Isn't this pup fantastic? I met her a few weekends ago outside a cake shop so popular it had a line out the door. She couldn't stop gazing longingly at her owner's rustic orange cake, and I couldn't stop taking about a million photos of her sweet face.
Thank you for cheering me up, sweeties. The funk seems to have passed, largely, and I credit this to your comments, the fact that fresh rhubarb and white asparagus are finally at the market this week and the purchase of a ticket to New York in May. Problem solved! I plan on celebrating this and the full-fledged arrival of spring this weekend by wearing shoes without socks, stewing rhubarb and going to two dinner parties. Take that, funk.
Elsewhere,
Brandi Henderson makes making char siu bao look easy.
How to season a wok (via Jane Lear).
Once I learned to roast Brussels sprouts, I never looked back. For an ambrosial-sounding recipe involving roasted Brussels sprouts and Sriracha sauce (swoon!), go to page 19 of this online food magazine (via Food 52).
The winter may be (almost) over, but Winnie's mail-order sources for interesting citrus fruits are fantastic. Bookmark them for this year's Christmas presents.
I still remember a peanut stew I ate for lunch at Hale & Hearty back when I was a starving editorial assistant (I was obsessed with that place). Something tells me Melissa's Senegalese peanut stew is probably a whole lot more delicious.
Do you need a few moments of soothing procrastination? Leaf through this virtual copy of the Seed Saver's Exchange and I guarantee bliss. Thereafter, also a mean lust for your own garden.
Uh, sandwiches, scanned.
And for all of our worried minds, the most peaceful Tumblr ever (via The Catskill Kiwi).
Have a good weekend, everybody.
I cannot recommend the Plain Jane from Friends Ranches enough. I've gotten maybe half a dozen of them this winter, and they have saved my soul. It was also wonderful to see the varieties change as the winter progressed. I too am sad that citrus season will soon be ending. I'm hoping to get in at least two more Plain Janes however!
Posted by: ann | April 1, 2011 at 07:45 AM
I love your Friday links - I always find such good reading. Thanks, Luisa!
Posted by: lauren @ spiced plate | April 1, 2011 at 08:30 AM
Thank you, Luisa. I'm seasoning my new wok this weekend. And I love the Seed Savers catalog. Ordered black tomatoes. Happy to hear that your blue mood is lifting and wish you well.
Posted by: Laura | April 1, 2011 at 09:07 AM
I don't remember anything I read past Brussels sprouts and Sriracha...
Posted by: Renee | April 1, 2011 at 09:25 AM
So that pup is really cute, but more importantly I want that cake that you are eating.
Posted by: Caroline | April 1, 2011 at 09:47 AM
I have no idea how the Scanwiches guy can resist eating half of his sandwich long enough to take it home and scan it.
Also, I am not a dog person, but that one is cute! And it is not eatint your cake.
Posted by: Julia of Randomly Yours, Julia | April 1, 2011 at 10:15 AM
ta for the links (I've been a fan of the crazy scanwiches for a while now :)
however, procrastination is my middle name. I could do with a few soothing moments of non procrastinating and getting on with what I need to do (I'm rubbish working from home.)
Posted by: la ninja | April 1, 2011 at 10:59 AM
That pup is totally amazing! Ah, I just want to kiss her between the eyes.
But that's not a proper wok in the video (she said snootily)! All right, I'll stop being snooty, but at least where I come from, a wok does not have a flat bottom; it's rounded all the way through. And there are two small handles forged out of the same material as the wok, not a wooden handle on one side. Here's a picture, though I think this wok looks shallower in the picture than it really is:
http://shw.wardahmustapa.fotopages.com/7650022/ikan-berenang-dalam-kuali.html
The rounded shape definitely makes a difference; the handles, I don't know. I think they just make it easier to pick up the wok when it's full. I'm curious if any of your readers grew up in Asia using flat-bottomed woks.
Posted by: Preeta | April 1, 2011 at 11:12 AM
When I saw the picture of the pup, I gasped(!!!), wondering how you had posted a picture of our sweet, adorable dog! Clearly, a true look-alike; and Raquel would be sitting, begging for some cake, too. New York in May will be a perfect tonic!
Posted by: Pam | April 1, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Thanks for the links! i am trapped in an empty office on a beautiful Friday (I didnt get the memo theat everyone was "working from home" today) and these links are just in time to save me from some severe friday blahs. Glad the funk is lifting...amazine how a little sun can start to turn things around.
Posted by: Errin | April 1, 2011 at 12:12 PM
That dog looks just like mine! Love, love love.
Cannot wait to make this soup.
Now I need a sandwich, pronto.
And two passions: organization + photography.
What a great Friday!
Posted by: Gail | April 1, 2011 at 12:12 PM
scanned (?) sandwiches(!)
i have now seen it all.
Posted by: molly | April 1, 2011 at 04:28 PM
I am sure you've already made Kim Boyce's rhubarb tartlets. I'm making them again today. What a fabulous book that it. Deserves a Beard award!
Posted by: Patty | April 1, 2011 at 07:05 PM
Loving the Friday link love. White asparagus - oh yummy. Thanks for the flash of memories to my brief years in Germany as a child. Happy weekend.
Posted by: Charlotte | April 1, 2011 at 11:01 PM
whenever i think of your blog, one word comes to mind: generous! can't help but feel cared for when i read it, especially all the fantastically chosen links that you share. i have been looking for a terrific peanut stew, too. law of attraction? i love when the lines of giving and receiving get blurred: you cheer us up. all the darn time. thanks.
Posted by: Lauren Wilkinson | April 2, 2011 at 01:29 PM
What is better on a Friday than a a perkier mood and a cute picture of a labrador pup. Glad you are doing better.
Posted by: the twice bitten | April 2, 2011 at 06:17 PM
Thanks for the link to the Seed Saver's Exchange. The tomatoes. Amazing. What were there, about 8 pages. Yes, bliss.
Posted by: Denise | Chez Danisse | April 4, 2011 at 08:11 PM
Amazing pup! Thank for links.
Posted by: frau | April 6, 2011 at 09:27 AM
I absolutely love roasted brussell sprouts, and have made them with chestnuts; sun dried tomatoes; orange or lemon zest; roasted bell peppers; and garlic. All wonderful, though just plain olive oil and kosher salt is always a hit. And when pressed for time, I microwave them a few minutes before sticking in a hot oven.
Posted by: Janice Harper | April 6, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Just such an adorable pooch! Dogs manage to put so much expression into their looks. Just love her to pieces.
Posted by: Sharmila | April 6, 2011 at 04:02 PM
Lauren - your comment almost made me cry. In a good way! :) Thank you.
Posted by: Luisa | April 7, 2011 at 04:46 AM
Puppy love is one of the best ways to remember how amazing the world is. Nothing like it.
Posted by: Deena | April 7, 2011 at 03:14 PM
Glad you´re doing better.
Thanks always for sharing your sources of inspiration, the other day including improvisational dancer Anne Marsen, whose crazy moves have since dragged my own heavy head out of the dumb funk now and again.
Re: Ticket to NY in May: Maybe you could even dance with her? Or see her in person at least?
http://girlwalkallday.com/#1278099/Dance-With-Us
Posted by: Korinthe | April 8, 2011 at 04:30 AM
Thanks for the suggestions, Luisa!
Do you know if it's possible to order the citrus fruits and have them shipped to Europe?
Posted by: Agnes | April 8, 2011 at 04:35 AM
Korinthe - I'm arriving just a few days too late! Thanks for the link.
Agnes - I don't know, actually. Best to be in touch with the individual sources.
Posted by: Luisa | April 8, 2011 at 05:00 AM