A new cookbook + an indoor picnic

I messaged my friend Maayan the other day to say that I'd found a recipe book that summed up our friendship, written by Molly Yeh who is Chinese and Jewish. Soon we were planning a picnic so I could try out a few recipes, mainly the scallion pancake challah and the homemade hummus.

We picked the worst day for a picnic - it was blowing a gale and raining in unpredictable bursts so we relocated to my apartment for a picnic inside. Tony made cups of tea for everyone while May and Sam unpacked chicken pate, cold meats, snowpeas, radishes and mangoes.

I also made a salad and had white chocolate cupcakes and strawberries ready for lunch dessert. I took a photo of the challah before it went in the oven, in case I stuffed it up mid-bake. It's filled with spring onions, chilli flakes and sesame oil.

Molly Yeh's cookbook is awesome. If you read her blog, it fills in some of the blanks about how she came to blog about food and how she met her husband, Eggboy. It's also really entertaining and packed with new recipes. I've made three things so far and I'm slowly working my way up to the cake on the cover that has suspended sprinkles inside!

Here's what else I've been flipping through lately - I picked up Sophie Hansen's Local Is Lovely at the library yesterday and added some sourdough starter to her pikelet recipe. And we're having burgers tonight from the Huxtaburger book, which was a birthday present from my friend Kristy :)

P.S If you're a Molly Yeh fan-girl like me you might also like her interview on My Open Kitchen and Radio Cherry Bombe. Recipe-wise I made lots of friends with these chocolate and green tea cupcakes (and learnt how to use a piping bag), changed my mind about tahini with this sheet cake and this quick peanut butter cake is worth memorising. Also she's the best on Instagram.

Weekend links

It's been a weird week, hey? I took comfort in these thoughts and this work ethic. And after a busy week at work, I'm looking forward to a restorative weekend. What do you have planned? We'll be seeing some friends, re-watching Her and I'm making my first-ever challah. I'll let you know how it goes. Just a few things to share this week:

Things to do now.

Radio Cherry Bombe's post-election coping strategies episode is smart, nuanced and heads into surprising territory.

Eating alone in Tokyo.

Chocolate and cashew slice.

Everlane is now shipping to Australia!

And I made Molly Yeh's super quick peanut butter cake this week. It was therapeutic and delicious. I took it to work with strawberries on top :)

The market shop + a favourite treat

I've never been one for meal planning but I've found a way to make it flexible and easy. Most weeks I head to the farmers markets with two meals in mind. This week it was spaghetti and meatballs (my favourite) and a sausage and kale soup. The week before it was lasagne (Tony's favourite) and Sophie's coconut Thai stir fry. Bonus points if the meals have a shared ingredient!

There are also weekly staples, usually apples, tomatoes, salad greens, eggs, lemons, yoghurt and a block of really nice cheese. All up, it's enough fresh food to last us the week and minimise food waste.

I really look forward to the market shop and there are so many to choose from in Canberra - they run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday market is my favourite, I head there as soon as I wake up and it's always buzzing with people and every kind of cute dog. And now that it's warming up, I get an orange slushie (with a blood orange swirl!) for the trip home.

P.S Here's what student nutritionist Kate Levins buys each week, I've also been inspired by Yasmeen's weekly market shops and food writer Michael Pollan.

Cute shoes for Summer

It was 26 degrees today and so I'm putting my boots away for another year and am on the hunt for summer shoes. Here are four pairs I have my eye on, starting with these pale suede slides that I could wear to work and on the weekend too.

My super stylish friend Irini wore these Adidas slides when she came to visit and I'm tempted to copy :)

When I was in high school I had a pair of knock-off Birkenstocks from Big W that made this horrible farting sound as I walked. Now that I have a job that pays more than four dollars an hour, I can afford this snakeskin pair to wear to picnics and the Sunday markets.

And finally this is my go-to shoe for running errands, going for afternoon walks with Tony and for holidays too. I own the same pair in black and am seriously considering a white pair.

Weekend links

What are you doing this weekend? I'm making a layer cake and have a stack of new books to read (this finally arrived, so did this and it's beautiful!). And now that it's finally sunflower season, I'm hoping to pick up some happy flowers for the house. Have a great weekend:

Woman of the year.

A forest school for little people.

Sydney is changing via Lachlan.

29 recipes to make and freeze (I made the world peace cookies this week, they're a little fiddly but worth it, especially if you eat them warm!).

How to find tiny slices of joy.

The secret to love is kindness via Emily.

So excited about this.

"The more I shift my attention to people and places around me, whether it's chatting with a stranger on the subway or listening to my little cousin Goldie practice her ukulele with her hamster on her shoulder, the more beautiful I feel." Girl crush!

A gift giving challenge

I love shopping for presents and can easily go overboard at Christmas time but this year I've set myself a few simple rules. Here's what I have in mind:

Making use of my local book shop

I try to support my local bookstore instead of buying books online. I feel like it's good for local business and hopefully better for the environment too. And if they don't have the titles I'm after, they're always happy to order them in. Bonus: my local bookstore has a loyalty program :)

One or two people at a time

Instead of trying to tick people off my list when I'm out shopping (and getting sucked into special sales), I'm focussing on one or two people every week. Often it's a family member and a friend. It's really nice to mull over ideas during the week and seeing what comes up.

Staying local

And I would love to limit my shopping to places I can walk or ride to, either from home or my office. There are so many great independent shops in Canberra (lots of gallery gift shops too!) and I figure it'll be a fun way to shop, and environmentally friendly too.

Two small ideas - in the past I've given family presents like a zoo pass or an oversized beach towel. My friend Angie will often pick a theme for the little people in her life, one year all of the kids received a pair of PJs featuring a print of something they love. Last Christmas my friend Sophie gave Tony and I lunchboxes and we used them that day. Can you guess which one is mine?

Listening to...

I'm always on the hunt for new podcasts and last week I started getting into Death, Sex and Money from WNYC Studios. It's hosted by Anna Sale who has the gentlest way of broaching big issues and asking personal questions. She describes the show as being about "things we think about a lot and need to talk about more."

It's not a new podcast - it's been running for two years - which means there's an excellent archive to trawl through. I really enjoyed Ellen Burstyn's interview with the legendary Gloria Steinem (such a great idea to have contemporaries in conversation) and was moved by We're Not Going to Have Karl Again and this interview with a young Korean woman who talks about her life after her father's murder.

Most of the episodes are between 20 and 30 minutes which makes them the perfect length for lunch time walks or daily commutes. If you're a fan of Conversations I reckon you'll like this show too. It's a little freer in format, just as intimate and philosophical too. And while some of the subject matter may sound troubling, each interview is handled in such a sensitive and fascinating way, which makes listening in so worthwhile.

P.S If you're already a fan, there's an interview with Anna Sale on The Longest Shortest Time. And this interview about how she managed her maternity leave is also great.