Leftovers #181
The fire was lit by 10.30am yesterday – the only balm in this weather. Another week, another impatient painting adventure. This time the living room in a beautiful shade of blue (Kittiwake by Farrow & Ball), patchy as ever with wonky lines. Still haven’t painted over the abnormally large Bauwerk test patch I did in June, but that’s to come. I sort of love doing the house in this slapdash way and am seemingly allergic to design perfection in my own home.
The start of a new spatial adventure that will perhaps require some painting, which begins next week. My wonderful friend Jess and I are taking on a studio in Newlyn – a bright, light and big space with huge windows that sits opposite a babbling brook. It’ll be somewhere for us to work out of, as well as host conversations, wine bar pop ups, guest-chef dinners and exhibitions. More details to come but we celebrated last night with dinner at Argoe. We’ll be dangerously close, which means post-work drinks on the sea which will inevitably lead to plates of grilled octopus and bowls of chips.
I’ve got itchy feet again, either as a result of or spurring on flights to Venice for the Biennale. It’s technically for work, but I will be spending my 35th birthday at the British Pavilion and I’m relieved at not having to plan my own party!
Good things to consume (bodily)
Lots of good wine consumed yesterday celebrating the beginnings of our new studio (name reveal coming soon). One of which was this trousseau from the Jura region, which tasted like macerated strawberries! Went onto a peachy, floral orange, and ended on a chilled Portuguese red. The second star of the show was a glass of lambrusco, which is my favourite type of sparkling wine. You’ll find a lot of lambrusco on the menu at our studio pop ups…
This morning I did slightly regret the five glasses, so I was saved by a quick 20 minute yoga flow, a bowl of tuna with yoghurt and Kashmiri chilli oil (wrapped in red cabbage leaves… weird breakfast but I’m yet to do the weekend shop), and a near perfect green smoothie: 1 date, 1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp creamy tahini, 4-5 cashews, handful of kale, 1 thumb of ginger, 1 cup of Rude Health coconut milk and a splash of coconut water. All blitzed up. So good.
I love nothing more than prepping dinner so far ahead of time that I can have a bath before my friend turns up. In this case, it was whilst she turned up – I left the keys in a plant pot and she let herself in whilst I was watching Bridgerton and doing gua sha in the bath. Anyway, I made daal and forgot to get a tin of coconut milk and can confirm that a splash of Rude Health coconut milk works perfectly and might even be my preference so it’s not too thick!
Made a version of my miso tomato brothy beans – but this time blitzed up red onion, carrot, garlic and ginger, and added pearl barley instead of orzo. Needs must when you need to cook your neighbour dinner and haven’t had time to go to the shops. Great with a slice of heavily buttered sourdough.
More breakfasts consisting of miso maple butter sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, sautéed chard with crumbled feta and a green juice – 1 tbsp spirulina, handful of frozen mango, handful of frozen pineapple, 1/2 frozen banana, handful of spinach, the juice of 1/4 lime, thumb of ginger and enough coconut water to cover everything.
I cooked up 8 chicken thighs slathered in a gochujang and blood orange juice marinade and spent most of the week eating it with a fried kimchi rice. It’s something my mum used to make me ALL THE TIME for packed lunches at school (no soggy sandwiches at my house). You just need some chopped up kimchi, any root veg you’d like (we usually do carrots, spring onions), garlic and ginger, all fried up in a little butter. Add 1/2 tbsp soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil. You could also add a little spoonful of gochujang. Then just load in the veg – cabbage, chard, kale, spinach etc. Crack in an egg and mix it up.
Just a reminder to anyone who lives in or visits Cornwall, that Argoe, St Eia and Flora are the best places for you to spend your money on delicious meals. I had the pleasure of dining at all three this week – a cosy lunch with Lucy at Flora where we shared a big bowl of ribollita soup, an anchovy and potato pizzette, a bitter leaf salad and a large hunk of chocolate cake. St Eia for a mid-week lunch with Kathryn and Gus for their iconic brothy beans with Coombeshead mangalitsa sausage (I only ever order this if I’m going there for lunch: it’s perfect). And Argoe last night with Jess where we were greeted with bombas – a rotund potato croquette topped with aioli and a jammy tomato sauce; escabeche mopped up with bread; a flatbread dolloped with creamy pollock roe; buttery scallops, crispy fries, tart salad; spider crab rice and a creme caramel/flan situation so soft that it melted in your mouth as soon as it left the spoon.
Good things to cook this week
Caramelised fennel and onion pasta looking good for a midweek supper with friends.
Steamed chicken is the way you get it super tender – this with shitake mushrooms and soy is on the menu for tonight.
If the weather keeps going the way it is, I’m going to have to make Colu Henry’s chicken sausage, white bean and greens stew.
I miss Sichuan restaurants; thank god for Fuschia Dunlop’s dandan noodles recipe on The Observer.
In constant need of greens, so Samin Nosrat’s green beans with herby tahini sauce is perfect as a side or as a lunch mixed with potatoes and some mackerel!
Good things to consume (culturally)
For anyone intrigued by the cultural phenomenon of Heated Rivalry and how it’s sent everyone into a homoerotic tailspin, Girls Who Love Boys Who Love Boys on Vulture is for you.
There was a clear line of desire, whereas for women, something queer was happening, like pegging a straight guy. This was a fugitive sensibility with a shroud of shame around it. Everyone had their theories: because of the yearning; because women are the primary consumers of romance anyway; because there’s no gender imbalance; because something trans is going on; because of heteropessimism; because, well, what’s better than one dick?
Came across this trailer for a Brazilian indie film about a woman opening a wine bar. Was disturbed by the AI Meta audio translation from Portuguese to English. Hated it. But when I listened to it in its original format with subtitles, I got very excited! Looks offbeat, sweet and funny.
About to pen an essay on this new era of romance (through the lens of television moments like the new series of Bridgerton and JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette Love Story). I’m so fascinated by how and why series like this capture our cultural attention so much. Anyway, one of my favourite cultural and fashion commentators Viv Chen wrote about how Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s influence is inflating the vintage market. I’m predicting a rise in Calvin Klein sales.
Tell me why I cried watching this video of a husky howling softly to a song?
I watched the latest Jeff Buckley documentary by Amy Berg at the cinema on Sunday. I was sobbing almost from the beginning. I’ve been obsessed with Jeff Buckley since my brother introduced me to him in the early 00s. I remember hearing him listening to Grace on his CD player and creeping into his room to listen with him.
I listened to the Call Her Daddy episode with Jackson White (aka Stephen DeMarco from Tell Me Lies) and it was good to understand that this actor is not the sociopath he is so good at portraying. Not usually an Alex Cooper fan but she’s got some good guests on – saving the Bethany Joy Lenz one about escaping a cult and One Tree Hill for my drive later today.
Eagerly awaiting the arrival of Father Mother Sister Brother on Mubi, the latest Jim Jarmusch film feat. Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, Tom Waits and Cate Blanchett. Until then, here’s a great essay on the movie by Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Sheila Heti’s essay, Good Medicine, on Granta, is indeed good medicine when you’ve been diagnosed with not reading enough. Spoiler: it’s about taking psychedelics.
This is an excellent, groovesome track that you won’t be able to listen to on Spotify:
Don't think I've ever seen so many people crying in a cinema as for the Jeff Buckley doc. Was amazing to see (*hear*) so much historic footage of him having also been obsessed with his music since my first time listening many years ago.
ravenous after finishing this one — thank you!!