🍽️📚📻 ERL January '24

Records, Tabouli, Sacred Seasons, and More

Here in N Alabama we are going to have two straight nights in the single digits. 48 hours+ of sub freezing weather. The garden, outside of the onions and garlic, will likley RIP after this freeze. However, I thought I'd see if covering with straw, and then three sheets of frost cloth will keep it alive through the snap. Stay tuned.

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The ERL Edition

The quoted text below is from our first ERL newsletter. If this is your first time reading our ERL edition, check it out for a quick primer. In our latest podcast, we talk about what’s in here and much more. The podcast is where you will hear Morgan discuss her selections and more.

“Music, the spoken and written word, and prepared meals are all uniquely human. These are gifts to be enjoyed and relished. Savored. Pondered. And shared.

Speaking of sharing, who doesn't like to share that new recipe, new podcast, new artist, or favorite book? Forgive our self-indulgence!

With that said, we would be delighted if you indulged a little and shared with us what you are eating, reading, and listening to this month. Share it in the comments!

Lastly, I’d like to get Morgan’s own words in this version of the newsletter. I’m hoping in the future she will be able to contribute to all editions of the newsletter. We haven’t found that rhythm yet. So, if you would like to hear directly from her, check out the latest podcast where we discuss these very things and more. She goes into detail on all of her mentions in this newsletter. For now, I am summarizing her podcast notes for those who only read the newsletter and do not listen to the pod.

Lastly, part two: There are no affiliate links in this newsletter. What I mean is, we aren’t getting paid for clicks on these items or if you purchase anything. Who knows what the future holds; perhaps in the future we will. If we ever do go that route, we will be upfront and honest about it. Until then, please know these links aren’t sponsors or affiliate links.

That's all. Enjoy.”

🍽️ What we are Eating

Taylor

Writing this section feels silly. I think it will feel more appropriate whenever we are eating out of the garden. And, speaking of the garden, Morgan has started making a really good salad dressing for the greens we’ve been harvesting. Maybe next ERL we will mention it. For this edition though, it’s omelettes. I saute onions, peppers, mushrooms, and add whatever meat we have. Lately I’ve been chopping up bacon and adding it in with the onions. Once the veggies and meat are nice and browned like I like it, I remove it all from the skillet. I then add three eggs into a bowl, a little milk, mix it up really well, and pour it into my cast iron skillet. I let it cook a while and then add the veggies and meat, maybe a dash of some cheese. I put all toppings on one side and then I flip the half with no toppings over the goods. I let it cook for another minute or so (on med-low to low the whole time) and then put it on a plate. A whole omellete like this is a good breakfast for Morgan and I to split.

Morgan

Morgan has been making tabouli(ish) lately. A friend suggested we try it out since we have an abundance of parsley in the garden. It’s been a hit. She has made it with quinoa, tomatoes, peppers, feta, lemon, olive oil, and parsely. You could sub pasta for the quinoa and it would make a nice pasta salad-like dish. It isn’t really a winter dish, but we’ve been enjoying it still.

One more thing - If you look up a tabouli recipe online, you will notice a difference in ingredients. That’s why I added “ish” up top. Morgan used what we had (quinoa) and omitted mint because… well… it didn’t sound appealing. Perhaps in the summer mint will make a nice touch.

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📚 What we are Reading

Taylor

Farming Magazine

I was sitting on a couch in a friend’s house when he mentioned an article he read. In it, the author was discussing the ins-and-outs of having a dairy cow. It wasn’t only the content of the article that caught my attention, it was also where he found the magazine. It was at his in-laws house. His in-laws are different. In a good way. I knew if his in-laws subscribed to this magazine, then the content must be quality. And it is. I’ve received two so far. I wrote about fermenting chicken feed last week and it was an article in this magazine that pushed me to start doing so. Here is a link to their website.

Reframe your Brain - Scott Adams

Scott Adams is the creater of the comic strip Dilbert. I’m pretty sure I first heard of him in an interview of Naval Ravikant by Joe Rogan. Then I listened to a couple of Scott’s interviews with Joe and Tim Ferris. He is an interesting guy. He is hard to put into a box. Did I mention he is a trained hypnotist? And a former banker? Right - it’s odd. But I like the way he thinks. Not always what he thinks, but rather how. And the book hasn’t disappointed.

Morgan

Sacred Seasons - Danielle Hitchen

Wild Words - Nicole Gulotta

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📻 What we are Listening to

Taylor

Our good friend Cody, an audiophile who scours estate sales for old audio equipment, hooked our family up with a record player, some speakers, and an amp for Christmas. He also gave us a few records to top it off. And let me tell you - it has been awesome! The kids love it. Now, our daughter requests Fleetwood Mac and they all clamor for a record to be played while they go to sleep. The analog nature of the set up really makes playing music more akin to an experience and less like adding background noise.

Here is the other thing I have come to appreciate about record players: you play albums. Not songs. When riding in the car or listening to a streaming service, the kids request songs. But when I have the record player on, they request artists. I like this. The relationship with the music is different when it’s an artist you love as opposed to loving a list of random songs.

When the record player was all there was, records were produced, curated, and written with this in mind. A song was always part of a larger whole.

Below are some of my favorite songs from a few of our most played, and favorite, albums.

• Fleetwood Mac - Rumours - “Second Hand News”

• James Taylor - Sweet Baby James - “Fire and Rain”

• Ben Rector - Joy - “Heroes”

Listening to books

My mind tends to drift while reading. This can be particularly troublesome when listening to a book that is technical in any way. A sentence will trigger a thought and the next thing I know 5 minutes has passed and I have no idea what has been read to me. However, I like the idea of audio books. They allow me to ‘read’ while doing other things. I’ve found the categorical sweet spot for keeping my attention and offering grace for my adult ADD: biographies.

Elon Musk, by Walter Isaacson, has not disappointed. It’s been a fascinating listen. Elon’s combination of frank comunication, lack of empathy, and maniacal ambition has produced a polarizing and often scorned individual. And yet, it is that same combination that has produced the individual who has arguably done more to advance mankind’s quest to be an interplanetary species than all others combined.

Morgan

JJ Heller - I dream of you: SLEEP

Wheeler. He’s four. Morgan talks about it on the podcast.