Last week, on Instagram, I said that Joe Biden is not coming to save you, and I think a lot of people got kind of mad at me. I wanted to take a moment to contextualize what I said, because it was never my intent to anger you, just to warn you. First things first:…
Fried Calamari and Shrimp Cocktail
Well. We made it all the way to September of this nightmare we bitterly call 2020, and I wish I had something uplifting to say about that. Alas, I do not. I, like you probably, am mourning the end of a summer I did not get to have. The past three months were mostly terrible,…
Roasted Tomatillo Salmon Tacos
We planted a vegetable garden last April. I blame the pandemic. Literally, I blame the pandemic, as in I never would have agreed to such a thing had I not realized I’d be stuck at home with nothing to do all summer. We built three raised beds last April, then ventured to a local nursery…
Plum and Black Pepper Cake
“DNC should stop with the ‘decency porn’ and say how they are going to help people losing their homes and jobs.” –Kim Gordon (yes, that Kim Gordon!) We have a moral imperative to both vote for Joe Biden AND inveigh against his monstrous Senate record, retrograde politics, and profound character flaws. I do not understand…
Cod with Aioli and Heirloom Tomatoes
“…Biden has permitted his League of Mediocre White Men to run around dinging up a group of trailblazing female politicians, most of them Black, all of whom have plied paths unimaginably more challenging than any taken by these men. This has been the vice-presidential selection process of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, and it should leave…
Shoestring Okra with Comeback Sauce
“Here’s the thing, okay? If we’re gonna keep doing this, you guys gotta meet me halfway out there, I mean, let’s face it, it’s not a good week if, every week, I, the Son of God, have to come in, drop everything, and bail out the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter, okay? I’m a…
Fresh Cherry Margaritas
Last week I went on a Writing Retreat. Does that sound fancy? Serene? A tad self-indulgent? Are you picturing a secluded cabin in a beautiful, wooded, naturescape like the Catskills? Or perhaps a little seaside villa overlooking an idyllic rocky seaside in Maine? Are you possibly imagining a formally organized retreat, some lovely company that…
Blistered Cucumbers with Spicy Seeds
“Pick a Senate race. Seriously. Please. Thank you.” —Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) I feel weird talking about voting come November. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way suggesting we not. It’s just that I’ve become increasingly convinced that America is not getting to the other side of Trump without our own Euromaidan, which makes…
Falling Down Brown Cow
Imagine you are running a marathon with the goal of winning the race. I feel like it’s important to explicitly say the part about trying to win, because if I were to run a marathon, my only goal would be don’t die. But anyways, you’re running this marathon, for which you’ve trained for months if…
Chilled Red Pepper Soup with Cold Fried Chicken and Goat Cheese
Last November (2019), columnist Daniel Lavery tweeted about a scandal and coverup he had witnessed take place in his father’s Bay Area evangelical megachurch. Lavery is an author, co-founder of the late feminist website The Toast, and Slate Magazine’s Dear Prudence advice columnist*. His father is Reverend John Ortberg, former teaching pastor at Willow Creek…
