It only takes a few days of sunshine to forget the cold temperatures and rain that started the week. I wore sweaters and the furnace turned on Tuesday morning. Our traditional July 1 river picnic was replaced by a backyard hangout with a friend amid sprinkles this year. We didn't actually do much of anything or go anywhere this week, even after the good weather returned.
I complain about our kitchen all the time - how small it is, how the tiled counter traps all sorts of crap, how the burners don't sit flat on the stove top (my fault for replacing burner dishes with the wrong model), how the windows need replacing (oh, to be able to open a window in the kitchen!), how the trim has become worn and gross... but it sure does get a lot of use and I love spending an entire morning in there. I actually think if I had a modern kitchen I might not use it as much because I'd be much more worried about keeping it clean. Truth be told, at certain points on a summer day when the light hits the neighbor's house, our old kitchen is particularly quaint, romantic, and bright. I do love it half the time.
It was a fantastic food week at our house. Above is a whiskey sour I made myself using aquafaba during one of those golden moments I just described in the kitchen. Besides being one of the funnest words to say, aquafaba is the liquid that comes in a can of chickpeas that can be used as an egg white replacer. I had just opened a can that afternoon and saved the liquid for happy hour, to be shaken with whiskey and lemon juice for a frothy beverage. I recommend it.
Earlier in the week I whipped up a variation of an old favorite: a banana-orange milkshake. This is just a banana, an orange, and some Greek yogurt with milk to thin it out. Normally, it should contain ice cream. Normally, I should be drinking it with my friend Sara, whose birthday it was that day, and with whom I created this tradition in high school of having a banana-orange milkshake party, otherwise known as BOMP. In her honor, I enjoyed this special treat on the last day of June.
This was also the week of cherries. We had two pounds of them from our CSA. They found their way into some homemade ice cream for the Fourth of July, and into spiced brandy for months of enjoyment. A few were just eaten in their perfect form.
Joel made a new recipe for pasta with tomato-almond pesto, which seemed a misnomer since most of the flavor and texture came from red peppers and ricotta. Still, it was a good one (from Milk Street).
The Fourth was very much a Saturday. We watched Hamilton and ate bean burgers, warm potato salad and the aforementioned cherry ice cream, which felt patriotic in a way, but I struggled with my feelings about it. I love my country, but there are so many contradictions that come with freedom, and they feel especially poignant right now. As we heard the fireworks blast off around us, I mostly just felt like being quiet this year.
Also on the TV this week was the reboot of Unsolved Mysteries. And thus the year of 90s nostalgia continues, though of course they couldn't bring back Robert Stack, who was part of the show's creepy allure. Each night after we watched an episode, I needed a palate cleanser of upbeat music or funny Youtube video so I wouldn't go to bed with the theme music playing in my head, causing me to panic over every sound from outside.
Reading-wise, I finished The Yellow House by Sarah Broom this week. It was sobering to read her family history and about the family home that was ruined Katrina after years of its own deterioration, the rise and fall of New Orleans' economy and its people, and the ways our identity is so tied to place and what happens when a place no longer exists. It was a beautifully written and challenging memoir.
I am now reading Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor. It is fascinating and it very well may change my life. I keep talking about it. Here are some highlights, if you're interested.
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