#61// québec, deli and eggplant
"a vibes guy"
Dear Reader,
Existential crisis hits.
Sometimes I wonder the direction this newsletter, built on consumption of different kinds of media, should take. What do I write when I have consumed nothing large enough to spend fifteen minutes talking about? What if I read nothing and my monthly book tab is zero? (Also the fact that I am intentionally cutting down reading time). Is it awkward to begin letters to you without a book in the first two paragraphs? I am still finding out, and that’s why there are a mix of short and long letters to you. I also want to talk (write) more to you, but does every conversation need a structure? So many thoughts. Enough about me. How are you?
1. I’ve been reading/listening to the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny—absolutely enjoying them. I was biased in thinking I would not care much for an inspector who solves mysteries in Quèbec in a non-tense atmosphere, often interrupted with slow meals, and hot drinks. I love the ‘vibe’ as the kids would say.
Louise Penny’s writing is a perfect mix of cozy, just-enough-grit, mysterious in the way you really want to know how it ends, cozy enough to enjoy cooking while knee-deep in the story, and suspenseful in a calm kind of way (I am not on the edge of my seat, or feeling tense or anxious, but I am really invested). They are a PERFECT accompaniment while ticking off chores around the house. Maybe it is the fact that listening to the scene of the characters eating makes me wish I was somewhere else (without murder), instead of huffing and puffing around this house through tasks that never seem to end.
I enjoyed Book 1 ‘Still Life’ about the death/possible murder of the nicest lady in town, right after her art featuring the town fair was to be displayed at an exhibition. I am currently reading Book 16 ‘All the Devils are Here’ which is more vast, detailed, and simply fantastic, set in Paris, with big corps, secrets, identities, riches, all devils from hell, and bistro food. I have three more hours on audio to finish the book, and I keep itching to abandon writing this letter and just listen to my book instead. I will be reading more from the series (the books work as standalones). If you have recs in this series or in books with similar vibes, please let me know.
Update: 1.5 hours to go on audio and this book is really good! Google tells me this is one of Penny’s best.
2. I have been tuning into Deli Boys this week. It is funny and the right kind of TV (yes, it has some blood but not in a bloody, gruesome kind of way, but for laughs) to wind up the day with. This show, created by Abdullah Saeed, follows two rich (now poor) Pakistani-American brothers (a hardworking younger one with a business degree and a weed-loving ‘vibes guy’ (his words, not mine) who simply wants a cut of the profit). When their father dies, they are shocked to discover that their source of income was a secret life of crime, and not the deli stores that served as a front. I love to see a show (especially one featuring South Asians in the lead) that is fun, with no message force-fed to the viewer. I love a chaotic, sticky, messy story of spoilt rich brown immigrants losing their training wheels and landing in hilarious situations. I spilled my coca-cola (judge me!) a few times because I leapt (literally. leapt, not wept) with laughter at times. Pungent achar, murderwallah, India-Pak business deals, leech therapy, aunty-uncles—Still watching.
3. If you are in two minds about eggplant, try this. I cannot find the recipe that I cooked—it was an impulsive decision while scrolling Instagram for air fryer recipes and coming across the recipe on an account whose name I do not recollect. But here is a recipe by Ria Elciario-Mckeown that’s similar. This works great as a side and also as a filling for a wrap. The eggplant will be kind of spongy and not the texture you would imagine it to be.
4. Visit a park, right now
6. 37 lessons for being alive in this absolute mayhem
7. I wanted to underline so many passages in this essay Are we scrolling through life? Phone, life, and illusions.
Temperatures are rising! Do not skip sunscreen. Hope you get to wake up to birdsong, spring and fresh flowers (available year round at flower shops to be honest, but you know they are nicer this time of the year) very soon.
Write to me, I love hearing from you.
Love love,
Resh x