Spilt Milk # 2

Fiction podcasts, Facebook critiques and a food obsession gone too far.

Hi there! Hope you’re all well and taking care of yourselves! Welcome to the second edition of Spilt Milk, a newsletter about podcasts, people and the politics of food. If you're new here: thanks for stopping by! If you’re a returning reader: did my mother put you up to this? 

Knee-Deep in Galette

For many of us, this pandemic has fundamentally altered our lifestyle and behaviour alike. Some people have adopted new world views, opting for a slower pace and living with more intention. Others have taken up practical hobbies like gardening or have embarked on exciting home renovation projects. For me, the transformation has been neither meaningful nor useful. If I had to distill one of the more significant shifts in my life this year it’s probably that I now make galettes on a regular basis. Really, I have lost track of how many galettes I’ve baked since the lockdown began. Before March I’d never even made one, but once I started I found that I just couldn’t stop. My knee-jerk reaction for almost every situation in the past seven months has been to make a galette: “Oh, I’m hungry. I’ll make a galette.” “Oh, I’m meeting someone for a socially-distanced park lunch. I’ll make a galette.” “Oh, I’m feeling profoundly sad and distraught at the state of the world and also I haven’t touched another human in two months. I’ll make a galette.”  While I’ve been mystified by my own behaviour, last week a friend sent over a NYT article titled, “It’s a Hellscape Out There. Try a Galette” and suddenly, it all made sense. As writer and chef Tamar Adler writes in the piece:

“They’re messy. They’re forgiving. They’re the pastry form we need in 2020.”

And damn if Tamar isn’t right. Galettes are messy and forgiving. And I’d add that - much like time - they really do heal all wounds, especially if your particular wound is going two months without touching another human. 

My fixation with them has surpassed what I suspect is a healthy, normal person’s boundary and I am currently knee-deep in obsessive territory. I even entered Nigella Lawson’s blackberry galette baking competition last month and I won! The upside is that the prize is a signed copy of her new cookbook, Cook, Eat, Repeat, which I’ve eagerly been waiting to read. The downside is that my ego has inflated beyond recognition (or repair, I fear) and the win has only fuelled what was already a disconcerting obsession.

Suffice to say, my can’t-fit-through-the-door ego and I have had plenty of time to perfect my galette recipe (which I’ve included at the end of the newsletter). I’ve experimented with different resting times for the dough, flour-to-butter ratios, oven temperatures, you name it. As for the fillings, I’ve also tried savoury, sweet, and some questionable combinations of the two. Finally, I’ve arrived at my ideal recipe: something simple, accessible and flexible, that works whether you’re going for a sweet or savoury twist. Something that takes all of the fuss and fear out of the equation - especially if this is your first time making pastry. It’s warm and flaky and delicious and I’m sure it will help fortify us as we navigate the rest of this hellscape otherwise known as 2020. 

PODCASTS

1. Resistance

The New York-based production company Gimlet has just dropped a new series called Resistance. It’s hosted by writer, producer and poet Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and at its core the show is about “refusing to accept things as they are.” Resistance spotlights young activists who have been on the front lines of the uprisings of this year, challenging police brutality and racial injustice. The series is two episodes in and both have offered a glimpse into the lives of extraordinary young people and their instrumental contribution to the movement for Black lives.

2. QCODE 

I’m an ardent scripted fiction podcast fan, but I’ve always found them to be a tough sell to friends and family (you know who you are). I get it. Why would you want to listen to a fiction podcast when you can just watch a film? Or a TV show? Now don’t get me wrong, I am the first person to enthusiastically support you in embarking on a 17-hour Netflix binge (and I’d probably ask if I could join). That said, I am also a firm believer that we as an audience gain something different, perhaps something a little more intimate, from a purely auditory storytelling experience. I also think that without accompanying visuals, it forces us to use our imagination even more, which is always a good thing. And in my (extremely biased) opinion, when made well, a fiction podcast can be so engrossing and engaging that it feels truly cinematic. Take the 2016 thriller Homecoming. This show was such a hit that it went on to be adapted into an Amazon Prime TV series starring Julia Roberts. Now, if you’re new to the fiction podcast world I’d suggest starting with Homecoming (the first season is gloriously unnerving and includes incredible voice acting from Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener, and David Schwimmer). But if you’re on the hunt for something newer, I’d recommend taking a look at QCODE’s slate of shows.

QCODE is an American audio production company that has a particular focus on scripted fiction stories. I’ve found that their shows tend to follow a basic formula: celebrity voicing the main character + creepy storyline + stellar sound design. In the past I’ve been captivated by Chloë Grace Moretz’ show Gaslight, a sinister, unsettling series about a woman’s disappearance and her subsequent return years later. I also enjoyed Cynthia Erivo’s brilliant work in Carrier. QCODE’s back catalogue includes Blackout, starring Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek, Borrasca featuring Cole Sprouse, and Tessa Thompson in The Left Right Game (which Amazon has also recently picked up to turn into a TV series). While my interest in the storylines might range, overall I find them dependably enjoyable - a welcome escape from the news-heavy podcasts I often have on rotation. My only tip is if your scare threshold is on the lower side like mine is (last week I let out a piercing scream in the park when I thought I saw a bat. It was a leaf.), listen to them in broad daylight. 

Image by @tropical_toxic via @carrierstory on Instagram

3. Heavyweight

You might remember from my Quarantine Care Package newsletter that I have previously recommended Heavyweight — the show dedicated to settling unresolved moments from people’s pasts. While topics range from light-hearted to downright heart aching, Heavyweight’s host, Jonathan Goldstein, is a consistently hilarious, awkward and lovable presence. A new season has just launched and the first episode is an emotional but beautiful listen.

4. Who Cares Wins with Lily Cole

I was perusing the Apple UK podcast charts (as you do) and came across this show, “Who Cares Wins with Lily Cole.” Admittedly I wasn’t familiar with Cole prior to this, but as it turns out she’s an actor, model and entrepreneur. She recently released a book, “Who Cares Wins,” and launched an accompanying podcast of the same name. As noted in the show description, Lily “breaks down the echo chambers of modern life, exploring the nuance of debate and the power of conversation in finding our way to solutions.” To be honest, from what I’ve heard of the show so far I have mixed feelings about it, but I certainly can’t dispute the clout of her guests (she kicks off the podcast sitting poolside with Elon Musk...?). One episode I would recommend is a discussion about the role of the media called, “What Can We Believe?” In it Cole chats to David Attenborough, Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate and former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger. About halfway through the episode she also interviews Carole Cadwalladr - the investigative journalist who broke The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica scandal - and I’d say that is a conversation worth listening to. Carole discusses the role of Facebook in both the 2016 US election and Brexit, as well as America’s upcoming election. She also chats about her very clever response to the “oversight” board that Facebook recently established. So, have a listen and send me a message with your thoughts on the podcast - maybe we can try to make sense of our feelings together!

FOOD

Finally, the culmination of seven months’ worth of obsession: my galette recipe!

Ingredients:

• 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour

• 180g (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter

• Big pinch of granulated sugar (I add an extra pinch if I’m making a sweet galette)

• Few pinches of salt

• 80ml (1/3 cup) ice-cold water (a little more or less as needed)

Method:

• Measure out the water you need and pop it in the fridge (I do this about an hour before I start baking)

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)

• Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor (or if you don’t own a food processor, just mix them in a bowl with a wooden spoon!)

• Cut the cold butter into cubes and add them to the processor. Blitz until the pieces are pea-sized, but be careful not to over-work it! If doing this manually, rub your fingertips through the mixture to combine the butter and flour.

• Slowly drizzle in the cold water until the dough begins to hold together. You might need a little more or less water, so just trust your instincts on this. You want it to hold together nicely, but don’t want it to be too wet.

• Wrap up the dough in cling film/plastic wrap (or a sustainable alternative!) and let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours (I usually do at least 2). Letting it rest is what will leave you with a softer, flakier pastry! There’s a good explanation of how that process works here.

• Tear off a piece of parchment paper and lay it out on a flat surface. Tip your dough out onto the paper (the dough might need a few minutes to warm up after you pull it out of the fridge). Have some extra flour on hand for dusting and use a rolling pin (or wine bottle - no judgment here) to roll out the pastry to about 11-ish inches in diameter (again, use your instincts here - you don’t want it so thin that it’ll break when you add your filling).

• Transfer the paper + rolled-out dough to a baking tray and use a fork to prick a few holes in the dough.

• Add whatever filling you’d like (I’ve included some ideas below), leaving an inch or two border. Gently fold the edges of the pastry inward and add an egg wash to the rim of the dough (crack an egg into a bowl, beat it and brush it on the pastry).

• Bake the galette in the oven for anywhere between 45 - 60 minutes. The pastry should be golden on top (and underneath) when it’s ready!

The Filling

The filling! The fun part! You can really get creative here. If you’re in the mood for savoury, I experimented with a ricotta, lemon and zucchini recipe that I think is super tasty. Thinly slice 1 large (or 2 small) zucchini into rounds and also thinly slice a few cloves of garlic. Throw it all in a bowl, add the zest + juice of a lemon, drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle in some sea salt and pepper and mix together. Slather a thick layer of ricotta cheese on the pastry, place the zucchini rounds in an overlapping pattern on top and throw it in the oven. Serve it warm or cold with an extra drizzle of olive oil and some crunchy sea salt flakes. I’ve also done something similar where I swapped out the zucchini for thinly sliced potato from my mom’s veggie garden (*sobs* oh how I miss this). Then I added a bunch of fresh rosemary to replace the lemon. Also tasty!

As for sweet, the options are endless. Back home this summer I was spoiled with a surplus of juicy, local Ontario peaches. I used the filling part of this recipe to make the ultimate peach galette. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Nigella’s blackberry galette recipe. The creme fraiche paired with the tanginess of the blackberry was truly something else. Anyway, have some fun and get creative with the filling! Think about what seasonal fruits you can use, try out different flavour combinations and also take comfort in the knowledge that most galettes can be saved by a very large helping of vanilla ice cream.

So, that’s it for me this time! If you have any requests for future newsletters, drop me a line, I’d like to hear from you! And if you make a galette, please send me your photos, I’m desperate to see them. I’m also desperate for someone in my life to become as obsessed with them as I am. As they say, misery loves company. And apparently misery also loves a galette.

Sending love,

Arielle