Here Comes the Sun

Finally! Also, burrata, scallion pancakes, and fancy sweet potatoes

Hi friends,

It’s February! The sun came out this weekend which really lifted my spirits. We had so many overcast days in a row here that I almost forgot the sky can be blue. I know that’s dramatic but we are basically plants. We need sunshine (and sunscreen). The forecast this week looks sunny and I’m leaning all the way in to that. I want to sneak in walks, wear sunglasses, and soak up the much needed light.

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

I changed my scallion breakfast wrap technique based on this video. I still folded mine like a quesadilla but added cheese between the eggs and the pancake and it was so good.

I am once again cooking from

Hetty Lui McKinnon

’s Tenderheart (if it ain’t broke…). This week, Julia and I made her cauliflower and kale pesto pasta salad with burrata. We used this fun pasta shape from Trader Joe’s, substituted broccoli for cauliflower and added chickpeas and salted cherry tomatoes. The pesto is so flavorful and the burrata on top makes it extra special. We ate while watching Little Women (2019), which has aged very well.

It’s not cooking but the Trader Joe’s version of chipwiches are so good. I also want to make my own ice cream sandwiches this summer!

Something to order:

Spring & Mulberry sent me a sweet Galentine’s Day care package of their date sweetened chocolates. The date and pecan one is my favorite.

I ended dry January with a dinner at Don Angie with Oset and Amaro Montenegro (they also own Select Aperitivo, which is in my favorite Venetian Spritz at Lilia). We tried cocktails pairing Montenegro and Mezcal, a bartender favorite. The Don Angie food was really good. The famous lasagna is not vegetarian (sad), but I enjoyed the salads, garlic bread, Japanese sweet potatoes, other pastas, and the tiramisu which has a crunchy layer and black cocoa.

Frida, Isa, Leslie and I grabbed dinner at PDA in Gowanus where we had kale caesar and some good thin crust pizzas and even better catchups. Then we headed to Dirty Precious, a spacious bar, for Shaye’s birthday. I had a Greek orange wine that was really good.

Something to read:

My parents were recently in DC and brought back copies of Politics and Prose’s 2024 Reading Challenge. I’m not trying to check everything off by any means but it’s a fun way to track reading.

Williamsburg has changed a lot over the past 30 something years. It’s even changed a lot since 2017, which is when I moved here.

Ina Garten’s memoir has a release date. I’m ready for it.

Big City, Little Friend

always teaches me new things about New York and Eden’s latest highlights Elizabeth Jenning Grahams, who fought segregation on streetcars in the 1850s.

A Pediatrician’s Two Weeks Inside a Hospital in Gaza. Ceasefire now (you can call your reps here)

How to meet readers where they are when where they are is offline (postcards can be powerful)

Bolu Babulola is writing a sequel to Honey and Spice, very excited.

SO many companies are using inmate labor, including some of the country’s biggest food brands.

Writing and self promotion are very intertwined (especially on Substack). It’s helpful and tiring at the same time.

If you’re scared of oysters, maybe blame big oil by

Katherine Spiers

. As if I needed more reason to hate big oil

Caroline Chambers

is a brilliant entrepreneur (and also incredibly kind and funny). She talked to

Dianne Jacob

about making $15K per recipe with

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

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Have a good week!

xo, Abigail