Who’s hungry for leftovers?!
If you missed the Your Last Meal Thanksgiving special that came out earlier this week, it’s still super tasty! Just throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds, press play and enjoy on your drive home from grandmama’s house, while you wash dishes or in your headphones on a much needed solo walk.
This episode is an audio potluck, a celebrity Friendsgiving, where past guests share their favorite Thanksgiving dishes. Grammy nominated country music star Martina McBride tells us about her family’s Fluff Salad (“salad” being a very loose term), actor Zosia Mamet (Girls, The Flight Attendant) defends sweet potato marshmallow casserole and opines on cranberry sauce, and Christopher Kimball (Milk Street) is bringing apple pie…with cheddar cheese.
Where’s the turkey? Well, SHOCKER, no one wants turkey for their last meal! So why do we eat this ho-hum, often dry, bird every year? I ask food history professor Ken Albala how the turkey made its way to the center of our holiday tables. Plus, comedian and musician Reggie Watts stops by to tell us what his childhood Thanksgiving was like with a French mother and an African-American dad.
If you like the show, the free-ist, easiest way to support what we do is to leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts!
My super tiny mini outdoors gift guide!
I don’t think you need more stuff to make you happy, but as a hiker and camper I have found that certain stuffs make me a whole lot comfier (and therefore happier!) when I’m tromping around outside!
Here are some ideas for the outdoors loving folks in your life:
Hammocks! Many years ago, when my then-boyfriend-now-friend asked me if I’d like a hammock, I politely declined. When I’m outside, I’m on the move. When would I use a hammock? Luckily, he had the sense to buy me one anyway and it’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given! My hammock is lightweight and folds up small, so I bring it on nearly every hike, along with a book, and have lounged in some of the most beautiful locations in the world:
I also choose to sleep in a hammock, instead of a tent, when I backpack. It’s far more comfortable than sleeping on the ground and stays dry if it rains (you can also buy a hammock-specific rain fly and bug net).
These little solar-powered string lights have improved my camping experience! I like to string them across my hammock so I can read before bed or tie them around a couple of trees near the picnic table so we can actually see what we’re eating when the sun goes down. The light is soft, so it’s not competing with the moon and stars, but it lights up an area far better than a single lantern can. It’s also compact and light enough to bring backpacking. Bonus: the power bank also doubles as a cell phone charger!
3. This one’s for the cooks!
This kitchen multi-tool is the perfect addition to your camping kit, campervan kitchen, picnic basket, and would probably also be super useful in a dorm room!
We’ve probably used the cheese grater most, for making nachos, shredding Parm over pasta or, in a pinch, grating ice cold butter over hot toast, but the vegetable peeler and can opener have also been in heavy use. It’s got a garlic press, a corkscrew, a citrus zester for cocktails and all kinds of sharp pointy things to slice and dice.
I’m not usually a meme sharer, but I have been so wrapped up in various (fun! exciting! exhausting!) work projects over the past couple months, that I have been struggling to keep up & this really resonates:
It’s a helpful reminder that our brains are not designed to multitask! Human brains are not designed for social media scrolling, processing hundreds of faces, images, concepts, songs and ideas in the span of a few minutes. So if you’re having trouble keeping up, it’s not you! It’s this silly society we’ve built.
I hope you’re having a cozy holiday, or a wild and crazy holiday, or whatever kind of frikkin’ holiday you want to have!
xoxo
Rachel Belle