Weekend Reading
May 5, 2024

At the end of this school year, my mom will be retiring from her career as a studio art and art history teacher. This past Friday, she was honored as part of her school’s end-of-year gala.

I was happy to attend the celebration with her, and it was so nice to see her receive the gratitude and admiration of a whole community.

It seems like the right time for her to close this chapter of her life and make more space for her own artwork. My mom has been a working artist for my whole life.

Watching students approach my mom to express their thanks and listening as her colleagues described her contributions to the school, I felt so proud.

Growing up, I was told that one day I’d be a mother and would watch kids grow up and pass through life milestones. Less was said to me about the profound, emotional experience of witnessing a parents’ major achievements.

In these past two decades, as I was striving through grad school and trying to accomplish something in my own career, I sometimes forgot that my mom was striving, too. She’s worked so hard and accomplished so much.

Here’s to recognizing the work and life milestones of the people who have cared for us and nurtured us. They inspire us to remain industrious, creative, and dedicated.

The next time my professional confidence falters, or I find myself struggling to remain motivated or committed to a goal, I’ll think about my mom.

It seems appropriate to write those words on Easter Sunday and only a week before Mother’s Day. Happy Sunday, friends. Here are some recipes and reads.

Recipes

1. Sharing my recipe for vegan koulourakia yesterday got me daydreaming about Greek desserts, including this vegan galaktoboureko.

2. I’m always on the quest for a perfect vegan “lox.” I haven’t yet made a homemade carrot lox that I really loved, but Richard’s version is enticing me to try again.

3. Tikka masala spiced eggplant is such a fun idea—I’d love to pile that over some warm, fluffy rice!

4. I keep bookmarking more and more asparagus recipes for spring. This raw asparagus salad features chopped nuts and a sesame, soy, and ginger dressing.

5. This millet nourish bowl looks simple, yet hearty—just as a nourish bowl should be.

Reads

1. So cool: for the first time, scientists in Indonesia witnessed an orangutan using medicinal plant leaves as a poultice for a facial injury.

2. This is a sweet, earnest perspective on the abundance of choosing to be vegan or vegetarian.

3. I love that three chefs from New York City hospitals just competed, à la Top Chef, for the title of a winning dish.

4. Nearly two years ago, I downsized and moved into a studio apartment, letting go of a lot of what I owned along the way. In spite of my best efforts, I’ve managed to accumulate some clutter in here since then. This list of spring decluttering tips is inspiring me to take a fresh look at what I do and don’t need.

5. Speaking of lists, this is a great list of phrases for respectfully, yet clearly, articulating disagreement.

Wishing you a restful Sunday night, and a very happy Orthodox Easter to all of those who celebrate today. Christos Anesti!

xo

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    No Comments

You might also like

I took a yoga class a few months ago, and I couldn’t help but notice the remarkable practice of a yogi on the other side of the room. He was taking every single advanced posture in the book, flowing between them with apparent ease—though I knew how hard he must have been working. He was on a completely different wavelength of intensity than the rest of us. I’m embarrassed to admit to having judgment in a yoga class, of all places. But I…

Last Saturday, my yoga teachers arranged to have David Swenson talk to our community about teaching and practicing yoga. He had many encouraging, insightful things to tell us. One of his responses during the Q&A part of the class really stuck with me. A member of our community shared that she had twin boys over the summer. Since then, it’s been hard to reconnect with her practice for obvious reasons: the demands of caring for two infants that had been in the NICU…

Happy weekend, friends! I’m writing the gorgeous city of Chicago, where I’m here to co-present a study abstract that I co-authored with the gastroenterologist I work for at Digestive Disease Week. It’s been 24 whirlwind hours of endoscopy demos and biliary disease and other such topics. While I prep for our poster talk, here are some of the recipes and articles that caught my eye this week. Hannah Kaminsky does it again with this whimsical, playful, and absolutely beautiful endive, artichoke and strawberry…

It’s been a long week of asking for help in all sorts of ways. I’ve asked for deadline extensions, for favors, for space, for listening, for patience, and for good thoughts. I’ve asked for friendship and support. I’ve had to do all of this asking because I’m not feeling like myself. It’s rough. But I can comfort myself with the fact that I’m getting better at vocalizing what I need in order to get through moments like this. Just as I was trying…