A Nostalgic Pasta Recipe
RECS #35: A couple nights in Orlando, “Her,” and learning to like my solitude.
Dearest friends,
Another couple weeks gone by, and I’ll admit, I have very little to show for it. Well, except for a brief adventure in Orlando, Florida, where we visited Conor’s brother, a designer and engineer at Universal, who worked on “Epic Universe,” the park’s newest addition. For 48 hours, I indulged my inner child with stomach-turning roller coasters, stale theme park food, and in-line hand games. (Conor beat me at sticks every single time.)
I haven’t been on a ride in a decade at least, and I seem to have retained no memory of how it felt to be blasted onto a track at seventy miles per hour and then flipped upside down six times in less than 90 seconds. My brain rattled inside my skull for at least an hour after stepping off the Velocicoaster, Universal’s Jurassic Park-themed ride. Otherwise, though, I walked through Diagon Alley and got a taste of the Mario Brothers universe. I tried frozen butterbeer and boysenberry mead. It was a blast, but I’m so happy to not be waiting in any lines today.
READING: A couple weeks before our trip, I came down with a cold just strong enough for me to cancel a few plans—leaving me with more open weeknights than usual. I finished “The Namesake” on those evenings which, without getting too far ahead of myself, might have already solidified itself as one of my favorite books of the year. It’s expansive and intimate and tender and evocative and everything good about the novel as a form. I’m now almost done with “The Berry Pickers,” which came out last year. Another family saga, this one has not moved me quite as much, but I’ve been particularly struck by the simultaneous beauty and harshness with which it depicts landscape. Amanda Peters does such a good job at using the earth to illustrate how small human beings really are compared to the places we inhabit. Otherwise, I read this review-essay about the role of gossip in our lives; this piece about why Reddit is one of the better places on the internet right now; and this survey about how the dining habits of different generations.
EATING: When I was sick, I made a big pot of Melissa Clark’s red lentil soup that I ate for dinner all week. I didn’t allow the stock to cook off long enough or add quite enough salt, so I dressed it up with a lot of freshly grated parm, lemon juice, cilantro, and olive oil each night. And I served it with warm, buttered bread. I also made Alexa Weibel’s viral creamy, spicy beans with greens recipe. Similarly, it’s best served with a chunky, crusty piece of toast. When my sister was in town at the beginning of March, she came over for dinner and I made this pasta with pancetta, cream, and peas, inspired by this Instagram video. There is no formal recipe, but the ingredients and cooking methods are simple. I used frozen peas so I left out the pea stock, and it was still wonderful—cozy, salty, acidic, and somehow nostalgic. I’ve made a couple variations of it recently, but the original remains the best.
CONSUMING: Between the finale of “Severance” and weekly episodes of “The White Lotus,” I’ve finished the entire first season of “The Valley.” As I’ve said before, the show is absurd with its manufactured drama and in-group exclusivity, but it also takes place almost entirely among the streets of Studio City, Sherman Oaks, and Encino. Watching grown adults yell and gossip on the same streets where I first had unsupervised hang-outs as an adolescent felt not unlike placing the last piece in a puzzle. I also watched “Her” for the first time on a quiet Saturday night a couple weeks ago. It’s a beautiful movie, and I’m sad I hadn’t seen it sooner—before A.I. lovers became a lived reality rather than a dystopian potential future. I’ve also been enjoying the new Japanese Breakfast album as well as Lucy Dacus’ LP. Both have mostly played in the background as I’ve read or folded laundry or packed my lunches, but “Best Guess” from Dacus and “Orlando in Love” from Japanese Breakfast have both temporarily satiated by ceaseless desire for sappy, wistful tunes.
SAVORING: Conor has made a very smart habit of gifting me spa days for holidays and birthdays. Since we started dating, I’ve visited the Spa de la Mer at the Baccarat Hotel, Great Jones Spa in Nolita, and, most recently, QC Spa on Governors Island. The Saturday after my race, with my swimsuit, book, and headphones packed neatly in my tote bag, I stepped off the ferry. For the next six hours, I meandered between the sauna, the steam room, and the heated pools with quick pit stops for a massage and a midday Aperol spritz. The spa was filled with groups and couples, and I’ll admit there were moments where I wished someone had joined me for the day, but I’m trying to savor and appreciate solitude—especially as time by myself becomes more of a rarity. I ordered sushi to pick up on my way home and curled up on the couch to watch “Her.” It was lovely and earnestly restorative after a busy few weeks.
Until next time,
Erin
Your spa day sounds so amazing!