Let It Be Sunday, 311!

Hello friends! Happy Sunday, welcome to it!

How are you? How are you sleeping? Me? Not so much this week. Is it the moon? Hormones? Unconscious stress? All I know is that I’m not alone. So many of you said on Instagram that you can’t sleep either.  It’s ok really.  I seem to muster the energy to get through the days just fine and I shuffle out of bed in the very early morning to start the coffee pot a few hours early.  The sunrises are yellowy pink and the dew on the leaves in the backyard is the sweetest thing.  

Despite the lack of rest, this week has been lovely. I’ve rustled several cakes in and out of my refrigerator (one of those recipes for you next week), I’ve talked with my neighbors, I’ve logged some miles running, I’ve chatted with my sister, I’ve worked hard… you know, the whole deal of trying hard in the world. 

I hope this finds you well, warm, and with a few minutes to yourself. The offering this week is below. It’s just an offering. Maybe there’s something here that feels like a mirror or something that makes you smile. That’s my hope.  As always, take only what you need.  

•  This week we’ve lost more than 500,000 American’s to COVID and at this point friends, none of us are untouched. I’m deeply sorry for your loss. All of our losses. I’m thankful to the people who step into hospitals and nursing homes everyday to work, for teachers navigating this impossible moment in education, and I commend parents figuring it out everysingleday.

“They are the first responders you never see.” Inside DC’s Secret Covid Morgue. Wait.. what? I finished this read (this reality), and with a heavy sigh said, “wow”. The faith, humanity, the tragedy… it’s all here. (Washingtonian)

•  My favorite read of the week: When Love Is Impossible. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love, of course, is the most vulnerable place to be. But that’s the whole point right? Happy and amazed that it even happens at all. (Medium via Ann Friedman)

•  An absolutely correct statement. A complete fact. Martha Stewart Is The Original Influencer. (Harper’s Bazaar) 

•  Stay sexy and, I can not stress this enough, don’t get murdered.  How one woman changed the safety standards of the entire car industry. (The Hustle) 

•  This week I was introduced to the work of Hannah Gumbo, a Louisiana-based muralist. Her work is just so happy and joyful I thought you might like a look at it. (Hannah Gumbo)

•  I was up one of these middle of the nights and watched my friend Katherine of Weelicious make chicken and vegetables in her airfryer. I know I know I’m probably the only one without an air fryer but is it time to change that? This is the Phillip’s Air Fryer Katherine uses. I need to negotiate with my bank account and my cupboard space. (Weelicious, Williams Sonoma)

•  Handle The Heat on how to bake tall muffins. (I want to insert a Top of the Muffin Seinfeld joke here but I’ve mostly stopped myself.) 

•  We’re starting to see peeks of spring here in New Orleans which has me fussing in the garden a lot.  Let’s be clear, I’m not really doing much of anything but it’s nice to be out there. I learned about Truelove Seeds, a farm-based seed company cultivating culturally important veggies, herbs, and flowers. I really appreciate their philosophy of food sovereignty and cultural preservation through plants.  I’m hoping to grow passionflower, rose milkweed, and maybe this red okra? Hopeful but that’s what spring is about! (Truelove Seeds) 

•  I’ve ordered the latest issue of the vegan journal, Chickpea Magazine. It’s really a thoughtful publication! 

•  Made homemade almond milk on Friday. Making the almond pulp into these Vegan Gluten-Free Crackers today. (Minimalist Baker) 

•  If you’re getting up to fix something to eat right after reading this you might consider the  Single Lady Pancakes pictured above. (Joy the Baker) 

•  Next week I’ll share a recipe from the forthcoming book by our friend and truly fantastic cookbook author Julia Turshen. Simply Julia is so personal and universal. Julia just knows how we cook for ourselves. Just this week I made her Spinach and Artichoke Chicken for myself. It’s like a big pot of the dip with chicken pieces as an easy one pot dinner. I can’t recommend this book enough! (Book Larder) 

That’s what I have for you today, friends. I’m off to do yoga in the park. Sounds like a Sunday thing, right? Enjoy this day! 

My love to you!

xo Joy