquid aminos instead of fish sauce for the vegetarians, and it’s a fantastic substitute. It turns out I’m too lazy to write out the recipe, ha ha ha! But you get the gist. This salad, though. If you serve it to people they will literally stop talking to gasp at its spicy-sour-savory incredibleness. It’s so crunchy and umami and perfect and delicious. If it weren’t kind of time-consuming and fussy (not hard—just lots of prep), I would probably make it every day. It’s the thing I always most want to eat.
I guess that’s it. Lots going on here, as always, spoken of and not. You understand. Also, I hope you are actively resisting, doing something every day to say NO to the dehumanizing and violent efforts of this administration. Here is a document with some wonderful ideas! I walked this morning with my friend Kathleen who had just been emailing etsy to express her outrage about the Alligator Alcatraz merch for sale on their site, and I was so inspired by this as a specific act of resistance that I’m going to do the same. Sending love and solidarity, as always.
xo
1. I have a special travel food scale that I bring on trips. It just makes everything easier.
2. When I moved from Cleveland to London, I brought six cast iron skillets on the plane in my carry-on. I was also moving a lot of clothing, so I had on boots, jeans, a blue button-up shirt, a custom-made Amish jacket from some friends, and an Amish hat. I wasn't thinking much about it, but when I got to the ticket desk, it quickly became clear that a) they didn't expect anyone to be travelling with that much cast iron in carry-on, and 2) they thought I was Amish, which explained (to them) why I was carrying that much cast iron in my carry-on. Within seconds, I knew I had a role to play. They not only let me board with it, they gave me an extra checked bag for free (I was expecting to pay for it) and express boarding. So: looking Amish is not that bad a thing when you are travelling!
That travel apron in the airport is peak New England style. When I lived in Vermont, I always loved arriving at my gate when flying back to VT- the vibe and style were full of flannel, denim, fleece, and an above-average number of knitters and New Yorker tote bags. Pretty sure a travel apron would have fit in perfectly.