Peace Be With You.

Friends, hi and very good Sunday to you. How have you been this week? Heavy, right? I’ve spent the week doing my normal weekly tasks – things that felt entirely silly and incredibly privileged considering the violence in Israel and Gaza.   It’s been a rough week, really.   

I remember starting these Sunday posts after ISIS murdered journalist James Foley.  I just thought – it’s important that we recognize that we’re all human together and life is so much more than cookies and kolaches.   To be honest, most articles I’ve read are so noisy with political divisions that don’t hit at the soul damage this sort of violence creates.  What I know to be true is that no human of any religion or ethnicity should experience the kind of violence we’ve seen this week.  The antisemitism we’ve seen, subtle and otherwise, is unacceptable.  Palestinians living under a godless Hamas regime deserve safety and freedom.  I pray for the peace and safety of Israelis and Palestinians.  This is all so very ugly.  

Here’s the offering this week.  Take what feels good to you. It’s ok to have a little rest, too.  

• Of the discourse I’ve read this week, Gabrielle’s perspective asks more than it tells, which is refreshing. Hopefully, these questions help us be more introspective and in turn, kinder to ourselves and each other. Take a read, this one is good I promise. (Substack)

•  October started off as spooks and candy corn so I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of Haunted National Park and more specifically, the shadow figures that can mimic human voices in Appalachia. What now? (Outside Magazine, Tiktok) 

•  Parenthood seems fully unhinged and also hilarious.  Bandaids: the agony and the ecstacy. (Substack)

•  Tamar Adler always helps me reframe the food that I normally throw away.  Do you have her first book, An Everlasting Meal? It’s fantastic.  Now, we’ll Let Your Fridge Scraps Lead with her latest book, The Everlasting Meal Cookbook.  (Savuer, Amazon) 

•  In a surprise to me, Tom Petty’s Wildflowers has been on repeat this week. (Spotify) 

•  Have you listened to the Even The Rich podcast season about Lucille Ball?  Her story is just incredible. (Wondery)

•  Ok this is a little bit of a favor but we’re friends enough for that.  Have you ever made Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie? It is a cornerstone recipe of this here Joy the Baker.  If you’ve ever made and felt any type of way about it, can you please rate and leave a comment on the recipe post here?  Listen, we’re an authentic recipe site 15 years and running, but we’re also playing the SEO game and your honest reviews and comments help us win.  Thank you for your service. (Joy the Baker) 

•  Now it seems like there’s no reason not to line a small cast iron skillet with pretzel bites and fill the center with Pumpkin Beer Cheese.  (How Sweet Eats) 

•  This week I experi-baked in this cast loaf pan last weekend.  It’s a heavy duty pan so I felt like it needed a heavy duty bake.  This cornmeal-crusted Cheddar Scallion English Muffin Bread came out fantastic.  Not crusty as I expected but still seriously delicious.  (Amazon, Joy the Baker)

My love to you, friends. 

Have a peaceful Sunday.

xo Joy