picks vol. 30
what we’re wearing:
looks linked here — https://liketk.it/6awAA
what we’re sipping:
the tide line
a clean, coastal cocktail — saline, citrus-forward, with a slow heat at the finish that mirrors the clams without competing with them.
gather
— 2 oz blanco tequila
— ¾ oz fresh lime juice
— ½ oz cucumber juice (blend & strain, or muddle & press)
— ¼ oz jalapeño simple syrup (simmer 1:1 sugar + water + sliced jalapeño for five minutes, cool & strain)
— 2 pinches of flaky sea salt
— ice
— thin cucumber round, to garnish
create
combine tequila, lime, cucumber juice, and jalapeño syrup in a shaker over ice. add one pinch of salt. shake hard for fifteen seconds. strain into a chilled coupe or rocks glass over ice. finish with a second pinch of salt on top and a cucumber round on the rim.
what we’re cooking:
spicy steamed clams with white wine & chili butter
gather
— 2 lbs littleneck clams, scrubbed
— 3 tbsp unsalted butter
— 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
— 1 shallot, thinly sliced
— 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
— ½ tsp smoked paprika
— ½ cup dry white wine
— juice of half a lemon
— fresh parsley, roughly chopped
— crusty bread, for the broth
create
melt butter in a wide, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. add shallot and garlic — cook two to three minutes until soft. add red pepper and paprika, stir for thirty seconds. pour in the wine and let it reduce slightly, about two minutes. add clams, cover tightly, and steam for five to seven minutes — until they open. discard any that don’t. finish with lemon juice and a heavy handful of parsley. serve straight from the pot with bread to drag through everything.
what we’re reading:
american negra — natasha s. alford (2024)
part memoir, part cultural analysis — alford reflects on growing up as the daughter of an african american father and a puerto rican mother, navigating two worlds simultaneously. it’s about the exhaustion of being asked to choose, the way identity gets assigned to you before you have language for it yourself, and what it costs to move through institutions that weren’t built for the fullness of who you are.
alford is a journalist — the writing is sharp and reported, not navel-gazing. it earns its emotion.
why it’s the pick: it sits at the intersection of race, culture, and self-definition without being prescriptive about any of it.
