in good taste, vol. 95: power seasons
embracing slump, post-it compacts, and grilled harissa lamb chops
Recently I found myself describing my notion of “power seasons” to a colleague.
This may already exist as a self-help concept, and maybe it’s a little woo-woo, but I think it’s a helpful framework for self-awareness. It’s pretty self-explanatory and not too elegant. The premise is that different parts of the year (really, down to the month) make me feel more or less focused, more or less energetic and inspired, more or less capable and confident. In my head, I see it as an ebb-and-flow model, a graph that pulls from seasonal data of the past 17 years of my legal adulthood. A woman in STEM!
Based on anecdotal findings, summer is my least powerful season and August the bottom of the barrel when it comes to months. By August, I’m restless, easily annoyed by my own plans, and just sluggish, mentally and physically. Overheated, and not just by the weather. Winter is my real power season. I get so much done, and so much planned, and the moves and ideas just flow.
Less powerful doesn’t have to mean powerless. I’m getting a little better each year with dealing with the slump, at checking in when I’m getting in my own way too much. Actively working at resting my mind, because fighting through a less-powerful season is a recipe for wasted energy. Also, as a good reminder, Hanlon’s Razor.
So hello from hot ol’ August in Atlanta, where we are embracing ease, slowing the pace, preserving our power, and grilling lamb (more on that below).
A SCATTERING OF GOOD TASTES
Offline:
Reading As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, a 1969 memoir of a young man’s long walk between the Cotswolds and Spain in 1934
Next up: Antarctica by Claire Keegan
Finalizing plans for road-tripping Barcelona, Bilbao, San Sebastian, and Zaragoza with Adrian, Jessie, and Hannah in just a few weeks 🎉
Admiring:
This list of stylish ways to organize and display cookbooks
Jenna Lyons’s loft (she is my gateway into the RHONY universe)
Learning about “cabaña pasiegas” → watching this tour of a slow-living home in Spain → reading about Brazilian houses with “balcony-rooms”
Other items of note:
I have gone to Cleveland twice this summer, and it’s worth sharing that the Cleveland Museum of Art is not only terrific, but free to visit. Here is a good read about the museum and its origin, if Cleveland’s in your sights!
“A night at the door with 3 Atlanta college bar bouncers” made me LOL a couple of times, nostalgic for murky MJQ Wednesdays
The Fictional Liveability Index:
“A ranking and review of twenty towns, villages and cities from various works of fiction, devised as both an investigation of fictional places and as a criticism of real-life liveability indices.”
Mine would include Mossflower Woods from Redwall (hard to overstate the hold this series had on me as a child); maybe Lake Wobegon.
Listening to:
Soul Kiss (Glide Divine), Spectrum (1992)
Volcano, Jungle (2023)
The Sacred Idol, Les Baxter (1960)
Songs: “Follow,” DIIV (2012), “Vinyl Records,” Todd Snider (2002), “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog,” Norma Tanega (1966)
GRILLED HARISSA LAMB CHOPS
If you think you don’t like lamb, this preparation will change your mind! Grilled lamb is better than steak!! I said what I said!!!
I’ll be honest, this recipe (for two) feels a little bit like cheating. It is basically just marinating some meat in one ingredient, putting it over fire, and reaping the rewards. That’s it, that’s the tweet. Because it is so simple, it’s easy to throw together in the morning of a workday and enjoy at a reasonable dinner hour.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup, harissa paste (this is a good roundup of brands, I use Mina because that’s what’s available at my Publix)
Salt + pepper
2 meaty shoulder blade lamb chops (I have also made this recipe with a bone-in shank for a hungry group of 4, it just takes longer!)
WHAT TO DO
Pat the chops dry and poke little holes all over with a fork (not aggressively, just enough to make indents). Salt and pepper generously - you want to aim for “snowing” the meat with the seasoning, maybe a couple of teaspoons each. Stick the chops in a Ziploc and pour in the harissa, seal it up and massage the sauce all over and around the chops.
Marinate the lamb in the refrigerator for no fewer than 3 hours. About an hour before you’d like to eat, let the lamb come to room temp.
Prepare a charcoal grill with a dual heat-zone (so, hot coals on one side for direct heat, and none on the other side for indirect heat). Sear on both sides for 2-4 minutes, depending on your chops’ thickness. Move to the indirect heat side, checking temperature at 90-second intervals until the lamb has reached 130-135F throughout for medium rare.
Let the chops rest under a tinfoil tent for about 15 minutes. Serve with a couscous, tomato, cucumber, and feta salad.
I always enjoy your eclectic lists, links, art posts and writing. The idea of “power seasons” is intriguing. My season would probably be spring. The lamb recipe makes my mouth water! ¡Felices vacaciones!