Of the Week: Slightly Sick & Flipping Through Cookbooks

What I'm reading, writing, and cooking

Best shaved ice flavor is root beer

Reading

I’ve been dealing with some low-level congestion this week and didn’t read much. The pressure in my sinuses and head made me want to sleep any extra time I had, so I did. The main exception is that I paged through cookbooks daily. My stack this week was:

• Tenderheart: A Cookbook about Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon

• The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

• Cucina Povera: The Italian Way of Transforming Humble Ingredients Into Unforgettable Meals by Giulia Scarpaleggia

• Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi

• Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora by Reem Assil

Writing

I finished editing my interview with Julia Hannafin about their debut novel Cascade, which is a beautiful book. Aside from that, not much to mention this week because I was borderline sick all week and just getting through.

Cooking

Roasted lots of (honestly mediocre) tomatoes and ate them on bread, with eggs, or alone. I made vegetable broth for potato leek soup, special request by my son. And I have some beautiful local organic beets that I don’t know what I’m going to do with yet. How are you eating your beets?

---

The Good Enough Weekly comes out every Friday, alternating an essay with Of the Week (like today). I also take on freelance editing and writing projects. Reach out if you’re looking for help in those departments — I’ve worked on everything from zines to textbooks. More info here. And my zine of adapted Irish fairytales, Desert Pookas, is available for preorder now!