Weekend Five: October 23, 2022

One day late...

Oct 23, 2021

Hi friends!

Today’s newsletter comes to you just a tad late, from the skies. I’m on a flight back from London to New York, sitting in a cramped space with the creeping paranoia that the person beside me is reading every word I write. If you’re seeing this — please focus on your Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Here’s my latest and greatest:

Video: This delightful, soothing, restorative, poignant, and important (I cannot give you enough adjectives for this, I’m sorry) cover of “I Wish You Love” by Miumiu, a perfect guitarist and vocalist. This young child sings with the type of grace and style I strive to possess. Just watch and let her angelic vocals put you at ease, and if you’re as captivated as I am, check out her cover of “Moon River” afterwards.

Beverage: Shirley Temples. Shirley Temples were the pinnacle of luxury to me as a child — congratulations to Shirley and the whole team involved in marketing yet another sugary beverage to small humans. I recently found grenadine made with real pomegranate at Brooklyn Larder — this sentence reads like the most annoying MadLib ever written — and bought it with the same fervor I felt ordering one on my eighth birthday. I’ve made a handful of ST’s since and I’m proud to confirm that they are still as delicious and refreshing as ever. I’d love to move past Canada Dry as my mixer of choice and maybe try something more adult: the lonely bodega-purchased Mineragua sitting in my fridge, gin + tonic, etc. but I don’t think my inner child is ready for this just yet.

Ingredient: Rice vermicelli noodles. Iranians use rice vermicelli in faloodeh, a popular dessert where the noodles are coated in semi-frozen sugar syrup, then fully frozen and topped with sour cherry preserves and lime. It is a refreshingly bright summer treat and dazzling end to any meal. That said, I’ve historically overlooked rice vermicelli for savory use all because of faloodeh and I’ve never felt so wrong in my life. These noodles are so easy to prepare: place one bunch/nest of them in a bowl and cover with boiling water, after 2-3 minutes you can drain and rinse them thoroughly with cold water so they don’t turn into mush. They will make any meal more enjoyable: I recently paired them with this saucy coconut chicken and broccoli and it did not disappoint. I’m secretly harboring chaotic desires to pair them with an Iranian stew, and will update the Consumed community if and when I make that brave leap.

TV Show: “Derry Girls” is one of the funniest shows I seen in my entire life. I would have never expected that the stories of four teenage girls — and James, of course — living in Northern Ireland in the midst of the troubles would make me scream laugh and cry, but here we are. This show is my comfort blanket and if you haven’t seen it, please watch and report back. FYI: I find it useful to keep the subtitles on because the dialogue moves quickly! In case you need convincing, here’s one clip: