Keep Going 058
Brought to you by toasting a marshmallow so perfectly that it melts in your mouth.
👋 Hello everyone!
There have been some changes in the Esquivel kitchen. First, we’re trying out Hello Fresh, a meal kit delivery service. I never wanted to do meal kits, because I felt like I’m a good enough cook not to need them, I should be able to cook these things on my own, etc.
I’ve had some serious decision fatigue lately, and by the time dinner rolls around, I just do not want to make another decision. Tell me what to cook, and I’ll cook it! But please, for the love of all things holy, do not make me decide what to cook. So far, we’re loving the meal kits. It’s fun to dump out the bag of goodies and see what ingredients I’ll be working with; and I know it’s wasteful, but those tiny, cute packets of sour cream or cumin or whatnot just make me happy. We accidentally got some meat dishes in one of our orders, so Justin cooked it up, and that brings us to new thing #2.
I’m eating (some) meat! It’s about a year since I’ve even wanted to taste meat (aside from fish). But recently something looked good, and I tasted it, and I liked it! There are still a lot of things that totally gross me out, and I don’t order it at restaurants often, because I still don’t know if I can finish a whole meat dish, but I did eat like half a chicken breast, and a meatball, and some of J’s hamburger…
It’s been interesting, because my pescatarianism wasn’t due to health concerns or animal rights, I was just grossed out by beef, chicken, pork, etc. I really, really hate not liking food items—I will try things over and over until I can at least tolerate it—so not liking meat just pissed me off, tbh. I’m still in the early stages of poking at meat-related items, but it’s a start!
What have you been up to lately? I’ve been…
🥗 Eating
New this month: 1) Patio weather! 2) Hello Fresh! 3) I’m eating some meat!
Veggie sausage kolache and iced tea at Batch.
Salad for me, sandwich for J at Easy Tiger. Those fries.
J’s fluffy scrambled eggs, aka the reason I just can’t do scrambled eggs or breakfast tacos or anywhere but home. Actually, that and the fact that people wrap their breakfast tacos in foil, and then the tortilla is all steamy. Ew.
Giant salad and a cheeseburger and fries at Sour Duck.
Hello Fresh meal: Some kind of crispy chicken with couscous and lemony carrots. Justin made the chicken, and I ate like half of it!
Hello Fresh meal: Crispy tilapia with potato wedges, slaw, and remoulade. I would never make slaw on my own, especially with red cabbage, because what am I gonna do with a whole head of red cabbage?! But they gave me just enough for this, which was perfect.
Hello Fresh meal: Za’atar seared halloumi with couscous and sumac roasted veggies. I mean, you can’t go wrong with griddled cheese.
Hello Fresh meal: Crispy salmon with couscous (Hello Fresh realllllly loves Israeli couscous), zucchini ribbon salad, and chipotle crema.
Hello Fresh meal: Shepherd’s pie. Probably our least favorite, not because it wasn’t delicious, but because it was just… that. I added a salad, and we thought bread would be nice, too.
Lunch at Swedish Hill - the BEST, most perfectly dressed salad topped with smoked trout, plus macarons. I love a good macaron.
Grilled cheese tteok (rice cake) skewers drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. Holy moly, so good.
Lazy jumeok-bap, which basically means a bowl of fresh rice topped with tuna-mayo-mix, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and seaweed flakes. Central Market was out of my favorite hot kimchi, so we tried a radish kimchi and a white kimchi. Verdict: just gimme my friggin hot kimchi.
📚 Reading
I started three books last month! Ditched one, still going on the other two.
For the Wolf – I should really like, read the descriptions of things before I start reading them. This one was a sort of Beauty and the Beast, Red Riding Hood, Stranger Things situation that was pretty good, though kind of confusing, and then like 1/4 of the way through I realized it was the first in a series, and the second in the series hasn’t been written yet, so nope. I’m not investing in a book I’m not adoring if it’s not even complete. Maybe next year.
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet – I looooooove John Green. I have loved every book I’ve read that he’s written. They’re usually young adult fiction, but this is a collection of essays that are just super thought-provoking and lovely.
All Our Wrong Todays – This one was recommended by a BookPeople staffer based on some of the other books we’ve loved. It’s sci-fi of sorts, and we’re reading it aloud together. So far it’s funny and captivating and worth continuing.
😂 Laughing
That’s it! Thank you for reading—hit reply and tell me what you’re up to.
--Crystal