Back outside

Blue skies never looked so good

Jun 12, 2023

What a week, huh? I know many of you are in New York or other areas that were affected by the wildfire smoke. It was so scary to see the sky orange and to feel your eyes burn whenever you stepped outside. There were so many echos of the early days of Covid—a slow government response, restaurants closing temporarily to protect their staffs, the continued utility of masks, confusing guidance (as an apartment dweller with an old AC unit, I did a lot of googling), and a sense of solidarity in group chats as we all navigated difficult decisions. By Friday, the skies were blue again and I’ll never take that for granted. I ordered an air purifier for when this happens again, because of course, it’s a when, not an if. I also saw that Ontario’s Premier cut the firefighting budget back in 2019—everything is political but solely blaming Canada isn’t fair! I hope you all stayed safe and are motivated to keep caring for one another and fighting for the future—order extra masks, share the link to an air purifier if you like it, tell the truth! It’s the only way through.

This week, I’m excited to share a veggie burger recipe from Lukas Volger’s book with paid subscribers on Thursday! In a survey I did last year, more recipes was a big request from subscribers so I committed to sharing one recipe a month. June will be a veggie burger and July will be a blueberry cake. You can browse all TNHS recipes here.

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

Because of the air, I didn’t go into the office much this week, but I did make myself some good lunches. First, these cottage cheese broccoli pancakes were so good over lettuce with sour cream and hot sauce. I also boiled some seven minute eggs to put on top. They’re good fresh out of the pan or at room temperature.

I also made some pasta with Rao’s arrabbiata sauce, which is as good as you would expect (very). I added some smoked jalapeño flakes for a little extra depth and leftover pasta is always a great lunch.

I went to my parents’ house to see my grandma and brought my signature easy dessert: boxed brownies made in a round pan with chocolate chips and sea salt. Everyone gets a wedge (which includes edge and middle sections) and vanilla ice cream is a must.

For dinner with grandma, my parents made a bunch of hearty salads including charred sugar snap peas with burrata and the Charlie Bird farro salad, another great lunch item (I took home leftovers).

Something to order:

I’ve long been a fan of Shaquanda’s green hot sauce and I got to try their Banjee ranch, which has a nice kick over crunchy romaine.

I worked from Ground Support in Soho after a doctor’s appointment and their cream cheese was notably good. Plus they have good wifi and outlets!

Hillary and I got dinner to talk all things PR (she’s been in the industry for years) at the new Spicy Moon on Bowery, which just opened. It’s a big space and the food was really good. Our favorites were the crispy eggplant which is topped with fried shallots and comes with a very good dipping sauce, the scallion pancake, and the crabless rangoon. They also have a strong cocktail program and I had a drink with mezcal, chamomile, and madeira.

After dinner, we walked to the new Morgenstern’s Bananas soft serve spot. They have 8 flavors and lots of toppings. We each got the mini swirl with salted chocolate and peanut butter and it was really good and didn’t have an overwhelming banana flavor. It’s dense for a soft serve so a little goes a long way. Expect a line.

I met my parents and grandma at the Met on Friday afternoon and after seeing the art, we headed to Maman to get coffee with Adele, her friend from high school (I get emotional about long term friendships). The Upper East Side Maman is nice and spacious and makes great cookies—we had the classic chocolate chip and the tahini version. It was lovely.

Dale and I ended the week with dinner at Mesa Coyoacan, always a favorite of ours. Mushroom tacos and still warm chips and guac are a recipe for happiness.

It can be so hard to find a weekend when everyone is free so it felt like a gift that Sandra, Frida, Isa, and I were all free on Saturday for a delightful night at the theater. We saw Wicked, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary and Defying Gravity does not get old. Before the show, we got salads, fries, bivalves, and cocktails at Glass House Tavern, which nails the pre theater experience.