Emphasis on "trying"
Alt title: Fucking shit up and having it all.
This week we’ve been trying and failing to have it all. Our lives feel a bit like we’ve got tiny little grenades hovering above us just waiting to fall and explode everywhere. Luckily we’ve also got attachment theory jokes, two riffable recipes, consensual face touching, a podcast rec to break us out of our listening ruts, a perfect white tee, house decoration choice paralysis and a love letter to Sarah Snook.
EAT
SR
Eggplant & Spinach Lasagna with Marscapone
RECIPE:
Caveat - the quantities in this recipe are vague. I tend to eyeball things based on the size of my lasagna pan and increasing or decreasing the generosity of ingredients in each layer.
Slice 2-3 eggplants (depending on your pan size) lengthwise about 1.5cm wide, generously rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper place them on a foil lined baking sheet and roast in a 230°C oven for 15-20 mins. Remove from the oven, and carefully fold the foil over and crimp the edges together. Let the eggplant cool and steam in the foil packet for 20 minutes.
Thinly slice 2-3 cloves of garlic and put them in a sauce pan with olive oil, let them soften without colouring before adding in a bunch or two of English spinach. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the spinach has wilted down.
Warm 500ml or so of passata in pan on a medium heat with a large sprig of basil in to infuse. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
Once you’ve got all your components ready grab whatever dish you’re using to assemble your lasagna and get layering.
It goes: a small ladle of sauce to cover the bottom; layer of fresh lasagne pasta sheets; about a quarter of a cup of room temp. marscapone spread over the pasta with a spatula; eggplant; spinach; generous ladle of sauce; parmesan and any other cheese you’re using; and another layer of pasta etc.
Do this two to three times. Your final layer should be pasta, marscapone, sauce, parmesan and mozzarella
Drizzle in olive oil, cover in foil and bake at 180°C for 40 minutes until the lasagna is bubbling. Take off the foil and give it a couple of minutes to get some colour. Let sit for 5-10 minutes out of the oven before slicing and serving.
SM
Thai-ish Pumpkin Soup
RECIPE:Peel and chop half a butternut pumpkin, or a whole one if you want to batch! Saute it in a big pot over medium heat with a good slug of coconut oil, the chopped roots and stems of a bunch of coriander (save the leaves for garnish), half a chopped onion, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and a grated big knob of ginger for about 3-4 minutes until the pumpkin is slightly softened around the edges.
Add about 400-500ml stock - I used beef because I had some but you can use any kind! Bring to the boil and simmer until the pumpkin is soft all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. It really doesn’t matter if you overcook it, what matters is if you undercook it. The pumpkin should be super soft.
Add a small can of coconut milk, perhaps 200ml and stir to combine. Let it cool slightly, then use a stick blender to blend until smooth, or pour it into a regular blender. Return to the pot, and add a good glug of fish sauce, maybe 2-3 tablespoons. Add the juice of a whole lime. Taste it, and if it needs more salt, season it, and add some black pepper. The fish sauce is salty though so watch yourself.
Serve warm with a dollop of coconut yoghurt (or regular yoghurt), coriander leaves, crispy shallots and a drizzle of sesame oil.
READ
SR
Vivian Gornic’s spiky, bracing, funny memoirs - Fierce Attachments & Odd Woman and the City.
WATCH
SM
Watch SoMo’s new fave Sarah Snook in The Beautiful Lie - a tale of passion, lust, betrayal and tennis.
BUY/DO
SR
Go get your face (or back) lovingly and firmly massaged into shape by Jessie at the Calmm.
SM
You can get the Dowel Jones Arcade pendant light in 350 colour options! How to choose?! Whichever you go with this pendant is a great, modern take on some classic deco shapes.
The Fast Five!
SR
COS jersey white T-shirt SoRo’s preferred t-shirt silhouette is slimmer fitting with a crisp, sleeve outline. This COS option fits the bill.
Antica formula vermouth for all your at home Negroni making. Will taste delicious in or out of lockdown.
If you’re looking for a dopey, sweet, easy movie to put on while you scroll The Outnet on your phone, Plus One on Netflix is just the thing!
And if your cinema tastes tend a little more highbrow, the Almovodar series @ The Ritz can keep you busy on Friday nights until late October!
SoRo has a perfect vintage shopping experience at Vintage Sole in Fitzroy a few weeks back. Go for knitwear, blazers and the perfect trench coat.
SM
Pastel crates from Typo in pastel candy colours, for all that stuff you need to store somewhere.
Do you have a friend with a desk who likes to look at beautiful things while they ponder their next sentence? Yes? Well get them a Sola cube from the DEA store. A perfect gift for the person who has everything.
Gossip girl reboot trailer because time is a flat circle and the 00s revival is truly going full steam. This new version has Tavi Gevinson and a much more diverse caste though.
Get our of your podcast rut by checking out Tough Love podcast by Linda Marigliano. She’s charming and honest about the hard stuff without being maudlin - and the audio production is immersive and cool.
Permanent vacation face masks because as they say on their website - it’s nice to feel cute during these non cute times.
That’s it kids. Hope you’re staying safe and having fun.
See you in 2 weeks!
S&S