"let me finish, if you don't mind..." another watch.listen.snack. freebie!
+ a wonderful music podcast + a roadtrip movie + election night food
Hey-ho,
This election season has me once again listening to the bros over on Pod Save America. In case you’re not familiar, the four hosts were staffers for Obama. They have attitude and political analysis bonafides. Don’t go to them to be soothed, they don’t blow smoke, but they’re reasonable. One thing that resonated with me recently, they were taking about massive election anxiety and they quoted Maria Shriver who said she and everyone she knows has been “eating gummies and doing yoga…” (Oh my gosh, I blushed so hard when I heard this… I too am anxious, these are things I do… and this sounds so privileged… what of people who have deep fears about their safety? Women who may need access to abortions, or IVF, trans people…) and Jon Lovett mocked,
“How are you going to deal with the stress over the next two weeks? Who cares?”
He’s right. I mean, of course we should check in with people we love, but if we aren’t feeling stress, then something’s wrong. It’s stressful right now!
This is a crucial moment… do you have a plan to vote?
What about your friends in swing states? Are you reaching out to them? Just checking on their voting plans? Nudging if you can? Thank you!
…
Last week we heard Hillary Clinton speak. It’s complicated right? There was a large anti-war crowd chanting outside the venue, and rightly so. Some protestors expressed hostility at the crowd, and some in the crowd expressed hostility right back. Young and old women flipping each other off, doing absolutely no good. If you’re heartbroken by the devastation and suffering of innocent families in Palestine and Sudan, consider giving to Doctors w/out Borders.
Meanwhile, inside the venue Tina Kotek (governor of Oregon) asked zero questions about foreign policy and Israel, which was incredibly disappointing considering Hillary’s previous job.
And yet, respect, right? Alongside her hawkish actions, Hillary’s been a powerhouse for women, nearly cracking the ultimate American glass ceiling, certainly opening doors.
Remember in 1992, before she was First Lady, when she got flack about her law career and choice to not bake cookies?
I suppose I could have stayed home, baked cookies, and had teas… The work that I have done as a professional, a public advocate, has been aimed . . . to assure that women can make the choices whether it's full-time career, full-time motherhood, or some combination.
Choosing a career is such a ridiculous thing to have to defend. Now, Kamala Harris is having to defend her choice not to have children, which doesn’t seem distant from the cookie-baking complaints lodged against Clinton. Why does our country have such a narrow definition of women? The needle moves incrementally.
In 1995 Clinton gave her seminal speech:
If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all. And among those rights are the right to speak freely and the right to be heard.
And today, Harris says:
Holy Smokes! Let’s do all we can to turn the page.
watch:
Have you watched, WILL AND HARPER? What a beautiful story about friendship, curiosity, claiming the life we want, and about our selfish gaffs. The documentary follows a cross country roadtrip with Will Ferrell and 63-year-old Harper Steele, a trans woman who, as Andrew Steele, had been the head writer at Saturday Night Live. Okay, I love Will Ferrell. In fact, I cannot wait to watch ELF, as I do every December. I love that Will asks of Harper all the questions we might ask, regarding sex, intimacy, the body, fear, and agency. All of it. And, his friend Harper responds with straight-forward honesty and grace.
One of the amazing scenes for me was when the two of them are in Texas, not the most trans friendly state in our union, and they go to a steak eating contest. Because Will Ferrell is such a needy clown… such an attention seeker… he puts the two of them in the center of a hostile crowd. The results are painful. And, we see Will in real time, facing the pain he caused his friend. This moment brings up another question for me: What is the cost of art making? (Will’s clowning in a Sherlock Holmes costume, eating steak in front of a big audience is definitely his art form.) In this situation, is Harper’s pain collateral damage or just straight up damage? Certainly Will knew this crowd had opinions about trans people. And yet, he sallied forth…
I loved this documentary. LMK what you think:
listen:
I know, I know… I quoted Jon Lovett up top:
“How are you going to deal with the stress over the next two weeks? Who cares?”
I was glib. Of course I care. And, of course we all should feel stress.
Here’s a little release valve:
What a joyful podcast! Bursting with music. The host, Wesley Morris, nearly explodes with exuberance. The pod tells Stevie Wonder’s life story from “Fingertips” to “That Girl,” focusing on his five amazing albums released from 1972 to 1976. Wonder appears in the final episode. (I’m not there yet!) And peers such as Smokey Robinson tell stories. Questlove, Janelle Monáe, Barack and Michelle Obama all articulate the joy of Wonder’s genius. There’s a rumor that Barack sings!
And, just for a dose of huh? but not awful: here’s Frank Sinatra covering “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” 😎💥🌞
Before hitting the snacks below, maybe hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter? It means more to me than you know. xoNatalie
snack:
Are you going to have an election night gathering? (Can I call it a party?) I recently went to visit the wine shop in our neighborhood and requested a bottle of bubbles for celebrating, and a bottle of something red, heavy, and warm in case we need to lick our wounds.
I’m planning on tons of snacks and a hearty salad from one of my favorite substack newsletters,
’s Department of Salad. I come for the salads, but stay for Emily’s convivial voice.In fact, this week if you upgrade your read.write.eat. subscription, I’ll turn around and gift you a month paid subscription to Department of Salad!
Win/win! Trust me, you want both.
For our election night fête, I’m making Emily’s Spiced Butternut Squash and Farro with a Little Parsley and Onion Salad, alongside bowls of olives, popcorn, radishes with butter, roasted nuts… perfect for nervous eating.
Adding Alison Roman’s Spinach Artichoke Dip to the mix. And, because who doesn’t love hot cheese, I’ll be serving:
Smoky Paprika Cheese Skewers
4T minced shallot
2T extra-virgin olive oil
2t smoked sweet paprika
1/2t hot paprika or ground cayenne
1/2t ground coriander or cumin
Fine sea salt (optional: be careful, the cheese is salty)
16oz halloumi, cut into 1-inch cubes and patted dry
In a bowl, combine shallot, oil, spices and a small pinch of salt, if you like. (Most grilling cheese is already pretty salty; taste it first.) Add cheese and gently toss to evenly coat.
Heat grill to high. While the grill is heating, pierce marinated cheese onto metal skewers or pre-soaked wooden skewers about 3 per skewer. Save leftover marinade at the bottom of bowl.
When grill is hot, brush the grates lightly with oil and add the skewers. Cook, rotating them carefully every few minutes, until evenly browned and slightly charred in places, about 3 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and brush with remaining marinade.
…
For the sweets:
Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Muffins
2c all-purpose flour
1T ground cinnamon
1t baking powder
¾t kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
½t baking soda
¾c granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
½c packed light or dark brown sugar
½c vegetable oil
1(15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
2 eggs
¼c plain whole-milk yogurt
1½t pure vanilla extract
½c Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups. In a med bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk the sugars, oil, pumpkin purée, eggs, yogurt and vanilla extract.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter in half.
Add cocoa powder to one half of the batter and mix until just combined.
Add alternating scoops of each batter to the muffin cups until you’ve used it all up. Using a butter knife, swirl the batters together without combining them fully. Sprinkle the tops generously with granulated sugar.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and let them stand on the rack to cool completely.
Serving lots of sparkling water to keep us hydrated as well. Mocktails and real-tails too. What do you have on deck for election night?
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My man and Stanley, all in this election season:
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Please, remember to tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin.
xN
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