The Week In Recommendations 4.17.24
One-pot tofu and broccoli, a brand-new newsletter, air-fried crispy rice and sparkly jewelry!
This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Our latest podcast was about The Cut’s viral essay on “marrying an older man.” Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!
Claire has been reading… 📖
Mostly work-related reading this week — meaning, lots of old (and some new) media coverage of Bennifer for an upcoming Love to See It episode. This 2003 Vanity Fair profile of Ben Affleck is a particularly jaw-dropping read, packed with nasty insinuating language about the ravenously ambitious Jennifer Lopez and her tawdry past.
This is going to be a classic “Claire’s been snowed under by parenthood this week” post; for the third or fourth (who’s counting?) time since January, I’m digging myself out from the daycare virus one-two punch (baby was home sick for a week, and then I was sick for a week, and I’ve been doing the bare minimum to survive for almost 3 weeks at this point).
Emma has been reading… 📖
The first post of our dear friend (and former colleague)
’s new Substack, ! Laura is someone who is sharp, brilliant and insightful — and she’s great about having her finger on the Very Online pulse. It’s a fucking bummer that so many amazing journalists are being forced out of newsrooms because of corporate greed / random billionaires / hedge funds (see: the two herbs Laura describes in this origin story piece).
We all want better for our industry, for journalists’ ability to really hold the powerful to account, and for readers. It isn’t the same as having the structural support of a whole newsroom behind your work, but it has been really cool to have a burgeoning group of colleague-like collaborators on this platform, and to see readers/listeners supporting indie writers and podcasters directly. I hope that Nightcap takes off — especially in an election year when we’ll all be craving smart, accessible analysis.
Claire has been watching… 📺
Work-related content! “Gigli” (you can skip it), JLo’s recent movie/music video “This Is Me… Now” (surprisingly endearing in its vulnerability, sense of humor, and sheer weirdness) and the accompanying documentary “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” (hilariously packed with talking-head interviews of Ben Affleck expressing how much he did not want JLo to make a movie about their love story) were all crucial viewing to bring me up to speed on the whole Bennifer thing, or so I told myself.
Emma has been watching… 📺
I’ve been catching up on my current rotation of Bravo shows: “Summer House,” “Vanderpump Rules” and “The Valley.” I also started “Palm Royale,” the Apple TV+ dark comedy set in starring Kristen Wiig as a grifter making her way through 1960s Palm Beach high society, and crossing paths with a stellar cast like Leslie Bibb, Allison Janey, Ricky Martin and Laura Dern. I’m not 100% sold on it yet, but it’s certainly a visual feast and Wiig is a delight.
Claire has been listening to… 🎧
Golden Divorce podcasts, to help me sort through my feelings at the sudden divorce announcement from Gerry and Theresa, who were married in a live TV special just a month after their “Golden Bachelor” engagement was aired on ABC. Dear Shandy had just had them on for one of their Love Fest episodes to gush about their relationship and each other, and I couldn’t resist picking through for signs of what was about to happen. Hindsight being 20/20, this is an easy, if unfair, thing to do. Dear Shandy also had a podcast reacting to the news, as did Ben and Ashley I’s Almost Famous podcast. Normally I just keep it moving after breakups in the franchise — they are expected (relationships end!) and don’t really faze me much. But the drama of going from a whirlwind televised wedding to a whirlwind divorce announced on GMA in just three months actually did rock me a bit.
Emma has been listening to… 🎧
Claire and I recently got the opportunity to curate a short playlist as guest DJs on SiriusXM’s Pop Rocks channel. We decided to go with songs that we associate with iconic rom-com scenes, which led me down the rabbit hole of ‘90s/’00s rom-com soundtracks. Turns out, “10 Things I Hate About You” does indeed have a perfect soundtrack. Letters To Cleo! F.N.T.! Brought me pure joy to listen to it. The nostalgia!!!!
Claire has been buying… 🛍️
Nothing this week! Normally shopping online is my dopamine source of choice during these tough weeks when I can’t find the time to read or watch anything good, see friends, or even get four consecutive hours of sleep. What fills the void? Connections in the New York Times app, mainly.
But I have been getting a lot of wear from one of my last splurges before the budget-tightening began: this quilted denim jacket from my favorite English maternity-ish brand, Beyond Nine. It’s currently out of stock, but they do restock (in small quantities), so it may be reupped at some point. It’s oversized and cozy, big enough to wrap around my son when I’m baby-wearing, and the contrast stitching is a unique touch. I always get compliments when I wear it.
Emma has been buying… 🛍️
These sparkly Whisper earrings from Shashi! I have a black tie wedding coming up, and when I was planning my outfit for it I realized I had a whole lot of gold hoops of varying textures and sizes, but very very few formal earrings. This pair fit the bill.
Also, I was recently gifted (with zero obligation to post or shout out the product) T3’s 1.5-inch Single Pass Clip Curling Iron. I already owned the 1.25-inch version (not gifted, just purchased), so I was excited to try the larger barrel. And it’s great! I have a lot of hair and it’s currently very long, so it’s nice to be able to curl my whole head faster. Plus, I love the softer waves the 1.5-inch creates.
Claire has been making… 🧶
A highly edited version of Ali Slagle’s one-pot tofu and broccoli rice. I was so eager to try it that I got all the ingredients and was about to embark on the recipe before I checked the comments and found that most people couldn’t get it to come together in one pot. After I read comment after comment about undercooked broccoli, cold tofu and overcooked rice, I was too daunted to continue with the recipe as written. I had to have dinner ready in 30 minutes so we wouldn’t start bedtime late, and that could NOT be compromised by cold tofu. Instead, I simply cooked the rice, tossed the broccoli with soy sauce and olive oil and roasted it, and cooked some crispy tofu in the air fryer. Then I made the sauce in Ali’s recipe, with some ginger, garlic, and sesame oil tossed in to compensate for leaving them out of the rice, and tossed the crispy tofu in it. The sauce received one rave review (from Greg) and one complaint (from the preschooler, who cannot handle the spice level of oregano, let alone a dash of Sriracha). Part of me wants to try the recipe again one day, when I’m in a more low-pressure situation, but the edited version was still fairly easy and very tasty.
Emma has been making… 🧶
Salmon and tofu crispy rice in my Our Place air fryer! I got the idea from this Instagram reel and have been dying to try it. Crispy rice is one of my favorite things to order from my local sushi spot, but I can’t be ordering in every night. And turns out… it’s pretty easy to make yourself! I boiled rice, pressed it into a couple tupperware containers, let it cool in the fridge and then sliced it into chunks with a wet knife. (This last bit is key!) I lightly coated each piece of soon-to-be crispy rice in sesame oil and then air fried them on 400 for ~20 minutes. And they turned out SO WELL!
One night I topped the crispy rice with avocado slices and tofu (recipe in the aforementioned reel), and another night I bought some sushi-grade salmon from my neighborhood Japanese market, chopped it up, and combined it with spicy mayo and chopped scallions. This meal was so delicious and satisfying, it’s definitely going into my regular rotation.
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Y'all sold me on the recipes!
Bedtime NOT being compromised by cold tofu 😂 It’s SOOOO relatable! Protect the bedtime! Protect your sanity!