pre-placement nerves + 20hrs in Canberra + dal on repeat !
Afternoon friends, I hope July was kind to you. I found it full on, but good? The uni workload has become dense again and I start my library placement next week. I've been really stressed about not feeling well enough to do it in recent weeks, but the work I've been doing with a naturopath is staaaarting to pay off (they say with bloodshot eyes looking pale as a ghost on this Friday afternoon). I haven't felt like I desperately need a nap everyday this week (just today)... which is something.
I'm gently optimistic that it'll be fine though. Tiring but fine. I'll be stripping my life back so it's the main focus. I'll rest, eat, and sleep in the spare moments. Life will be smaller for a while, but past experiences have shown that once I start the thing, I actually have more energy for it than I anticipated. The build up is half the battle. Although they're eight hour days... EIGHT HOUR DAYS! CONSECUTIVE (though no more than two at a time). Even if I manage, I'm realistically not going to "look well" for all of those (fatigue really shows on my face), so I'm expecting a few comments on how tired I look or how unhappy I seem.
My supervisor seems like a very chill, approachable guy – a plus. I'll need all the body doubling help I can get to pace myself and not rush. It's a marathon not a sprint, Phoebe. Ok that's enough cheesy one-liners. Can't believe by next newsletter it'll be done (or not, if I can't do it – no Phoebe! Just take it one! day! at! a! time!).
I flew to Canberra for one night to surprise my literally life-long friend (she's known me since I was born) whose play was touring at the Canberra Theatre Centre. Apart from a delayed flight home, it was the perfect trip of seeing my favourite actor in their element (and being outrageously good!!!), having an uninterrupted catch-up over brunch (so rare for us) and proving myself that I can indeed travel! Even if Canberra is one of the shortest plane rides you can take haha.
I wore compression socks and shorts (makes such a difference!), paced myself and just surrendered to what was out of my control. I wore a mask while flying (got a few mask zits for the favour... oh well) and really enjoyed people watching during the lulls of plane travel. I hadn't been on a plane since 2019 (can you believe) – which is partly due to not wanting to (covid, leaving merlin) and partly not making the effort of pushing to do it.
It was 1000 times worth the effort and money. Showing up to support those you love is just the best feeling!
WEBSITE UPDATE.
The search function on my website has been fixed! Thank you Luke (my website-building brother).
Apologies to those who emailed and messaged me about not being able to find your favourite recipes. I hadn't taken them down. For some reason the search bar wasn't returning the results it should've been. Now, even if there's a spelling mistake in your search it should return those you're looking for.
Remember if you want to find a recipe quickly you can just type 'honeybunch of onion tops [recipe title]' into a search engine and it will come up.
YOUTUBE.
A gentle evening routine and some more kitchen accommodation ideas went up on my channel this month.
KITCHEN.
L–R: dal, dahl, daal and more DAL !! I've become totally obsessed with making Dal Tadka right now – mainly because I've learnt how to make it actually taste good (I've been mostly following this recipe)! I prefer to eat it with buttered jasmine rice, along with salted cucumbers, coconut yoghurt and lime pickle. It's funny to me that I ate so much $2 dal and rice at Monash University when I did my bachelor of arts, and now I'm eating it in droves (this time homemade) while studying my library diploma. It really is the food of the student! My stomach – oddly – is loving it too (I often forget lentils can be low FODMAP).
L–R: chive & basil butter veggies with a vegan arayes (both I Want Dopamine for DInner recipes) and a zucchini fritter / an aloo tikki (spiced potato fritter) pitta with a fried egg, rocket, lime pickle and coconut yoghurt – SO GOOD! / cottage pie with impossible mince, mushrooms and lentils.
L–R: butter chicken with tofu meatballs (an I Want Dopamine for Dinner recipe we can make again now that V2 sausages are back in Coles) / a meal prepped breakfast burrito / Nora Cooks' garlic noodles made with GF angel hair pasta – delicious!
L–R: another veggie curry / broccoli, vegan cream cheese, pesto gnocchi and tofu / zucchini quinoa fritters – made easy by defrosting some quinoa I had prepped in the freezer.
L–R: gluten-free porridge for breakfast, snacks and dessert! Really enjoying this Orgran one from Woolies which I'd totally overlooked (probably like most people, as branding isn't Orgran's strong suit). With a little vanilla protein powder added, it's so delicious and comforting!
L–R: my three drink morning line up (AVC water – for boosting stomach acid between meals, decaf coffee and a ginger lemon water) / prepped onigiri for the freezer / afourer mandarins are my citrus of choice this winter.
L–R: a miso Vegemite ramen dumpling in a GF pita pocket (which are so much better when reheated briefly in the microwave) / banana GF muffins (used the banana cake recipe in I Want Dopamine for Dinner) with test-run weetbix choc-chip cookie dough from the freezer scattered on top.
READ.
Alicia Kennedy's On Eating: The Making & Unmaking of My Appetites is a new memoir by the beloved food writer. Each chapter uses one ingredient or food as an anchor for a chapter or theme in their life, as well as a launching pad to talk about local and global food systems which Kennedy does so well. I thought I was going to find this one hard to finish, but I kept coming back to it happily enough. Perhaps I'm not in a position to completely fall in love with it, because their writing / ethos / interests overlap with my own, so not a whole lot surprises me. The memoir parts were my favourite.
Assembly by black British writer Natasha Brown, is a punchy wee-read about a successful London-based young black investment banker's unenthusiastic lead up to her white partner's parents' anniversary weekend at their country estate. She's also just learnt she has cancer. For such a short book there's so much in this. Short chapters, sharp prose. Loved it.
Now that I work in a school library, I want to read more YA (young adult). The Giver is on the booklist at the school I work at and I'd seen it recommended a few times recently on TikTok. Published in 1993, it's a utopian/dystopian tale of a young boy coming of age in a deeply organised society where everyone has minimal choice (and seems totally fine with it) about the job they get, who they couple with, the children they have etc. It's so much better than Divergent (although for a younger age group) which it reminds you of, yet came years earlier. So readable and juicy to think about afterwards. Really enjoyed it.
I adored Rachel Khoo's Little Paris Kitchen series (and later cookbook), when it aired in 2014. Watching this woman run a restaurant out of her tiny studio apartment in Paris was completely captivating to 12-year-old me. So when I saw she'd written, The Smallest Restaurant in Paris – a memoir about the five year lead up to that show, I was like YES PLEASE! She must have done so much reminiscing, because she's written it like a novel (changing a few details for privacy reasons). It's full of early 2010 blogging nostalgia, 'cycling through a million jobs to make ends meet' chaos, frantic freelancer energy, mixed with Rachel's delightful grounding vibes. I was a little sad that the book stopped before she started the TV show (as that would have been really cool to read about), but I guess I'll just have to track down the show and her cookbook again!
RECIPE.
This month's recipe is a comforting one – Cheesy Green Pesto & Tofu Rice. A green version of my Cheesy Kimchi, Tofu & Carrot Rice which I know is loved by many. This one hits all the same yummy, easy-to-prepare notes – just with a greener profile.
Thank you for being here & supporting my work,
– Phoebe
Tip my work or adjust your subscription here 🪶