picks vol. 37
what we’re wearing
Nothing here is trying particularly hard, which is the point — shorts you could wear to the market, a raffia clutch shaped like something you found rather than bought, a fringed dress on hold for whenever the evening gets interesting. The striped top is the one tell — proof that the whole low-key thing was a choice, not an accident. Looks linked here: [https://liketk.it/6gbum]
what we’re sipping
lemon drop martini
A classic for a reason — bright, ice-cold, and the easiest way to start a summer evening without trying too hard.
Gather:
2 oz vodka
1 oz fresh lemon juice
0.75 oz triple sec or Cointreau
0.75 oz simple syrup
sugar, for the rim
lemon twist, for garnish
Create:
Rub a lemon wedge around the rim of a chilled martini glass and dip in sugar.
Combine vodka, lemon juice, triple sec, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice.
Shake hard for about 15 seconds, until well chilled.
Strain into the prepared glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
what we’re making
summer squash orecchiette
Squash at its most willing — barely cooked, finished with lemon and parmesan, the kind of dinner that takes twenty minutes and tastes like it took longer.
Ingredients:
12 oz orecchiette
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 medium summer squash, sliced into half-moons
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
zest of 1 lemon
fresh basil, torn
salt and black pepper, to taste
Prepare:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook orecchiette according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet with a splash of the reserved pasta water.
Toss in parmesan and lemon zest until the sauce coats the pasta.
Season with salt and pepper, finish with basil, and serve with extra parmesan.
what we’re reading
song so wild and blue by paul lisicky
Paul Lisicky structures this memoir around the Joni Mitchell catalog, with each chapter named for one of her songs, beginning with the morning a fourth-grade music teacher in New Jersey played "Both Sides Now" for his class. From there, he traces his own coming-of-age as a writer alongside hers as a musician, setting his early years as a songwriter against marks of Mitchell's own life, including a childhood bout with polio and the years she spent relearning to speak and play after a brain aneurysm. The book moves between biography and memoir, using Mitchell's songbook as the structure for telling his own story.
