How are you holding up?
The past two months have been really up and down for me; I seem to flip between good weeks and bad ones, and this one was a good one (with "good" labeled on an extreme curve, I hope you understand). This week I kept as busy as I could -- did a lot of cooking projects (challah, Samin Nosrat's The Big Lasagna -- though I used Ina Garten's recipe because I wanted to use sausage -- and pork chile verde), spent too much money at the local nursery and planted a bunch both at my house and at my mom's (tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, lettuces, and herbs, though I'm tempted to go back for a cucumber plant and also more herbs), worked on some writing projects, and talked to friends as much as I could. One of those friends was Sara Zarr, an incredible young adult writer (her newest book, Goodbye from Nowhere, is wonderful), and host of the podcast This Creative Life, which I used to listen to all the time before I had an agent or a publishing deal, and am now thrilled to be on! The show notes are linked right there, and you should be able to find it on your podcast app of choice. Listen to it on your afternoon walk today, either before or after you listen to Samin Nosrat's newish podcast Home Cooking, which I hope you already have been listening to because it's pure joy.
Okay, so I've hesitated to share this, because it's not cheap, and right now might not be the time to tell people about a $30+ hair product, but so many people I know have been complaining about their hair lately because of the inability to get a haircut, or dyeing their hair, because why not do it now, and it feels necessary to share with you my newest favorite conditioner for all of those problems: Davines Nounou hair mask. It makes dry hair look and feel fantastic, it's perfect for after dyeing or any processing, and it reduces frizz a ton. You put it on after washing, let it sit in your hair for 10-15 minutes (though I usually go 30) and rinse out and style as usual. It was one of those rare items that I got a large sample of and had to buy an entire container of very soon thereafter. I've been very grateful for it during this whole stay at home period, because as I said to a friend the other day "Life is stressful enough right now, your hair shouldn't be stressful!" Also take this as my permission to by any small thing you need to make your hair look how you want it to look right now -- don't let your hair give you added stress!
I mentioned last time I wrote that I've been reading a lot of middle grade books lately, and here's a recommendation for one I read earlier this week and adored: The Summer of a Thousand Pies, by Margaret Dilloway (I also talked about it with Sara during the podcast). It's a book about a girl who goes to stay with her aunt, after her father gets taken away -- she and her father had been living in their van, and he hadn't allowed her aunt to be in contact with her. Cady and her aunt have to get to know one another, she has to learn that a lot of what her father told her about life wasn't true, and try to figure out how to make peace with the life they led, and she learns how to make pie at her aunt's pie shop. It's a really lovely, nuanced, jewel of a book, and I recommend it to readers of lots of ages!
And I just realized a book I told you about a while ago is now out: if you haven't yet picked up Island Affair, by Priscilla Oliveras, now you can! It's a romance set in Key West, and it has a whole series of things that I love in a book: fake dating, complicated family relationships, delicious seeming food, and a gorgeous setting. If you love those things too, dig into this one.
It's getting hot here, and I have salsa on the mind -- this is a very easy salsa verde recipe I've been making for years. My favorite salsa verde recipe is from my local taqueria, and until I successfully beg them to give me the recipe, I'll keep making this one, which I've adapted for my own taste from a bunch of other tomatillo salsa recipes.
Roasted tomatillo salsa
1 lb tomatillos, husks taken off, rinsed and dried
2-3 jalapeno or serrano chiles
2-3 garlic cloves
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
1/2 bunch to 1 bunch (depending on taste) cilantro
juice of one to two limes
Put the tomatillos and either one or all of the chiles on a baking sheet (if you like it hotter, reserve at least one chile, if you like it milder, roast all of the chiles). Broil them for 5 minutes, or until they've blackened some, then turn over and roast for five more minutes. While that's roasting, combine the lime juice, a pinch or two of salt, and the chopped onion in a bowl. (If you're using a food processor for all of this, you can chop the onion in the food processor, dump it in a bowl, and don't worry about cleaning out the bowl before you put everything else in). When the tomatillos and peppers are done, toss them all in a blender or food processor with the garlic and the other jalapeno, stemmed and seeded (if using). Blend to your heart's content, and add the cilantro and blend a little more. Combine with the onion and lime juice, and salt to taste. Eat with chips or over fish or chicken. Maybe even add some avocado to the blender if you want, that's delicious also!
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Jasmine
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