The genie grants you a wish. What is it?
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Just to be clear, “86” = impeach and remove from office (preferably to a jail cell). I’m also good with death from natural causes or Melania smothering him with a pillow. I do not condone violence (except for Melania smothering him with a pillow).
Be Best.
Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself?
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Since food and I have had a good relationship for decades now, I sometimes forget about the early years. In my teens I was was pretty obsessed with being thin. Back then, there was a lot of interest in dramatic cases of eating disorders, especially Karen Carpenter’s death from heart failure due to anorexia nervosa in 1983 (my senior year of high school), but the casual use of Dexatrim (over-the-counter speed), starving yourself and occasional self-induced vomiting was no big deal. All the supermodels had protruding hip bones and thighs that did not touch. That was the goal. I remember a gym teacher talking to me once about being too thin. (I was 5’8” and about 118 pounds.) I thought I looked great. So did my boyfriend.
Thankfully, I mostly quit dieting in college and eventually got into swimming and was a pretty normal eater. I dabbled in vegetarianism, but I ended up consuming so much cheese that it elevated my cholesterol and I also developed lactose intolerance, which thankfully resolved. (Imagine a life without ice cream!) I now take a daily statin to control my high cholesterol, which I blame on my genetics. My parents both take statins, but at 87 and 92 they’re still traveling and eating whatever they want, so I’m not gonna worry about it.
I really love to eat good food now. We have a great relationship. Sometimes I try fancy recipes from the New York Times, but more often I make a few standbys that have like 4 ingredients and always come out great.
One of those is crockpot lemon chicken. A friend of mine once shared this recipe on Facebook and said “this sounds good” —and so it was. I’ve made this recipe dozens, if not hundreds, of times:
Crock Pot Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3–4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thirds
1/4 cup butter
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing/seasoning mix
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1.) Rinse the chicken pieces with water, then lightly coat them in flour. Set aside.
2.) Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add half of the flour-coated chicken pieces. Avoid overcrowding the pan; you will cook the chicken in two batches.
3.) Season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 3–4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. You are not cooking the chicken all the way through at this stage, just creating a golden-brown crust.
4.) Remove the chicken from the skillet and place it in the crock pot.
5.) Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Cook the remaining flour-coated chicken pieces for 3–4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place it in the crock pot.
6.) Sprinkle the Italian dressing/seasoning mix evenly over the chicken.
7.) Pour the fresh lemon juice and chicken broth over the chicken.
8.) Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for approximately 3 hours.
9.) Serve the chicken pieces whole or shredded, topped with the lemon sauce and broth.
RIP Karen Carpenter. I loved her voice so much. She was one of the greatest altos of all time. If only she hadn’t had such a fraught relationship with food, she would have been 76 now.
Do you believe in karma?
You know how people always say that you can tell if someone is actually a good person based on how children and dogs feel about them?
Well, I don’t love that, because I’m not a big fan of dogs. Does that make me a bad person? (I’m great with kids, by the way.)
Well, last night, I had an experience that improved my dog karma (I think). There was no actual dog present (yay), but I felt the dog’s spirit.
A wonderful church friend in her 80s had had to put her beloved dog Grace down earlier that day. At choir practice, she told us the meaning behind the dog’s name and a bit about her personality. (Apparently Grace disliked men, but was a peacemaker amongst dogs.) My friend then asked us to sing two different versions of Amazing Grace in honor of Grace the Dog.
It was so moving. I have honestly never heard our choir sing so beautifully. I’ve never sung so beautifully. There were tears, even from one of the men Grace constantly barked at while she was alive.
We sang all three verses of the song over the two renditions, the last one a cappella. Then we silently closed our hymnals and moved on with choir rehearsal.
It was the perfect way to honor a dog.
What’s the most annoying trope in books or movies?
Listen, one thing I know about is Massholes. I grew up with plenty of them. I know when the accent is real.
In movies, they never get it right. Even Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who grew up in highbrow Cambridge, don’t get it quite right. (Despite that slight flaw, I loved the film Good Will Hunting. It captured one of the key characteristics of Masshole mentality—class awareness. “You think you’re bettah than me cuz you go to Hah-vahd? Well Faaaack you”)
Mark Wahlberg, on the other hand, is an objectively terrible actor, but an authentic Boston Masshole. Did you know he grew up in the infamous South Boston “projects” and was involved in a number of serious racially-motivated assaults and harassment incidents as a teenager in Boston during the mid-1980s? I did! He’s the type of guy I would’ve avoided like the plague in high school.
Well, this is all a long-winded way of saying that I finally saw an authentic portrait of that trope last night. The film Tony about one summer in the life of the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has a great Masshole character played by Leo Woodall. He’s SO good in this. In my opinion, he steals the film, which is largely set on Cape Cod in the summer of 1975. His accent and demeanor are perfect. It just figures that he’s a Brit! He totally nailed his part. GENXers should go see the film for Woodall and the soundtrack (including some classic Jonathan Richman) alone.
What’s a moment when a stranger completely restored your faith in people?
Several years ago, I passed a middle-aged woman dance walking on our rail trail. She was dancing with wild abandon while walking for exercise. She was wearing big over-the-ear headphones. I have no idea what she was listening to, but I always imagined it was the BeeGees.
I loved it. I’m not sure why exactly, but I think it had something to do with seeing a woman alone enjoy herself so thoroughly and unselfconsciously.
You don’t realize how rare that is until you see it.
What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
Summer is far and away my favorite season in New England—my lifelong home. I generally stay within its six states in summer. Why leave? I know it’s been very hot here, but I’m a swimmer. Outdoor pools and oceans beckon me. The water temperature at Rhode Island beaches was 70F last weekend. Perfect.
OK, if I HAD to rank them, I’d go:
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Connecticut
But they’re all great – in the SUMMAH.
Pumpkin spice, stay away!
What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?
So many people say they “can’t sing” and it bugs me. Everyone CAN sing, but not everyone can sing in tune. My mother is a non-singer. She said she’s so bad at it that she was told to “mouth the words” to her sorority song, so as not to be heard by whatever audience listened to sorority girls sing songs in the 1950s. I’ve literally never heard her sing.
My husband can’t read music or play an instrument but he can sing — in tune. He will do karaoke in a pinch, if required. I think it’s because he listens to a lot of music and sings or hums along.
That is honestly the best way to learn to sing: Sing or hum along with music you like.
If you can’t find a song you like, then sing this one. It’s the classic.
Imagine a world where nobody ever says “I can’t sing,” but instead just joins in with everyone else, I think it might actually fix all our problems.
Like nearly every American of good conscience, I have mixed feelings this Fourth of July. The promise of America is faltering under the most corrupt and despicable administration in our 250 year history. The upcoming midterm elections will hopefully spark some sort of a course correction.
In the meantime, there are children and grandchildren; national parks and beaches; fresh cherries and watermelon to be thankful for.
This land was made for you and me.
This is a fairly simple and absolutely delicious use of fresh cherries. We got a cherry pitter to make it even easier.
Here’s the recipe from NYT Cooking.
What’s a book, movie, or TV show that you wish you could experience again for the first time?
I’ve written before about seeing Star Wars and the big movie musicals of the late 70s over and over again. Grease in particular was so fun to see on the big screen for the first time. The “teenagers” in the movie were a few years older than me and they made high school look like, well…a Hollywood musical. What could be better? And it’s hard to explain just how appealing young John Travolta was back in the day.
OK, I looked it up and Travolta was actually 24 when he played Danny Zuko. And Jeff Conaway, who played Kenickie, was 28. (So I was a 13-year old lusting after grown men twice my age.)
What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?
One thing I know about happiness is that it’s fleeting. There’s really no such thing as “happily ever after.” Things will change. They always do.
Here in the United States, millions had a happy day yesterday. New Yorkers reached a state of high ecstasy celebrating their championship basketball team—the Knicks. And we all got to see our inspirational former leader—America’s first Black President—Barack Obama open the new, magnificent Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. All of our living presidents and their wives were there, except the Incompetent Orange Fascist currently occupying Our White House. He was not invited. There were speeches and incredible musical performances by everyone from Jennifer Hudson to Eddie Vedder.
We got reminded of how far we’ve come and what the future could be, if we don’t give up. Michelle Obama’s speech was so beautiful it made me cry. Check it out here.
Combined with all the World Cup joy in Boston and beyond (thank you Tartan Army) and the successful Artemis 2 voyage earlier this year, I’m reminded that Americans can be happy again.
Also, I just read that the correct guy won the special election in the UK yesterday, which is also great news.
Read President Obama’s speech here. For me, the opening of the Obama Presidential Center was the real celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
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