-We Deserve Banana Tarte Tatin

It must have been a Tuesday in August.  I was in a supreme rush to get to an appointment on time and with as little sweat running down my back as possible.  Before the appointment and the sweating, I had to make a Banana Tarte Tatin.  I say ‘had to’ because I was both inspired and compelled… self-pressure.  Problem:  I had 1 hour to make it, shoot it, and quickly stash it somewhere Tron wouldn’t find it.  Luckily he can’t yet open the refrigerator.  I made the tarte tatin.  I hurried, I rushed, I nearly burnt myself, I used a lot of profanity, I rushed off to my appointment, I sweat everywhere.  Whatever…

The tarte tatin was INCREDIBLE.  I know because I showed a piece, literally torn from the tart, into my mouth, standing over the sink, with my car keys in my hand.

Upon returning from my appointment I realized that my step-by-step photos were an abomination… an actual abomination… and the only decent and delicious photo was one single shot I took with sticky fingers on my iPhone.

I don’t want you to be without this tarte.  Please.  Do this, and eat it like a civilized person… not holding your car keys, not bent over a sink.  Banana Tarte Tatin.  Very important note:  I added rum.

It’s Sunday.  Let’s be ourselves:

•  There is reward in just being:  Being Not Doing. 

•  I loved these words from David Leite about the restaurant on the 106th and 107th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center:   Windows On The World.

•  A beautifully thoughtful TED Talk:  What really matters at the end of life.  I’m left thinking about suffering, compassion, and a shift in perspective.

•  I woke up last weekend and decided I needed some words of encouragement from Oprah.  Here’s 20 Years of Oprah Lessons

•  I told you I was on an Oprah kick.  This is such an interesting conversation:  Alanis Morissette on Super Soul Sunday.

•  Jessica went to Havana for us and came back with the scoop!  An American’s Guide To Havana

•  Tennis champion Mardy Fish on pressure and anxiety:  The Weight.  

•  Fossils found in African cave are new species of human kin.  Science is exciting!

•  The Sunniest Climate Change Story You’ve Ever Read.  What are we going to do? (Besides keep destroying our precious home.)

•  This reality is hard for me to imagine.  The Queen, queening.

•  “The dream of the Venus-Serena match is that, in watching them play each other, we might catch some unmediated glimpse of them as tennis players and women, of their private selves and the unspoken aspects of their sisterhood.”   Serena and Venus: What’s It Like?

•  Related:  Roberta Vinci kicked ass like whoa!

•  I’m always excited by a book list.  Have you read any of these? 9 books that will keep your attention to the very last page.

•  x = -b plus or minus the square root of b-squared mine 4ac divided by 2a.  Solve for x.  BUT WHY!?!?  A word about raising teenagers.  

•  I’ve had this Chocolate Cherry Walnut Torte tab open in my browser all week and I can’t bring myself to close that tab until the cake magically appears in my kitchen.

•  I’m mostly wearing menswear these days and I love this waxed canvas jacket!

•  I’m baking from Sarah Coates‘ new cookbook next week!  The Sugar Hit!

We are young.  Heartache to heartache.  We stand.

Love is a battlefield.

Happy Sunday!

xo Joy