• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

Let It Be Sunday, 361!

-Vibes and context

February 26, 2022 by Joy the Baker 16 Comments

I don’t know friends. I just don’t even know.

What I do know is that I’ve been waking up at 4am worried about people half a world away. Horrified by the kinds of choices they’re having to make right now. I stress cleaned both bathrooms. I baked two loaves of bread for no reason. I brainstormed a few good recipes to bring you this March. I fell asleep in the middle of the day for two hours – I couldn’t even help it.  I wrote an email acknowledging a blown deadline.

Here we are together on a Sunday and that’s something I hold dear.  Here’s the offering today. Please let your Sunday be filled with things that feel easy and good, like black tea and gummy fruit snacks in the afternoon sun spot at home.  As always, take only what you need:

•  The Map of Bone and Open Valves by poet Ilya Kominsky gave me the chills. This impeccable offering from Ann Friedman‘s latest newsletter. (Kenyon Review, Poetry Foundation, Ann Friedman)

•  In contrast: TikTok and the Vibes Revival.   Vibes are the only escape right now. Is that correct? (The New Yorker)

•  Please read our friend Amy Estes’ latest piece it’s fantastic: Teaching In Context. (corporealkhora.com)

•  Here’s an interview I did with The 247. We chat about creative burnout and crafting, passion projects and brand building.  The are some great interviews and profiles on the site if you’re looking for some inspiration! (The 247)

•  This podcast episode from NPR’s Life Kit has me maaaaybe gonna:  How to train for your first marathon. (NPR)

•  Ok, where are we going to get a bunch of passion fruits?  Passionfruit Yoghurt Loaf looks BEYOND! (Gather and Feast)

•  I’ve been on a journey researching homemade frozen coffee drinks for a recipe development project and I’m in deep on make-at-home Starbucks drinks.  Did you know there’s a syrup (maybe paste is more the right word) you can make with xanthan gum and add to frozen coffee drinks to give your drink that emulsified creamy texture!? Frappuccino base syrup.  This is both exciting and scary.

•  Last weekend for a year, friends. Get after it. Mardi Gras King Cake. (Joy the Baker)

•  If you’ve never experienced a Mardi Gras, I’m here to tell you it’s more an epic celebration of creativity. Here’s one of my favorite examples: Red Beans Parade (Louisiana Travel)

•  It’s National Strawberry Day right here in February! To celebrate, our super cute strawberry necklaces with Delicacies are back in stock in limited supply! We sold out a few weeks ago, so if you didn’t get a chance to snag your strawberry – don’t hesitate!

As a reminder, $10 from each necklace purchase goes to Second Harvest Food Band serving South Louisiana. So far we’ve donated 10,400 meals (!!!) to Second Harvest and we’re thrilled to continue our support with your purchase. It’s very feel-good! Grab yourself a necklace and receive 15% off your entire order using code joythebaker15! Discount code is good through Monday, February 28th at midnight. Free shipping on orders over $100!

Enjoy today, friends!

My love to you!

xo Joy

 

Previous PostNext Post

Categories: Let It Be Sunday!

Previous Post: « Chicken and Sausage Cajun Jambalaya
Next Post: Happy Mardi Gras! »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. samantha campanini

    February 28, 2022 at 4:23 am

    I’m deeply worried about what’s happening in Ukraine. We have a lot of Ukrainian living in Italy and looking at their worried faces, I want to cry all the time. Yesterday I was watching on the news girls of my age that were meeting in a park to create molotov. They were wearing my clothes, their make up was exactly like mine. They are me in another country. That freaks me out, I desperately want to help but I don’t know how.

    Reply
  2. 70YO

    February 27, 2022 at 6:12 pm

    I’ve been wondering if a 70 yo woman could assassinate Putin. Crazy thinking but I’m so distressed over Ukraine’s plight.

    Reply
  3. Sue

    February 27, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    The tree that is in your post is absolutely beautiful. I don’t know when you
    took that photo but the tree is so full of color. As far as waking up and feeling the pain of people in a different part of the world who are innocent and being
    subjected to attacks without provoking a situation is really hard to understand. I can empathize with your feelings because these people are caught up in all that is happening to them without having time to plan an escape from this
    horrific situation.
    I haven’t baked a whole lot of bread except for banana bread. My latest creations are bagels which have taken time to get right. Using the right flour definitely helps make a good bagel. I prefer bagels over store bought bread
    any day.

    Reply
  4. Alexis Madison

    February 27, 2022 at 1:56 pm

    Also from Ilya Kaminsky: “deafness is our only barricade.” That now may be more deeply true than ever.

    Reply
  5. Sarahkate

    February 27, 2022 at 1:48 pm

    Bread making: ditto. For me it works even better when not using the bread machine dough cycle. Something about working that dough is deeply soothing and scuttles worries of impending nuclear doom. At least, while kneading. Today it’s a honey apple challah. I’ve been using an Oregon-based brand of “Artisan Bread Flour” which results in a wonderful loaf, or roll for that matter, I just wish it was organic. OTOH maybe let those organic/non-organic worries slide for a bit. Bigger fish to fry, right?

    Reply
  6. Ali

    February 27, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    St. Louis does a big Mardi Gras, but not like New Orleans. We passed on the big parade yesterday and had dinner and drinks at a friends. We used multiple recipes from you. The BBQ Shrimp recipe was delicious! I could just dip bread in the sauce as a meal. The pull apart King Cake was also delicious

    Reply
  7. Emily

    February 27, 2022 at 11:24 am

    I’ve got red beans and rice going now and just might lop a huge hunk of the sourdough I made this AM to eat with it.

    Reply
  8. Nosizwe Martin

    February 27, 2022 at 10:19 am

    Hi Joy,
    I very much appreciate the distraction from the hour-by-hour news updates. I think I’ve stopped worrying about catastrophe being unleashed on all of us in Europe, as was threatened, and can tune into chill vibes to slow down my thoughts and anxiety.
    So, the passion fruit pulp is something we can find in tons over here, so I’m definitely making that loaf cake, thank you for sharing!
    I’m trying to get my head around the cake thing connected to religion but baked differently in different parts of the world and at different times – are they connected? The name’s the same.
    In Portugal they make Bolo Rei (King Cake) for New Year-ish, trastes cake filled with dried fruit.
    In France they eat Galette de Rois (King Cake) for 12th night, January 6th
    In New Orleans it’s King Cake for Mardi Gras which is Shrove Tuesday, and a variable date annually.
    Any idea what’s the story??
    Be well and thank you.

    Reply
    • Nosizwe Martin

      February 27, 2022 at 10:20 am

      Passion fruit pulp in tins…!

      Reply
    • Abby Mallett

      February 28, 2022 at 12:33 pm

      Hi, Nosizwe, I’m Abby, editor for Joy. Your comment made me curious, so I did a little digging! Bolo Rei in Portugal, Galette de Rois in France, 12th night cake in Britain, Rosca de Reyes in central Mexico, and King Cake are all associated with the feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6) or the day the three wise men finally brought their gifts to Jesus (per the Catholic/Christian tradition). You can find King Cake in New Orleans any time between Epiphany and Fat Tuesday, which does move around from year to year depending on when Passover is (that is also why Easter moves Sundays every year). I hope this helps! Take care :) – xo

      Reply
  9. Linda

    February 27, 2022 at 10:02 am

    Hi, Joy. Just wanted you to know that I made my first king cake yesterday, using the recipe you posted in February 2015. It was an act of will to beat back anxiety about war and its impact on the innocent and the brave by immersing myself in the sensory experience of baking and sharing. Instead of the ring I made 2 long ropes of dough and formed two crescent shaped loaves, slashing the ropes with alternating diagonal cuts, a method my Swedish grandma showed me. I got two deliciously rich cakes this way, one for family and one to give away…It was a small victory and a celebration of life, with a nod of deep gratitude to you.

    Reply
    • Lynn Glace

      February 27, 2022 at 3:11 pm

      Thank you for sharing Ilya Kaminsky’s poem. I have never heard of him.

      Every Morning by Mary Oliver
      “I read the papers,
      I unfold them and examine them in the sunlight.
      The way the red mortars, in photographs,
      arc down into the neighborhoods
      like stars, the way death
      combs everything into a gray rubble before
      the camera moves on. What
      dark part of my soul
      shivers: you don’t want to know more
      about this. And then: you don’t know anything
      unless you do. How the sleepers
      wake and run to the cellars,
      how the children scream, their tongues
      trying to swim away–
      how the morning itself appears
      like a slow white rose
      while the figures climb over the bubbled thresholds,
      move among the smashed cars, the streets
      where the clanging ambulances won’t
      stop all day–death and death, messy death–
      death as history, death as a habit–
      how sometimes the camera pauses while a family
      counts itself, and all of them are alive,
      their mouths dry caves of wordlessness
      in the smudged moons of their faces,
      a craziness we have so far no name for–
      all this I read in the papers,
      in the sunlight,
      I read with my cold, sharp eyes.”

      Reply
      • Colleen

        February 28, 2022 at 9:22 am

        “you don’t want to know more
        about this. And then: you don’t know anything
        unless you do”
        So much truth there

        Reply
  10. Lynn

    February 27, 2022 at 8:45 am

    Something I’ve been doing lately to soothe me is watch aesthetic videos of women in Korea and Japan cook and clean on YouTube (as I write this I realize that sounds even weirder than it does in my head). At any rate a few of them have been making smoothies with black beans and such and I’d love to see a recipe for that once you’re done with iced coffee research! (And as a former Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Iced Blended addict in the early aughts I’m very excited for this work you’re doing too.)

    Reply
  11. Amanda Quain

    February 27, 2022 at 7:58 am

    Re: the marathon – DO IT! I did my first one this year and it was so rewarding. Also, I took Deb Perelman’s advice and recently got a ton of passionfruit from ipassionfruit dot com and it’s been GREAT.

    Reply
    • Bridget

      February 27, 2022 at 7:28 pm

      Same, I did Deb’s other passionfruit recommendation from Rincon Tropics and whew so tasty, so good, so worth it.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Let It Be Sunday!

ingredients for birthday cake recipes
Let It Be Sunday, 419!

Welcome to the unofficial start of summer! Memorial Day weekend in Chicago feels… electric and alive. It feels like you’ve made it to life’s weekend. Everyone is itching to get out and do anything, anything at all, and you do. It’s time to watch your uncle throw a little something on the grill in his…

Read More

Let It Be Sunday, 418!

Hello, friends! Do you have any plans for the summer? I’m one of those folks who always needs something to look forward to and, right now, it’s meeting up with some of my oldest friends to go skinny-dipping in Montana. And the rest of the summer I’ll gladly be settled in a lounge chair at…

Read More

Let It Be Sunday, 417!

A friend read my birth chart once and told me I’m a triple Taurus, meaning I have three planets in Taurus. My three are Sun, Mercury and Venus. My rising sign is Gemini. I don’t know what any of this means, but I find great enjoyment in proclaiming “Triple Taurus!” for one month every year….

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

CHECK IT OUT ON INSTAGRAM

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

jambalaya buttermilk biscuits in a row

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Buttermilk Biscuits

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

a stack of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies with a bite taken out of the top one with milk

Classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

wider shot of lemon bars stacked on a plate with a bite taken out of one lemon bar

My Favorite Classic Lemon Bars Recipe

completed recipe close up shot of a blondie so the toasted almonds, chocolate chips, and sea salt can be seen

My Best Classic Blondie Recipe

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker, author of books, lover of butter
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
📝Inquiries megan@underscoretalent.com
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
Your mission this weekend, should you choose to ac Your mission this weekend, should you choose to accept it: turn little slices of 🍌🍌 into cinnamon sugar topped pancakes. 💖 Full recipe linked in the bio mmmkay enjoy!
The To-Do List can wait until after cookies, amiri The To-Do List can wait until after cookies, amiright? 
⁣
Two Giant Peanut Butter Cookies⁣
(or four smaller cookies) ⁣
⁣
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted⁣
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed⁣
1 large egg yolk⁣
A splash of vanilla extract⁣
1/4 cup peanut butter⁣
1/2 cup all-purpose flour or a gluten-free flour blend⁣
1/4 teaspoon baking soda⁣
1/4 teaspoon salt⁣
Coarse sugar and/or sea salt for sprinkling, optional⁣
⁣
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. ⁣
⁣
I’m a medium bowl, whisk together warm melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Add the peanut butter and mix to combine. ⁣
⁣
Add the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold all the ingredients together. Divide in two big portions (or four smaller portions) onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and salt if you’d like. ⁣
⁣
Bake two giant cookies for 12-14 minutes, or four cookies for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with cold milk.
You know those particularly messy sandwiches that, You know those particularly messy sandwiches that, when you pick up, you know you can’t put down until they’re good and gone? These Milk and Cereal Bars are the ice cream version of that sensation. So crunchy creamy sweet, with a hint of salt and spice. ⁣
⁣
Three Mostly Store-Bought Homemade Ice Cream Treat recipes are linked in the profile. It’s giving Semi-Homemade without the tablescapes or vodka. Iykyk.
I spent the weekend with Will and my family in Sou I spent the weekend with Will and my family in Southern California and there were sailboats, and vintage cars, and paddle boarding, and so many family laughs, and cookouts, and holding hands with my handsome boyfriend in a backwards baseball cap (WHY IS THAT SO SEXY?) but - the way we ordered a second TOWER OF ONION RINGS for the table at lunch was like…. BEYOND. 🥲🥰🥹😅🥳
Raise you hand if you secretly love a boxed cake m Raise you hand if you secretly love a boxed cake mix? Me: 🙋🏻‍♀️
⁣
My favorite version is this Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake baby topped with cream cheese frosting and extra fresh 🍓🍓. Perfect for the holiday weekend amiright? ⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in the bio!
I woke up a year older and wiser today and the onl I woke up a year older and wiser today and the only advice I have for you is this: stay busy makin’ your own dreams come true. ⁣
⁣
xo
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up