Dear C –

All respect to having a new job and being slow to respond. I’m at the one year anniversary at my first new place after being at the same org for 20 years (!!!) and I feel like I just got my bearings.

There’s a meme about how being new at your job is like being the new character in season 5 of a show. Feels true. I miss you.

Listening to Velvet Underground’s Sweet Jane and it’s bringing back our days of yore.

Some people — they like to go out dancing and other peoples they have to work…. And there’s even some even some evil mothers – they’re gonna tell you that everything is just dirt. You know that – women never really faint and that villains always blink their eyes. And that – you know – children are the only ones who blush. And that life is just to die.

The thing about pescetarianism is that fish is SO EXPENSIVE if you want to buy anything sustainable. “I know a guy” who fishes halibut and crab seasonally and sells off his boat near me. I’ve got to meet up with him on a pier and on his schedule (a bit like a drug deal). When I do – it’s a joy (minus maneuvering traffic) and it’s a connection with the reality of eating an animal. It ain’t no Styrofoam package.

Working from home means that I can warm fish up in the microwave. So for this weekend’s meal prep I made a big batch of this stew with variations – I used leeks (greens included) instead of the onion plus harissa as part of the base. For veg — favas (only shelled, not peeled) from a friend’s garden, and fennel and squash. Skipped the clam juice. Added the favas shortly after the leeks and used my own scrap stock as the base.

The fish – went down to our sustainable fish market, and there wasn’t anything under $18 a pound. All the signs detail where the fish is caught and how and the fishmongers can talk about it. My mother taught me to ask at the counter for fish pieces — they had yellowfin and swordfish and those were half the price but not what I was looking for.

Ended up getting the cod at Sprouts because it was $12.99 / lb. They’ve got this sign saying everything is sustainable. Asked the very kind guy at the counter how the cod was caught and he said – “From a boat.” Fair enough…

Much love my friend. I miss you.

M.