Morning Coffee (4/6/19)

GOOD: House Expands Domestic Violence Gun Controls in Rebuke to N.R.A.

Senators desperately try to sway Trump amid disaster aid debacle

Well! Trump Asked That Confirmation of I.R.S. Counsel Be a Priority

This interview with Buttigieg gives a nice summary of his political outlook.

A step! Mormon Church to Allow Children of L.G.B.T. Parents to Be Baptized

UGH: Person who claimed to be child missing for eight years is Ohio ex-convict

Banning DonorsChoose is not the solution to this problem! Teachers often have to crowdfund for classroom supplies. Some districts are banning the practice.

What a story: Google Doodle celebrates pioneering physicist Hedwig Kohn

Huh! Burger King’s new Whopper is 0% beef. That’s a big deal.

Uh... The Cats Movie Will Shrink Actors to Feline Size and Add Performance Capture Fur

Morning Coffee (11/23/17)

Happy Thanksgiving! I've got all Thanksgiving-themed links for you today, and then we're going to a weekend link schedule today/tomorrow - morning links only. (But check back tomorrow afternoon too because I'll recommend, uh, something. Suspense!)

This is basically my ideal Thanksgiving read: Hard Times at Plimoth Plantation

USEFUL ADVICE: How to Cook in Someone Else's Kitchen

I look forward to this post of Alyssa's every Thanksgiving because I, too, love tradition.

The Times has a great set of Thanksgiving essays by a variety of accomplished writers: My Thanksgiving

Here's the deal with all those turkeys terrorizing the suburbs

Americans are desperately seeking ham shops and other Thanksgiving Google-search revelations

9 Pop Culture Picks to Get You Through Thanksgiving

Tofurky: A Brief, Semi-Accidental History of Thanksgiving’s Fake Meat

Filling a Turkey With Molten Aluminum Is a Terrible Way to Cook Thanksgiving Dinner

How Pumpkin Pie Sparked a 19th-Century Culture War

How to Host (or Be) a Vegetarian at a Holiday Meal

So you're having a vegetarian over for Thanksgiving or Christmas or some other festive meal! Or you're a vegetarian going to someone else's house! This does not have to be difficult or stressful for either side. I promise. A few tips:

Be considerate. Really, this is the most important holiday/life tip for ANYONE. But just keeping other people's feelings and needs in mind will go a long way. Hosts: You don't have to learn new ways of cooking or anything, but just make sure a few dishes have no meat. Guests: Don't make a fuss or recoil in horror from the turkey or anything. I count it as a success when no one has really noticed what I was or wasn't eating.

Remember that it's just one meal. Hosts: Don't go crazy trying to provide a giant balanced meal. Just make sure that there are a few things your vegetarian can eat. If you have mashed potatoes and/or bread and don't put meat in all your vegetable sides, you're probably there already. And guests: You will live without a protein or whatever. It's one meal. You can eat salad or veggie sides and bread and dessert and you'll probably be fine for a few hours until you can go home and eat whatever you want. (Obviously, if you're hosting a vegetarian houseguest for a few days, it's worth having a bigger conversation!)

Okay, let's talk about communication for a moment. A few related tips:

1. Hosts: If you're planning to thoughtfully make something for the vegetarian(s) that you don't think others will eat, check with them first as to whether they want that particular thing. For example: I don't much care for eggplant. I'd rather eat salad and bread for a meal than make myself choke down an eggplant dish to be polite while feeling guilty that someone went to the trouble to make it for me.
2. Vegetarians: If you want something specific, offer to make and bring it. Vegetarian stuffing and gravy is a good example here.
3. Remember that there are various levels of vegetarianism, and ask if you're not sure what someone will eat. For example: My vegetarianism ends at marshmallows.
4. Vegetarians: It's okay to ask what's in things if you need to, but try not to be annoying about it or bother the host when they're trying to do a million things. At holiday events, I usually have my mom try things for me if possible and let me know if they seem safe, and only ask if I really need to, and try to let it go rather than grill people about whether there might be a little chicken stock in something. (In restaurants, I ask all the time because I'm paying them to feed me.)
5. Hosts: Try to see such inquiries as a simple request for information rather than a complaint or value judgment.
6. Everyone: If you're bringing a dish to a potluck or anywhere where you don't know some of the people you're eating with, consider just labeling it with the ingredients so no one has to hunt down who made what to ask. Vegetarians, people with food allergies, and picky eaters will all thank you.
7. DON'T LIE. Seriously. Lying to someone about what is in their food is a bad idea for all sorts of reasons.

Don't take it too personally. Hosts: Vegetarians are not declining to eat meat in order to offend you. Guests: People are not serving meat in order to offend you, and MOST of the time when people don't provide anything you can eat it's an error of thoughtlessness or ignorance rather than deliberate exclusion. Everyone: What other people eat isn't about you. Try not to take it as a personal attack.

Don't proselytize or harangue or tease, either of you. Vegetarians: No one enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner wants to be told your reasons for not eating meat (unless they ask, I guess). And seriously, don't try to shame people. You're ruining it for the rest of us. Meat eaters: No vegetarian has ever been convinced to eat meat by being teased or yelled at in front of a group of people. I promise. If you must, treat it like any other slightly weird personality trait that does not actually affect you in the slightest.

And remember: It doesn't have to be about the food. At least in theory, holidays are about spending time with people you love! If you keep that in mind, it's easier not to get stressed out about what anyone's eating or not eating. Have fun!

Afternoon Tea (9/20/17)

Romance Novelist Julia Quinn on What Makes a Character Sexy My favorite part: "In some ways, portraying a healthy relationship in literature is the most revolutionary thing you can do."

The Secret History of America's Oldest Tofu Shop

This is about the American Revolution, though it doesn't sound like it from the title: The French Bread Connection

The Making and Unmaking of Iggy Azalea

Aww: Two Pastors in Love, and Only God Knows

Morning Coffee (9/10/17)

The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election

The far-right’s favorite social network is facing its own censorship controversy

'We are an example to the Arab world': Tunisia's radical marriage proposals

!!! VEGETARIAN FAST FOOD Frozen Food Company Amy's Kitchen Is Growing Into a Fast-Food Chain

End of an era: Graydon Carter Stepping Down as Vanity Fair Editor

Aw! U.S. Postal Service unveils series of stamps honoring children's book 'The Snowy Day'

Interesting: Secret Hitler, a Game That Simulates Fascism’s Rise, Becomes a Hit

Found: 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic, By Amateur Archaeologists

This is actually useful advice: Stop Being Boring When People Ask "So What Do You Do?"

Heh: Excerpts from the All-Girl Remake of “Lord of the Flies”

Three Surprisingly Easy Recipes You Should Try Immediately

One of my personal goals for this year was to branch out with my cooking and try a lot of new recipes, and... well, I've done better at some times than others - cooking in the summer is terrible! - but it just so happens that I've tried THREE new-to-me recipes in the past week or so and they were all easy and delicious. So I figured I should share.

I was discussing kale salad with my friend Carrie, as you do, and she pointed me toward Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad. Honestly, that title seemed a BIT hyperbolic for... kale. But. It is true. The big revelation here was that you put the kale IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR. I had never considered such a thing, and I sent Carrie approximately a million skeptical texts and she was very patient with me, and I just tried it... and it was great. The kale winds up very finely chopped and soaks up the dressing very well. (The only problem is that then you have to wash the food processor, which is always annoying.)

(I made a bunch of substitutions here: I used regular kale and parmesan because I live in New Hampshire and we do not have those fancy kinds at the grocery store. I used slivered almonds instead of pine nuts because I didn't have a spare $1000 sitting around. And I used dried cranberries instead of currants or raisins because ew.)

Smitten Kitchen is my favorite food blog; it has never steered me wrong. And this Simple Potato Gratin was no different. I had a bunch of yellow potatoes to use, and the end of some heavy cream, and this was the perfect solution. It's easy and ridiculously delicious. I was skeptical of the recipe's claim that it would make you feel like you're eating macaroni and cheese, but IT DID, and with way less cheese.

I ate at a P.F. Chang's at an airport recently and immediately became obsessed with their Shanghai Cucumbers, which was unfortunate because the nearest restaurant is an hour away. I figured I'd Google to see if anyone had posted a copycat recipe... and discovered that the actual restaurant posted the actual recipe! It's called Gluten Free Shanghai Cucumbers but don't let that scare you. ;) I had to buy a couple ingredients for this, but it was extremely easy to throw together and tastes exactly right. And now I have enough sesame seeds to last years.

Afternoon Tea (5/23/17)

I love this store: How the Owner of the Greatest Mystery Bookstore Pulled the Genre Out of the Muck

How a 13-Year-Old Boy Brought Down L.A.’s Most Notorious Serial Killer

Selling the Apocalypse: The Second Coming Of Televangelist Jim Bakker

I may be occasionally annoyed by limited menu options, but at least I'm not getting arrested: “Pork It Is, Then”—Confessions of an Underground Vegetarian

When Women Crowdfunded Radium For Marie Curie

New Year's Update & Morning Coffee (1/4/16)

Happy New Year! I know it's the fourth, but I was celebrating with family and friends and am just now getting back in the swing of things. A big project that took up a lot of my time in 2015 is winding down, so I'm hoping to have more posts in addition to link posts here for you in 2016. (I know, I know, it's 2016 and I'm saying I'm going to BLOG MORE, sheesh.) I'm not sure exactly what this will look like yet - please let me know if there are things you want to read about (or not) - but one thing I'll definitely add this year is a running list of the books I've read, with at least a few thoughts on each one, if not full-fledged reviews. Look for the first of those posts later today.

A few people have asked me recently if there's a way they can support this blog and specifically the link posts financially, and I'm looking into options for that. But don't worry - it will be completely optional and your reading experience won't change based on whether you pay or not.

Okay, on to the links!

Me elsewhere: There was barely any TV news this week but here's what we've got.

Wondering what's going on with the Oregon militia thing? NPR's piece is a good place to start.

Chris Christie is back in the presidential mix. But what about Bridgegate?

The White House's Year in Photographs is always worth a look.

Why That Study About How Vegetarians Are Killing the Environment Is Ridiculously Wrong

Awesome: Philadelphia woman opens comics shop that focuses on diversity and coffee

Author Maureen Johnson wrote a very good essay on dealing with illness: My Year on Space Mountain

This sounds so cool, provided they do it in a way responsible toward the ocean etc.: An Underwater Museum in Egypt Could Bring Thousands of Sunken Relics Into View

Lots of stabbings and 2 deaths by pie: every death in Shakespeare, in one chart

I don't agree with all the conclusions here, but I love reading about what and how people read: I read 164 books in 2015 and tracked them all in a spreadsheet. Here's what I learned.

Unnecessary Digs At Servants In Classic Vampire Novels

Morning Coffee (12/19/14)

Why Sony Was Wrong to Pull The Interview

Probably a LOT of us could benefit from taking a break and reading this right now: The Holiday Hellidays Stress Test Shit Show: Starring You!

Someone Invited a Vegetarian for Dinner? DON'T PANIC

I'm so excited about the new Judy Blume book.

Moving wind forecast puts beautiful weather in your browser

A New British Show Will Feature a Space Ark Piloted by an Android Bear

Oooh, book socks.

How to Tell If You Are in a Baby-Sitters Club Book

Wine Apps & Other Food & Drink Links

Like wine? There's an app for that.

I don't agree with everything here, but a vegetarian's guide to talking to carnivores has some interesting points.

A Finnish farm girl at Hamburger U.

The challenge of not cooking on Shabbat

Eat Like a Foodie at Home, Without Breaking Your Budget

South African wine: "Rooted in human misery."

An appreciation of '90s junk food

Make the perfect panna cotta.