If We Were Having Coffee (1 Sept, 2020)
Put the kettle on and pull up a chair
I thought I’d dial it right back to basics this month - to the original intent of this newsletter: what I would tell you about if I were hosting you for coffee, for cake, or for dinner. At the moment all of that is a bit of a grey zone here in Scotland - we are allowed to have guests in our home, but we have to stay 2 metres away from them.
Anyway… if you had come around for coffee:
On the table would be this, a Nutella variation of Livvy Potts’s banana cake I told you about last time around. I made the batter as usual (I’m much lazier than Livvy, I do it all in one bowl) and then marbled a few tablespoons of Nutella through it as I put it into the loaf tin. I’d tell you that I’ve been having chunks of the cake with a dollop of gorgeous Greek yoghurt for breakfast.
I’d tell you that Livvy and her friend Kate run a wedding catering business, which has understandably had a pretty shocking 2020 - but they’ve just relaunched their website and brochures. I’d send you the link to their website and we’d hope that 2021 will be less terrible for everyone.
I’d tell you that Kate has another from her Little Library cookbook series coming out next month, and that this one is about CHRISTMAS. I’d be telling you that I’ve added it to my huge list of October pre-orders from Hive (that website is the unsung hero of my 2020, incidentally) and that I’m determined to have a cosy Autumn and Advent this year, no matter what’s going on outside my window. (I’d tell you that I’m completely terrified about the US Election).
I’d show you my huge stash of special-edition postage stamps - I’m particularly fond of the Romantic Poets ones, and we’d laugh about how ridiculous it is that you have to spend £50 on stamps to get them posted to you for free. I’d explain that it’s because I’ve signed up for and jumped full swing into Rachel Syme’s #penpalooza and now have pen pals all over the world.
so #penpalooza just hit 4000 ppl! just a little note about what it is/how to join for those who are wondering... in early summer i asked if anyone would like to start writing snail mail to strangers; people seemed into it so i set up this exchange:
For example, I have a German pen pal in Hamburg - and we write back and forth in German! I haven’t written in German since I finished uni four years ago so this is faintly terrifying, but great fun.
Talking of writing, I’d tell you that I’ve been joining the London Writers’ Salon Zoom Writing Hours at 8am every morning during the week. It’s a wonderfully supportive community and I’ve had a couple of 2- and 3-thousand word weeks on the novel, which is a lot for me, considering how much brain power my day job takes up.
You’d ask about how my day job is going, I’d no doubt reply using some sort of investments or corporate jargon, you’d nod blankly, and we’d move on (it’s going great! - I’m 8 months in and I’ve had my temporary position extended to the end of next year, which is super exciting and reassuring).
I’d tell you how exciting it is that Thought Clothing, my favourite ethical brand, seem to be doing so well. They’ve just launched their first ever dungarees, and a capsule collection that almost makes me want to throw out my existing wardrobe and start again (if that didn’t defeat the entire idea of sustainable fashion). I’d rave about their amazing socks and tell you that last year I bought a set of socks for everyone who was at my parents’ house on Christmas Day.
Sustainable fashion is a huge topic right now - I’d tell you I’ve been using the 30 Wears Challenge app to log what I’m actually wearing, and that right now, unsurprisingly, it’s mostly all about a green Sainsbury’s hoodie my mum found me earlier this year to replace a Uniqlo one that was looking disreputable after I’d practically lived in it since I was 16.
If you asked what the music playing was, I’d tell you that it’s the Alex playlist from the set of playlists Casey McQuiston put together to accompany their wonderful book Red, White, & Royal Blue, which I have been rereading every six weeks or so. If you hadn’t read it yet, I’d encourage you to get a copy and to dive into a parallel 2020 that looks nothing like this one. I’d apologise that yes, it’s pretty pricey for a Kindle book, but I promise it’s worth it, and the hard copy seems to be sold out everywhere.
You’d ask what I was planning to make for dinner tonight. I’d explain how obsessed I am with broccoli lately and that I’m planning to have a go at a stir fry with this new Oumph veggie Kebab stuff I found, a mountain of shredded broccoli, loads of soy sauce (inspired by the Salt episode of Samin Nosrat’s wonderful Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix), and some white rice. If it goes well, I promise I’ll tell you about it. If not… we’ll never speak of it again!
How was that for a bit of Kaffeeklatsch?
Find me on Instagram: @LilyMCooks
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