Leftovers #179
True to form, I’m sat at the gate just shy of three hours until my flight leaves. What can I say, I get my early-bird-catches-the-worm mentality from my father (and from experience of missing two flights). In typical fashion, Ky and I left each other with a quick hug and both cried separately three minutes later – me in the taxi, her in the house. It’s been a beautiful two weeks spending time with her family and very nearly getting to meet the newest addition to the family (I was kind of hoping she’d go into labour yesterday, but this baby is determined to be born during a snow storm!).
Back on my cowboy shit, reading and watching things set in Montana (including a re-watch of Yellowstone, ahead of The Madison and Dutton Ranch). Kind of wish I was coming back for Stampede, but it looks like it’ll be a couple of months later in the heat of summer – for lake swims and ranch visits and maybe some local rodeos. Yee-haw.
Good things to consume (bodily)
I made a brothy bean situation, this time with tomato paste and miso and orzo and a feta green sauce that it’s like pesto’s tangier, herbier cousin.
Hit up my favourite Calgary restaurant Bridgette Bar after a two hour sauna sesh and ate so well: roast chicken with Italian chicken sausage, gravy and fries; maple roasted trout over creamed kale and silky mashed potatoes; crispy maple-brushed Brussel sprouts; spiced woodfired carrots over tahini-yoghurt; and a perfect grilled octopus salad with orange.
Never not wanting a steak tartare – this one by Bryan Suarez is on the list to make – spiked with red pepper coulis and chiltepin (the mother of all chillis)
Just a reminder that adding two raw egg yolks and butter and furikake to hot white rice is one of the best meals you can have.
Sent this to Ky because her daughter absolutely CRUSHES potatoes in all forms (a family trait) – therefore potato crust quiche is a must.
More Korean stews to be made because it’s rainy af in the UK: dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken) is on the menu.
If you want an alt winter soup, Gill Meller’s orzo with smoked bacon, white beans and kale will hit the spot.
Sent this recipe for bebek penyet – an Indonesian dish feat. crispy duck and sambal – to my brother immediately. Might try with chicken legs instead.
It’s been a lot more salmon bowls and sesame-drenched salads and adaptogenic smoothies, and also a reminder that sweet potatoes roasted then basted in butter with miso paste and maple syrup and showered with black sesame seeds is an elite side dish.
Good things to consume (culturally)
Watched Die My Love last night and absolutely loved Jennifer Lawrence in this. Reasons to love: the Montana landscape which feels more oppressive than open, her bodily acting, the comic relief that cuts the tension of postpartum depression and Robert Pattinson’s equally as frenetic portrayal of a father derailed by becoming a parent.
More horse-related content in celebration of Lunar New Year on Tuesday: Robert Redford in The Outlaw Trail, a Nat Geo documentary where Redford explores the great American West in 1975.
And then this beautiful documentary titled The Last Eagle Hunter in Mongolia, which circles a 15-year-old named Aymoldir who is learning the ancient art of eagle hunting from her father.
And for good measure, here’s a video of a filly running free. Saved for a new project coming soon:
Did a book swap with Ky, so whilst she gets on with Dream State, I’m reading Sheila Heti’s Motherhood, which is really striking a chord considering her ruminations around becoming a mother and being a writer. I love the format, which loosely follows the Chinese tradition of I Ching. She asks a question and tosses a coin, letting the majority steer her answer.
A good New Yorker review of the book here.
“Now that having a boyfriend is embarrassing and being alone is cool, is there any reason to go to a singles night?” Allison P Davis asks the question I’ve been pondering for years in her piece, Dating On My Own, for The Cut.
Gobbled up Heated Rivaly in less two days. I thought it was going to be pure steam, but there was so much heart and emotional depth that I sobbed throughout the last two episodes. Saving the audiobook for my v long drive back to Cornwall on Sunday.
Another work in progress playlist for Kyla Ruddell and Calgary. ICYMI, I make a playlist every time I stay in someone else’s house based on our time there together.
Good things to consume (aesthetically)
Went to the photo booth to commemorate this trip together and then found this UK-based framing company called Stone Bridge that makes beautiful walnut frames with custom mounts for photo booth snaps. I bought one with a red mount immediately!
I love a design project that centres around connection. This maker created two phones that connect strangers by placing them in random parts of his local park – the custom mechanism allows anyone to pick up the phone and have a conversation with a stranger.
Deeeeeply obsessed with French designer Clementine Long’s stoneware fruit wheels. I’m gutted I missed out on this batch and am keeping my finger at the ready to buy one when she releases more.
Lovely recommendations!