because, because, because

 

Prop food from Wallace and Gromit animated film A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Dear Reason,

Because of Covid 19, I had to get a cell phone, and because I had a cell phone, I had to get on social media (did I have to, though?), and because of that, because I am now giving entirely too much of my screen time to the tiny, absurd, glassy, smudgy finger-printed cell phone surface (when I could be at the Drive In watching 30 foot high heads in close ups with 8 foot wide lips!!!), I have seen some mighty fine recipes.  One of them is this one, from Poppy Cooks.  She calls it the Ultimate Girl Dinner.

A little day music.

 

teardrops & sighs dress

Dear Listener,

A while ago I sent you the Faye Webster song "But Not Kiss" and today I am giving you a nudge to the longer Tiny Desk Concert from Faye Webster, because it is very fine!

pan-fried

 

Still Life with Frying Pan and Eggs, screenprint, William Scott

Dear Dinnertime,

This is really good- I think you should try it.  I added an egg and breadcrumbs, cause that's what I thought it needed after the first time I made.  I put in a lot of minced chives.  I also left out the salt and ground in an obscene amount of black pepper.  I think you should think of it as a concept, and not a recipe.  Mix some stuff up, make little mounds on the pan, cover them with won ton or dumpling wrappers and then pour on the water/cornstarch/flour mix.  Oh, and cornflour is the British word for cornstarch, so don't let that stop you from making these!  Eat it with sliced cucumbers with vinegar sprinkled on them, and maybe some sesame seeds.  

sandwich cookie

 

A cookie crochet pattern on Etsy.

Dear What to Do?,

How about we make these TKO cookies?  I had one, in September of last year- on a side quest kind of a pilgrimage to Bouchon.  I have to tell you, confess to you, that I have a Marxist & Feminist dislike for the Men of Food.  I kind of hate Celebrity Chefs and their expensive luxury goods, books, beaneries, dining rooms, joints, and all that hoopla.  I know you have made things just as good if not better, dear friend, and so have I; and I know that you are barely going to be thanked, let alone be paid for, let alone monetize making food for the people you love on a corporate level.  (Now you are asking, are we getting a recipe?  Or an embittered rant?  How about both!?)  What I am saying is, I love you for making your kids a peanut butter sandwich, a quesadilla, a pita with tuna fish.  I love you for making ordinary food that people live on everyday, and I hate that we all 'celebrate' by paying someone else to cook for us; that we rave about and idolize the cooking of the Named Ones and we don't even remember to say thanks to our mothers for the thousands of meals that kept us alive for years.

So, that is what I hate, and what I love is making things.  I bought one of these at Bouchon, and it was really very good.  The cookie is like the now extinct chocolate wafer cookies we once bought to make nifty cheesecake crusts and icebox cakes.  So, how about we make these Posh Celebrity Chef Oreos and see what we think?  Will they be good?  I am not sure, because I haven't made them yet either!

PS  Maybe you don't want a cookie, maybe you want a keychain?

Addendum:  I made a half recipe:  if you'd like half as many, try this recipe instead, or make your own adjustments. 

fronds & wands

 

guimauve wands

Dear Reader,

I am back at my Job, and it crowds my letters to you right out.  I'll be done this week, though, and then it is back to the regular demons:  Ennui, Apathy, and Insecurity.  They will keep me from writing too, as often as they can, and so will the dread and dire condition the world is in.  Am I promising you more?  If it sounds like maybe, you got it in one!

I have things for you, though, and so let's get on with the dispersal!

Fennel fronds.  This is delicious, you should try it tonight!  If you like it, you should check out other wonderful things that Coco Larkin Cooks.  I have made a brussels sprouts recipe, a pasta recipe, an egg dish, stuffed cabbage:  All of them worthy.

Here is Arooj Aftab, once, twice, three times.  

You can go here, too, if you like.  These are really good, but only if you like gummy, chewy, marshmallowing sugarstuffs.  What I mean, is that these are candies to appeal to your inner child, and you may have so much outer adult that you will taste only toothache and longing.

PS  The French people, whom you might think of as sophisticated and refined in their outer adulthood, ils adorant les guimauves.  History and a recipe, right here.  

happy bunny day