Emchap’s Shit from the Internet 11/21/18 🍠
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means both that I have anxiously pre-made several different kinds of dough (pie, babka, cornbread) and that my dad is in town. I am excited to spend time with him, and for him to see LA, and also we walked like six miles today and I want to chop my feet off of my feeble mortal body. (I am so tired I just tried to spell "mortal" like "bortles".)
2018 has been a weird, hard year to be alive in, in the same way 2017 was and 2016 before that. It is weird to realize how long the pretty global social despair has been kicking (with the caveat that of course my life is pretty easy in many ways and it filtering up to me isn't the same as it beginning to exist). The world is on fire existentially; my state is on fire very literally; things are Not Great.
But: 2018 has had some pretty spiky highlights wrapped up in it for me. I moved to LA, a place where so far I am much, much happier than I was in NYC. I went to XOXO, which I hated like 60% of, but at least I did it and now I know and the conference contained at least one really wonderful night where I ate a fancy jello shot, and I am happy I have that. I made new friends. I reconnected with old friends. I learned to bake. I powered through personal and existential sadness to get my ass back in therapy. I bought just a truly excellent fake fur coat and some glittery sunglasses and made it almost 9 months into the year before I cried in my new apartment which is truly some kind of record for me.
I am thankful for those things, and for the stuff that is too tender for me to wrap up into the newsletter, and for the fact that tomorrow I'll get to make food that I love with my dad. I hope the end of the year is good and that the people I love are safe and that things get better.
Shit to read
I think most folks have seen this excellent piece on food tourism and journalism and accidentally killing what you love but if you haven't it is well worth reading.
I have never seen an episode of Vanderpump Rules but will consume literally any written content adjacent to it.
This piece on Stockholm Syndrome argues (convincingly, I think) that it mostly serves to deny captives—often female—agency within the options they have available to them, and though I'm not sure how I feel about it I think it is super interesting.
Read about the economics of lingerie.
I got literally two paragraphs into this history of The Land Before Time before I started crying.
Michelle Obama's memoir is slowly grinding away any affection I have for Barack Obama, which is her right but is also not how I wanted to end my year, damn.
Housing can't be both a good investment and affordable.
Clandestino still bops and this look back at the album on its 20th anniversary is good.
Not news, but worth repeating: money advice is for middle class people doing ill-advised shit, not people looking for class mobility.
Stop drinking terrible juice.
I have seen memes of this skeleton bookseller on Twitter and now I have more context for him and I love him with my whole heart.
Shit to eat
Bake 3 or 4 sweet potatoes. Do this the day before, because otherwise you won't do it until you need to make this dish, and then you will burn the fuck out of your hands while peeling them. Learn the lesson now that me ages 13-18 failed to.
Set a stick of butter out to soften. Overnight, couple hours before, whatever.
Pop the insides into a big bowl and set aside.
Beat 3 medium eggs (I have literally never bothered adjusting this even though I use large or extra-large eggs, this is a forgiving recipe) until they are lemon-colored.
Mix in the sweet potato innards, a teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 cup of raisins that you've microwaved in a mug for a few minutes and then drained to half-heartedly blanche them, 1 1/4 cup sugar, that stick of butter, 2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 cup of bourbon (canonically it's maker's mark but also honestly I bet you could leave it out and it wouldn't matter).
Put it in a buttered pan (what size is not specified, it doesn't matter) and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
While that's happening, mix up 2 cups raisin bran or its store brand equivalent, 1/2 cup of chopped nuts, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 11 tablespoons of butter (stick and a bit) that you've melted.
Add that topping after the 20 minutes are up, and pop it back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Enjoy the good shit. Fuck a marshmallow.
Shit to listen to
Christmas music time! I fuck with Kacey Musgraves.
Shit to buy
I own glitter keds and get complimented on them ALL THE TIME. I might add some metallic ones to the mix.
It's snug season, even in LA. Get some slippers.