spice rack #2

eating oranges! in the shower!

I spent the weekend camping in the desert, convinced I had a concussion—not that I did anything that would give me a concussion. On the plus side, the landscape was beautiful and the Trump 2024 flags on the backs of pickup trucks only added to it. (Kidding.) After a day of scrambling through rocks and overthinking my self-diagnosed concussion, I slept a comfortable nine hours under the stars. It was a strange dichotomy of peace and stress. 

My head is probably fine, so without any further updates, here is this month’s Spice Rack: links to click, things to make, and the only way I eat oranges these days.

to read

Diaspora Co’s guide to Mumbai’s street food, restaurants, cafes, and more. I sent this to my aunt, who currently lives there. I won’t be there anytime soon, but the mere thought of sharing massive thalis and scarfing down vada pav on the street was a satisfactory daydream.

Alicia Kennedy’s series on culinary tourism, based on the course she’s teaching: “In this class, we will work with academic and popular media to understand what culinary tourism is, why it has become desirable, and how it can change and adapt to conversations about cultural appropriation, neocolonialism, and climate change.” 

What’s really in Coca Cola on Eater: “cola comes from kola, an African nut known for its caffeine content, and coca comes from the coca leaf — which, of course, is the plant source for the drug cocaine.” 

A profile of SZA for NYT Magazine. 

I started shopping at H Mart so I will be scouring the aisles for these H Mart recs. 

I’ve written down my dreams for about five years, so this essay on dreams was relatable. People I wasn’t even friends with in high school repeatedly star in my dreams and I don’t know what this means? 

More Recipes Should Call for South Asian Spice Blends on Bon Appetit. Yes!!! “Either out of concern of accessibility, or in pursuit of a purist notion of “authenticity,” many recipe developers in the US have been hesitant to call for South Asian spice blends.” Literally me. 

We’re finally talking about what “New American” means 

The only good coffee is bad coffee on Griefbacon. I can’t handle bad coffee regularly, but sometimes drinking good coffee on a dreary Monday feels wrong. “Sometimes the only thing there is to do about having a bad time is to pretend it makes you interesting. It doesn’t, and neither does the coffee, but sometimes pretending is the only place there is to start from.”

Why I Watch the Closing Credits of Every Movie I See for NYT Mag. “Our culture of on-demand binge-watching conditions us to race past the credits, taking for granted the collective creative efforts behind the movies and TV shows we so voraciously consume.”

I’m not a 90s kid, but I grew up with hundreds of Babysitters Club books on my shelves as if I was a 90s kid. I continue to read at least one Babysitters Club book on my family’s couch every year for nostalgia. My favorite character changed often – Kristy when I was in my bossy tomboy phase and later, Dawn because she’s vegetarian and wants to save turtles. Ever since the Netflix show came out in 2020, I’ve decided Claudia is the coolest. Here’s an essay about Claudia and what she meant for Asian American representation in the 90s (better than a lot of today’s attempts). And Babysitters Club book covers are now for sale! 

to cook

Today is Holi, the Indian festival of colors. I have a bit of a chaotic week and will only be celebrating with my mom’s frozen dum aloo today, but if I were to go all out, maybe some homemade samosas, dum aloo, and vegan rasmalai from the archives. 

whole masoor dal One of my favorites of my mom’s many dals and forever in my comfort meal rotation. Make it with the aromatics and spices you have, but can’t go wrong with some coriander, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and hing. The recipe and the video. 

baked gobi manchurian My apartment’s kitchen collection doesn’t support deep frying, so that’s where baked gobi manchurian comes in. I was skeptical, but the panko breadcrumbs give the battered cauliflower a crisp texture! And you don’t have to watch over the frying, which makes this recipe fairly low maintenance. The cauliflower is tossed with a spicy sauce that bridges Indian cuisine and Chinese cuisine. The recipe and the video. 

oyster mushroom birria tacos Oyster mushrooms are shredded and coated with a spicy aromatic stew, then placed in a tortilla with vegan cheese and pan fried until crisp on both sides. The recipe and the video.

to listen

Doctors Have a New Plan for Fat Kids (Maintenance Phase). One of the more nuanced and comprehensive takes on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ childhood obesity guidelines. While several articles critiqued the extreme ends of the guidelines, the Maintenance Phase hosts pointed out issues with the studies that informed the guidelines (for example, they only considered weight as an indicator of health) and critiqued the details, including how doctors are taught to communicate with children. 

The New York Times’s War on Trans Kids (If Books Could Kill)

Is It “Limerence” Or True Love? (Oversharing) 

extra spice: oranges in the shower 

The thought of eating an orange in the shower first crossed my mind when I heard it was an emerging TikTok trend on Haley Nahman’s pop culture check episode. It sounded silly at the time, like it was just another way for the girls to flaunt how they romanticize every second of every day. Curiosity got the best of me, I tried it, and it didn’t take long to conclude that it’s more than a soothing, elevated experience – it just makes sense. 

The video I viewed on TikTok said the following:

"Eating an orange in the shower eliminates any worry of making a mess. So, easy clean up and you can rip it open with no remorse. In the hot shower, the heat and humidity exaggerate the taste and smell of the orange. The smell of citrus has also been linked to stress relief. So this is a well rounded experience."

Oranges can be inconvenient. The juices dribble down your chin, your hands get sticky, and you can’t comfortably read a book even if you wanted to. But you know what you can do? Shower while eating the orange. The hot water hits your skin as you sink your teeth into the cool citrus. A sensory experience ideal for the morning or the evening.

After years of not consuming much citrus, I’ve started with a combination of oranges and grapefruit sprinkled with flaky sea salt. It feels luxurious, but assuming this classifies as “a wellness trend,” well, at least it’s an inexpensive one. Only one of my friends has tried it so far, but if preaching from my small soapbox could transform even one shower, my work here is done. If you read this far, thanks for entertaining my shower thoughts. And if you end up joining the shower orange club, please report back.