Hello friends! It’s Sunday, let’s do this!
This week we turned my house into the tiniest cooking school, yet again. This time we welcomed Zoe Francois into The Bakehouse for a weekend of puff pastry and pie crust. It’s been tremendous so far and Zoe and I are both patting ourselves on the back, walking 8 people through puff pastry in 4 hours. Really, it’s a thrill to share my kitchen with a pastry chef I’ve admired for years. The reminder is that we can make our very own dreams come true and wow those dreams are also hard work, wow!
I hope this week finds you well, holding steady, clear eyes, full hearts – the whole deal.
This week’s offering is below. A little about Tom Hanks, a bit about pregnancy and toddlers, and a lot of recipe links because I wrote this while hungry.
Take what you need and take good care.
• It’s always so much more than we could imagine. In honor of last week’s Veteran’s Day holiday, please read this: The Endless Recovery From the Endless War (New York Magazine)
• This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad thank goodness. This is a companion piece to last week’s article of Mr Rogers. (The New York Times)
• Thinking about thinking, plus math. It’s three parts interesting and a two parts intimidating. The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas. (The New Yorker)
• Mmmkay. Mmmkay. I’ll take this information and see if I can figure it all out in time. The Truth About Pregnancy Over 40. (The New York Times)
• This is really so funny: Toddler Feelings Helpline. (McSweeneys)
• In sweet news: Cows Need Friends To Be Happy. (The Atlantic)
• Here’s something you might not know about me: I’m obsessed with stories of mountain climbing and bank robberies. I can’t explain it though if I were to try I’d say they’re both things that I’d love to do and probably won’t because of fear and illegalities. I sure can read about them though. Next up on my reading list is this doozy of a tale: Norco ’80: The True Story of The Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History. (Amazon)
• Friends. It is time for the best pie of the year: Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie – 2 new ways! (Joy the Baker)
• Currently covet: Deb’s Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin (Smitten Kitchen)
• One the menu for this weekend is this simple pork chop from Bon Appetit: Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops. I’m in it for the garlic and sage.
• In a surprise to all of us, turkey gravy makes excellent caramel. Consider this post Thanksgiving (and maybe stash some gravy to the side): Turkey Gravy Salted Caramels. (Joy the Baker)
• I’ve been thinking a lot about my holiday decorations this year. I think I’m going to do a citrus and greens theme. Classic and seasonal but not overly red and green… ya know? I’m going to make a Dried Orange Garland and I’m suddenly absolutely smitten with this DIY Beaded Blanket Holder. (Francois et Mois)
• Here’s a thing you didn’t know you needed: Cashmere Bandana. (Everlane)
Have the most wonderful Sunday.
My love to you!
xo Joy
Julie Ann
I’ve been listening to the new podcast Bank Robber Diaries. Fascinating stuff. You might like it too. They talk to a convicted bank robber and his theory on why banks is amazingly simple.
Elle
Ugh that pregnancy over 40 something – as a very very very very single 31 – broke my heart. Why is time passing so quickly and how can we slow it down?
Samantha
Reading on Tuesday, that us the new Sunday if you work on the weekend!
Sarah
Re pregnancy over 40.
You should check out Expecting Better by Emily Oster (“an award-winning economist disproves standard recommendations about pregnancy to empower women while they’re expecting”). It has a chapter on “geriatric pregnancy” and analyzes the actual risks based on hundreds of medical studies. My takeaway was that the risks are only slightly elevated, and journalists frequently cite tiny or old studies without great data. It made me feel better throughout my healthy pregnancy :)
joythebaker
Thank you Sarah!
Janet
Well, I’ve never heard of Turkey Gravy Salted Caramels, but since I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year, all the gravy is mine to hide so I can try it.
joythebaker
Please hide some gravy! :)
Cheryl Gordon
Just want to let you know it is slightly annoying to see so many articles I can’t read unless I pay for it. Can’t pay for every single outlet.
Jill
I didn’t have any issues reading any of them unless I had already read my selection of free articles from a site (NYT is one I should *really* support since apparently I like to read their stuff and I run out of freebies!).
Rosina
The TODDLER FEELINGS HELPLINE soooo funny :) :) Glad I found that website. Thanks to you!
JessicaD
That Tom Hanks NYT story absolutely moved me. I actually wrote (and erased) a super sappy comment online to the NYT about the quality of the writing and the importance of continuing with journalism like it. (I’ve never posted a comment to the NYT … and still haven’t! but almost did b/c this article was just so good.) Loved it! Thank you for sharing. Also, earlier this week I sent the link for Deb’s Apple Tarte Tatin to my two favorite bakers (husband + daughter) (I am the sous chef) in the hopes for a Thanksgiving or Christmas miracle! It looks SO GOOD! Fingers crossed!
Addie
These are suggestions for for your twin obsessions although recommending Jon Krakauer is like recommending Shakespeare – you’ve probably already read Into Thin Air a thousand times but if not you have to. And so many climbers associated with the book wrote their own as well so it will definitely send you down a rabbit hole. And for your bank robbing obsession: two old movies but really entertaining – Hot Rock (Robert Redford) – it can be tense but its also a comedy and Dog Day Afternoon (Al Pacino) which will definitely prevent you from ever robbing a bank. (And all the 1970s hot summer New York sweating will probably feel like home to a resident of New Orleans.)
Prissy
Interesting article about over 40 moms. I can say with full confidence having been a young 20 something mom and an over 40 mom-that I was tired as both a young and old mom. No one has mistaken me for grandma, but I would laugh if they did.
I was the oldest patient my ob ever had (he was pushing 60 yrs) had no complications and a blissful pregnancy.
Personally, I think mother nature should have made it so all moms are over 40. That way, we could overcome most of our “issues” (that everyone has!) before we ever have kids.
nancy k
I LOVE your dining room rug. Is it a “one of a kind” or did you find it a store or internet site.
If an internet site, I would love to check it out.
I have been searching , it seem forever, for just the right thing for my dining area and have had no luck so far.
How I wish was closer to NOLA so I could attend your sessions. They look like that are so much fun.
Stephani Dempsey
Same comment and search history with the rug! Can you tell us where you got the beauty?
Sarah
You + Zoe = my dream team! Can we hang and invite Deb, too?
Abbi
I generally enjoy McSweeney’s, and as a parent I truly enjoy all their articles about children. The toddler helpline is one of my favorites! Totally nails the toddler experience. Thank you for the laughter break as I watched my own toddler run around this morning!
marie
me too ! I laughed so so hard !
themessyheadedmomma
I totally read the last one as “cashmere banana”. So disappointed. ;)
Colleen
me too!
Mia
I read cashmere banana, too! Ha ha!
joythebaker
HAHAHAH!
Kim Nitchkey
Truth: I always hated sweet potato pie. I wanted to like it so much, tried so many recipes, from well-known chefs/cooks, and from a friend’s beloved Nana. But they were all awful. Then two years ago, I saw your Dad’s recipe. Okay, last one I’m trying, then I’m giving up. Forever. I can’t keep doing this to myself. Of course you know how this ends. Your Dad’s is the BEST! I’ll never even look at another recipe again! And it’s not just a Thanksgiving thing either. I make it year round. Whenever I find nice sweet potatoes at the market. I even took one to a cookout this summer. A friend with a snarky mouth made a snarky comment about SPP in summer. The she tasted it. I confess I like her better when her mouth is full of pie and she can’t talk.