picks vol. 27
what we’re wearing
this week's edit is about the soft landing into spring — [https://liketk.it/65q4f]
the moment when the coat finally stays home, and you remember that getting dressed can feel easy again. a pale yellow jacket, a plum midi, a stripe co-ord — three ways to arrive somewhere looking like you thought about it, even if you didn't try very hard.
what we’re sipping
the citrus martini
gather:
4–5 fresh kumquats, quartered and deseeded — or 1 oz fresh clementine juice and the zest of half a clementine
2 oz vodka
¾ oz grand marnier or cointreau
¾ oz fresh lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
superfine sugar, for the rim
a halved kumquat or strip of clementine peel, to garnish
ice
create:
rim a chilled martini glass by rubbing the cut side of a kumquat along the edge, then dipping into superfine sugar. if using clementine, wet the rim with a little clementine juice instead.
refrigerate the glass while you build the drink.
if using kumquats, add them to a cocktail shaker and muddle for 30 to 60 seconds. the longer you muddle, the more vivid and tart the result. if using clementine, add the juice and zest directly to the shaker — no muddling needed.
add vodka, grand marnier, lime juice, simple syrup, and a generous handful of ice.
shake vigorously for at least one minute.
strain through a fine mesh strainer into the prepared glass.
garnish with a thin kumquat round or a twist of clementine peel.
what we’re making
cucumber radish sumac salad — it comes together in twenty minutes and works equally well as a light lunch or a side that feels considered without requiring much of you. serve it immediately; the crunch is the point.
ingredients
4 persian cucumbers, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sumac, plus more to finish
flaky salt, to taste
labneh or full-fat greek yogurt, to serve
fresh dill, optional
method:
slice cucumbers and radishes to ¼-inch thickness. a mandoline makes quick, uniform work of this, though a sharp knife does the job.
add to a bowl with mint, sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, and a generous pinch of flaky salt.
toss well to combine. taste and adjust salt.
spoon a generous swoosh of labneh or greek yogurt into the base of a wide, shallow bowl.
pile the salad directly on top.
finish with an extra pinch of sumac, a scatter of sesame seeds, and fresh dill if you have it.
what we’re reading
pachinko by min jin lee
pachinko follows four generations of a korean family living in japan, from the early twentieth century through the 1980s, tracing what gets passed down when the thing being inherited is exclusion. it is a book about how systems outlast the people who design them, and how ordinary lives are shaped, constrained, and occasionally redeemed by forces that have nothing to do with merit or will. lee writes with the patience and precision of someone who understands that the largest arguments are best made through the smallest details. you finish it thinking differently about persistence: what it actually requires, and what it quietly costs.
