10 Things: Archival Treasures

All my recommendations for what to read, watch, cook, think about, contemplate, attempt, and listen to this week.

The summer, she has me. Most of these aren’t new things, but were new to me over the past month. The first three are free, seven more below the paywall — including a video in which I talk about my favorite childhood board game.

1. SUBSCRIBE:

   Pizza Friday by Front Yard Veggies
   (and read: “an ode to toads”)

   Kat sometimes sends me newsletters, usually about enjoying the lakefront in a peaceful and gentle way or noticing the legs on caterpillars, and this one was a banger. This newsletter is all gardening all the time, but in a way that you won’t find cloying, and you’ll want to be friends with not only the writer but also all the bugs she lives near. This post is all about how to attract toads, which is my Big Goal for The Rest of My Life. Please tell me in the comments which toad abodes I should intentionally build.

2. COOK: Falafel Pizza

   

   This tasted better than it looked, and honestly, it looked really good! The concept comes from an Instagram video I long ago lost, but I modified it and will now share it with you.

   1. Start with pizza dough. I made mine using the linked recipe, but you can buy pre-made, too.

   2. Roll her out and brush with oil. Let rest for a little bit. You should always do that with dough. Dough gets winded easily.

   3. Slather with hummus. Like the hummus is tomato sauce.

   4. I used frozen falafel, which is a good hack in general. I pre-cooked it HALF as long as the package said to, to thaw it and get it going. Dot the falafel on top of the pizza.

   5. In a separate bowl, toss a head of cauliflower (torn into pieces), some capers and brine, some kalamata olives, and halved cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and cumin seeds. This is your topping; add it liberally.

   6. This green “sauce” is lemon + parsley + tahini + salt + garlic + water, in a blender. Drizzled that on.

   7. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or so.

   8. Damn, girl.

   9. I served it with a salad that looked like this:

      

3. LISTEN: Annie DiRusso - “Super Pedestrian”

Three years ago, Annie DiRusso had a compelling catalogue of summery singles, and I loved every single one of them. Now she has a full album (it dropped a while ago and I missed it, but here we are), and it’s great! It’s long and poppy and maybe just what you need on a clear, sunny day.