Good Reads/Good Eats + An Announcement

The month of June has shaped up to be a good one. Summer is officially here, I'm heading to Napa for a wedding next month, and my brother got married. Peaches and apricots are at the market! There's also been a slew of great reads on the web, and here are some of my favorites. Also, scroll down for a special announcement!

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Jhumpa Lahiri has a new novel coming out! I can hardly contain myself. Read an excerpt here. 

This columnist downsized and gave away most of his books. (!)

Mung beans are having a moment.

Literary Jutebox, Great Gatsby edition. 

Surround yourself with other people's creativity, plus more wisdom from James Cameron. 

"I wanted to always be lost inside a good story, and spend my life there."

7 Tips for bringing mindfulness to your workday.

Sara shares her healthy eating philosophy over at A Couple Cooks.

It's a great time to revisit this simple cooking technique. 

13 Favorite Food Poems, curated by Saveur. 

Scientific proof that reading is good for you. 

A blog about one thing: salad!

"Call it grazing, or default dinner, or parenting by tapas — we’re happier, calmer and probably better fed."

Here are the top 10 apps for writers. 

Announcing the ETP Poetry Contest!  

This summer, writers are invited to submit their food poems to Eat This Poem's inaugural poetry contest! Submissions will be open from July 1 - August 15, 2013, so get out your pots and pens. Find out more on the contest page.

Living With Poetry | Burning Your Fingers

Living With Poetry is an occasional series where we explore how poetry infuses our everyday lives. Catch up with past features here. Interested in sharing your own story about how poetry inspires you (in the kitchen or otherwise)? Contact me.

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The day after my birthday, our little pup Emma wasn't feeling well, and we decided to take her to the vet on Saturday morning. Walk-ins began at 7:30 am, so we woke early, got dressed (translation: I threw on yoga pants and a hoodie), and wiped the sleep from our eyes. It turned out she was just fine. Whatever bug she had went through her system (I'm convinced she swallowed a piece of her chew toy), and with her energy back, we decided to treat ourselves to a croissant at a new bakery in our neighborhood.

Chaumont Bakery is a little Parisian-style spot serving simple egg dishes, sandwiches, and French breakfast items like a baguette with butter and jam. We sipped on tea and coffee, pulled flaky layers of our croissants apart, and talked the morning away. It was a perky start to the day.

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Around 11 am, we had watched a few episodes of Parks & Recreation and were feeling almost hungry for lunch, so I decided to make a frittata.

As any cook will tell you, sometimes things burn. I have a scar on my left forearm from an oil splatter, a faded scar on my hand from something I can't remember, and now, a bruised ego and a glossy finger from reaching for a hot pan.

If I pull a cast iron skillet out of the oven, I always cover the handle with a towel to remind myself (and anyone else nearby), that it's hot. But I forgot my own rule, and wanting to transfer the frittata to a cutting board, turned from the sink and picked up the pan with my right hand while setting a wooden spoon down with the other. It took all of two seconds for my body to register the heat, and I quickly ran my hand under cold water in the sink. I proceeded to hold an ice cube for the rest of the day.

All in all, my middle finger survived. The burn wasn't serious, and after the skin glossed over for a day or two, the pain went away and my finger is back to normal now. But incidents like this remind me that cooking plays an ever-evolving role in our lives, and just when we think we've got something covered, we're surprised. 

That same day I was browsing through Elizabeth Bishop's Collected Poems again. I still had the book by my bed from reading it the day before, and I landed on her poem "Going to the Bakery," written when she was living in Brazil. It reminded me of our morning, the quietness and hopefulness of it all. 

"The bakery lights are dim. Beneath
our rationed electricity, 

the round cakes look about to faint--
each turns up a glazed white eye.
The gooey tarts are red and sore.
Buy, buy, what shall I buy?" 

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Chive Frittata

8 eggs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes 
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 bunch of chives, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs, Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Melt butter in an oven-proof sauté pan.  then gently pour the wet ingredients over the butter. Scatter the chives over the eggs and cook for just 1-2 minutes, then transfer it to the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the frittata has puffed and is just cooked through. (If it's slightly underdone, best to take it out and let the residual heat finish cooking the eggs. There's nothing worse than an overcooked frittata.) Using a towel or kitchen mit, carefully slide the frittata to a cutting board to slice and serve.

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Why a Three-Day Distraction Cleanse Will Jump-Start Your Writing

Today I'm guest posting over at Positive Writer, and I have some tips on jump-starting your next writing project. Here's a sneak peek! 

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I don’t have time.

Have you ever used this excuse to avoid pursuing a writing project?

We live in a distracting world, and can easily get off track despite our good intentions. As relaxing as it might be, we don't need to watch the latest singing competition. As tempting as it is, we don't need to check our Facebook feed to see pictures from our high school best friend's summer vacation. Distractions simply pull us away from the real work of writing.

Instead of confronting our distractions head on, we lie to ourselves. I don't have time. We blame our lack of writing on other obligations. I have to go see a movie this weekend. I have to meet my co-workers for a drink tonight.

These are merely choices we make. We often choose mindlessness over creativity, and although that’s fine once in a while or after a rough day at work, if making excuses becomes a habit, we’ll never carve out time to write.

To read the rest of this post, visit Positive Writer.