Hi everyone!
Is anyone still subscribed to this thing? If you’re reading this thank you, and also, Happy New Year, a few days late! I know I said in the last issue that I’d try to update once a month, so here is my attempt to do that all the way at the end of the month on the 30th of January.
I think in a lot of ways, the start of this year has been better than a start of lot of years. As a writer, I often rely on external validation. Even though I shouldn’t, I often find myself wondering who the audience for anything I write is and at the same time fear being perceived. This month, I had some really incredible opportunities for people to interact with my writing and offer their interpretations in a way I’d never experienced before. For ways that I can and cannot comprehend, any amount of positivity is overwhelming and I experienced anxiety and overwhelm caused by good news in a way that I hadn’t previously encountered.
A lot of what people were responding to was food writing. That is always what seems to stand out to people about some of my newer (and most meaningful) writing lately. “Are you a chef?” “You must have worked in kitchens!” “Did you learn to cook professionally?” are some comments and questions I’ve received, which is so funny because the answer to none of those questions is “yes.” I’m just really passionate about food, it’s all I think about and I’m obsessed with combining and trying new flavors and seeing how different ingredients interact.
I think saying that people have complimented my writing and so I’ve had a good start to the year is somewhat a copout. Because I’m also a strong believer in saying ‘no’ to productivity and the way capitalism holds us tight. At the same time, writing has become so personal to me I can’t help but equate it with my value. I’ve been thinking a lot about ramen lately, and about revising. The reason I say both in the same sentence is because perhaps they’re not unrelated. I got my latest COVID vaccine earlier this month and during that period I somehow lost my appetite. I really didn’t want to eat but of course had to for sustenance because I’m a dizzy girlie when I’m hungry. The only thing I really wanted all the time was ramen. Ramen also gets my creative juices flowing. I love thinking about different flavor profiles I want to capture with my ramen—I sometimes go a pasta direction with heavy cream, cheese, capers, or perhaps a more Southeast Asian route with coconut milk, green curry paste, fried onions, chili oil. What brings me joy is adding a new thing each time and seeing how it works with the rest of the dish.
Revising is perhaps the same. I can lose my appetite for the act—perhaps because I get sick of working on my own writing, or seeing the words for too long can also start making me cringe and say “this is garbage, why would anyone read it?” But I also love collecting thoughts of different readers and editors and adding them in here and there like a sprinkle of cheese or a couple cloves on garlic and seeing how it transforms my ramen of words. Has this metaphor gone too far? probably. At least I didn’t try to add a pesto metaphor somewhere too. I’ve been loving throwing any herby greens I find into my food processor and making pesto.
Here are some photos of food I’ve had lately both home and away. If you’re ever in New Haven and need recs, let me know.
And don’t forget to comment if you read this whole thing and let me know what the best thing YOU’VE eaten or made lately is! Or, what do you eat when you are sick? OR, anything else.
I’ve missed you!!!
Padya
Hi Padya, it's good to hear from you again. The food pics are lovely. Recently I learned on YouTube that golgappas/pani puri can be made from readymade pani puri discs in the air fryer. If you have the tamarind chutney and the pani puri powder handy, the whole snack comes together in minutes.
i made khichdi for the first time last week! super comforting for a january evening :)