10 Things: Petting, Pepper, Peaches, Plovers
My Recommendations For What To Read, Listen To, Think About, Remember, Consider, Eat, And More This Week
Hello my friends!
Pretend this is coming to you on Friday and not Monday evening, OK? OK.
The first three are free; paid subscribers get seven more — this week including bisexual plovers, a graphic novel I totally adored, and a triad of very summery songs. Worth the cost of admission, I’d say! (Wouldn’t you?) Enjoy!
This was in the paid version of this newsletter last week, but I’m pushing it up to the top this week, because having finally finished it (it did take me three months, but that’s more about me than it is about Johann), I want everyone to read it. I am going to buy it for people. It’s going in Solstice stockings.
Here’s what YADAGEJ reader Rowan initially wrote about it:
If you've ever felt guilty for feeling like you're not productive enough or that you're too easily distractable (which I assume is many people) this book is so gratifying to read!! Starts off like a self-help book on how to be more focused and ends up being a manifesto on the systemic reasons why it's much harder to focus now rather than in the past, and how it's not your fault (but rather the fault of things like surveillance capitalism, etc.). Extremely well-researched and much more of a compelling read than a lot of non-fiction books I've read recently.
I thought the whole thing was going to be about PHONES, which, granted, are a critical topic — but I learned a lot in the latter half about ADHD (the author is very, very careful in clearly reporting out all the research, including research that is contradictory, and explaining why it is important that we understand that research is still in early stages) (also, I DEFINITELY thought I knew A LOT about ADHD before reading this book, and there is a lot I misunderstood); trauma; and the importance of play-based learning and intrinsic motivation for children. Teacher / Parent Sophie was very thirsty for these topics.
And then in the end, I felt reinvigorated as an activist, in a way that a book hasn’t made me feel since probably, like… Animal Liberation? From 1975? So.
I’m asking you to read this. Please read this. I promise you’ll learn something relevant to your life that you didn’t know before. If I’m wrong, I’ll buy you an ice cream bar OF YOUR CHOICE. Even if it’s really expensive. That’s how certain I am.
You know, I’m behind the times with this one. Jamie Loftus is Luke’s celebrity crush, ever since she began a Comedy which was just eating Infinite Jest, slowly:
She’s done a bunch of other things, and right now she’s finishing up a book tour (just completed a book tour?) for Raw Dog, which is her book about hot dogs. (She went around the whole country eating hot dogs everywhere she went, and learning about hot dogs. This is not my thing, but since Jamie Loftus did it, it is Luke’s thing, and he is absolutely reading this book, and recommends it.)
She decided to find out if she could get into Mensa, as a joke bit, and then it spooled a little out of control and she made a four-part podcast about it, trying to be as objective and journalistic as possible about her experience, but ultimately exposing a lot of the dark underbelly of Mensa’s leadership. I really liked it. It’s a pretty short listen; it’s funny and unsettling; and frankly, it’s well-reported. “Frankly” was not intended to be a hot-dog related pun, but take it if you want.
EAT: Stone fruit caprese
I’m a vegan and I dislike tomatoes, so caprese salad feels basically doomed for me.
OR IS IT?
Presenting this salad, which is one of the Top Two Best Moments Of Summer for me. (The other one is a tie between Morels and Watermelon.) Say what you want about
, but her recipe for this salad is amazing. It contains the brilliant line, “Caprese is more about shopping than cooking.” It also contains the following instruction: “Taste and adjust sugar, salt and lemon juice until the fruit tastes perky and bright — like the greatest stone fruit you’ve eaten.”My ingredient prep looked like this:
My notes are these:
Miyoko’s vegan mozzarella is better than real mozzarella, and I’ll die on this hill. I don’t like fake cheese very much, but this is just… better than cheese. It’s creamy and nutty and salty and it just is better. So if fake cheese is stopping you from making this salad, get over yourself, buy this amply available cheese, and be a happier person.
After reading this caprese recipe, I realized that I would need to go to the farmer’s market solely to buy stone fruit for it. I chose a pint of donut peaches. Incredible.
I added nasturtiums, because IT IS EATING FLOWERS SEASON. Since they are both sweet and peppery, they are perfect for this salad. The recipe should call for them.
I added four raspberries.
I did a mixture of mint and basil, which I recommend.
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