Cancun, Baby!!!

I’m not going to lie to you guys: In the past twenty four hours, my company won an Oscar, I slept less than three hours because there is a mouse in my apartment hell-bent on tormenting me, and I published an op-ed in addition to doing my normal job. I share this not to brag or to vent, but just to note: I’ve had a lot going on.

It’s especially funny to hear myself say this now, because I’ve said this every week for the past year, and it’s never not true. I don’t think I’m alone in noting that I haven’t officially taken a full day off since the start of the pandemic, and I know that I’m not alone in having centered my work life for the past year because there was… very little other life to be had. The truth, though, is not that I’m burnt out. The truth is that for the past couple of months as I’ve gone through the vaccination process, taken my first steps out in the world, remembered how a Starbucks works, and relaxed into the idea that I am probably not going to die from all of this, I’ve been able to feel a certain sense of spontaneity. I’m just… seeing how things go now, and going along with it.

At the very beginning of the pandemic, I watched all four seasons of the TV show The Last Man on Earth for the first time. At the time, I called it my version of doomsday prepping. As March 2021 came to a close, I revisited the series, and it unsurprisingly felt both much darker and also much funnier than on the first watch. The one mental image that has stuck with me in the weeks following is that of Mary Steenburgen’s character in the series finale, when the handful of survivors of a global pandemic (yeah, I mean, if you haven’t seen this, you probably should) start making their way towards a potential new home. Steenburgen’s Gail, who is almost always wine drunk, spends the entire episode gleefully yelling “CANCUN, BABY!!” as the crew hurtles towards their destination — and whatever terrifying things lie ahead of them in their brave new world.

I can’t think of a better metaphor for who I am right now: Drunk on spring and on this new world I’m in and maybe a little bit on rosé, and barreling into the future with a reckless brand of optimism while fully knowing that what’s around the bend is going to be whatever it’s going to be regardless of what I think about it.

Anyway, this week’s food vibe, for me, is all about big spring salads with baby greens, radishes, pea shoots, snap peas, shaved asparagus, and green goddess dressing. And of course, what makes a salad worthwhile to me: A big hunk of fresh bread with butter. I just made this focaccia on Sunday, because focaccia is the easiest and most chill of all the breads, and all it requires is olive oil, fresh herbs, and probably some garlic in order to be good. (This recipe has one flaw: It does not ask you to sprinkle Maldon flakes on top of the dough before baking — that is a mistake.)

CANCUN, BABY!

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