The Weekly Edit: A Chill in the Air
Oct 19, 2018
Yesterday, I stepped outside to take my dogs on their morning walk, and there was no more pretending. It was officially cold. Freezing in fact. The crunching sound of frost on the grass. The chill in the air. And all I could think was: I’m just not ready.
Season 2 of Making a Murderer releases today. Kyle usually hates when I watch true crime (so I have to wait til he goes off to play sports), but because he grew up down the road in Wisconsin, I get to watch this show uninterrupted. If you need me this weekend…how about if you just don’t need me this weekend?
The one good thing about my cold weather makeup routing is dark polishes. Zoya Isadora is a favorite. It’s a shimmering deep amethyst with hints of burgundy. The perfect moody purple.
Other dark polishes I love? OPI Russian Navy and Bogota Blackberry. Need a work appropriate color? Try OPI’s taupe-mauve shade, Berlin There Done That.
{photo via lacquer expression}
One of the things that I really miss about D.C. is Indian food. Rasika. I can taste the crispy spinach, if I just close my eyes. But the Indian restaurants in Spokane are pretty limited, so if I want curry or samosa, I have to make it myself.
This weekend, I think I’ll conquer this Chicken Biryani. I’m going to make the chicken in the Instant Pot and the rice on the stove. I think it will save me some time, and produce similar flavor. I grabbed some of the spice (esp. the saffron) off of Amazon, in case I can’t find them at our local Asian market.
My hands were so dry this week that they itched. It was the worst. That’s what I get for scrubbing a floor, in October, with no gloves on. A neighbor gave me this Honeyskin Body Cream and it really helped. It has Manuka honey and Aloe Vera, and it’s made for people with eczema or other skin conditions. It healed my hands quickly and is now my new favorite hand cream.
*sigh. My days start out with a chill in the air and then I check the weather….88 degrees! Guess it’s not time to get out my sweaters yet after all.
I recently moved to DC and was just introduced to Rasika – I wasn’t too impressed with their Indian food but that crispy spinach is to die for!
I totally think you could approximate the crispy spinach with some baked kale standing in for the fried spinach. Crispy enough, right? Then it’s just a matter of making or buying some chutney, yogurt, and pomegranate seeds.
Former DC resident here and I too miss that spinach so much. It’s like nothing else! I’ve seen a couple copycat recipes, but am nervous they won’t compare.
Unless you have a fryer, you can’t make it happen.
My husband knows the owners of Rasika well and needled the recipe for that spinach out of them. He made it at home with kale instead and it was pretty darn good. But the mess, oh the mess! I haven’t allowed him to try it again.
I liked it, but an Indian acquaintance of mine used to call it overpriced street food (he was kind of a (lovable) snob though). His favorite was Masala Art back when in the Tenleytown location, though that was years ago, and I don’t know if he ever went to the one in SW. I think DC is lacking in non-fancy Indian food, but I think I just got spoiled living in London.
The recipes in this cookbook have satisfied my Indian food cravings without a taking a lot of time and fuss.
Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre: https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot-Cookbook-Traditional/dp/1939754542/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540087481&sr=8-2&keywords=indian+instant+pot+cookbook+by+urvashi+pitre&dpID=51-MeskisoL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
I have this cookbook and it’s amazing. Everything I have made from this book has turned out so delicious! Using the instant pot just makes it so easy and quick without sacrificing flavour. Actually Indian cooking uses mainly a pressure cooker (just not usually the fancy Instant pot)- for many of their dishes- at least from the many Indian kitchen I’ve been in.
I am also not happy about the arrival of fall, especially since last year triggered a long seasonal depressive episode for me. I talked to my doctor about it and she recommended light therapy as an intermediate step before medication is needed. I bought a strong light on Amazon (Circadian Optics Lumos 2.0 Light Therapy Lamp | Ultra Bright 10,000 Lux Full Spectrum LED Light)and spend the first 20 minutes of each day reading in front of it. Even though it’s still pre-dawn and cold, my mental state is much better when I’m done. I highly recommend it as one of the tools for combatting the winter blues.
Did you previously read in the mornings just without the light? I found that reading in the mornings on the bus (or even just staring out the window) instead of having my head in my phone generally put me in a better frame of mind. Wondering if that could be part of it too. I’m contemplating some sort of light therapy, because I just feel worse with every winter and I’m looking to move to Seattle soon, so there’s no end in sight.
I did read in the mornings without the special light, and while it helped, there’s a notable difference with the light. When I talked to my doctor, she said the research on light therapy points to it affecting our circadian rhythm, so using it in the morning helps our brain adjust to the idea that it’s daytime (and a need for productivity) even when it’s still dark out. Using the light definitely makes me feel more awake and alert, whereas without it I might read and want to go back to bed after. I think it’s particularly helpful for me because I don’t like coffee and caffeine makes me jittery, so it’s a good match of stimulus and person.
If you like Indian food and have an InstantPot, this Butter Chicken recipe is fantastic. You can sub regular butter for ghee. Seriously so good:
https://theprimaldesire.com/pressure-cooker-butter-chicken/