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Cafeteria food, stiff denim, and why Cory and I are a terrible match.

In honor of today’s projected 56 degrees and the surreal February glow washing our streets, I have elected to table my existential angst.

For one week only.

Do you ever experience the full-body awareness that if left to your Sunny Friday devices you might end up “writing” an entire note to your internet besties composed entirely of Grammy GIFs?

SAME.

Funny thing. When I did our informal poll last week, one of you mentioned “Please, no more GIFs!” and *you* are now all I think about every time I scroll through the trove and paste one in. For what it’s worth, I do use them less than I used to? (I’m nothing if not responsive!)

But today doesn’t count, because of the sun and the Fridayishness and the fact that I’m wearing my favorite new thrift store crewneck sweatshirt which I believe to be from the 1980’s or earlier, along with my favorite new thrift store men’s jeans that are the kind of denim that honestly hurts a little due to the, uh, sturdiness of the denim which, upon closer review, is from the Faded Glory “line”. (Convenience store jeans by way of Goodwill!)

I have digressed, and we’re only three GIFs deep…

Several moons ago, I threw out an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) situation over on our Secret Instagram. At the time, I believed I was saving your questions for a rainy day. IN FACT I was saving them for a sunny day!

So, let’s go!

(I am hard-core giving Cory Brandon Martin in this post, who smiles for photos never but pathologically overuses exclamation points. The sun is shining! Leave me alone!)

Q1: Current fav recipes? (Thank you for everything! You really don’t owe us anything.)

You’re so sweet! For the record, I don’t feel I owe you anything. And, hundreds of you have hired me to show up in your inbox and I do not take that lightly. I love it here. (thankyouloveyouyourethebest)

All the trophies my heart can hold for leading with a food question. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but while a robust number of you open and read these emails¹, a mere remnant of you click a link. For that reason, I suppose, I find myself linking things less frequently. However! Recipes and books remain a central facet of my daily life, and even if only one of you catches inspiration from one of the following links, it is worth it. (TGIF!)

“Currently,” I’ve been into trying new recipes. This is no simple task because while I still don’t know the meaning of life, I do know I have been uniquely commissioned to make dinner for: a daughter who finds soup “depressing,” even in winter; a husband who won’t eat mushrooms, beans, or potatoes; and a son who could live on cheese, instant Ramen, and air fryer “nuggs”, but who always, and I mean always says, “Thank you for making dinner for us,” which helps. (When he was little, he would sometimes say, “Thank you for making dinner for us even though I don’t like it.”)

Cal is my foodie soulmate. I miss his presence at the table terribly and the grease-splattered kitchen left in his culinary wake a slightly less. At least once a week he sends me a picture of his cafeteria food.

received: Wednesday. caption: “ribs”

I subscribe to Smitten Kitchen’s Substack. From this week’s post, “11 spectacular things to make in February,” I bookmarked the following:

Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas

One of my foundational beliefs is that we ask far too much of cauliflower. We aren’t being reasonable. Cauliflower is rice! Cauliflower is potatoes! Cauliflower is pizza crust! No. It’s a foul-smelling cruciferous vegetable that tastes like Midwestern aristocracy. It is equipped to deliver a perfectly toothsome bite. It has been said to fortify our innards against cancer! I just say it’s delicious, especially when charred up a bit. At any rate, layer anything between two crispy tortillas with loads of melty cheese and I’m going to want it. Add toppings? I feel faint.