Sparking Joy: April Edition

What I've been cooking, listening to, sipping on, and generally obsessed with lately

Although this is clearly a cooking and recipe oriented newsletter, to me those two things are wrapped up in the larger pursuit of enjoyment. If I’m committed to anything, it’s to having a generally good time as much as possible. My sisters and I refer to this practice as treat culture. This can essentially be summed up as any small pleasure that sparks joy and invites a certain just-because vacation quality to an otherwise mundane moment. It’s putting on a good playlist while you cook or making yourself a fun afternoon bev, or treating yourself to the fancy hand lotion for no particular reason.

So, while we’re largely talking food on here, I want to share little bits of life as well. That’s where this post comes in. I started this last month with a post dedicated to the things that I’m currently loving—snacks, music, images, concepts, products, whatever it may be. Little bits of my own treat culture, if you will. The point is, the format is loose. I’ve decided to try this as a monthly installment paired with my favorite recent focaccia flavors. If you like it, I’ll keep doing it! And if you don’t….well, I might still do it? We’ll just have to see. Either way, I’d love to know your thoughts as well as the things sparking joy for you lately. As always, thanks for being here! :)

Amy Poehler’s podcast

Since the pandemic, my podcast consumption has gone through the roof nearly replacing music for me entirely (sad). I feel like the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way because I’ve been getting tired of my usual roster. As if summoned to pull me back into the loving embrace of near-constant podcast consumption, and shed a little bit of light on what’s turned out to be an all around pretty weird year in America, Amy Poehler has come out with a new podcast and frankly, it’s delightful. I’ve listened to almost every episode nearly kicking my feet in delight. She’s so damn good. With little nuggets of wisdom dispersed throughout funny, interesting conversations, it’s quickly become my new favorite listen. In particular the episode with Jack Black is a must listen as well as her guest appearance on Las Culturistas and Giggly Squad. Highly recommend!

Running (and actually enjoying it??)

Recently, I decided to take up running, with the goal of training for a half marathon that happens in Baltimore every October. My whole family runs a lot, and I’ve just never found it enjoyable. Whether it’s been shin splints, shortness of breath, or just plain boredom, I hadn’t yet experienced the fabled running high…that is, until recently.

Last year I started going to yoga again for the first time since my early 20’s. My increasingly sore back was the catalyst, but I’ve found a lot of satisfaction in feeling the classes get easier and easier as I’ve continued going. Recently, I’ve found a similar ease with running. Maybe ease isn’t exactly the right word for it. It’s definitely hard, and my face is beet red by the end of it, but I’ve been able to run farther than I ever have before and I’m actually having fun while doing it (revelatory!). This enjoyment is aided by the onslaught of new pop music coming out lately. Anyways, I’ve been loving it and listening to this playlist has made it particularly fun.

Cinnamon in my coffee

For our wedding we got a Breville espresso machine and unfortunately I will now need to own one until the end of time. My aunt and uncle own a coffee shop in Driggs, Idaho (Wydaho Roasters, for those wondering!) and my uncle FaceTimed me to make sure the machine was fully dialed in. I have yet to perfect my latte art but topping my morning latte with a dash of cinnamon has quickly become the thing that I go to sleep thinking about. Specifically, I use the cinnamon from Burlap and Barrel and drink it out of a dainty little cup and saucer set up and it makes me feel like I’m on vacation staying at a fancy hotel.

Beeswax candles in the kitchen

I love lighting a candle and setting the mood when I’m cooking. I think I’ve written about this here before but it’s become a core tenant of my personality. This is a textbook example of treat culture. However, I hate when a scented candle is lit while I’m cooking. I don’t like the way that it competes with the smell of the food. So, instead I’ve found these unscented beeswax candles from the farmers market. If you live in Baltimore, Wave from Gardener’s Gourmet (the lettuce guy) sells them at the Waverly farmer’s market. His mom started making them as a hobby and her collection as well as skill has clearly grown. They’re gorgeous. She makes them in all different shapes and colors like corn on the cob and one that looks like a particularly gorgeous head of cabbage. I snagged a couple for myself, but they’d also make a fab host gift. You can also find some super cute versions on etsy.

Every so often I break my no-scented-candle rule for these ones I picked up at Whole Foods because they smell like rosemary and thyme, tomato, and lemon. They smell expensive and and don’t compete with the smell of dinner being made. As a bonus, the vessel becomes a very cute cup once the candle runs out.

Bink water bottle

Never underestimate the power of a bright and shiny new water bottle. Every few months a hot new water bottle seems to come on the scene and I try to put my blinders on and resist their gravitational pull. But, everyyyy so often I simply can’t. A couple of years ago I picked up this bubblegum pink one from Bink. They’re glass and not too big and if you do find yourself collecting multiple, the lids mix and match in a particularly cute way. Thus far, I’ve been able to keep it to a very sensible singular water bottle, but recently I did pick up this butter yellow straw tumbler for packing my afternoon iced lattes in on kitchen days. It keeps it cold and is the perfect size. When I’m not using this, I’m using an empty Bonne Mamane jar and to be honest they both have exceptionally high joy-sparking potential.

this pic being edited in a somewhat 2014 early-instagram-filter sort of way is also sparking joy for me

These stripe shorts from Old Navy

I am the sort of person who simply must change into something comfy the moment I enter my home. I’m far from a no-jeans sort of person, but I am a jeans-are-strictly-for-outside sort of person. They do not belong on the couch. And for my at home lounge uniform I rotate between a few different pairs of sweatpants. I tried incorporating shorts into the mix last summer and ended up buying this pair from Free People that look suspiciously like a big diaper. Buying them in white probably didn’t help. Recently, however, I found these from Old Navy and pulled the trigger and they have quickly become my new favorite clothing item. They’re a soft cotton, with a high waist, wide leg, and a particularly cute sporty stripe detail on the side. What’s more, they’re $15.99. Need I say more?

The diaper shorts in question…I rest my case.

Most of these are screen shots from Pinterest (their original source now lost to the ether) but the top left photo is from a local landscape architect, Meg Baldwin. This pic is from her dreamy home garden.

Garden planning

I wrote about planning my first garden in the backyard last month and lo and behold, all I have yet to actually accomplish is planting about 5 bushes in the front of the house. However, I have done a fair amount of research and the obligatory hemming and hawing over the layout and specific plants. I will say that this alone, has made for a pretty satisfying hobby. What went from envisioning just a couple of raised beds has turned into a full on cottage garden replete with string lights and a fire pit in the back. I’ve decided to pull the trigger on these raised beds because they don’t require any tools and simply fit together to assemble. I also got a tip that Tractor and Supply Co. has some particularly cute and cheap fire pits. Hopefully in next month’s roundup I’ll be reporting on more actually gardening but for now the planning alone is sparking joy for me.

p.s. If you want more gardening content from Meg (pictured above) you can find that on her Substack, Gardening Practice.

Lemon poppyseed focaccia and green garlic focaccia

Trying out different focaccia flavors started as an exercise in sparking joy. While doing Grateful Pizza, I got so bored of making the same 4 flavors every single week. This was a way to be creative and try something out simply for the sake of curiosity, without the promise of it coming out perfectly every time.

This month I tried lemon poppyseed, which was a highly requested flavor. I just couldn’t figure out how to incorporate the lemon without it getting muddled. My solution was lots of finely brunoise lemon peel rather than using a zest or extract and the result was delicious! Nutty from the poppyseeds and the perfect amount of lemon. I made this as a savory focaccia, but if I made it again, I’d try to make a sweet version by drizzling a simple powdered sugar glaze over the top. Try it and get back to me? Please?

Additionally I made a green garlic focaccia inspired by garlic bread. I’ve found that I don’t like to incorporate butter into the baking process with focaccia. The crust ends up turning out a little blonder than I’d like and takes on a sort of matte finish as opposed to the shiny crust that forms when you top the dough with olive oil. Instead, I mixed green garlic into the dough and then baked them off as usual. To make it more nostalgic like a garlic bread made by slathering baguette with garlic butter and baking, I melted lots of green garlic with butter and some freshly grated garlic and spooned that over the focaccia fresh out of the oven. Since green garlic season is fleeting, I also included a version for regular garlic. I don’t think this requires much convincing but you simply must make it.