The Potential is Unhinged

Here with two recipes, anchovy in a tube, a suit and figgy balm.

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. Thanks for being here!

Things have turned around, guys. Literally from Aug 28 onward, it was like the waterfall of astronomical shit was turned off at the tap. The sun is out, all my electronics are working, some dream projects have landed in the inbox, my toddler has decided to be sweet to me more often than not, and I had the most relaxing weekend away with my husband in a long time. If you were down in the dumps in August, I hope things have been turned right way up for you too! SoRo and I also hung out IRL on last weekend which is ALWAYS a treat. We had planned to record a little audio update for you guys but by the time we had fed, bathed, read-storied and tucked in my babies (proof above), cooked our own dinner, drank a Campari soda and two glasses of Fiasco Fancy Chard and yapped for four hours, we totally forgot. But if it’s something you’d like, let us know and we’ll make it happen. We swapped some seeds and the tipsy decanting of little tiny chamomile seeds into envelopes at the end of the night had us giggling about how we’ve changed, and how much we love it.

Ok I’m sure the majority of you all subscribe to Alison Roman’s A Newsletter, but just incase you skipped her recent Home Movie about a skillet of lemony, garlicky, spicy prawns (can’t bring myself to say “shrimp”), consider this your siren call. I couldn’t find shell-on green prawns so the pic above isn’t as *pretty* as Alison’s, but H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T, this to me was such an thrilling recipe. Easy AF, humming with heat (my spice needs are never met these days), and with enough buttery sauce to dip hunks of baguette in over and over. Four whole cloves of garlic are sliced here, swizzled around the pan until golden with slices of half a lemon, which caramelise and soften until all bitterness has melted away. You drag a few spoonfuls of harissa paste around the pan to toast and mellow it, then add the prawns, which are coated in the heat, the sourness, the sweet garlic, the BUTTER. Absolute heaven and the perfect meal to eat with your fav girlie, no kid palates allowed.

A bit of a left-of-centre rec here but the present I’m buying for every kid, including my own, lately is the game Snakes and Ladders. So retro! So simple for tiny brains to grasp! So treacherous when you hit a snake, yet so electrifying when you ascend a ladder! Old school screen-time-free funsies. Another secondary, yet related tip is when you clock a sick present for kids, literally just buy three of them to keep them in the cupboard. I did this with Whoopie Cushions and ribbon sticks and wow have they been a hit with all kid ages, boys and gals.

I considered burning my entire wardrobe after the shapelessness of pregnancy and postpartum, but instead I’ve done a brisk cull, and am trying to invest in key update pieces that’ll go the distance as I (we?) stare down the barrel to my ‘40s. Right now, I want to feel more grown up and in control with my wardrobe. I’ve owned a few suits in my time; two from Assembly Label including a chocolate heavy linen number which I truly love, but baby’s first P Johnson Femme hits different, a very nice back-to-work treat. Italian linen, soft as can be, in the sweetest faded pistachio hue. I like the combo of waistcoat and pants rather than a jacket, because you can wear them together or swap them out. Also it’s almost summer so jackets need not apply. We need the mileage!

A quick-fire rundown of the miscellaneous finds we’ve loved this month. In this edition: The most delicious restaurant in Brisbane (and what to order there!), an INSANE cake stand, a new way to add anchovy flavour, the best Nigel Slater recipe and a lip balm the colour of ripe fig.