Three Things

A(nother) mocktail, an instant garbanzo-free meal, and music nostalgia

Hiiiii! Did you miss me? Ha ha, jk. I feel like nobody has ever once been like, “Darn, why have I NOT gotten another newsletter in my inbox this week?” But I was in England on a book tour! It was amazing. I just posted a little bit about it over on Instagram. Oh, but have I mentioned that my new book Sandwich is publishing here in the U.S. on Tuesday? I know I have. But, hey, there are 10,000 of you! If you all preorder it today? It will be a NYT bestseller. I mean, how dope would that be? At least *for me*! No pressure. Just saying. I’m reposting the tour here—forgive my nattering on about it—because the Providence date was wrong before. Please come to these events or I will actually fall to the carpet and die of shame!

Meanwhile, the mocktail because—according to my tragic quitters app—I have, as of this morning, gone 82 days without drinking!

1. It’s spicy, sour, sweet, and fizzy! It’s the

Hot Virgin Cucumberita
Rim a glass with chile-lime Tajin seasoning (dip the top 1/2-inch in water, then press it into the Tajin rimmer and twist). Fill the glass with ice, half fill it with Trader Joe’s jalapeño limeade (stock up now because this is a seasonal item), add some cucumber slices, squeeze in a nice juicy shoulder of lime, then top with lime seltzer. If you want more of a mojito vibe, then add some fresh mint. You will not even miss the alcohol! I’m totally kidding. Of course you will miss the alcohol! But you will have something to drink that’s exciting enough to distract you.

Imagine this with even better toast! It is beyond.

2. The instant meal is this, which we simply call a “vinegar egg,” but which is a riff on Deborah Madison’s recipe for Fried Eggs with Sizzling Vinegar. Basically, you fry an over-easy egg, then make a quick sauce in the pan with butter and sherry vinegar. It sounds weird and it makes the house smell briefly and pungently of vinegar, but it is transportingly rich and tangy and delicious. You really do have to use sherry vinegar (neither sherry nor a different vinegar), which is annoying, but once you have a bottle you will use it all the time: a little splash along with good olive oil, smoked paprika, and garlic, and you’ll feel like your shrimp/potatoes/roasted peppers were teleported to you directly from Spain.

3. The nostalgic music is Joan Armatrading. Especially this album, but honestly, that one among many others. It’s the music of my young queerhood, but then, adorably, Michael seems to know all of it too, so I must have still been listening a lot when we were first together. Back to the Night, Joan Armatrading, Show Some Emotion, Me Myself I, Walk Under Ladders. . . All the early albums. If you’re new to her weak-in-the-knees-making blend of soul and rock, you can listen to “The Weakness In Me,” anthem of heartbroken romantic cheaters everywhere—from decades before Gracie Abrams was even a twinkle in anybody’s eye.

I am so grateful that you’re here with me for all of this.

xo