Today, I offer a list of good things for you. In no particular order and having nothing in particular in common, beyond the fact that I like them all.
Fresh mint (mint limeade kombucha / fresh berries tossed with chopped mint and lime zest
Mayonnaise (controversial opinion, but just try eating a BLT without it)
Walking barefoot on warm pavement
Words that sound like what they mean: elision, lithe, disheveled
Nice glassware (I have these Burgundy ones and these for sparkling and these for juice and espresso)
Beach weather
Alba Botanica unscented body lotion (the perfect weight and absorbency, I swear)
These pink mules with this dress (which I will wear to…a nonexistent summer evening party)
Margaret Atwood’s poetry (see below)
Baking with rye flour (also, see below)
Margaret Atwood’s poetry
Guys, talk about romance. You likely know Margaret Atwood as the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, which is exceptional, but I think her most brilliant work is her poetry. Take, for example, some of the following lines:
Memory is not in the head
only. It’s midnight,
you existed once, you exist
again, my entire skin
sensitive as an eye
/
imprint of you
glowing against me,
burnt-out match in a dark room.
or these pieces from “Against Still Life”:
And you, sitting across
the table, at a distance, with
your smile contained, and like the orange
in the sun: silent
/
Your silence
isn’t enough for me
now, no matter with what
contentment you fold
your hands together; I want
anything you can say
in the sunlight:
stories of your various
childhoods, aimless journeyings,
your loves; your articulate
skeleton; your posturings; your lies
/
if I watch
quietly enough
and long enough
/
at last, you will say
(maybe without speaking)
/
(there are mountains
inside your skull
garden and chaos, ocean
and hurricane; certain
corners of rooms, portraits
of great grandmothers, curtains
of a particular shade;
your deserts; your private
dinosaurs; the first
woman)
/
all I need to know
tell me
everything
just as it was
from the beginning.
Or “The Woman Who Could Not Live with Her Faulty Heart”:
But most hearts say, I want, I want
I want, I want. My heart
is more duplicitous,
though no twin as I once thought.
It says, I want, I don’t want, I
want, and then a pause.
It forces me to listen
Or finally, the end of “I Was Reading a Scientific Article”:
You rest on me and my shoulder holds
/
your heavy unbelievable
skull, crowded with radiant
suns, a new planet, the people
submerged in you, a lost civilization
I can never excavate:
my hands trace the counters of a total
universe, its different
colors, flowers, its undiscovered
animals, violent or serene
/
its other air
its claws
/
its paradise rivers
Okay, onto the banana bread. I will say nothing more about this except that it might be the best banana bread I’ve ever made and YES you should order rye flour specifically to make this. I get mine from Maine Grains!
Rye Banana Bread
4 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek is fine but not necessary)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 tablespoons (127g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (160g) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (106g) rye flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
turbinado or raw sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9” or 10” loaf pan.
Mash together the bananas, yogurt, and vanilla. (I like to puree them quickly in a blender—it’s much easier!)
In a stand mixer (or by hand), cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
Add the banana mixture and beat until combined, then add the flour, rye flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix just until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle with a generous layer of raw sugar.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool full in the pan before slicing and serving. Freezes very well!