Blood Harmony Vol. 43: Baking Through the Storm

This interminable month.

There have been some bright spots. Last week, I went out to a 2000’s Dance Party¹ for a friend’s birthday. I was very much a sentient, out-and-about being in the aughts so it is genuinely wild to see young folks screaming along to “Since You’ve Been Gone” while wearing outfits from Mean Girls² But I can’t judge. Late in high school, my friends and I spent many fantastic nights dancing to a 70s disco/funk cover band called JT and the United Booty Foundation while wearing pseudo-70s clothes from the mall. I get it.

At some point during the dance party, the Petey Pablo song “Raise Up” came on and people lost their fucking minds. A gentleman in our party tore of his fancy button-down shirt and did indeed wave it around “like a helicopter”. I love it when music is regional. I had heard other Petey Pablo songs when he was in his prime³ but this one did not make it to me. However, two friends from NC have since told me that this song was/is a staple at all public gatherings and sports events.⁴

Also, I saw The Brutalist and loved both it and the intermission.

COOKIES AS MUTAL AID

Inspired by

Garrett Bucks

’s wonderful piece on mutual aid in LA both before and during the fires, I have been looking for a way to contribute more to my local mutual aid fridge/pantry. I often will pick up an extra dozen eggs to put in there when I grocery shop or put canned goods in there to share. But I wanted to do something a little more intentional. So I’ve started baking cookies and sharing them through the mutual aid pantry. I put labels in each bag with the type of cookie to be found inside and a QR code to vote on future cookie options⁵

Here’s what I’ve made so far:

1. Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies from Cookies are Magic by Maida Heatter⁶. These cookies are easy and delicious. Apparently, traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt and no leavening agents like baking soda, etc. So these aren’t quite traditional but they are very good.

2. Candy cookies (also from Cookies are Magic)

   These are basically chocolate chip cookies but you replace the chocolate chips with chopped up Heath bars (which are made of chocolate and toffee). They’re fine, not sure I’d make them again unless I was baking them for a toffee lover.

3. Homemade Oreo cookies from NYT Cooking (gift recipe so anyone can use it!).

   These are great. 10/10, no notes. The comments section lead me to buy some of this black cocoa powder from King Arthur Baking Company and it is SO GOOD.

Speaking of King Arthur Baking Company, I am obsessed with their products⁷ including these which my Mom got me for Christmas and I use to make snacking cakes. I also love their gluten-free flour. And their ethos!

OTHER THINGS

If you’re not already doing so, I’d like to encourage you to subscribe to Kottke.org’s newletter. It’s full of really interesting links and it doesn’t come out too often. The most recent one included both this:

And this extension which produces jump scares to keep you off sites you visit too frequently.

Thank you for reading! I’m rooting for you!

1. Called “HOT IN HERRE” and advertised as “the biggest and wildest 2000s/Y2K party in the country”. The song “Hot in Herre” always makes me think of going out dancing with friends in the basement of The Cantab in Boston. At that time, an older gentleman named “DJ Bill” spun popular tunes of the day on Saturday nights. He played “Hot in Herre” at least three times over the course of the evening and we were not upset about it.

2. The original.

3. Big fan of “Freek-a-Leek” with its litany of ladies’ names INCLUDING MINE.

4. “If I was in the MLB, this would be my walk-on song,” stated one friend.

5. Definitely did not print these on the colored printer at work.

6. Called “The Queen of Cake”, Heatter lived to 102 and said “Baking cookies is a great escape. It’s fun. It’s happiness. It’s creative. It’s good for your health. It reduces stress.”

7. Very much open to sponsorship!