Here's something I do not recommend: sprained ankles
I've recommended this product to a few different people just this week, so I realized I needed to recommend it to all of you. I love this Japanese washcloth -- it's super cheap, lasts well, dries really quickly (I just hang it in my shower), and it's a great exfoliator. Even better, it's really long, so it's perfect for scrubbing your back. And it comes in a bunch of springy colors, so buy a bunch of them to brighten up your bathroom, or put them in care packages for your friends so we all can get through these last few weeks of winter.
So I sprained my ankle again yesterday. I say again because I sprain one of my ankles like, every two or three years -- the last time I sprained an ankle (this same one, which is amazingly enough, my "good" ankle) was just about exactly three years ago. I never have a good story about how I did it, it's always just like "I was walking and then I fell down" which is exactly what happened this time. I'm doing all of the things you're supposed to do for a sprained ankle, but let me tell you, it's difficult to get work done when you're supposed to keep your ankle elevated, that is not an easy position for typing. I'm forcing myself to get work done all day, but I'm very much looking forward to the point this afternoon where I'll allow myself to ice my elevated ankle while I do what God clearly wanted me to take this time to do, and that's read a book. I have a bundle of new books I can't wait to dig into, but I'm also in the midst of rereading The Nine Tailors, a Dorothy Sayers book that I love reading at this time of year, because weather plays a big role in it, and it's very fun to read about big snowstorms and pouring rainstorms while you're inside and it's pouring down rain outside. What do you guys like to read during big storms? (If you're looking for something else to read this weekend, might I recommend a bright red book called The Wedding Date? Entertainment Weekly this week said it would leave you "giggling with delight."!!!)
Twice this week I made puttanesca, which is one of my favorite pasta sauces. I learned how to make it from two of my favorite professors in college, Elizabeth Varon and Anita Tien. They were history professors and at the end of the semester they would make dinner for and with their classes, and one year they made puttanesca, which I'd never had before and loved. It's one of my favorite pantry meals, because everything you use for it comes out of a can or jar (except for the garlic and red pepper flakes, which I always have), and it also comes together in the time it takes for you to boil the pasta. Sometimes I don't even bother with the pasta though, and just make and eat the sauce with bread. This week I did something weird and roasted a can of garbanzo beans as I was making the sauce, and then stirred the beans into the sauce, and ate it in a bowl with bread on the side. I don't know if my fake Italian grandma would approve, but it was delicious.
Puttanesca sauce
2 or 3 gloves garlic, chopped finely
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 anchovies
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
20 or so kalamata or other black olives, chopped
handful of capers
Warm a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a medium hot. Add the garlic, and it with the anchovies and red pepper flakes until the garlic is pale golden. As you cook, smash the anchovies with your spatula or spoon until they melt into the sauce. After about 3 or so minutes, pour in the tomatoes and stir everything together. Then add the chopped olives and the capers, give it all another stir, and turn the heat down to medium low, and let the sauce simmer and thicken for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it's ready, add pasta of your choice, or just eat it out of a bowl.
Enjoy!
Have a good weekend,
Jasmine
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