Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes is seriously the bomb. No deep frying, no sub-recipes (i.e., recipes whose ingredient lists are themselves things you need to prepare). Irreverent, bold, nerdy, lazy, pan-Asian. Basically everything I am. I was already sold, and then it came out and used the word "subparenthetically" in the middle of a parenthetical! What the what?! I need.
David and I both finished Scary Close and loved it. (Eunice, I'm sorry I'm so late to the e-book game. For the life of me I could not figure it out two years ago when you gave me a free copy!)
I have also been bawling my eyes out over Lost and Found, the episode on the Liturgists where Science Mike and Michael Gungor tell their stories of their losing their faith. (It's taken me a week and I'm still in part 1 because of all the crying breaks.) This was the first time I've heard the term "deconversion." I resonated with almost everything they are talking about, and it's so validating to have intelligent people articulate some very complex and nuanced and vulnerable things. I also chortled when they talked about Donald Miller and Rob Bell being "dangerous" authors to a Southern Baptist.
Speaking of Bell, listening to Velvet Elvis and enjoying it so far. (The audiobook is actually read by the author, who is, in this case, a great reader. But David listened to Scary Close and the reader - not Don Miller - was not a good match for the book. Alas.)
Annoyed by The Couple Next Door. Shame on me, but I skipped the middle section and read the end. I never do that kind of thing. Oh well.
Also enjoyed The Power of Habit and the perhaps controversial Love Warrior.
Absolutely slayed by my Enneathought a couple of days ago:
Today, explore the issue of boundaries. As a Six, are your boundaries too rigid? Can you trust people to get close to you? Can you share more of your feelings and ideas?(Yes, Kayla, that was what inspired my notebook entry. ;p)
Invented this dish of steamed tilapia over silken tofu cubes with black bean sauce. We loved the layered textures. (It felt analogous to the Asian carb-on-carb-ness of potatoes and rice as well as reminiscent of Fuschia Dunlop's avocado over silken tofu appetizer.)
Had a super eggplant week with Persian-style eggplant dip and miso-crusted eggplant (both from Liana Krisoff's Vegetarian*), and then yu-xiang eggplant with grass-fed ground beef (amazing!). *Kind of trying to do a cook/book club with this. Slai, can you please give me more details on how you guys did yours?
Finally, gearing up for Thanksgiving season. What are some creative ways you guys are thinking of celebrating Thanksgiving this year?
I TOO CRIED THROUGH 'LOST AND FOUND'! It slayed me, it was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're enjoying the podcast too :)
DeleteLucky Peach: yes and yessss. Donna's Chris once asked while thumbing through it "what is 'ragus'?" (rhymes with Vegas) and all 4 of us pronounce it that way ever since. Usually I will mash up the first and third recipes (depending on whether I have celery to use up or not) and throw in any other vegetable that I need to (carrot, cabbage, zucchini, etc.) Probably shows up every other week or so for dinner; I heart ragus.
ReplyDeleteI loved Scary Close; Sam was not wild about it. Whatever. He does not understand the allure of the Donald (Miller! Not Trump!!)
Rob Bell: I've been listening to his podcast and it's kind of wonderful! VE is good too although sometimes the
sentences
that
go
like
this
are silly, and better heard than read.
Tell me more about Love Warrior; I have been curious...
Here's how cookbook club goes. Pick a book (people can vote, or you can be autocratic about it, whatevs)--something that is widely available at the libo is nice so people don't have to buy it if they don't want to. Last time we were choosing between Lucky Peach, Every Grain of Rice, something by Madhur Jaffrey, and Marcella's Essentials of Italian Cooking (which totally won out!) Then people can pick appetizer, main, veg, dessert, etc and go! Note: try to minimize actual cooking at the place you gather; it gets kind of crazytown. I am curious about Julia Turschen's Small Victories; I also have Made in India by Meera Sodha right now and it's a lovely book. Ina's new one! Or anything by Food52, Dinner a love story...I could go on, but you get it! xxoo
xxoo
thank you for your long and lovely comment!
Delete1. ragus haha
2. sam get with it
3. yeah i think i assumed that about RB because i did read sex god once. but VE being read is AWESOME. he is an amazing communicator, gifted prophet for sure. i have been genuinely edified by listening to this book.
4. re: LW, i think i will share my thoughts with you via email when i can get a moment
5. thank you for your cookbook club tips!
Loved those miso-crusted eggplants. Sometimes a good description of our children!
ReplyDeleteScary Close: yeah, the reader did not kindly stop for line/page breaks, like he was getting paid for how trim he could make the recording. I loved Don's use of the Three Pillows and the Two Chairs from his therapists... and how so many of the inner workings get engaged when becoming a parent! It reads better than How to Be an Adult (David Richo) but Richo just mind-blows you with these one liners.
At my hospital, it is ironic
(or beautiful, scary)
that you can get quite
lost trying to find
the lost and found;
does anyone ever return?
thank you for your lovely comment. i love your poem; more please!
Deleteooooh I want to learn more Asian dishes because they tend to be dairy and gluten free. I run into troubles when it comes to the oils and pastes. My girls are very allergic to sesame oil, safflower oil and possibly sunflower oil. I don't know or understand the nuances of Asian food to do substitutes well. suggestions? I am going to check out Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes
ReplyDelete