stop at the corner!
+ signs of love/life in Brooklyn ++ a guest recipe from a lovely chef + a prompt
dear ones,
(Welcome to all new subscribers! I’m so happy you’re here.)
…
“Stop at the corner!”
I hear it everywhere. It’s the verbal equivalent to flinging your arm across the passenger seat when you slam on your brakes. The ultimate loving gesture. “Stop at the corner!” Parents holler after small children who race down the block, scooter wildly across the sidewalk, and run after small dogs.
It’s the first flush of spring in Brooklyn. Trees are nearly bursting into song, a woodpecker drums away at a trunk, his version of activating his dating profile. Sidewalk tables are bursting with people in colorful clothing, clinking glasses. There are so many dogs in the park the nearby coffee spot is out of treats! The green market is still a bit anemic, though the rainbow chard is stellar. We’re meandering past street art, daffodils, and shaking ourselves awake.
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Spring means tender greens and wonderful salads ahead! In today’s eat section I’m delighted to host
a chef from France who brings us the keys to the kingdom, a delightful vinaigrette. Don’t miss it!…
What are you up to this spring? Dreaming of your garden? Cleaning up the outdoor space? Putting away the sweaters? Whatever it is, I hope you’re loving it.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ― Margaret Atwood
read:
“Does your partner make you a better person?”
This question came up (tv show? an article floating across my desktop?) as a consideration before fully committing. Yes, my husband makes me a better person, and so do books. Not self-help books (though I love those), but novels and memoirs, short stories and poetry. Peruse my bookcase and note the passages I’ve underlined, all the words that have meant something to me.
Sentences I find beautiful to be sure, for word choice and facility with language, but also moments which make me want to strive to be that aware, that smart, that considerate, that funny, that honest! And, as in the passage below, that open to the world.
From Zadie Smith’s ON BEAUTY, from a teenager who is trying to figure out, like all of us, who he is, who he wants to be:
“Sometimes it’s like you just meet someone and you just know that you’re totally connected, and that the person is, like your brother — or your sister. […] Even if they don’t, like, recognize it, you feel it. And in a lot of ways it don’t matter if they do or they don’t see that for what it is — all you can do is put the feeling out there. That’s your duty. Then you just wait and see what comes back to you. That’s the deal.”
Does that ever happen to you? I hope so. These are people you find by accident but stick with on purpose. Kurt Vonnegut, in CAT’S CRADLE, calls them your karass.
“If you find your life tangled up with somebody else’s life for no very logical reasons, that person may be a member of your karass.”
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Or, how about this passage from the Mavis Gallant story, “In Transit,” from her collection PARIS STORIES, in which a man traveling with his new bride, Claire, recalls a happy moment with his ex-wife, and admires another woman in the park, all at once.
“In a park, yesterday, beside a tall spray of water, he found himself staring at another girl, who sat feeding squirrels. He admired the back of her neck, the soft parting of her hair, her brown shoulder and arm. Idleness of this kind never happened in what he chose to think of as real life—as if love and travel were opposed to living, were a dream. He drew closer to his new wife, this blond summer child, thinking of his winter honeymoon with his first wife. He had read her [palm] to distract her from the cold and rain [... Now] he paid attention to Claire, because he had admired another girl and had remembered something happy with his first wife, all in a minute.”
This passage speaks to me because it is lovely, and it echoes the way our minds work. Aren’t we all flitting toward something lovely in the world, attracted then by a memory, and in the present “all in a minute.”
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And, what of this, simple in diction and so delightful I had to keep reading! From A CHEF’S TALE, by Pierre Franey, in which he gives us a memoir about his becoming a chef, along with recipes. My dream book!
“When the poached egg was cool, it was cradled in one hand while you gently trimmed the white, so that it was perfect in shape, without messy strings dangling from it. Now it would sit and wait until its turn came. Would it be prepared as a cold dish, encased in aspic? Or would it be reheated—a risky business, with just the slightest carelessness leading to a hardened yolk and disgrace for the cook—to be joined with hollandaise sauce, ham and truffles and bear the name Benedict?”
I love the voice! I’m so charmed by the hardened yolk being a disgrace! Good god, if a hard yolk is a measure, I’ve been disgraced innumerable times! Mostly I love the passage because it feels honest, light, and shows someone dedicated to their life work. I want to be that dedicated!
What have you underlined? Was it for pure beauty of the writing, was it funny? aspirational? true? LMK in the comments, please.
I’ve not yet cracked open the new Tana French, THE HUNTER, it’s next for me! Here’s a wonderful interview from
with Tana French, in which they discuss multiple POVs, the genesis of ideas, being forced from one’s comfort zone, witty banter, and heavy themes. (Am I allowed to be delighted that French’s hair matches her book cover? Joy!)Check my read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you will find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is a way you can be a friend to the newsletter.
write:
I oscillate between perseverance and uncertainty. Do you? There are days I shudder with doubt about my book, this newsletter, an essay I’m working on, a story. And yet, I’m compelled to continue, to sit down and pour words on the page. How does one do it without being an exposed nerve 100% of the time?
I try to live in the perseverance lane by building up stamina and resources. What does that mean?
I find community. Are you in a writing group? Even with one other person. You can create writing dates over zoom. You can enroll in classes that put like minded people in your path. I’m teaching here and here.
I adhere to self-inflicted deadlines. Whether working on a long project or an essay give yourself achievable deadlines. Maybe it’s a word count, maybe you say five days till I have a finished draft, whatever works for you, stick to it!
I move through the world as my own resource librarian. I use my phone—notes, camera, texts to myself—as a repository of things I find interesting, potential settings, overheard scraps of dialogue which I can later use. Noticing is your job as a writer. If you pay attention, remain surprised and curious about the world, your writing will be richer, and so will your life.
I read everyday. Please know that I am clapping my hands for emphasis between each word. You. Must. Be. An. Avid. Reader. To. Be. A. Writer.
I write everyday. I was on a panel with the wonderful writer Adrienne Brodeur and I was a bit crumpled after listening to her describe her strict writing practice while mine, at that time, was wishy-washy. I’ve since adopted her rigor of sitting at my desk everyday. And, my ms. is nearly complete. Develop your own rigorous writing practice.
I share my work. I submit to magazines, online journals, etc... I share with my writing group. I write this newsletter. I put my efforts in the world. And, despite rejections, it fills me up. It makes me take myself seriously. You may have your own substack, terrific! You may submit your work, share in a writing group. I’m here to say that even if you do not have those things lined up yet, you can write a letter! Write a missive to a pal and put a stamp on it. I imagine they will be delighted and so will you! Here is a lovely letter writing workshop from
that could set you on your path.I accept that somedays I am going to feel like crap about my work. But it won’t be everyday. You won’t feel profound doubt all the time either. When you do, put on some music you love, move your body, go for a walk and collect interesting tidbits to use later, jot in your notebook how your are feeling, plan a dinner party. Come back, come back, come back. Remember, you are not alone!
“I feel worthless today. I have used every physical excuse to not work except fake illness. I have dawdled, gone to the toilet innumerable times, had many glasses of water. Really childish. I dread the next scene, dread it like hell.” —John Steinbeck, from the Paris Review.
a prompt:
To keep you going, a prompt, in which you will convert a familiar story into something completely your own!
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Thanks so much!
Final Last Call: A Writing Day Spa at my home in Portland, on 4 May. Spend the day learning, writing, and being pampered. Only 1 space left! Let me know if you’re in need of a daylong retreat!
eat:
I’m very excited to share a guest post today from
whom I met in the social media neighborhood. She liked one of my RANDOM SELECTIONS over on insta, and we got to chatting in my DMs as one does. Her insta is to die for! What a life she leads, in London and in a small French village leading tours and cooking workshops. Do check out Atelier Cuisine Fourcès. Who knows? With any luck maybe we will find ourselves together in Fourcès with Laura!With no further ado, Laura:
I have a favorite quote from a favorite author, Nora Ephron.
“I had gotten to the point where I simply could not make a bad vinaigrette, this was not exactly the stuff of drama. (Even now I cannot believe Mark would want to risk losing that vinaigrette— you just don’t bum into a vinaigrette that good.)” —HEARTBURN
I used to have a blog called Bad Vinaigrette. Titled partly in tribute to a wonderful writer, and partly to my very own vinaigrette which, like hers, is never bad. It is important to own what we do well. It has not saved lives but it does get compliments.
In France, and in my life, we eat salad pretty much every evening. While I try to steer clear of sweeping generalizations, it is fair to say that the French eat salad daily. The salad eating French-style is different to how Americans eat salad. In France, it is often just a bowl of lettuce leaves, dressed with vinaigrette. It is served after the main dish, at the end, either before or with the cheese.
For many many years, I made the traditional dressing of Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and oil. Too much time on Instagram during Covid changed my dressing recipe because I discovered an American writer who has a way with salads, Phyllis Grant.
My new vinaigrette recipe is no longer traditionally French, because of the fish sauce Grant got me hooked on. To keep it true to me, I also add mildly spicy piment d’Espellette and chestnut honey, both of which are distinctly French, and distinctly of my region too.
A Contemporary Franco-American Vinaigrette
You can use ordinary honey, but it needs to be liquid or it is hard to blend. However, chestnut honey has an exceptional flavor and absolutely changes everything it touches. If that is not a recommendation, I do not know what is. Sunflower oil is my preference because I’m not in an olive oil region but, also, the taste of sunflower goes so much better here; olive oil is a bit dominant, in a clashy way, with the fish sauce, I find.
2 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard—AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
1/4 tsp fine salt
5 tbsp vinegar: sherry or wine or cider
12-14 tbsp oil: preferably really good sunflower oil
1-2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp Chestnut Honey
Good pinch piment d’Espellette
Grind of black pepper
In a medium-size bowl, combine the mustard, salt and vinegar. Whisk well until fully blended. Use a small whisk or, a fork.
Working 2 tbsp at a time (and keeping count), add the oil, whisking well between additions to make sure the mixture emulsifies. When you get to 12 tbsp, taste it. Decide if you want more oil or not.
Stir in the soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and piment and mix well. Taste again. Add whatever you think needs adding but this does improve over time so perhaps let it sit before you start tweaking.
Add black pepper before you drizzle it over your salad, so the pepper is fresh.
Enough for 2-3 salads
Natalie speaking to you here: I can’t wait to try this out! Laura and I discussed fish sauce substitution for vegetarians, here are some choices for you to explore.
Stanley is now a NYer! On the bus, on the subway, at the restaurant!
If you’re in Brooklyn, let’s grab coffee!
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Tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin.
xN
I love your newsletters Natalie, always so full of cool and inspiring things, thank you!
I could read these daily! I love your voice and style. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! I just finished reading the Pulitzer Prize winning play RUINED by Lynn Nottage. Wow!