life goes on...

November 2021

Nov 22, 2021

(I’m a half marathoner now!)

November 22nd 2021 (A little bit of a later newsletter this month - I’m on a deadline for French Food for Everyone: le dîner (dinner) which comes out in just a few weeks and I’m scrambling to get it all done!)

As I write this missive, I’m sitting on the couch under my favourite blanket wearing a cozy sweater and checking things off my “to do” list with a Hallmark Christmas movie on in the background (it’s true - see below!). Welcome to my life in November.

There’s nothing I love more than Sunday afternoons when I’ve done all the cooking and baking that needs to be done and I get to chill out (or should that be “cozy out”?). In some ways, moments like this nearly make me forget the past 20 months (I said “nearly”!). When I’m at home, cooking, baking, writing and photographing, it feels like life is normal.

And really, life goes on - because it does, despite some of us not being ready to “get back out there” (my friend Ann Mah recently referred to this as FOGO - fear of going out - in direct contrast to FOMO - fear of missing out - and while “fear” is perhaps a bit strong for how I feel, I’m pretty ok with my life being a bit quieter for the next little while). Really! I guess because I am actually working in-person and not from home, with 60 young (as yet unvaccinated) students, taking public transit every day, it really does feel like life is just picking up where it left off (see below: in-person cooking classes are coming back!), despite the fact that it’s most definitely not “back to normal” (see: masking mandate in force here until at least March next year). Not complaining (we have to stay safe!) but more remarking that life is still a lot and some of us need a couch, a blanket and a Hallmark Christmas movie to recover!

Speaking of recovering, yes, I am, indeed, a half-marathoner! In a fitting metaphor for 2020/21, my designated race/ run day dawned windy (like, really windy) and raining. Like… SERIOUSLY? (I will point out that the weekend before and after my run were PERFECT weather). But when you’ve trained for a certain day (and have a massage booked that afternoon!), you get out there and run. Real races aren’t postponed for weather. With the help of my awesome running group, I completed the distance just 2 minutes slower than my “secret” goal time (if you ask my coach, she will tell you we didn’t have a goal time for this, just to finish… but, well…. I did!) which, all things considered is pretty great. My splits tell the story of me “feeling strong” for 15 km but actually running too fast considering the headwind - and then just falling apart a bit (but not consistently - there were moments of “I’ve got this” in those last 6km again and a strong-ish finish). So while it wasn’t the first half-marathon I was hoping to run (you know, in-person with cheer stations, actual people on the course and all that adrenaline from that energy), it was my PPB (Personal Pandemic Best) and that’s all we can all do right now. Right?

Here’s hoping as we head into holiday season, we can all pat ourselves on the back for doing our PPB every day and sneak a few cozy moments with whatever brings us joy!

Cooking classes in person are back!

It’s true! I’ve started planning my first in-person cooking classes since March 2020 here in Toronto! I’ll be back at the beautiful Kitchen at St Lawrence Market just like before, with added Covid protocols to keep everyone safe!

I’m starting out with some familiar favourite classes - macarons, choux pastry, le café gourmand (mini French pastries) and l’heure de l’apéro - and introducing a couple of new offerings (a French bistro class with wine pairings and a special “goûter” class).

If you’re in Toronto or know someone who is, check out my January - March offerings here. Use NEWSLETTERSUBSCRIBER for 15% off ticket prices! Classes are a great holiday gift, just saying!

take an online cooking class with me!

As well as my in-person offerings, I’m still teaching online classes with Context Travel - for those of you who don’t live in or near Toronto, you can still join me in my kitchen!

I’ve got a few classes coming up over the holiday season (cookies, apéro snacks!) and a few in the new year - including the ever-popular Galette des Rois class in January. Check out all my class offerings with Context here. Use MMICHELS20 for 20% off! Again, they make a great holiday gift - buy a ticket for someone you won’t get to see this holiday season and cook along with them!

recipes on the blog you might have missed

A warm comforting Basque Chicken Stew or a batch of Triple Citrus Financiers (gluten-free). What takes your fancy this month?

links you might like

eat

You can’t always trust measuring cups but here’s what you can do about it via The Washington Post. Did you know - measuring cups are not always accurate because they are not necessarily a standard size? An older article but no less relevant/ fascinating.

What do Photo-Free Cookbooks Offer 21st Century Readers? via Stained Page News. How do you feel about those old-school cookbooks with no photos? It’s coming back into fashion now too!

The Thanksgiving cooking tools you always need but forget to buy via HuffPost. I don’t know I’d consider an air-fryer a “must have” but what do you think about the other items on this list?

live

Getting back to normal is only possible until you test positive via The Atlantic. A sobering read as restrictions are eased in many parts of the world (and a reason why they are being tightened in others).

Learn how to love yourself again through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hahn via Age of Empathy/ Medium. My boss shared this and it’s an excellent read if you’re feeling like everything is … a lot right now.

They would help me write, as cats do, by climbing onto the keyboard: Margaret Atwood on her feline familiars via The Guardian. Cats: ever the willing “helpers” !

travel

Dorie’s Paris: A new cookbook from Dorie Greenspan via Frenchly. A peek into Dorie’s Paris kitchen (did you know ALL her recipes get tested here first?).

Occitanie for gourmands: the surprisingly under-appreciated region is a food obsessive’s dream via The Toronto Star. Ready to start thinking about travel again? How about the lovely region in Southwest France and hey, we know a nice place to stay….).

Travel 2022: 10 Best trips for next year and your post-coved vacations via Forbes. Are you planning travel/ vacations… or not yet? How are you feeling about it? Considering travel is so unpredictable right now, Forbes offers what I think are some pretty high faulting’ ideas…. More like a bucket list as opposed to a “must do in 2022” list, I think…

write

As I mentioned at the start of this newsletter, I’m deep in edits for French Food for Everyone: le dîner (dinner) and am currently considering all sorts of design questions - like fonts. I think we’re settled on what we’re using but fonts are fascinating (well, I think so!). Here are a couple of articles fellow font fiends might find interesting too!

77 Ways to Design the Letter “M” via Bloomberg. “Mass transit agencies around the world face the same conundrum: How to make what amounts to four straight lines distinctive.” I LOVE this so much. How utterly interesting!

36 fonts that will be popular with designers in 2022 via Creative Boom. Who knew that typography has evolved dramatically over the past 2 years?

and if you’re REALLY into fonts, check out

Helvetica “A documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture”. Yep. This is for SERIOUS font fanatics! Even for me this was a but much!

what we’re watching

No Time to Die. YASSSSSS! Bond is back. In real cinemas. Neil and I joined our 14 closest friends in a 200-seat cinema to see this the week it came out in October. I know some people don’t love Bond but this was fabulous. I cried. We’ve already seen it twice (rented it this past weekend). SO GOOD (also so sad….).

Spencer. I took advantage of a long weekend a couple of weeks ago to check this out with some girlfriends. We went at 2pm so the cinema was pretty empty (to be honest, big cinemas feel pretty safe, Covid protocol-wise). This was powerful, sad, poignant and beautifully shot. Not what you might expect.

War of the Worlds. “Set in contemporary France, this Anglo-French reimagining of H. G. Wells' classic in the style of Walking Dead follows pockets of survivors forced to team up after an apocalyptic extra-terrestrial strike.” This is a really interesting take on the story albeit a few episodes too long (2 seasons currently).

Stuck Together (8, Rue de l’Humanité). Is it too early to watch films set DURING the pandemic (given, you know, it’s still going on?). Some might think so but I enjoyed this lighthearted look at lockdown in a Parisian building.

Red Notice. “An Interpol agent tracks the world's most wanted art thief.” Still don’t know if I loved this or hated it. It was funny… kind of? A little confused as to whether it was a comedy or a drama. Definitely not Bond but fun.

Baptiste. “Mercurial retired police detective Julien Baptiste specializes in missing persons cases”. We’re on the second season of this and while it annoyingly flips back and forward in time, it’s still as compelling as the first season.

The Sinner (Season 4). “Anthology series that examines how and why ordinary people commit brutal crimes” This can feel a little laboured at times (it’s a few episodes too long this time around) but it’s very well done. Not uplifting but a well-written series.

… and my secret guilty pleasure…

Hallmark Christmas Movies! I know, I KNOW. SO BAD. But also SO GOOD.

Never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie before? Here’s a great summary!