Week 39

Recipes

On Sunday morning we feasted on pumpkin buttermilk pancakes (using leftover pumpkin puree from that pumpkin granola last week) and Hempler's cottage bacon. A coworker gave me a jar of salted pear butter that was absolutely heavenly on these pancakes. I later made pumpkin bread with the remainder of that same puree and buttermilk, and that pear butter was, once again, a killer topping.

Otherwise, it was tried-and-true stuff this week. Joel reminded us what a good recipe we made that one time by returning to our Chicken Alfredo-ish Pasta with Herbs. And I used the InstantPot to make barbecue chicken, served on homemade focaccia (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day method).

I also refilled our almond jar with brined and roasted almonds, a recipe from Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons cookbook. They taste incredible and are so simple to make: Bring 1 cup of water to boil, stir in 1/3 cup kosher salt and dissolve. Add 1 1/2 cups raw almonds to the boiling water and remove from heat. Let almonds sit in the brine for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees. After the 30 minutes, drain the almonds and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Test one for doneness - the middle of the almond should be light brown. The almonds will be soft straight out of the oven, but they will be crunchy after they've cooled. The result is a salty, roasted flavor that is out of this world.

Watching

Chaplin: Back in the 90s when Robert Downey, Jr. was still just a young buck and making mostly romantic comedies (which my friends and I watched on VHS at slumber parties), he made this biopic and I never saw it. Until this week. I always knew of Charlie Chaplin and saw clips in montages of the silent era, it wasn't until the last few years that I actually watched an entire Chaplin film and realized what a comedic genius he was. This movie was a slightly unsatisfying, star-studded tour through his long life, and the Chaplin-esque teeth Downey, Jr. wore were kind of distracting. Ultimately, I just want more of the real Chaplin in my life.

We also watched a sexy French thriller (hello, Romain Duris) called In the Shadow of Iris (the French version is just called Iris), a Netflix original. It was one of those movies where you start pausing to discuss what you think is happening or try to understand who's in on what. And also one in which you want to make sure your blinds are closed so as not to be judged by your neighbors.

Listening

Leonard Berstein's Symphony No. 2: The Age of Anxiety (based on W.H. Auden poem of the same name): There have been plenty of features on Bernstein this year due to what would have been his 100th birthday, and I am quite enjoying them. My first and major foray into his works was West Side Story, which is easily my favorite musical of all time. But the other day I just looked him up on Spotify and selected this work at random. Imagine hearing a poem and composing this whole thing as a result. This is astonishing to me.

We also tried out Paul McCartney's latest album, Egypt Station. It was an even mix of typical Paul, some age reflectiveness, and some off-putting efforts to sound modern.

Making

That's a wrap on Francis (literally)! I wish I had finished it sooner because it's surely the wrong time of year to wear this now. Hopefully I'll be delighted when I rediscover it in my wardrobe next summer.

I also finished my little beret cap over several episodes of the Great British Bake Off. I feel like myself again, having a hat to cover my head on cold mornings.

And finally, I made - and am actually using - handkerchiefs. At least once a year I become obsessed with reducing waste, repurposing items and making my own stuff in order to feel better about my environmental impact. The obsession eventually wanes, but I usually end up with at least one lasting habit. This time around, I felt very convicted about my use of Kleenex, and had coincidentally been made aware of girls my age using hankies. If they can do it, surely I could, too. Not only is it better for the earth, it is way better for your nose. And it was a great way to use up some fabric scraps. I didn't follow a pattern and did a couple test runs before I found a method I liked best.

Reading

I'm 50 pages away from finishing The Story of the Lost Child. This final book has proven to be very exciting, with things happening to characters I should have seen coming, but was nevertheless surprised by. I am not sure how I will feel when it's all over. But I am looking into a subscription to HBO just to watch the miniseries of the first book that is coming out this November.