Hello from wherever this weekend finds you. While things are mostly normal in Canberra (this mask pic is from weeks ago), I'm still checking the news non-stop because I think it will somehow help (it really doesn't!). But today I did see that my age group will be eligible for the vaccine soon, which could be as early as next month. As someone who has worried a lot throughout the whole pandemic and felt nervous about things I'm allowed to do (like going into the office every now and then) I am excited about having a date for leaving some of that behind.
In the meantime, I've just pulled a batch of malted brownies out of the oven and we're ordering pizza with gorgonzola and mascarpone on it for dinner :) A couple of nice things to share:
Living on your own in your 20s then 30s.
Ocean Vuong's very moody playlist is perfect for rainy days and winter runs.
An extract from Sally Rooney's new novel. Loved it!
I'm really enjoying and craving exercise atm and always love sampling studios when they go online during lockdowns. I've been working my way through the IGTV classes from Good Vibes in Melbourne and Scout Pilates after hearing about them on Highly Enthused. Their live classes are $12 and they send you the vid after, and it's been a nice way to ease myself into some pilates. It's so much harder than yoga 😜
And a nice idea for anyone sending gifts to Sydney friends and fam - HarvestBites is run by OzHarvest, and they team up with chefs to deliver make-at-home meals, which go on to fund meals for those in need.
I made my own long weekend and took Friday off... originally to visit Sydney people I really miss! Instead I've been planning some lockdown deliveries, especially for the second week because a few Melbourne friends have said it can often be a bit more challenging than the first.
Other than that it's been lots of little good things - baking lots of bread, starting The Bold Type (hooray for a new-to-me show with five seasons), and slowly making a lasagne while bingeing a new Britney podcast.
I've also been getting used to mask-wearing for the first time. As someone who has always been very nervous (and sometimes overly cautious) about the pandemic, it's been super reassuring to see people in the city take it up so quickly.
Big love to anyone still in lockdown. Hope it's a manageable week X
Here are some good things to share:
Starstruck on iView is a fun weekend watch. Jessie, the main character, is like a low-key version of Ilana from Broad City.
Feel Good is a Netflix show I missed last year that popped up in a Dolly Alderton newsletter. Seems like comedies set in London are my vibe atm.
Hetty McKinnon's has a one-pot pasta with red wine, sage and walnuts. I love the combo of a one-pot meal with fancy-ish ingredients (wine, butter, cheese!).
A lovely story about exchanging gifts with a neighbour during the pandemic.
I've been organising some baby presents for workmates lately and one of my new favourite things to gift is this cute and fluffy blanket. They're not too expensive (especially if it's a group pressie), and they get a lot of use as blankets and play mats.
Take care if you're in Sydney, I'm thinking of you!
X
Winter is one of the nicest times to bake bread at home. It's also... one of the hardest seasons for making sourdough. A bit like me, the cold makes my sourdough starter sluggish, and that can drag out the already hours-long process of making bread with no guarantee it'll work out.
So I was very excited to try a recipe for backwards bread, the bread-child of cute Instagram baker Mary Grace and cookbook author and doula Jessica Prescott. It's a recipe where you mix up your sourdough ingredients and essentially go to sleep, skipping 95% of the special folding techniques that goes into making regular sourdough.
I wasn't sure it'd actually work for me (it was a chilly zero degrees in Canberra last night, compared to the 19 degrees of Mary's test loaf in Adelaide) but it really did. And this lazy loaf might be one of my best yet.
A note for fellow sourdough bakers: My starter takes about 18 hours to rise (!), so I followed Mary's tip and put it in the fridge at it's peak (usually at 3pm if I feed it after dinner the night before) and mixed up my dough using the same starter straight from the fridge. And because it's so cold in Canberra, I put my dough in the oven overnight. It wasn't on, but protected the dough from the weather a bit.
When it works, baking bread is very satisfying. And it turns out it's even more so when you've put almost zero effort into it.
I am very excited for the long weekend. Our friends Angie and Dave are visiting, we're going to see an exhibition our friends have on and maybe go to a coffee pop-up on Sunday. Here are four little things that've made the work week nice... including a full biscuit jar for my 3pm snack. I bought some chocolate dipped digestives, inspired by a novel I've been reading where the character regularly enjoys them with a cup of tea.
Gravity is a new podcast hosted by Lucy Kalanithi that feels so perfect for this still uncertain time, more than a year into the pandemic. I initially tuned in because Lucy is the twin sister of Jo, from one of my all-time favourite blogs, A Cup of Jo. I loved her interview with her sister and the episode on loneliness, which explained how you can be rich in intimate relationships (a partner, close friends, family) but still need the incidental contact and community of acquaintances. Lucy is a doctor, so brings a really interesting perspective to topics like loneliness and depression. I also recently finished listening to the audiobook of her late husband Paul's memoir, When Breath Becomes Air.
When I'm in the office, I mostly listen to yoga playlists to... block other people out when they're in calls or video meetings. But when I'm home alone and WFH, I need something more energising. My current fave is this Momofuku one from David Chang's podcast, which includes a version of Madonna's Borderline that I've never heard before. Someone in my team would call this very older millennial but I don't care.
And I made these baked chicken, leek and parmesan meatballs the other night, because I loved the idea of serving them in a baguette with mayo, lettuce and pickled onion. They were really, really good for dinner, late night snacks and a fancy work lunch.
Hope you have a cosy weekend. I hear it's going to be freezing even in Queensland!
It's been so nice to feel excited and not stressed about the future again, post-move. I suddenly have time for unnecessary things, like making Alison Roman's key lime pie. I treated it like a project and bought the exact pie plate she recommended, re-watched the video, then missed the plate when serving a slice 😂
We're slowly hanging art, including two poems we brought home from our New York honeymoon, which we've never actually hung (I framed them for our first wedding anniversary... six years ago!). And after more than a year of WFH, I finally bought myself an office chair that looks nice too.
Still to come... finishing this book (which reminds me a bit of Sorrow and Bliss), making slightly bigger plans in an XXL Moleskin I bought while procrastinating, re-watching Your Name before it gets made into a live action film and taking more week-long Instagram breaks to make room for other things.
My week was off to a very ordinary start when a surprise package arrived this morning. Inside was a rainbow striped dress and a card from my friend Angie. It was a just-because gift, and somehow exactly what I needed. It's suddenly raisin toast weather in Canberra and it feels nice to be settled in our new place just in time for winter. Here are a few things I've been saving to share, hope you find something to enjoy:
Tony's making carrot and cabbage okonomiyaki for dinner tonight, a Hetty McKinnon special.
This episode of Esther Perel's work podcast helped me understand why WFH has felt so much harder this year. It was such a relief hearing her join the dots of a very disjointed 12-18 months.
On a simpler note, a reminder to choose good things for yourself throughout the day wherever possible.
Very happy to have the Modern Love podcast back for another season.
A cult lip balm that's saving me from putting on the regular stuff every half hour.
Pandora Sykes on letting rigid routines slide.
A foster child's first birthday.
Fascinated by Haley Nahman's Grub Street food diary.
Also James Park's hotel quarantine food diary from South Korea. Wow.
And The Cut's very good episode about anyone on the fence about having kids (guest starring Anna Sale!).
My favourite part of the apartment is the balcony, which is huge and has planter boxes around the edges filled with succulents and flowers. It started pouring the night we moved in and the rain has only stopped today, so I hope to get a few sunny afternoons out there before winter kicks in.
This move I got heavily into our local Buy Nothing group. It was a really efficient way to pass on some things we weren't taking with us, plus I managed to get 85% of our boxes and packing paper for free before passing them on when we'd finished.
Our old place looked tiny by the time we'd finished moving all of our things. I'll definitely remember it as the place that sheltered us from many unexpected things - from the horrific bushfire smoke to those very early days of the pandemic, where watching the news each night in lockdown was frightening.
It's really nice to be unpacked and settling back into regular life again. I'm making my first loaf of sourdough in the new place and have been cooking again (mostly from Julia Turshen's new book - it's excellent).
Even though we're both out of the house a lot these days, for work, yoga and to see friends, it still feels extra special to be somewhere new. I loved an afternoon walk around the area (it's so green) and a Saturday morning drive to a nearby bookstore, with bonus stops for coffee and roadside flower stalls.
We're back home now and the weather has been perfect for bike rides and laksa by the lake. Another nice thing - we got to have brunch with a friend who we hadn't seen since before the pandemic.
I finished reading Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous this week. It'd been recommended to me before but it wasn't until I listened to this conversation between the author and Bryan Washington that I knew I had to give it a go. The podcast is beautiful even if you don't read either book, the topic is 'All The Ways To Be' 💛
I also have a copy of Julia Turshen's latest cookbook on order. I haven't seen it in store anywhere yet but I was convinced I needed it after listening to this episode of her podcast all about diet culture and intuitive eating. I have the best memories of cooking Julia's food. Last year during the nationwide lockdown, I'd saved my tins of tomatoes and froze some leftover basil so that we could have her lasagne for Easter dinner.
Hope you have a lovely long weekend. I have the simplest plans for the rest of the break - I'm making some red pesto spaghetti for dinner tonight, maybe a loaf of bread tomorrow and am going to drop off some Easter eggs to my niece and nephew after yoga tonight.
X
I went back to work the other week for the first time in over a year and am now working one day in the office each week. I've really enjoyed WFH but this year it's definitely felt harder as construction has ramped up in my area. I really love being back in the office and find it really peaceful. Running into people and chatting is also the nicest way to break up the work day and gain a little perspective - at home, it's just non-stop work and my own thoughts.
Some nice things to share:
Emiko Davies' Italian kitchen renovation 😍
How to pick the perfect avocado (this has been game-changing for me!).
Hetty McKinnon's quick and creamy ravioli. It's just the kind of dish you want to make and eat when you don't feel like cooking.
I love a chocolate lava cake and these ones by Eric Kim are super easy and can be made just for two! It's also quick, so you can make it on a whim.
And two very different podcast recommendations... I've been listening to the odd episode of The Dave Chang Show after finishing his memoir and really enjoyed this interview with his executive coach. And Anna Sale, host of Death, Sex & Money, is a guest of this podcast episode that's all about misunderstandings in parenting. She joins two other mothers (both writers) and one of the things that makes it great is they're all at different stages of the parenting journey from toddlers all the way through to adult children with kids of their own.
P.S It's been the roughest news cycle so hope you've been able to take breaks and tune out when you need to.
X
Hello from autumn! We're at the tail end of a long weekend here in Canberra, and it's been perfect weather for bike riding, shower-time candles and eggplant parm.
The last few weeks have felt almost normal. I went back to a yoga studio for the first time in more than a year and it was so nice to not be practicing in my lounge room. I appreciated every little detail - from the music I didn't have to choose to the nice soft lighting.
Tony and I also ventured out to the movies to watch Minari on the big screen. I'd forgotten what it was like to watch a film with strangers, hearing someone really enjoy a funny line or someone else crying in a dramatic scene. I thought the film was excellent and still find it so moving to see a mostly Asian cast (the film centers around a Korean American family who tries to set up a farm with zero experience). If you're curious, this podcast profile of the lead actor Steven Yeun (based on a NY Times article that was doing the rounds a few months ago), is a good taster.
We squeezed in one last beach trip before summer ended. It was on our wish-list and luckily for us, our friends Angie and Dave had a spare room in a cottage they'd rented in Milton. It wasn't great weather for swimming so we spent most of our time going for walks and eating :) I especially loved the lobster rolls at Small Town, an epic salad sandwich from a newish bakery in Burrill Lake and the honeycomb gelato from a chocolate shop in Milton (I regret not buying any chocolate - the choc honeycomb Angie bought was insane!). But mostly I loved the low-key moments - eating bacon and eggs in the yard, hanging out after dinner in our pjs and a super long beach walk in the sun.
Here are a couple of things I've been enjoying lately:
Tony gave me a copy of David Chang's memoir Eat a Peach for Valentine's Day and I loved it. It might be my favourite book of the year so far. It was funny in ways I didn't expect and even thought I've followed his career for years, there was plenty in there that surprised me.
I always turn to recipes by Heidi Sze after weekends away, or anytime I've eaten out more than usual. In this past week I've made her couscous salad with corn, snowpeas and halloumi and her one-pan quinoa with sweet potato and beans.
For anyone who occasionally bakes sourdough at home - this book from Pigeon Whole Bakers in Hobart has my favourite recipe so far. It makes one loaf at a time, doesn't take up your whole day and has a high success rate too! I almost gave up on making bread at home but this recipe has changed my mind.
I adored this episode from the Still Processing archive, all about Whitney Houston. I am slowly taking up running (it forces me out of the house while I'm still WFH) which has also meant more podcast time :)
Finally, on my to-bake list, this apple and blackberry pie.
P.S I finally got to see Skywhale today and the new hot air balloon Skywhale Papa!
We had a Gee family reunion last weekend, to coincide with Chinese New Year and because the Sydney and ACT border was open once more! Lockdowns happen so quickly these days that I didn't feel sure it would happen until everyone was on their way.
We went to yum cha, exchanged Christmas presents (!) that'd been held onto from our postponed December gathering, and just enjoyed being in each other's company for two jam-packed days. I sent my brothers home with granola for the week ahead - it still feels weird that everyone comes to us. It used to be Tony and I jumping in the car for Sydney family celebrations, and I really appreciate being able to play host.
On New Year's Day I took my first ever cultural day of leave at work - something I only learned about this year. It meant I could spend the day with my parents. I can't remember the last time I was with family for the New Year, especially after we left Sydney, and think it may have been around 10 years ago! We had lunch, went the the art gallery and just hung around at my house. It was lovely.
I laughed a lot while listening to Louis Theroux interview his cousin Justin Theroux on his podcast Grounded. My friend Farz recommended this ep - I didn't know much about Justin Theroux and wouldn't have listened otherwise but it made my Thursday.
Remember the Reply All Test Kitchen series I recommended a few weeks ago? Turns out the company that made it is just as toxic as the one they were reporting on 😑 While it's not totally surprising, it is very disappointing and confusing.
My friend Sean's father was on Conversations, telling the story his time as a teacher of a one-room school. It's an incredible story and I've just reserved his book from the library.
I watched the final instalment of To All The Boys I Ever Loved Before: Always and Forever on Netflix last weekend and loved it. I only got into the movies after a cousin recommended them and I'm so glad I did. There's something very powerful about watching a teen rom-com with an Asian girl as the lead.
And I'm really enjoying Under the Influence with Jo Piazza, a podcast series about the rise of mum influencers on the internet and Instagram.
Hope you're well!
X
Some things to share:
I'm listening to The Test Kitchen, a Reply All series about Bon Appetit and systemic racism.
Hetty McKinnon made a cheese and Vegemite scroll recipe for ABC Everyday and it's super fun!
Highly recommend making Zuni-style pickles. They're super zingy ands so good for pickle and cheddar melts.
My latest WFH afternoon pick-me-up is Heidi's chocolate oat milk.
I'm really enjoying Lisa Marigliano's new podcast Tough Love, which drops every fortnight. It's about this weird slow-motion pandemic time and also about the big things you think about in your mid thirties - work, family, and having kids.
I made fusilli alla Vodka this week and it was so good.
And finally, I really liked this interview with chef Roy Choi. He has such an interesting and open outlook on life. I've mostly seen him in Chef show, and have started watching his LA show Broken Bread and am definitely going to hunt down more episodes.
P.S My tomatoes are ripening! Every morning I go out and see what's ready for picking. It's daggy and nice.
