Lemony Chicken Stew + a Serum Worth Trying
These things go together well.
Highly Enthused is a newsletter, once a podcast, concerning all the best things to consume in life. It’s written twice per month by Sophie McComas-Williams and Sophie Roberts, and today’s dispatch is written by SoMo! The majority of each newsletter is free, but there are five extra recs in each for paid subscribers. That’s often where the gold nuggets lie. However, today’s paywall is removed.
Back to reality, guys. Home is just like Greece except with endless coughing (kids) and deep fatigue (me). On the vision board? Skipping winter, forever. Endless Spring-Summer-Autumn until we perish. If you’ve figured out how, let me know. There are so many new subscribers here thanks to last week’s Guide to Athens, welcome! I’ve removed the paywall from today’s Fast Five to celebrate. Excited to keep building our audience here, and there’s a Hydra guide coming soon!
Because #Greece is my entire insufferable personality now, the vibe has obviously extended to the kitchen. I made this lemony Greek chicken, spinach and potato stew (gift link) from NYT Cooking once we returned home. I added some lentils but wouldn’t recommend this flagrant riff because they turned it all the colour of mud, but the stew (soup?) on its own was wonderful. I’m all for the brightness of lemon in soups. I didn’t have any feta so grated in a little halloumi and topped it with yoghurt and Aleppo pepper. The crumbled pita chips are a v welcome addition.
It has been so long since I CACKLED while watching a TV show. Adults on Disney+ made it happen, thank you very much. It’s very similar to the Broad City in the way that it’s about a bunch of twenty-somethings living together and generally fucking around and up in New York. It’s so current. The way they integrate how we all use tech now (how we WFH, are always on our phones, use AirTags in odd ways, keep hitting paywalls on every single site - including this one, I know) is SO funny and makes it so relatable. Love love love. If you’ve watched it, let me know in the comments.
Hotdogs or legs? Australian beauty company Sibling sent us a bottle of their Future Bright Vitamin C serum to test run and I’ve been trialling it for about a month. I love it. Vitamin C wasn’t part of my very loose skincare routine beforehand, but it’s done a good job at beginning to fade the stubborn pigmentation close to my hairline, and it’s so hydrating and softening which I think was also what I needed, that hyaluronic acid effect. It’s been compared to the Skin Ceuticals vitamin C serum which is $250, so at $99 Sibling’s is a steal. I liked it so much I asked for a discount code for you all, so use HIGHLYENTHUSED at checkout for 15% off until June 30.
This week: Advice for writers by writers; a high-rotation jar; a food memoir featuring Anthony Bourdain; a surplus store truly worth visiting and a podcast to combat creative and leadership burnout.
On mega high rotation on the kitchen island lately has been this jar of organic roasted sesame seeds. I am shaking them over everything; eggs, into chicken salad mix, over spicy noodles, onto chopped up cucumber, avocado toast. They’re just so… plump? Their texture is so incredible, way better than regular unroasted sesame seeds. Get into it.
You know I’m sick for a food memoir and I’ve been enjoying Care and Feeding by Laurie Woolever - previous assistant to NYC chef Mario Batali and the one and only Anthony Bourdain. It’s a painful read and comes with an assault trigger warning, but I couldn’t put it down.
Have you been into an Assembly Label Surplus Store lately? I popped in before our holiday for some summer items that are hard to find this time of year and the stock was surprisingly good. Assembly Label’s range is so minimal and pared back that the outlet is full of stuff that doesn’t feel out of season. I picked up a cherry-red one-piece swimsuit (image) for like $50. The menswear ain’t bad either. Find all their surplus locations here.
Thanks to my friend Nikki for recommending the episode How to Think in Systems on the Daily Creative Podcast. A must-listen for anyone working in a creative role (which is everyone) and who is feeling burnt out by the constant change and uncertainty of the current times (hi):
Loved this little post about the best advice by writers for writers:
SoMo xox
Greece as your personality suits you!
Sophie, I have your solution to skipping winter forever: living in Brisbane!