I am recently inspired by a post from fellow Substack writer
on the topic of road trip food. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a truly meandering road trip, and there are some foods I’ll really only eat in context. In this case, the context is hurtling along hot asphalt.Gas station stops, especially if they’re with my friend Giselle, always include the (vice check) ranch-flavored Bugles, Red Bull, and a randomly selected, private label candy. A pause for Buc-ee’s -- really, more a shoppy stop than refuel -- will result in sour gummy candy, a hot dog, Beaver Nuggets for the road, and an embarrassing? amount of Buc-ee’s merch (ref.: last summer’s his-and-hers swimsuits). I have a no-boiled-peanuts policy.
When I was younger, and more frequently doing the 7-hour Tampa-Atlanta college shuffle, I tended to bring food with me rather than stop. Baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and Goldfish crackers, a soft little turkey sandwich. Comparing this virtuous spread with the ones above, it seems that every year I stray further from god’s light!
Good tastes both high- and low-brow, that’s what you get from this little gazette! Let me know your road trip food essentials in the comments - the more regional and vice-ridden, the better.
A SCATTERING OF GOOD TASTES
Offline:
My latest library hold: Cleopatra and Frankenstein
Successfully threw Adrian a surprise birthday party at a favorite restaurant
Admiring:
The lovely restoration of this Georgian house in Spitalfields, just down the way from one of my favorite “museums”
Farrow & Ball paint colors matched to Benjamin Moore!
Other items of note:
Pando is dying:
“When it comes to the world’s heaviest living organism, it is a ‘forest of one tree’ that is thought to take the crown. Now a sound expert is listening into the quiet grove in an attempt to hear its secrets.”
“The pertinent question is not whether charisma actually exists, but why it exists.”
Less of how to get the kind of mail you do want, but more of how to stop getting the kind of mail you don’t want!
What it’s like to be a 16-year old in Lagos
Listening to:
boygenius “The Record,” as we just saw BG + Clairo perform in a park in Atlanta
“Truckload of Trouble” by The Pastels
“Only Yesterday” song by Pretty Lights, thanks to G
ROOT GREEN PESTO
I mentioned last time that we’ve joined a new farm CSA for the spring/summer, and it’s a great exercise in housing a lot of vegetables every week. Now, I am not usually a huge bitter greens fan. I know I should like them more, all the pepper bite and bitter taste, but my palate hasn’t caught up.
However, I do really like the idea of using all of a vegetable where I can, which is where this root green pesto comes into play. It really goes well on top of a roasted salmon filet, but is equally at home as a raw veggie dip or as a salad dressing with a bit more olive oil added.
INGREDIENTS
The green leafy tops of 4-6 turnips and radishes
1 garlic clove
¼ cup, pine nuts (sub out a different small nut, like a chopped walnut, if you’re sensitive to pine nuts)
½ cup, olive oil
1 tsp each, salt and pepper
1 tsp., lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 cup, Parmesan cheese
WHAT TO DO
Add greens, garlic, nuts, lemon juice and zest, and salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse into a rough paste, scrape down the sides, then pour in the olive oil as it’s running. When fully combined, add in the cheese and give it a couple more pulses as you taste. Stop when your preferred thickness is reached.
If you’re looking to use this as a salad dressing, add a tablespoon more or so of olive oil, to your preference. The pesto keeps really well in the fridge, but you may need to add a touch of water to loosen it up.
Thanks for the mention, Emily! I wish I’d interviewed you for my post! I’ve never heard of Buc-ee’s (I don’t think the chain exists in the West), but it sounds like a perfect roadside diversion. On our long-ago road trip, Stuckey’s stores were ubiquitous along Route 66 and elsewhere, and we’d devour their famous pecan log rolls. I haven’t seen a Stuckey’s in years!
I love all your links, and the pesto made with turnip and radish tops sounds really delicious and a useful way of using up discarded pieces of veggies.