Joy the Baker

Let It Be Sunday, 124!

by 37 Comments

Hello my friends! 

Welcome to Sunday.  It’s Father’s Day and I hope that means you’re spending quality time with your people.  My dad is easy to laugh, the best pie maker, and he’s got a small plastic bag full of colored pens that he uses to take notes, write bills, and organize his life.  That little bag of pens alone helps me feel a sense of calm and consistency in the world.  Dad, thank you for walking Lauren and me to school, working overnight while we slept, paying the light bill, teaching us about Alfred Hitchcock, selling me a 1989 Buick Century for $1, and I’m sorry that you had to deal with me from age 16 to 19.  I recognize that I was insufferable.

This week has had some weight. A jury acquitted the officer that shot and killed Philando Castile,  a jury convicted the woman who encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself, and a jury remains hopelessly deadlocked in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case. That’s a lot of emotions to process and a lot about who we are and what we stand for to grapple with.  Basically all that we are, we have to sort through in a effort to put compassion and care back into the world.   

Here is more of our world this week: 

•  London has been hit heavy these past few months.  Grenfell Tower fire: in pictures. 

• Where do we go from this place of extreme discord? Actual question.  How We Became Bitter Political Enemies

•  Prozac Nation Is Now the United States of Xanax– anxiety is the new depression.  And we all just need a chill pill… which apparently we’re all taking.  Is anxiety our collective consciousness? Ugh, honestly. 

•  Speaking of anxiety:  a very in-depth look at all the things we should be worried about including bagel slicing.  Don’t read this is you’re a worrywart. Be Careful! Your mind makes accidents inevitable. 

•  Everything in my body says No No No NO NO NO to this free-diving sport that’s because my body was not designed for deep depths with no oxygen… but apparently the payoff is euphoria.  We’re crazy creatures. Free-diving is the lung-crushing mind-altering path to inner peace. 

•  I love this so much.  Our Mothers As We Never Saw Them.  I love pictures of both of my parents before they worried endlessly about working hard and keeping small human alive.  My mom had bellbottoms with rainbow patches on the butt pockets and long straight hair.  My dad had an Afro and tight pants and muscle shirts. Basically they were living their best lives.

•  Let’s remember to take these Summer Fridays, ok?  I’m in it for the ice cream. 

•  New Orleans basically invented The Man Who Stands In Line For A Living  and you know this best when you’re sitting upstairs at Galatoire’s because some man was paid to sit outside of the restaurant in line all night for the coveted downstairs seats.   That was a very New Orleans sentence but suffice it to say, no one wants to sit upstairs at Galatoire’s and you’ve got to figure out your family line-sitter if you want better treatment. It’s a whole thing down here.  I recognize that these are not actually real problems…. not at all… but I’m just living and learning, big and small.   

•  Two summer recipes I can’t wait to revisit:  Roasted Strawberry Shortcake with Basil Cream and Charred Cron with Pistachio Cilantro Lime Rub. 

•  I’m learning how to make bagels and I’ve had the most success with these: King Arthur Flour Pumpernickel Bagels.  I’ve had the least success with these:  Bravetart Magic Bagels which I think is my own fault and I need to give this recipe another try because it has the word magic in it.  I’ve also got this tab open for when I make a bad batch of bagels, which happens every other day: How to make a better bagel. Learning is a process, turns out. 

•  Watch me read this YA novel based in New Orleans and really enjoy it:  The Casquette Girls. 

•  Have you ever cooked on a Himalayan Salt Block?  I was gifted a pink block and I’m learning how to cook on it.  Cooking on salt!  The book Salt Block Cooking also has us serving watermelon and making ice cream on a salt block. Why hasn’t anyone told me about this sooner!? 

•  Cakes from Internet trolls just like I make Cakes from Drakes.  

•  You’re in a cult.  Call your dad. 

Enjoy this day, stay out of the forest.

xo Joy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I LOOOOOVE bagels. Have tried at least three recipes (not enough?). None came out satisfactory. Mostly, doesn’t rise enough and too tough. I’ve even checked out several YouTube videos in desperation. I hope you can come out with a great version and/or insight.

    Reply

  2. Murderino art work is the best! Headed to NOLA for the first time this Wednesday…can’t wait! Have relied on many of your recommendations :-)

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  3. I love the bit about Moms. Mine got married later in life (29! Oh dear!…well, for 1980) and because of it, she did all the awesome things in her 20s and I feel like it almost gave me ticket to do the same thirty years later in the way of the 2000s. She has the best stories, and I don’t mind hearing them over and over again, no matter how often she tells them. And now that she’s semi-retired and on her own once again, that 20-something is coming out again, and it’s so wonderful to see!

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  4. I always look forward to your “Let It Be Sunday” posts. I completely agree with your statement about putting compassion and care back in our world. Seems like the feature on the troll cakes is a little contradictory.

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  6. Hi Joy
    Totally love your site. I’m planning to make my husband some of that delicious looking carrot with ginger/apple soup. He’s feeling poorly so I thought this might make him feel better.
    As someone who is from London, yes it is horrific about what happened at Grenfell Tower. I just hope all those people who no longer have a home, will be re-housed immediately! It’s great to find a site that not only talks recipes but shows an interest about what’s happening in the wider world. Enjoy the rest of the day.

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  8. I look forward to “Let It Be Sunday” all week. Today I’m reading it on my front porch while drinking coffee. Life is good.

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  9. Speaking of YA novels set in New Orleans, have you read Put of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys? Great historical fiction that I read while on vacation in New Orleans.

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  10. The bag of colored pens works better than Xanax. Happy Father’s Day, Joy’s dad! You raised a fabulous human!

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  11. I read this list first thing on Sunday mornings, it is a nice little ritual. Also, when the world is crappy I like to know you are out there baking. Is that weird? It just soothes my soul to know people are carrying on and creating lovely and delicious things!

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  12. My very first car (in 2009) was an ’89 Buick Century! It had these beautiful blue velvet seats and always made me feel like I was driving a glamorous boat on wheels. My dad taught me how to drive in that car, and I’ll always think of it fondly – though the car itself didn’t long outlive our year together before I left home for college. Thanks for reminding me of the memory, a fitting one for father’s day!

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  14. Thanks for your Father’s Day Post… I’ve lost mine (father that is!) but still “Celebrate” the day by remembering happy things! My father was the cook in our family, a talent he learned from my Nan & all of his kids took after him with a love of food (one is now an International head chef with a cv the length of the Nile! So for me, dad & food will always be happy memories!
    Thanks
    Victoria Cairns, Australia

    Reply

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