A Few Good Meals: Aries Season Edition

the story of the morel and the morel of the story

I try to be the sweetest birthday monster possible. This is my birthright, as a people pleaser and an Aries in equal measure. Yes I demand presents, and multiple parties, and patience and attention, yes I know it’s insane, yes I’d like you all to go along with it, please—but I am aware this whole time that yes, I’m being a little nuts. My mother raised me to celebrate early and often, so I speak in birthday months, not days. Jackson I have had a running joke these past weeks, in the aftermath of my “official” birthday. He asks is that the last birthday dinner? and I say no, Clio and Estelle are taking me out tomorrow; no, Brette is taking me out this weekend. Soon it will be over, I promise, all this manic celebratory energy and attention-vacuuming, but not yet.

So I’ve been eating well, these last few weeks, and very grateful for it, from the chickpea curry I made at Hallie and Jack’s to the plate of prosciutto piled with (???) transcendent balls of fried pizza dough (???) at Altro Paradiso. I’m finally back in the saddle—work work, book work, cooking the occasional vegetable, seeing LA CHIMERA!!, the whole morning pages piety exercise—after a bit of travel, happy to once again have habits tethering me to the earth. I’m eager to do some recipe testing next week, to (hopefully) have a few things to serve you (metaphorically) this spring.

department of links

Before we get into cooking and eating and celebrating, two small pieces of self-promotion, and a few food-related pieces I’ve been sitting with this month. I spoke to Evan Kleiman on KCRW Good Food about egg yolks, which was a huge honor and a lot of fun, though I am still incapable of listening to myself on the radio. And for The Atlantic, I wrote up a list of cookbooks you can, and should, read cover to cover. (Please weigh in on your favorites!)

Other things to read: Ramsey Telhami on resigning from World Central Kitchen after the nonprofit refused to denounce or name the genocide occurring in Palestine: “Doing one’s part to push for conditions under which people can be fed should be more important than being the one to feed them.” • The Appeal published a report on price gouging in America’s prison commissaries, the only place incarcerated people can access food that isn’t slop; or toothpaste; or hearing aid batteries. Markups can reach 600 percent. • This substack has me blending my chia seeds; more soon. • Fran on eating in London!!! • This dude is the only food blogger I care about rn, may God bless him! (You can help his family evacuate here, and help him feed his community here.)

department of treats