If Lit Hub had a motto this week, it would probably echo the poet’s reflections on music and the nourishment of affection. Our beloved masthead has been eating, cooking, baking, nesting, and making music.
Jonny Diamond shares updates from the backyard apple tree, where he and his toddler have enjoyed several fruitful harvests. Sarah, Diamond’s partner, has been turning the hand-picked apples into cakes, sauces, and crumbles—especially praising the crowd-pleasing cake recipe.
Though our editor insists he and Sarah have never used the #TradWife tag, he did complete a new home improvement project this week. The Diamond kitchen now features a built-in storage bench, so the growing crew can enjoy more spacious family dinners.
As with the apples, abundance brings happiness. The more, the merrier.
James Folta also has been busy in the kitchen. Our staff member has been enjoying go-to recipes lately—with the first inspired by Richard Olney, the Iowa-born painter, food writer, and Parisian expatriate.
Olney is perhaps best known as a student and champion of French country food and techniques; he became the seed from which many great American chefs sprouted, with James among them.
“I adore his cookbook Simple French Food, and when I spot good mushrooms for sale, I make his Mushrooms Provençal,” says our colleague. “It’s very straightforward—you basically sweat the mushrooms and toss them with chopped garlic and parsley—but substantial. And if you want to win over a vegetarian, it can look pretty, too.”
The second sure-fire favorite is Jacques Pépin’s Chicken in Mustard Sauce. “The sauce is incredibly silky for so few ingredients,” James notes. And the recipe seems to scale nicely for larger gatherings.
A final tip from the chef? “Both of these are simple dishes, but they reward careful attention. Cook them slowly.”
Oliver Scialdone has been weaving humor into the day. Our community editor has been asking, “Will MomTok survive this?” in response to small inconveniences.
“Even though it’s a tiny, silly thing, it makes a day when everything seems to go wrong feel far less hostile,” Oliver observes. It really is the little things.
Drew Broussard is riding a wave of musical energy. Our podcasts editor is especially fond of the new Julia Jacklin record. The Gem marks the fourth album from the pleasantly offbeat Australian singer‑songwriter whose songs feel like well-told stories.
On the other side of the sonic spectrum, Drew has also been enjoying the first two singles from Aesop Rock’s new collaboration with Blockhead. The production on Trouble Mountain comes across as lush and delightful. More broadly, it hints that the younger generation is thriving musically.
“A friend recently lamented that he doesn’t listen to full albums anymore, everything’s built for streaming singles; my reply is: you just have to find the right albums,” Drew remarks.
I, Brittany Allen, have also been in a musical mood. Not long ago I snagged a cheap ticket to the New York Philharmonic, where I heard Gustavo Dudamel conduct Mahler’s Fifth Symphony in person.
My prior associations of conductors and this piece with the film Tár left me arriving with a touch of stiffness, but I walked away moved. I hadn’t realized how physically engaging classical music can be to perform, or how gripping and emotionally resonant it can be in a live setting. What a truly enlightening way to learn.
May your weekend be filled with chopping, dicing, snacking, and singing along.
