This and that, late spring

hot dog salad etc.

We camped on Cape Cod and our friends got married on the beach of our favorite pond there, where we swam in the cold water, and it was all so magical that I can hardly even say anything about it. And then we came home and it rained and Birdy went back to New York, and I looked in the fridge and all I saw were the campfire hotdogs that we hadn’t eaten all of. And let me say this: if you have leftover hotdogs from the long weekend? Treat them like a glam protein, and add them to a fancy salad.

Will your child make fun of you? I mean, yeah. But it’s so good. You can add them to a lentil salad, like this one. Or a kale salad, like this one

with pepperoncini (obvs) and celery and a mustardy vinaigrette.

Or the one in the text photo, above, which is this, below. Obviously, if you’re a freak of nature, you could swap in chicken or salmon or tofu for the hotdogs.

Herby Cabbage Salad with Hotdogs
Makes 2 servings

This is very loosely based on a kind of Thai salad we once had with herbs and sausages in it. The hotdogs add just the right kind of salty, greasy richness. So, so good. I’d have added both radishes and fresh chiles if I’d had them.

2 cups green (white) cabbage cut into 1-inch squares (or slivered)

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

2 persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 heaping cup basil leaves and cilantro, roughly chiffonaded (!!!)

3 hotdogs, thinly sliced and then browned in a pan with a little oil

½ cup fried shallots (like these from Trader Joe’s)

Dressing:
Juice of ½ a juicy lime (2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari, but Bragg’s is ideal)
I garlic clove, minced or put through a garlic press
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Something spicy, if you like, like chile-garlic paste or sriracha

Put the cabbage, celery, and cukes in a large bowl and add all the dressing and toss. Then add the herbs and hotdogs and toss again. Top with the shallots and serve.

A few other things:

Don’t sleep on watercolor painting as a summer activity. Plus, the paintings make excellent Father’s Day or birthday or wedding cards. You can paint from life:

This MeiLiang set is our favorite.

Or from your imagination

Full disclosure: these were inspired by a greeting card we’d seen in a bookshop.

Or from an online tutorial or a book, like this one:

Also seasonal: I am cultivating a love of women’s basketball. I hate football so much, and most other sports too, but I love tennis and TV and women and cheering and athletic lesbians, so I thought I could swirl it all together and turn myself into a WNBA fan, and I was right! The New York Liberty is my team, and we went to a game and had so much fun. We’re going again. My friend Joanna Goddard wrote about The Liberty too this week, which I love! Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.

Finally! My friend and neighbor, the award-winning cartoonist Suzy Becker, is running a workshop on the Cape in August! She’s the best. Here are the details.

me n suzy last night before i crushed her sorry cartooning ass at upwords

Cartoonapalooza! Single Panel Cartooning Workshop with Suzy Becker
Monday-Friday, August 17-21 from 1-4 pm
Castle Hill Center for the Arts in Truro (next to Provincetown), MA
To register: https://www.castlehill.org/all-workshops/becker
www.suzybecker.com

Make cartoons on Cape Cod with New Yorker cartoonist Suzy Becker! For all levels, including people who thing they can’t draw.

Also, hey, guess what? I AM STILL NOT DRINKING. If you’ve wondered about quitting, I am telling you from two years in: it is so, so good. I loved drinking, but I love being sober even more. Polar pink apple and lemon seltzer. Just saying.

All love to you. xo