Ann Mah's newsletter / Sept 2020
September 2020 newsletter
Hello
I'm sending a short dispatch this month because we are moving! As you read this, we are on our way to Hanoi, where my husband will begin an assignment at the US Embassy in Vietnam. We'll be there for three years and I am looking forward to exploring a new country, learning a new language, and discovering all that delicious Vietnamese food! First, however, we have to make the 20+ hour trip and get through two weeks of strict quarantine... If you have a moment, please send good vibes :)
Here's what else I've been up to...
What I've been eating
–My daughter turned seven and we celebrated with a chiffon cake – which is notoriously difficult to make and turned out exceptionally well, so I was very pleased with myself ;) It was so light it just about floated off the plate. I combined these recipes from Smitten Kitchen and King Arthur Baking.
–This eggplant parmesan was exceptional in many ways – exceptionally delicious, an exceptional amount of work, and an exceptional amount of oil... But worth it! Recipe from Saveur.
–We took a fun kids cooking class with Mardi Michels and made these simple jam tarts that are wonderful with a cup of tea.
What I've been reading
–The American general election is coming up on November 3rd. If you are American, have you organized your plan to vote? I just double-checked that I'm registered and requested an absentee ballot to be sent to my new address – and it felt SO GOOD! If you're unsure about any part of the process, check out Vote.org where you can verify your status, register to vote, and decide how you're going to do it. You can even sign up to be a poll worker! :)
–Jacqueline Bouvier and John F. Kennedy were married in September 1953 – this slideshow from the Fug Girls offers a look at their wedding celebration.
–Did you know the suffrage movement used recipes and cooking as part of their community organization? Laura Kumin reveals more in her new cookbook and culinary history, All Stirred Up. "Mix the crust with tact and velvet gloves, using no sarcasm, especially with the upper crust..." <-- An actual historic recipe!
–Researching my new book, I was fascinated to learn about black and tan nightclubs, where patrons of all races mixed in a time of legal and social segregation.
–Looking for an escape? Samantha Vérant's new novel, The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valraux, is a charming confection that will whisk you to a French château.
–I recently discovered the NPR podcast Rough Translation, which has some of the best reporting on France I've heard. I particularly enjoyed this episode about a McDonald's in Marseille, and this one about the French term for "ghost writer."
–I'm loving a new nonfiction book, The Socrates Express by Eric Weiner, who you may know as the author of The Geography of Bliss. With his signature clarity and insight, he takes us on a journey following in the footsteps of some of history's greatest thinkers.
–Did you know the green metal chairs in the Jardin du Luxembourg were created in 1923 and are now considered iconic garden furniture?
A bientôt
I found my passport and I'm ready to travel! As I look forward to next month, my goals are to get through quarantine with my health and sanity intact and to continue working on my new novel. I'm almost halfway done, and once I'm finished I'll start studying Vietnamese. I'll be documenting my discoveries on Instagram, and I hope you'll come say hello.
This is an unsettling rentrée season filled with anxiety for many people. I hope you're hanging in there as best you can, cooking, reading, watching something good on TV, taking things one step at a time. We'll get through this!
XO Ann