Just Ease Out The Clutch

Hello, friends!

I’ve been alone with the fact that I hadn’t ticked off all the tasks on last year’s Summer Bucket List. My guilt was assuaged by the fact that my Summer Bucket Lists are far more low stakes than the work to-do lists or the ever present endless list of house chores. Summer Buckets are meant to be aspirational, and sure a little challenging but my goodness – they’re supposed to be fun, and maybe even give me a little sunburn (a tell-tale sign of a good time in my book).

It was somewhere along Ranch Road 1376 outside of Luckenbach, TX, on the back of Will’s bike a few weeks ago that my last Summer Bucket List task struck me like lightning.  While I LOVE being on the back of Will’s bike, I thought – I’m ready to ride my own bike – no more delaying, I’m calling the Harley Davidson dealership as soon as I get back to New Orleans and they’re going to teach me how to ride.

That’s exactly what happened this week.  Fuel, ignition, neutral, clutch, kill switch, start button.  Roll off the throttle, pull the clutch in, shift to third, ease the clutch for the love of god, nope pull the clutch back in, hold it, back brake, front brake, guh…that was too much front brake.  These were honestly the only thoughts in my head all week.  And, despite flubbing my figure 8 during the riding exam, I passed my test and well… I need a bit more work before I can call myself roadworthy, but I’m so excited and so proud and I’m absolutely getting a full face helmet.

Finished one Summer Bucket just in time to daydream the next.

The offering this week is below. Take what feels good this Sunday!

•  These feelings on what is love and what is labor in the kitchen resonates with me.  Alicia Kennedy teases out the words in On Domesticity.

•  Gems, diamonds, and actual treasures: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known (Kevin Kelly)

 •  “If you are going to live a full life after loss, you have to find your way back to joy.”  The Lesson My Mother Taught Me Before She Died (Cup of Jo)

•  I love what Amy Estes brings us, every time.  Ordinary Softness (Khora)

•  I  really appreciate when cookbook authors understand how we want to cook.  Ali Slagle’s new book I Dream of Dinner nails it with her 10 ingredient or less, 45 minutes or less meals.  Low effort, high reward, paragraph written recipes.  It’s the book you’d reach for when trying to figure out what’s for dinner at 5:15pm.  As a preview, Ali shares a caesar dressing that doubles as a meat marinade on Food52: Not Just Another Caesar Salad. (Penguin Random House, Food52)

•  I have my first two mosquito bites of the summer which means it’s officially MARGARITA SEASON.  Let tequila be the balm. The 9 Margarita recipes we’ll want to make all summer long arrived just in time. Now if frozen blender drinks is more your speed headed into summer, consider keeping several bags of frozen fruit in your freezer for the easiest boozy slushies.  (The Kitchn, Joy the Baker)

•  Speaking of summer, the latest issue of Joy the Baker Magazine could be your summer playbook with all of its backyard chili, no churn ice cream, and craft projects.  It’s available for pre-order right here —> JtB Summer Magazine 2022!

•  I love Jon’s commitment to the meatball:  Beef Fajita Meatballs. (The Candid Appetite)

•  On my wishful meal-prep list this weekend is Minimalist Baker’s Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad. Seeing as I have yet to buy avocados, this may not happen this very weekend but it’s bookmarked for my hopeful future.

•  I bought myself this t-shirt to celebrate passing my motorcycle class.  This has been my unspoken motto for years (especially the “take no sh*t” part).  (Atwyld)

•  This time last year we were baking Almond Flour Whipped Ricotta Fresh Strawberry Bars  and we discussed Nigella Lawson, post-pandemic thoughts from within the pandemic, and a song by PJ Morton here:  Let It Be Sunday, 319 (Joy the Baker)

•  It’s JAZZFEST season in New Orleans and I can’t help but think of the days before I lived here when I’d come to visit for the music and crawfish bread of these two glorious weekends.  Sweet Crude, one of my very favorite New Orleans bands played this first weekend and I want you to have a little piece of their Cajun French this Sunday.

Enjoy this day, friends!

My love to you.

xo Joy