its-chotime - Tumblr blog

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet (May 13)

FIRST OFF, thank you to everyone who helped me make it through the lockdown. The pandemic is far from over so I will keep this going but on a different platform. This will be the final post on the Tumblr as I will be moving over to Substack! I’ll continue to share my favorite things, curated lists, AND MORE. You can sign up to receive/see future posts here. 

Source: DIOR

1. DIOR has released a FREE e-cookbook, “La Cuisine Cousu-Main.” It was once a limited edition, via Lifestyle Asia: “Titled La Cuisine Cousu-Main, which translates to ‘tailor-made cuisine’, the cookbook came with an aluminium cover, and contains recipes of the iconic couturier’s favourite homemade dishes —from soup (potage) to eggs (oeufs), fish (poissons), game (gibier), meats (viandes), poultry (volailles), vegetables (legumes), salads (salades), puddings (desserts) and serving wines (services des vins) — accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Rene Gruau.”

The cookbook is available in French and English here. 

2. I cannot get enough of these Zoom conferences. There is just so much to learn. I am looking forward to, “Rumor, Chinese Diets, and Covid-19: Questions and Answers about Chinese Food and Eating Habits” with academics tomorrow. 

3. Food for thought: 

Jared Kushner said what he said about the election. Don't act surprised when Trump listens (The Independent)

The Enduring Romance of the Night Train (New Yorker)

The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who’s Dying (Atlantic)

How Pandemics End (NYT)

4. ART! I came across this fantastic list of FREE Art History courses online (Artsy). I plan to retake MoMA’s Seeing Through Photographs course (Coursera).

5. FOOD!

Disneyland Parks has been sharing some of their most famous recipes. I cannot wait to try their churros. 

I made Maggiano’s Zucchini Fritte today and they were out of this world. Using soda water really is a game changer. Paired with their Lemon Aioli, wow. I don’t even really like Maggiano’s!! 

EXTRA! Last week, I devoured Cathy Park Hong’s “Minor Feelings.” A must read, especially if you are Asian.  

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet this Weekend! (May 8)

“Mr. O’s Breakfast” (1973). Kosen Ohtsubo, Empty Gallery

Here in France, we are just three days away from the ease of FULL lockdown restrictions! I will continue to stay indoors as much as possible. 

1. FOOD! What I am obsessing over:

My Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies are PERFECT. I spent eight weeks tweaking the recipe and it is so good. 

These Bon Appetit Gluten Free Chocolate Tahini Brownies. You can sub honey for agave and butter for coconut oil. That’s what I did!  

This Chocolate Sourdough Noir bread is ridiculous. I used rye flour and added hazelnuts instead. 

Everyone is making scallion pancakes and Kenji’s recipe is my favorite (Serious Eats). 

2. TV! I just binged Never Have I Ever (Mindy Kaling is incredible; I watched it TWICE) and Losers on Netflix. Losers, a documentary series on athletes (and their “failures”) from every corner of the world, really blew me out of the water. Holy shit, such smart storytelling and the scouting team did a fantastic job. I am very much looking forward to Dead to Me Season 2 which got released today on Netflix!

3. Food for thought: 

What’s Behind South Korea’s COVID-19 Exceptionalism? (The Atlantic)

What It Will Take for Restaurants to Survive (New Yorker)

How ‘Karen’ Became a Coronavirus Villain (The Atlantic)

4. ART! Oh god, I fell in love with Kosen Ohtsubo’s work (see photo above). What a genius. 

5. This digital only cookbook, Family Meal: Recipes from our Community, just came out this week and it’s 160 pages long with excellent recipes by chefs and food personalities we all love. There are no photos but the recipes are great and they really reflect the person who wrote it. ALL proceeds go towards Restaurant Workers’ Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund. I got my copy for $5.99 on Apple Books! 

[its-chotime]

How I Plan to Be Less SHITTY.

I understand sadness as we’ve danced together for so long but this despair I feel now is so unfamiliar. It feels like everyone is grasping for straws and creating an even worse mess so my despair grows as I just watch, powerless.

What can little old me do to actually live (and feel) better? I can change. Here’s how. 

1. ETHICAL, LESS FREQUENT GROCERIES:

Fresh produce deliveries twice a month. This ensures that I’m not taking up all delivery slots. I’ve tested out a few during lockdown and my favorites have been Miyam (free delivery in Paris for orders over 25EUR) and Mon-Marche (free delivery in parts of Paris for orders over 60EUR). 

Ethical meat delivery twice a month. I get my wagyu once a month from a French producer Kamakle (free delivery in France for orders over 80EUR) and pork, chicken, sausage, burger kits, kimchi (the best I’ve had anywhere), thin beef from La Boucherie Gregoire once a month (delivery in Paris for 6-10EUR). You can see La Boucherie Gregoire’s offerings here and you just need to call 24 hours in advance to order and confirm their offerings. 

Korean food delivery once a month from Ace Mart Online (free delivery for orders over 80EUR)

Shelf stable essentials directly from producers as needed via Pour de Bon.

2.  NO PREPARED FOOD DELIVERIES. I’ve seen all sides of it and delivery folks on massive platforms like Deliveroo / UberEATS are treated like shit with little protection, poor pay, and horrible treatment. On top of that, all these single use food packaging is not good for the planet. Even these restaurants with their own delivery options are using so much plastic packaging. What I cannot wrap my head around are these Michelin starred chefs with all these plastic packaging when they go off about sustainability. 

If street food vendors in Thailand can use actual compostable packaging (not the fancy shit that requires other processes and chemicals to decompose), people here in the West can surely make better choices. Also, most food deliveries I’ve had suck. I had two prepared food deliveries during the pandemic and the food was average at best even for a pandemic and overpriced. I got gifted a ramen kit delivery by my partner and it was just too much plastic to justify a meal. 

3. WHICH MEANS ONE THING: MORE HOME COOKING! I’ve been cooking nonstop in lock down, from sourdough to pickling. It was getting too much because I was cooking super elaborate meals so moving forward, it’s BATCH COOKING where I cook a lot and rotate through leftovers. I’ll also adapt simpler recipes and only go full out when I WANT to. This includes COFFEE. I’ll only be drinking coffee made at home. I’m also growing my own herbs on my tiny window garden.

4. DEEZER. Spotify pays their artists like shit (it’s a popularity contest, smaller artists get fucked) so I am switching over to Deezer. This explanation of fair pay breakdown by Deezer had me sold. They are offering three free months right now! 

5. HOME INVESTMENTS! Even with an ease in lockdown restrictions, we aren’t out of the woods and I don't think we will be for awhile. With restrictions easing, I feel better about shopping online so here are a few things I’ll be investing in. 

More Le Parfait jars for pickling, sourdoughs, food storage, etc. 

A KitchenAid mini stand mixer (”robot”)

A Finnish design UV lamp to ensure I get enough sunlight once Fall comes

Cleaning supplies in bulk

ORGANIZING! A shelf to organize, a few organization tools from Muji, kitchen organizing tools

Some kitchen tools I don’t have but need

A remote control organizer box

6. Supporting small businesses, artists, etc. as much as I can by putting money where my mouth is. 

7. I love vintage shopping as it means my clothes are more likely to be unique so I’ll continue to do that if I want to shop for new clothes. 

7. Continue using my platform and voice to share and speak up responsibly. 

I just want to be clear that I don’t pretend to be some eco-warrior. I don’t drive because I don’t know how lol but I still flew a fuck ton, I fucking adore my Starbucks, Evian water tastes best imo but this is my wake-up call and here is how I plan to respond. 

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet Today (April 30)

1. ONLINE EVENTS! The opportunities are endless with Zoom, YouTube, Instagram Live, etc. Here’s what I'm looking forward to the most this week/weekend:

TODAY! Tune in Thursday, April 30, at 8:00 p.m. EDT for a live Q&A with Sarah Meister, curator in MoMA’s Department of Photography, and acclaimed photographer Sally Mann, about the exhibition "Dorothea Lange: Words & Pictures" on Youtube.

TOMORROW, FRIDAY! Pandeomunium U’s 1832: the year that changed France with Maurice Samuels (Yale University) on Zoom

TOMORROW, FRIDAY! Triangle House Presents Food as Home, a food writing panel. 

SATURDAY! Preserving Abundance: A Virtual Food Waste + Ferment Fest on Instagram with some of my favorite humans in food!

MUCH LATER! Webinar: Home Canning Basics.

2. FOOD!

Ina Garten’s Overnight Mac N Cheese (delicious and easy!)

Three-Ingredient Cookies, Fresh From Your Pantry (NYT)

Echo’s Grilled Cheese (Time Out Paris)

3. Food for thought: 

Korea succeeds in cultivating rice in UAE desert (The Korea Times)

Amid Covid-19, Should I Shop for Myself or Opt for Delivery? (NYT)

4. GET CREATIVE FOR FUN! I’ve started collaging and it’s really easing my anxieties and allowing myself to be creative in a new way. You don’t have to be good at it. If it brings you joy and lets you express yourself, have a go at it! Here’s where to start:

How experimenting with new creative skills can lead to bigger and better ideas (It’s Nice That)

AIGA NY has been sharing so many fantastic creative resources for right now!

5. L'École des Arts Joailliers which is supported by Van Cleef & Arpels has a new, free lecture series on their Instagram! It’s part art history which I find fascinating. 

[its-chotime]

HOW? WHERE? ONLINE!

I received a ton of questions on how I’m attending online events and trying new things. Well, I live on the Internet lol. I love digging for things to do and learn. I’ve also been getting a lot of invitations from the associations and organizations I’ve been a part of throughout my life (like Rotary International!). 

I think that so many of us have stopped trying new things. I was too “busy” or I was scared to try new things. WELL, FUCK THAT. I CAN do things, I CAN TRY NEW THINGS. Here are a few events and sources that are tickling my fancy! 

1. Pandemonium U has an expert M-F giving very insightful talks on Zoom. I’ve been tuning in when I can. I’m excited for “The Year That Changed Paris” with Maurice Samuels, Professor of French at Yale on Friday May 1!

2. Eventbrite has SO many free / pay what you can online events but this is what I’m excited for in the next week. 

April 26: Collage Brunch (learn to collage with artists)

April 28: Asian Americans: Identity and History in California (KQED & PBS)

April 28: Generation Wealth: What Really Matters? (such a cool photo series that traveled around the globe, presented by Annenberg Space for Photography)

April 29: Live from Jacques Pépin's Kitchen (Culinary LEGEND and hello, co-host with THE Julia Child!, presented by KQED in collaboration with the Jacques Pépin Foundation)

3. EarthX is hosting a ton of online events, including screenings. I look forward to this screening of the documentary, “The Story of Plastic” on the 26th. Registration is FREE!

4. JARDIN! THIS GARDENING TED TALK made gardening so cool and easy! Ron Finley, you are so hot and I am a fan! 

5. COCKTAILS! Writer, author, chef and MORE, Rebekah Peppler shared so many insights into how to make cocktails using what you have on NYTCooking. I have zero cocktail knowledge and I can’t really drink alcohol anymore but I am super excited to give cocktails a try. I’m also looking to these books: Do It The French Way by Daniel Gaujac and Apéritif by (of course <3) Rebekah Peppler. 

6. KOREAN COOKING! These SHORT IGTV videos of simple Korean recipes by OME Cooking Lab are so fun and easy. I’ve already done two and they were smashing hits with my partner, Anthony! 

I’ll share more online resources as we find our footing in this new life. It’s sad and I’m still grieving but I'm excited for all the possibilities and growth. P.S. I’m giving a Zoom lecture on Photography for Speos Photographic Institute on May 19! I’ll share what I can. 

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet Today (April 23)

1. FOOD!

Ikea revealed their famous Swedish meatball recipe! 

Double Tree revealed their famous cookie recipe! It’s my favorite cookie recipe to date. I cut the sugar in half because I don’t like things too sweet. 

Ome Cooking’s Korean Potato Pancake (gmaja-jeon) recipe is so good!

BEST TIPS: The Food Expiration Dates You Should Actually Follow (NYT)

2. ART! Paul’s lockdown illustrations on his Instagram have helped me crack a smile on even the lowest of days on lockdown. 

3. LOL: I needed this. All her lockdown content is so funny. 

4. Eventbrite’s online events page has SO MUCH GOOD STUFF. Many are free or pay what you can. Happy hunting! 

5. Food for thought: 

The pandemic is shaking beliefs about American exceptionalism. (NYT)

My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? (NYT Mag)

[its-chotime]

MORE DATA AND NEWS

I think it’s super important to stay up to date with credible information. Knowledge truly is power. 

1. I see more and more people throwing out the death and infection rates in defense of opening the economy. The thing is, there is so much data bias and this virus is totally new. The numbers you see on your screens and hear on your news are not complete. DATA BIAS!! Please consider: 

25,000 Missing Deaths: Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus Crisis (NYT) 

Why We Don’t Know the True Death Rate for Covid-19 (NYT)

Coronavirus death toll in UK twice as high as official figure (Financial Times)

2. I’m super glad that the NYT picked this up earlier yesterday. Read into how one infected person in a restaurant in China infected nine others and how it relates with the air-conditioning movement. Does the virus re-cycle? Is 6 meters of social distancing not enough. So much to take into account as there are whispers of reopening dining establishments across the globe. Look at the full study here (CDC).

3. This Harvard study suggests we need to social distance until 2022 with possible resurgence as late as 2024. Read what they think and why it’s important to continue with social distancing and even have global coordinated lockdowns: Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period.

4. With that Harvard study above in mind, What Will Our New Normal Feel Like? Hints Are Beginning to Emerge (NYT).

5. A first hand look into why Covid pneumonia is so vicious from an American doctor: The Infection That’s Silently Killing Coronavirus Patients (NYT).

These patients did not report any sensation of breathing problems, even though their chest X-rays showed diffuse pneumonia and their oxygen was below normal. How could this be?

We are just beginning to recognize that Covid pneumonia initially causes a form of oxygen deprivation we call “silent hypoxia” — “silent” because of its insidious, hard-to-detect nature.

6. God, I love good data and I love when it’s visualized this beautifully. Rt Live shows, “...up-to-date values for Rt, a key measure of how fast the virus is growing. It’s the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person.” See which states in the US have a higher chance of virus spreading in real time. 

7. Boston Consulting Group is always a favorite and they’ve been putting out some great data, visuals, and crisis leadership insights. Check them out on Instagram here. They also have a ton of info on their website: COVID-19 and the New Leadership Agenda. 

8. Also, we need to look further into this and we must do better: Coronavirus: Why some racial groups are more vulnerable (BBC).

Huge thank you to all my brainy friends who send me stuff, especially Arnaud! 

[its-chotime]

NEWS CRUNCH: What I’m Reading NOW

Focusing on pure news and on the times, not all good.

1. A reality check and one of the most eye opening reads I’ve read this weekend: The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead (NYT). I’ve been discussing with my smart friends about how we need an interdisciplinary approach with critical reflection and thinking rather than panic (we’ve been grasping for straws, y’all). 

2. It’s interesting to have a President with a finance background as he can offer these types of insights: French President Emmanuel Macron says the coronavirus pandemic will remake capitalism (Business Insider)

>> Macron calls it “profound anthropological shock.” Let that sink in.

3. In the words of my friend Erika, “As we learn to embrace uncertainty, it will be better for our mental health if we let go of an imagined return to ‘normal.’ We have new challenges and new parameters - adapt or perish.” Read this: Our Pandemic Summer (Atlantic)

4. This really hit me: What Does the Good Life Look Like Now? (NYT)

“Being stuck at home isn’t so bad. There’s the relief of having a home to be safe in, obviously, but there’s also the realization of how frantic and expensive my lifestyle had become. I miss some of it. But not as much as I expected.”

5. More food for thought: 

A WHOLE NEW SERIES! The America We Need (NYT)

Bernie Sanders: The Foundations of American Society Are Failing Us (NYT)

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet THIS WEEKEND (April 17)

I am losing track of time and my days fly by. I m physically doing very little but I am exhausted became my mind is on fight or flight. Here’s what’s keeping my spirits up. 

1. The Best Thing on ALL OF INSTAGRAM is Leslie Jordan’s videos. A part of eccentric, a part hilarious, a part heartwarming. IT’S SO GOOD. 

2. FOOD! 

Pastry Chef Christina Tosi has been hosting Instagram bake-along sessions live every single day at 2PM EST. She then shares freely shares her recipes on her website here. They are easy and don’t require crazy ingredients, in the classic Tosi way. I’ll be trying these Chocolate Cheesecake Bars at the end of the month when I can track down some Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

REALLY fantastic lockdown food advice: Here’s quarantine cooking advice from the original experts on thrifty meals: Home ec teachers (WaPo) 

BREAD! I loved this: Baking Bread in Lyon (New Yorker)

3. ART! I am feeling really grateful for art lately. I am even appreciating my own photography even more. This series really gave me life, ‘Country Doctor’: W. Eugene Smith’s Landmark Photo Essay (LIFE). It’s from 1948 and holy shit, good photography is so important.

4. Food for thought:

The Value of Restaurants Goes Far Beyond the Dining Room, Even More So in a Pandemic Era (Resy)

Feeling Scatterbrained? Here’s Why (NYT)

Can Restaurants Survive the Pandemic By Feeding Those in Need? (Civil Eats)

GORGEOUS WRITING!! New York City in the Coronavirus Pandemic (New Yorker)

How the Virus Transformed the Way Americans Spend Their Money (NYT)

5. I can’t get over The Atlantic’s fantastic and eye-opening Covid coverage. Here’s another gem: The Revolution Is Under Way Already. 

EXTRA! Must reads featured in my latest babbling Tumblr post:

Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting (Medium’s Forge)

China’s Economy Shrinks, Ending a Nearly Half-Century of Growth (NYT)

Also, I’m currently watching HBO’s Watchmen (via OCN) and the KDrama Itaewon Class (via Netflix) and I’m currently reading At The Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell to escape. 

[its-chotime]

The Immediate Future with Covid-19

Insanity: protestors in Ohio demanding the governor open businesses back up. CREDIT: Joshua A. Bickel

I’ve been taking this past week to think over the reality. I have digested and accepted the state of the world and I’m now wondering why so many people can’t see it. I hope everyone can catch up and then, keep up. 

The world we knew is gone. That much is clear. So much so that old newspapers from earlier this year show another world. I actually unearthed an old newspaper, shoved in my vintage loafers to help them keep shape. When I flattened it out, it was the front page from late December 2019. The above fold photo was a photo of a mass union protest in Paris. It gave me the chills. 

Some US universities are planning to not reopen their campus until 2021. South Korea just held elections which had the biggest voter turn out in several decades. They are also reporting re-hospitalizations of treated Covid patients and mostly new “foreign cases.” Saying or pretending like things are going “back to normal” is a gross mistake.

Yet, many people in influential positions are stuck in the past and will use their platforms to tell you otherwise. To me, it’s a new kind of stupid and it’s reckless.

This was one of the most enlightening reads: Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting (Medium’s Forge). A must read for everyone, especially Americans. 

The thing that’s so scary about all of this is that scientists don’t fully understand or know this virus. What does immunity entail? What does a Covid recovery mean or look like? Why are all these tests not completely foolproof? Why are there multiple, different strains of Covid circulating? Why is it mutating and what does that mean? ETC ETC 

I am hopeful for a vaccine and/or cure as I believe in science but we also have to remember that some viruses we have lived with for decades still don’t have a cure or vaccine (hello, HIV!). 

I can’t speak of the far future when this pandemic is over but we have to embrace that we will be living with the virus for months, or even years, to come. Seeing that China is unable to boost their massive economy, global leaders in the West will feel pressured to reopen prematurely. When our lockdown restrictions ease, we will continue to lose lives to Covid. 

So how can we live and survive in this new reality while doing as little damage as possible? I have some ideas and I am excited by the possibilities of a greener and more conscious future. Let’s circle back next week. 

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet THIS WEEK (April 9)

Irving Penn, Still Life with Food, New York, 1947. © Condé Nast

I spent the past three days feeling absolutely helpless. This Tumblr truly keeps me grounded so I will go back to posting more as it seems like the lockdown will be extended. I really feel we will be living with the pandemic for awhile, until there is a vaccine. 

1. ART! Irving Penn was one of the many photographers I grew up being exposed to. Everyone on my mom’s side work/worked in fashion and I always find his work consistent. We studied his still life in photography school and it didn’t mean much to me then but now, they are everything. The way he built his sets is truly genius. If you need some art in your life, take a browse through his galleries here. 

2. MASKS, WEAR ‘EM! I am claustrophobic. It runs in my family but I hate wearing shit on my face, from hats to glasses YET ALONE MASKS. Koreans are known to wear masks for everything so I luckily have some masks on me at all times but imagining a future where we all wear masks almost all the time makes me cringe with discomfort. As all should do in times of change, I will adapt. This was a great dive into masks right now, Fashion and Masks (NYT). 

You can make your masks at home with the hundreds of tutorials popping up but you can also purchase them online. I found the cutest PPE masks here by Sanctuary (5 for $28 and they also donate masks on your behalf) but I prefer ones with a filter. I preordered a Cambridge Mask (N99 with filter) for myself and my family members here. 

3. Food for thought:

How Will We Know When It’s Time to Reopen the Nation? (NYT)

Turning Your Home Into Your Main Food Producer (NYT)

Women's invisible labor is keeping America going (The Week)

3. ADAPT! A lot of reading today but what’s helped me the most through any of my life’s challenges is figuring out how to adapt. We are humans, we can adapt. Here are some great reads on adapting: 

Embracing the Uncertainties (NYT)

Le coronavirus crée-t-il une forme inédite d'anxiété? (Slate)

4. FOOD! 

Dr. Marion Nestle is my go-to expert source for anything food / food policy / food politics and her  “good news!” newsletter offered hope. 

This excellent list of food substitutions for pandemic cooking from Huffpost. 

I also wrote about canned tomatoes tips from my favorite Top Chef France contestants. There’s also a simple recipe by Chef Gianmarco Gorni at the end. 

5. I’ve been taking deeper dives into the New York Times’ Surfacing, “A visual series on the intersection of art and life.” Try this as your first dip: ‘Dear Customers’: These Are the Emotional Store Signs of a Closed New York

STAY HOME. STAY SAFE. 

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet Today (April 5)

1. John Oliver is a godsend and his last episode is everything (19 min, YouTube). 

2. If you read anything this week, please make it this: Arundhati Roy: “The pandemic is a portal.” Such beautiful writing that reflects the terrifying truth. 

3. OMG my love for Larry David is infinite and this, Master of Quarantine (NYT), really made my day. I’m currently rewatching Curb Your Enthusiasm from the beginning on OCN. Just seeing his face makes everything better. PRETTAY GOOD. 

4. Bread on Earth is the best thing on Instagram right now. 

 5. Food for thought 

This Is Chance: The Story of the 1964 Alaska Earthquake and the Remarkable Woman Who Magnetized People into Falling Together as Their World Fell Apart (brainpickings) 

Farmworkers, Mostly Undocumented, Become ‘Essential’ During Pandemic (NYT)

Quarantine FOMO (New Yorker)

The History of Loneliness (New Yorker) 

[its-chotime]

Five+ Good Things on the Internet Today (April 3)

Sorry I missed a few. I’ve just gotten a lot of new work so that has taken up so much of my focus and time. Here are more than five good things on the Internet right now. 

1. FREE cooking classes from the people who run a cooking school from Julia Child’s country home in France! WILD. Check out the dates and details on Facebook and follow the class on Zoom! First one is TODAY. 

2. Liana Finck is an amazing artist who happens to also be a New Yorker Mag’s cartoonist. This series that was published this week is just so stunning. I felt everything.

3. Book and Salt is incredible. The author Janelle is so kind and generous in real life and holy hell, her blog with recipes, punchy and fun writing, and STUNNING photos is just stunning. There are many recipes that you can do right now from home, like her Three Ingredient Tomato Soup and Parmesan Roasted Onions! She’s also sharing incredible and easy meals on Instagram. 

4. For those who want to ferment but can’t with sourdough, check out this easy GINGER BUG recipe from Le Parfait, my favorite jar company. I am definitely going to do this when I get my hands on some ginger. You feed it like a sourdough starter but it’s much easier to maintain. 

4. Food for thought:

Stop Trying to Be Productive (NYT)

How the World Will Change Over the Next 18 Months (Esquire)

Newly Unemployed Woman Enjoys Equal Pay For First Time In Career (the Onion)

Opinion: My Grandmother Knew a Secret: Survival Can Be Stored in a Jar (NYT)

5. I’ve been obsessing over my kitchen as I’m spending so much more time in it and I have been trying to organize better. I loved this YouTube video that showed a NYT Cooking Editor’s kitchen and how she organizes everything. SO GENIUS. I don’t think I’ll ever be that person with a super organized anything but hey, I can be inspired to do better. 

6. Lockdown Food Inspo: Chef Cassandra Choi’s French Scrambled Eggs, omg. 

7. I wrote a thing! for Chowhound on how to make your canned or dried beans taste amazing with the trick from Mokonuts. I’ll be sharing more stories, tips, and recipes from chefs around the globe on Chowhound to make home cooking during a pandemic a little less stressful.

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet Today (March 30)

Can you tell I have food on my mind?

1. The Covid Cookbook is the world’s first crowdsourced pandemic cookbook. You can submit a recipe yourself or check out all their collected recipes. They are also compiling them into a PDF which you can pre-order a copy. All proceeds go to Feeding America.

2. Food for thought:

Opinion: Nothing Matters Anymore (Except What Actually Does) (NYT)

America Stress-Bought All the Baby Chickens (NYT)

When the World Stops, Traveling in John Keats’s ‘Realms of Gold’ (NYT)

Celebrity Culture is Burning (NYT)

3. Magnum Photos is the best photo agency in the world so of course, I am naturally in love with their Diary of a Pandemic, the pandemic seen through some of the best eyes.

4.  Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway’s new podcast is finally out and it’s everything you need right now. Home Cooking is a new podcast that helps you cook under quarantine. It’s just so much warmth and joy. You can listen to episode 1 on beans here!

5. Some more lockdown food inspo:

Laila Gohar’s Aioli

Rebecca May Johnson’s Chickpeas, anchovies, and greens (Luncheon Magazine)

GENIUS Sourdough Starter Scallion Pancake (YouTube)

I’m also sharing a ton of lockdown food inspo I see from other folks on my Instagram. Delicious but easy to execute recipes with shelf stable pantry staples!

EXTRAS!

A Recipe for Success (Famous for My Dinner Parties)

A publishing house known for excellent cookbooks put together this PDF with pantry friendly recipes for their upcoming Spring books.

[its-chotime]

Weekend Edition: Five Good Things on the Internet Today (March 28)

1. If you haven’t done so, this is THE article to read on the whole pandemic: How the Pandemic Will End. The Atlantic’s pandemic coverage in general has been honest and sincere. This is the type of journalism we need. 

2. Food for thought:

Onetime Relic, Then Hipster Fad, Milkmen Embrace Flood of Clients (NYT)

Bill Gates: If I were president, this is what I would do now to fight coronavirus (CNBC)

Can the Restaurant Industry Survive? David Chang Isn’t Sure (NYT)

Opinion: A Silent Spring Is Saying Something (NYT)

3. Family Meal is the best restaurant industry newsletter out there and with so much shit going on in the US right now, I really appreciate Andrew’s humor, reporting, and fantastic writing. You can subscribe here.  

4. I was freaking out about my sourdough starter yesterday but Hana Asbrink (EIC of Chowhound) eased my nerves and sent me this, Sourdough Starter Troubleshooting (King Arthur Flour). For those who wanted to make a starter but don’t have that much flour, the Cook’s Illustrated #Quarantinystarter is a great option. 

5. For those who are missing travel and have an insatiable lust for learning about world curiosities, Atlas Obscura is the answer. They call themselves, “The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.” Everything they produce is a bit bizarre, charming, and interesting. 

Consider:

Living Off the Land in the Arctic Circle (I WROTE THIS LOL)

 A Healing Spirit From 19th-Century Japan Is Back to Face COVID-19

The ‘Pie Engineer’ Who Designed a Dessert For the Jazz Age

EXTRA:

To get my mind off everything happening, some of the best affordable investments I’ve made during lockdown:

Joy of Cooking eBook version for $2.99

OCS subscription for 4.99EUR per month for four months (I can watch HBO stuff this way including Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) 

Finally, IMPORTANT: For those of you who have Netflix, two words--TIGER KING.

[its-chotime]

Grief in the Time of COVID-19

Hi. This isn't the easiest thing for me to write and I could probably have sold it somewhere so I’m going to write as if I’m talking with you, just human to human. 

I don’t know how some people seem so composed on social media and in real life (my partner is doing really well!), more power to all of you. But it feels like I am spiraling. 

One moment I’m laughing at a meme or at myself and the next I’m sitting there paralyzed from fear of the future or crying or flirting with a panic attack or dancing across the room, blasting music. (CW: eating disorder) And then earlier this week, I even caught myself binge eating in the middle of the night while watching Gossip Girl at 4 am. Like what the fuck is going on? 

As a creative, there are also energy bursts where I feel like I can write a few thousand words or make the most gorgeous photo from my apartment walls. And then there’s nothing and I’m upset that I SHOULD be working. I can’t actually really describe all of it. The closest is maybe, “it feels like loss and a broken heart plus doom.” 

And then when I am feeling a bit better, I want it to be such a permanent state that I scold myself when I slip into something somber. I’ll sit there ruminating over the big question: what’s wrong with me? 

I’ve been in therapy since I was young so I am pretty good at reading my feelings and dealing with them but right now, all of this feels like uncharted territory (hello, IT FUCKING IS!). It’s like I went too far into the deep end of the pool and I cannot feel the floor below me. Even though I know how to swim (and swim well) I panic and forget how to stay afloat so I am now waving my arms, expending even more energy. I’ve lost all control. It feels like I’m drowning.

Late last night, I went back on Twitter to check the stats on an article I just wrote and I saw Tweets from fellow journalists conveying the same feelings.  One journalist said all of this shit we are feeling is known as, “collective grief.” 

Instantly, the fog that surrounded my mind was sort of lifted. It’s still pretty fucking dark but at least I can now see (and feel) the ground below my feet. If you want to stick with the pool metaphor, I calmed down and moved a bit to the other end of the pool so now I’m fucking standing! Identifying and naming what we are feeling is powerful. At least we now know who we are doing the tango with*. 

We are collectively mourning the life and society we knew and know. And for some of us, we have lost or will lose loved ones. It’s a bit different from 9/11 which I remember vividly as an American (who had an aunt working near the Towers in NYC). You can’t compare the two. This is REALLY fucking new.

On top of all that, we're homebound. The lack of sunshine, exercise, human connection, routine, etc. isn’t good for us. Don’t even get me started with the lack of leadership, the politics, the fate of our economy, the timeline, and the horrible news that we have to keep up with constantly. 

If you’re not feeling productive right now or the only thing you can do is wake up in the morning or if you need to take a nap or have a cry, it's okay. I need you to really hear this: it’s okay. You are NOT ALONE. I’m standing there, too. 

This article by Harvard Business Review, “The Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief,” (published March 23) is super insightful and helped me tremendously. 

This sounds so cliche but please be gentle with yourself. We’re all in this together.

[its-chotime]

Five Good Things on the Internet Today (March 26)

“Life is Fantastic” by David Shrigley

Just a heads up that moving forward, I’ll only be doing these three times a week (M-W-S) as I try to ease my heightened anxiety. Giving you all more time to digest the amazing content is good, too!

1. WOW. The full Gastronomica (The Journal of Critical Food Studies) catalog is available for FREE until June 2020. Browse through “All Content.”

2. Food for Thought: 

Cooking Through a Crisis With Grandma, Virtually (NYT) > My friend Robin was just telling me how he made his grandma’s chou farci!

Great Leadership in a Time of Crisis (NYT)

3. This photo series from Famous for My Dinner Parties that gives you an inside look into how people are eating from home. The first part of the series takes place in China during Lunar New Year and shows you how people were celebrating from home, here. I’m also enjoying their literature and food posts on Instagram, where they pair photos of food with “quotes from literary history.” Check it out here: 1, 2, 3.

4. I wrote a thing: I'm an American locked down in Paris, where police patrol the streets and people cheer hospital workers from their windows. Here's how I prepared for weeks inside — and why I'm thankful our government has taken control. (Business Insider)

5.Such an important read:  YOU’RE MORE THAN YOUR OUTPUT! “A chance to catch a breath”: Danielle Pender on why we should avoid the pressure to create (It’s Nice That)  

The next one of these guys will be on Saturday! Be gentle with yourself.