Pinterest sent me to the San Francisco mothership last week for a couple of days of team collaboration (and learning and partying and giggling - I have a fun job). Later, Adrian joined me to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, a weekend of food, drink, and hilly walks.
Restaurant goals were hit: Chez Panisse; Zuni Café; Foreign Cinema. Wine goals were hit: a new-to-me Phelan Farm 2021 Poulsard; a celebratory room service Veuve Clicquot. Walking goals were hit: iPhone Fitness now expects a 7-mile, 4-floor daily average. Uh … we’ll see.
A week and mild food-borne illness later (provenance unknown), we have rejoined the Eastern time zone, triumphant and somewhat wish-fulfilled.
There is something to be said for getting back into rhythm after a week away from home. I am an unpack-first type, anxious to get settled. The marvel of modern technology allowed us to come home to fresh groceries, a small list fulfilled and dinner questions allayed. I cooked a simple dinner to soothe sour stomachs. We watched a truly obnoxious episode of House Hunters International, the cat purring in my lap, because she loves me! It’s good to be home. Rhythm, given the right context, can be a love language.
LINKS FOR MANY LOVE LANGUAGES
And purring is a love language no human can speak
The little rituals that keep us going: mine, a post-work neighborhood walk
The two home tours you didn’t know you needed: “life after vanity” with Graydon Carter in Connecticut; Angela Lansbury’s quiet, cozy Irish home (RIP)
On the nostalgia beat: bring back the station wagon, and visiting Vogue’s golden age of illustration
Side link: I’ve been saving to this board of vintage print covers
“Behaving generously doesn’t necessarily mean ‘donating money’ or ‘giving away your last cookie.’ Those are two options, sure, but there are plenty of other ways to be generous.”
A CHICKEN + RICE WORTH COMING HOME FOR
We ate a week’s worth of restaurant food, and we felt it. Even with the fatigue of cross-country travel, I needed to cook something myself and feel a little more real. This is so simple a dish as to not really need a recipe, but in case you’re looking for a little fresh-cooked comfort, it should do the trick.
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry & seasoned with salt, pepper, and Adobo (or a combination of the rice spices, listed below)
1 ¼ cup, chicken stock
1 cup, rice
¼ tsp, turmeric
1 tsp, saffron (optional, but highly encouraged)
¼ tsp each, garlic & onion powder
1 tbsp., olive oil
Optional: cilantro, peas
WHAT TO DO
Preheat your oven (this is a job for the toaster oven, TBH) to 375. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and roast on a greased pan for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Halfway through the chicken cooking, bring chicken stock to a boil in a lidded saucepan. Add olive oil, then rice & spices, boiling while stirring for a minute. Put the lid on and cook for about 15 minutes, or until rice is mostly cooked. Add chicken to the pot, and cook all together until rice is cooked through and no liquid remains. Top with cooked green peas if you have them, or chopped cilantro.
I've bookmarked that list of 50 ways to be generous. I'm surrounded by people who just seem to be naturally good at doing that sort of thing, I need some help to be able to reciprocate!
I feel like I need to hunt that House Hunters International episode down and watch it now!
I really enjoyed the links on generosity and the colors of sadness. And I’m sending that article on purring to my dad, who is always bemused (and amused) by his own cat’s behavior!