A muffin is a pancake in a suit
Hey pals,
It’s Tuesday night. Just a reminder.
I hope that you had a reflective, enriching Memorial Day weekend. I did not, but I did watch Bad News Bears and last night I made a really good dinner: I cooked stone ground grits in butter and oat milk, carmelized onions from my husband’s garden, roasted radishes and tempeh, and braised lion’s mane mushrooms and collard greens. Yum! Mushrooms are so important to me.
Jack’s latest, with beautiful photos by Deb Sulzberger: Just 25 Photos of Dogs Frolicking in Lavender Fields. Exactly what we all need right now. And a bonus horse! Just a top notch experience all around.
Arabella riffed on a classic Bon Appetit recipe to come up with this spicy cashew cream that can go on (or be dipped by) just about anything you can think of. Delicious!
Alicia brought us three adaptable muffin recipes that can be dressed up or down however you like. As she says in the piece, “ a muffin is really just a pancake in a suit.”
Macken examined the candidates records on animal welfare and environmental issues to try to determine who animals would vote for. Although many of us are not fans of either menu option, he lays out some stark differences between Donald Trump and Joe Biden when it comes to defending and protecting animals.
“Considering all that marked his start in life, I’m so happy every time Mister cuddles with one of us. I consider each purr a forgiveness.” —Jennifer Mishler, What The World’s Crankiest Cat Taught Me About Love
#TBTUESDAY
Highlighting one great story from the Tenderly archives
There is a field that cradles pieces of my childhood, out where olive groves are frozen in wartime, their branches a coarse valley of winding knots; where gladiolus and crocus adorn the mountains; and jasmine, their fragrance delicate and sweet, climb brick and clay. It’s there that I smelled the metallic scent of blood and saw death pool across a makeshift tarp, bursting out from between flesh and wool. The meditative silence is thick and choking, until the hissing of a pan calls. My aunts would hunch above their silver pots — prodding, tasting, salting, and stirring — until the formulaic banging of a wooden spoon. “Yallah,” they’d bellow, ushering us back to the scene. And we ate together on that floor, chirping and filling up our bellies as the sun split itself across the horizon. Where before there was life, our stomachs had made a graveyard.
— Roqayah Chamseddine, I’m Vegan and Muslim, and It’s Time to Open Our Eyes
CABOODLE
Vegan and cruelty-free beauty recs
I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s been hard for me to get excited about looking ‘my best’ these last few weeks. I’ve basically abandoned most of my skincare routine, makeup, all my prettiest clothes — all things that never felt like a chore, but that I did because I wanted to……. when I actually saw humans other than my husband in person on a regular basis.
That said, little things go a long way, and on that tip I have a couple recommendations if some small investments in looking hot on Zoom are something you’re interested in.
- Kush Mascara from Milk Makeup, which is now a completely vegan brand (despite the name). I don’t know if the CBD is actually part of why this works or not, though it’s certainly a novelty, but this is far and away the best mascara I’ve ever used. Once upon a time I got lash extensions from a nice woman named Eleanor who I miss very much, but since I can’t afford that shit anymore this is as close as I can get.
- oVertone color conditioner. At the beginning of quarantine, I got a wild feeling and ordered Manic Panic bleach and pink hair dye like I was still seventeen. Having bleached and colored my hair many times, I know the biggest pitfall is all your color washing out after a handful of shampoos. Luckily, I’ve discovered oVertone — a conditioner that re-infuses punk colors like pink or rose gold back into your hair. Bonus: it makes your hair really, really soft.
WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?
A vegan recipe recommendation from the Tenderly archives
Laura’s Aquafaba French Toast. It’s late (sorry!), so instead of recommending a dinner recipe, I’m here to recommend you make this perfectly fluffy and balanced french toast for breakfast tomorrow (or at 11pm tonight if you get hungry, there are absolutely no rules right now and you should eat whenever you want). It’s easy to make as long as you have a few slices of a French baguette or something similar — I like to make it a day or two after a pasta night where we ate the other half of the baguette.
