Ann Mah's newsletter / January 2020
January 2020 newsletter
Happy new year!
I was in the shower yesterday when I realized the first Thursday of the month had flown by and I had forgotten to send this newsletter – whoops! This was not quite the organized, getting-off-on-the-right-foot start to the year that I had imagined :)
I got back from Southern California a few days ago and my hypothalamus gland is still lagging behind, so maybe that's why I'm more distracted than usual? Despite uneven weather and my poor husband's flu, we had a really nice time on the West Coast, including a little trip to Portland, Oregon where I lost my heart to the fresh air, fir trees, and superlative walk scores of all the neighborhoods.
On our last day in California, we went out to lunch and across the street from the restaurant I happened to spot the florist that had done our wedding flowers! I still have such lovely memories of the bouquets of green hydrangeas and white peonies created by Nisie's Enchanted Florist. My six-year-old daughter was thrilled to pop inside the shop, where we bought an arrangement of succulents for a friend. It was a fun trip down memory lane.
Here's what else I've been up to...
What I've been eating
–Have you ever had a maple bacon doughnut? I tried my first one at Portland's Blue Star and also discovered doughnuts are the city's most divisive food.
–After years of stressed-out prime rib roasting, we went low and slow for Christmas this year with Melissa Clark's NYT porchetta and the results were fantastic.
–Also for our holiday table I made this delicious Dorie Greenspan recipe for sweet and smoky roasted carrots. I spiked the accompanying yogurt with harissa.
–Feeling more abstemious in January? This crispy sesame baked tofu from Food52 would be great in a grain bowl.
–I'm also planning on making Marcella Hazan's broccoli and pasta soup. Love that bright green color!
–And for a kid-tested and approved recipe, may I suggest avgolemono, a lemony Greek chicken soup? I made it for dinner a few weeks ago and it was like sunshine in a bowl.
What I've been reading
I recently attended Monique Truong's presentation of her new novel, The Sweetest Fruits. You may know Monique from her bestselling, award-winning novels The Book of Salt, and Bitter in the Mouth. The Sweetest Fruits is based on the life of Lafcadio Ahearn, an early 20th century author whose diverse subjects ranged from the first Creole cookbook to Meiji-era Japan (he was the first Westerner to write about Japan). Monique weaves together the voices of three important women in Ahearn's life to create "a marvelous mixture of fact and imagination" (Washington Post).
*Book Giveaway!*
I'm delighted to be giving away one (1) signed copy of this lush and evocative novel to a newsletter reader (*US residents only). If you subscribe, you are already entered to win. Otherwise, sign up here before the contest ends on Monday, January 13, 2020. Good luck!
–You may remember that I'm a big fan of my friend Zoe Fishman and her new book, Invisible as Air. Zoe has just written a staggeringly beautiful essay for the Modern Love column of the New York Times: The Subway Crush Who Crushed Me. Read it with tissues.
–After years of searching, I finally found the fairy tale Christmas village of my dreams! It's in far eastern Germany on the Czech border, and I wrote all about it for New York Times Travel: Dreaming of an Artisanal Christmas
–As a wine lover, I am closely following the proposed 100% tariffs on European wine, which could begin on January 14. If enacted, consumers will see wine prices go astronomically up and selection dramatically narrow. American importers and distributors – who import $4.25 billion a year in European wine – will most likely face serious job losses. You can read more in the Washington Post, Wine Spectator, Decanter, and many other publications. Write to the USTR to comment on the proposal before January 13.
–Good food exists in the 16th arrondissement! Lindsey Tramuta talked to François-Régis Gaudry (author of Let's Eat France) for the scoop. Find the deets at New York Times Travel.
A bientôt
After taking three flights before 7am last month, I can now say that the reward of getting up before five o'clock is catching the sunrise from the sky. And so, as 2020 dawns, here is Mt Hood at dawn! May the new year bring you abundant happiness and good health.
See you in February!
XO,
Ann
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