Laptop free vacation loading
Wedding joys, end of Passover pizza, and nachos
Hi friends,
It’s May! I’m keeping today’s newsletter short because I was up late celebrating Julianne and Ian’s wedding (it had a pasta course, incredible). Later this week, Dale and I are going on vacation and I’m not bringing my laptop, fulfilling a goal from almost a year ago, so there will be short break here at This Needs Hot Sauce. Eat well while I’m gone!
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
I froze some cubed tofu a few weeks ago and cooked it with some rice for dinner and a lunch. The texture changes in a good way (you can squeeze out a lot of water as it defrosts) and it was a nice crispy crumble.
I do love a good homemade veggie burger but lately the frozen ones have been so helpful. I sometimes heat one up in the morning and bring it to work with a salad, ideally one with pickles, or rice. Last week I did spinach, feta, veggie burger, pickles, avocado and a little leftover rice. Delicious.
A good pasta night always hits so I made some shells and added frozen broccoli to the water in the last few minutes. I seasoned it with lots of red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil, and then added pesto, nutritional yeast and parm.
Something to order:
Passover ended, which was thrilling, and of course I had to have pizza. We had the Grandma pie from Williamsburg Pizza which freezes well if you have leftovers.
Ivy and I got coffee and a treat at Lilia’s caffe, which has such good coffee and pastries. We both had the seasonal ramp focaccia which did not skimp on the ramps (they were whole which was a little messy but worth it). It was sunny and warm enough to eat outside sans jacket, a big win.
Lee invited me to a fun event with Teramana tequila at Superbueno—we’ve been internet friends for a while and it was so much fun to hang in person. It’s a cool bar and the food we tried was really good, especially the mole nachos.
Julianne and Ian had their welcome party at Lavender Lake, which has relocated from Gowanus to Williamsburg. It’s an airy space that was the perfect kickoff for the weekend and the Hawaiian BBQ cauliflower was delicious (as were the spritzes)! I’ve known them since 2010 and we really took our friendship to another level when I showed up at their new year’s eve party at the last minute in 2016. They welcomed me with open arms and the rest is history! It was so much fun to see them get married this weekend.
The wedding was at Giando on the Water, which had spectacular views of the skyline and an old school Italian feel. There were garlickly mussels at cocktail hour, a pasta course for everyone, and the vegetarian entree was eggplant parm, which is such a good idea. It was a really joyful evening—they hired the DJ from DuckDuck, a very special place, and he did a great job.
The after party was at East River Bar, a classic dive with a backyard taco truck and a photo booth. It was the perfect spot to wrap up the celebrations!
On Sunday, we took it very easy. I had a bagel and iced coffee from Bagelsmith and watched The Idea of You.
For dinner, we got takeout from Teddy’s Bar and Grill—they have a housemade veggie burger and Dale approves of their wings.
Something to read:
Will Americans ever lose their taste for consumption?
I had no idea Black Forest Cake was so popular around the world
Plus sized outfits inspired by Rihanna
I did not have a great time in college and I really feel for students graduating this year, with so much grief.
who graduated in 2003 also protested in college and she gets at what the world has been like for the class of 2024Regina George’s bedroom is iconic
How to stop your phone from taking over your brain. Taking notes
Taking restaurant recs from TikTok, it’s a mixed bag
A moving profile of Brittney Griner by J Wortham
Another Mother mourns, from Matt’s new newsletter
I love that Zendaya’s assistant and friend Darnell Appling was the umpirre in Challengers
Reducing The Idea of You to Fan Fiction Is Another Example of Dismissing Women’s Art
Me, My Mom, and a Bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Trying to hide a pregnancy from the algorithm. I’ve been served pregnancy/baby content so much since my friends started having kids and it can be very overwhelming! I imagine the real version is so much more intense.
Thanks for reading and have a great week! I’ll hopefully be relaxed and sunkissed (through lots of SPF) next time I write to you!
xo, Abigail
Wishing you a lovely laptop free vacation!
I watched The Idea of You as soon as you recommended it last week. It was...not for me lol. I was definitely able to respect the story being told while recognizing that it just didn't vibe with me and that's ok. The part that did touch me was when Solene pulled back on the relationship for the sake of her daughter. I don't want children so I honestly struggle between thinking her choice is admirable and also jsut feeling sorry for her to have to make that decision (even though it was obviously the right one in that situation). Anyways, I love challenging myself by seeing movies that aren't quite my cup of tea and this one was a good challenge!