The October Collection

: a dinner fail, everyday people, and one really gorgeous notebook :

Some of my favorite posts from others are collections of what they’re discovering, so I’ve curated a few of my own for you. The whats may change as I evolve in this venture, but I’d like to always share things that are important to me. Check out past collections if you missed them:

THE JUNE COLLECTION - the very first of this second-Saturday-of-the-month ritual where I share what I'm cooking, reading, and noticing

THE JULY COLLECTION - gas prices, frittatas, and the power of our words

THE AUGUST COLLECTION - a book giveaway, reminders to chill, and a plant named Loretta

THE SEPTEMBER COLLECTION - another book giveaway, lofty babka goals, and hospital art (it’s not what you think)

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Feel free to jump around to different sections.

WHAT I’M COOKING

WHAT I’M READING

• Printed pages

• On the Web

WHAT I’M NOTICING

What I’m Cooking

I’ve been craving something savory…hearty…warming even though Fall has been slow to bring us some cooler temps.¹ So in honor of George, I decided to try a Hungarian recipe I found—Chicken Paprikash. In short, it was a disaster.

I had read that it’s important to use true Hungarian paprika for this dish, but the author of the recipe insisted that regular paprika would be just fine.

It was not.

I had already emailed my friend Jack over at Vegan Weekly, asking if he could recommend something hearty and warming and stew-like. He did not disappoint! He returned some suggestions:

• a “delightful stick-to-your-soul recipe” for Mushroom Bourguignon with Roasted Carrots from his newsletter on Espagnole (Brown) Sauce

• Hungarian-style Potato and Sauerkraut Goulash from his post Three Cultures - Umami-packed Recipes

• Spicy 3-Bean Chili

• Roasted Pumpkin Curry

I planned to try the Goulash, but first I had to track down that Hungarian paprika (one of my favorite family-owned shops, Red Stick Spice Company, had just what I needed—and more!). So while I gathered ingredients to dive into Jack’s fall weather suggestions, I kept things simple.

Pierogies & Sausage

I had never even heard of pierogies, much less tasted them when I met my husband. I’m not even sure how a guy with a large Cajun French family added this to his repertoire, but I was hooked after he made this dish for me. It’s quick, easy, and delicious!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 8 pieces - Mrs. T’s Classic Cheddar Pierogies (frozen)²

• 1 Vidalia sweet onion, sliced

• 6-8 oz. sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 4 Tbsp. sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook pierogies according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp. butter. Once melted, cook sausage until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and keep warm.

3. Add 2 more Tbsp. butter and saute onions until tender. Stir in the sausage and pierogies until everything is combined and warmed through.

4. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream.

TIPS

Many people use kielbasa for this recipe, but we use smoked turkey sausage for a lighter version.

We also use water for sauteeing the onion instead of butter. The butter is delicious, but also not exactly low-cal.

Greek yogurt is a fantastic sub for sour cream.

Our pierogies before we topped with sour cream

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Instant Pot Pot Roast

I found this classic pot roast at The Recipe Rebel and decided to give it a go. Pot roast isn’t something I want often, but my husband loves these kinds of dishes and the leftovers are always yummy. I made it exactly as its creator Ashley Fehr suggested (except for omitting the bit of ketchup at the end) and was impressed. We’re accustomed to very flavorful food (hello, South Louisiana!), and recipes I find online sometimes fall short. Not the case here. I served it over cauliflower rice with sauteed mushrooms and added a simple side salad to round out the meal. I’m putting this on the Fall/Winter meal rotation.³

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Roasted Acorn Squash

Winter squash has arrived! This week I made roasted acorn squash twice—once cut into halves and roasted cut side up, and once cut into 1/2-inch slices. Sprinkle some sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg on top, and you have a delicious dessert! Other toppings you could try include honey or maple syrup, butter, goat cheese, pepitas or pecans, ginger, or apples.

Have a good winter squash recipe? Let me know in the comments!

What I’m Reading

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Printed Pages

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Confession. I wasn’t in love with the characters of this book. In fact, I almost abandoned it after growing weary of Sage Winters, the 16-year-old protagonist who…well, is a 16-year-old girl. But I gave her a chance and pushed on. The plot was unbelievable at times and predictable, but in the end I loved that Wiseman (who has clearly done her homework) introduced me to Willowbrook State School—a real-life institution that operated on Staten Island in New York City for four decades.

“The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 it had a population of 6,000. At the time, it was the biggest state-run institution for people with mental disabilities in the United States....The institution gained national infamy in 1972, when Geraldo Rivera did an exposé on the conditions there. Public outcry led to its closure in 1987, and to federal civil rights legislation protecting people with disabilities.”⁴

Whether you decide to read the book or not, I definitely recommend reading up on Willowbrook. It’s mind-blowing that humans were treated this way in a government-funded facility. But sadly, if you really think about our “institutions,” it’s totally believable.

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Still True by Maggie Ginsberg

Nearly three months ago, Sarah Miller over at Can We Read? plugged her friend’s upcoming book in a post. This caught my attention because Sarah’s newsletter is “a guide to children’s books, raising readers, and how to build a culture of reading in your home”—and here she was recommending something for us grown-ups. Sarah wrote:

“Come for the appeal of being married but living in separate houses, stay for the secrets and the way this story unfurls like a morning glory opening in your hands.”

I immediately pre-ordered a copy via Bookshop.org.⁵ Mike and I recently joked that we now understand why our grandparents slept in separate bedrooms (snoring, tossing, turning, trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night—it’s a wonder that either of us gets any sleep!). So the idea of a married couple living in separate houses intrigued me. What I didn’t count on was the incredibly realistic depiction of alcoholism, marital stress, parenting, loneliness, hauntings from the past, and the family we choose.

I read it over several days, but my mind was going to the story again and again when I wasn’t reading. I’m still thinking about it. I strongly recommend this one!

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Daddykins: A Memoir of My Father and I by Kalpana Mohan

Last month I “bumped” into Kalpana Mohan in the comments section of George Saunders’ Office Hours: on writing from life. Kalpana mentioned her memoir and an essay:

“When I wrote my memoir (about my father's life), my father was alive when I finished the first draft. I read out loud to him from the first four chapters of my book. He was too ill to understand anything after that period. But I'll always carry in my heart what he said upon hearing me read it. I write about that experience in this essay.”

After reading that essay, I was intrigued by her beautiful, honest work, so I quickly located the book and purchased a used library copy (at the time, only used paperbacks and the Kindle version were available).

I’m six chapters in, and so far I’m enjoying this daughter’s tribute to her father and account of a country that grew and changed as surely as he did.

“In early 2014, weeks before he died, I read the early chapters aloud to my father. His reaction was unexpected. “I’m an ordinary man,” he said, his eyes luminous. “But you’ve made me out to be extraordinary.” That nugget of wisdom would inform the arc of my book and my own life: While a parent may be ordinary, a child must mine the life of the parent to extract extraordinary truths.”

It’s slow reading for me because I’m having to look up words and concepts as I go, but I enjoy learning about other cultures. Kalpana also writes on Substack—Letters from Everywhere. I look forward to checking out more of her works.

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On the Web

I read all sorts of things digitally, but I find myself reading more and more interviews lately—spotlights on ordinary people. Ordinary may not be the best word because I think they’re far from ordinary—what I mean to say is you won’t find them on big screens or in newspapers or magazines. And that’s exactly why I love what writers like Neal Bascomb and Mark Dykeman are doing in their respective spaces. I don’t give a fig what Dwyane Wade wore to the coffee shop or what Kanye said about Kim. Give me the stories of everyday people, please! Here are two I’ve enjoyed.

Baby Fritz and his Hippo Handler, A Kind of Love Affair

Neal spotlights Jenna Wingate in her zookeeper role and gives us the most adorable video and photos of a baby hippo.

How About This Presents Jarvis Googoo

Mark interviews Jarvis Googoo, who endured abuse as a child at an Indian Day School in Nova Scotia, now advocates for Indiginous rights, and shares Mi’kmaw history through his website and social media.

What I’m Noticing

For a long time, I was a journaler—pen and paper, nearly daily writing. Somewhere along the way I shifted to the keyboard, which is far more efficient, but I found that I had stopped writing in notebooks except for creating lists, jotting down random notes, and reminding myself what day it was by writing it at the top of the page. Why? My hands are getting older—writing with a pen creates aches my younger self didn’t experience, and digital words are just so darn easy to cut and paste, search, and store.

Mike and I recently drove an hour for a date night “in the city” so we could watch the highly-anticipated Amsterdam.⁶ Before the show, we grabbed a bite to eat and then popped⁷ into a bookstore where I impulsively purchased an orange, spiral-bound notebook. The color made me happy and the pages felt like satin sheets. It was a no-brainer.

The next morning I opened to the second page (because somehow it seemed wrong to mar the first page with my old-lady handwriting) and began what I’ve heard in discussions lately—Morning Pages. The idea comes from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I haven’t read it, but so many people have told me how impactful it (especially Morning Pages) has been in their lives that I’ll likely have a copy soon. The author explains:

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing,
done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*–
they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about
anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes
only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and
synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put
three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow.”⁸

So I wrote. And those 30 minutes with my pen and new notebook pages reignited a flame.

I typically wake at 5:00 each morning for time with a cup of coffee and my Bible, a life-changing practice I began 12 years ago. Now I’m understanding that during that time I also need to collect my thoughts on a page. It engages a part of my brain that a keyboard just can’t.

So if you’re wondering where I am between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. Central Time, I’m in the chaos of my mind wrangling thoughts⁹ onto a smooth page in one very beautiful notebook.

Do you have any morning rituals that have been transformative?

1. I wrote about our 95-degree September weather recently.

Love It or Hate It

2. I’m sure somewhere out there is a recipe for homemade pierogies, but why would I want to do that to myself?

3. I say that like I actually have one. In truth, my 2022 life does not have a regular meal rotation. But it wants to. I’m trying.

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willowbrook_State_School

5. “Bookshop.org works to connect readers with independent booksellers all over the world.
‍We believe local bookstores are essential community hubs that foster culture, curiosity, and a love of reading, and we're committed to helping them thrive."

Every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores. Our platform gives independent bookstores tools to compete online and financial support to help them maintain their presence in local communities.”

6. If you have not already given up your hard-earned money on this trainwreck, I beg you: do not. The plot was convoluted, and the actors seemed to have only gotten the script the morning before shooting their scenes. We walked out after suffering an hour of the mess, and that’s saying a lot since we have sat through some really terrible movies like You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and To Rome with Love.

7. I received an unexpected call this week from a lady in the UK who said she was going to just “pop over” to her neighbour’s. And now my mind’s running dialogue has a British accent.

8. https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/

9. Possibly with a British accent.