“Moons and Junes and Pizza wheels…”

hat tip to Joni Mitchell

It has been busy lately. I imagine everyone is feeling it. Somehow, we’re all out here sending emails, hopping on Zoom calls and trying to take care of each other through the wildest of timelines.

But I won’t get into all that today.

Here instead is a quick list of things I’ve been digging this month as I’m reminded of this...

Everything is on fire,

but everyone I love is doing beautiful things

and trying to make life worth living,

and I know I don’t have to believe in everything,

but I believe in that.

- Nikita Gill

My former co-worker wrote a book! It’s an American story of survival and ingenuity that “centers on her brilliant but troubled father, a Black World War II radioman who, facing economic barriers after his naval service, reinvents himself as a ‘numbers man’ for an underground gambling operation.” I know she put a ton of heart, hard work and emotion into this writing. I hope everyone picks up a copy. Congrats, Johnisha!

I’ve been eating a lot of pizza lately. After nearly half a year in Atlanta, I finally made it down the street to Staplehouse, which has a beautiful and heartbreaking backstory that helped launch the nonprofit The Giving Kitchen.

tomato and ricotta pie with Calabrian chili and hot honey

I also checked out Sean Brock’s new Sho Pizza Bar in Nashville where he uses Italian flour and a three-day proof for the dough. Pizzas slide into a wood-fired oven with hickory and oak. The scissors help keep the crust puffed into charred pillow. This one has mushrooms, cream sauce, smoked mozzarella, pecorino and a bright squeeze of lemon. (Also loved the seasonal peach. Catch it if you can.)

While in Nashville, I also picked up a copy of this book about the Grand Ole Opry. The brilliant and very cool Nashville historian Brenda Colladay helped with the project, which is detailed and packed with stories.

I love this spread of notes scribbled by Minnie Pearl on various pads of hotel stationary. (It feels Dirty Pages adjacent, the recipe storytelling project I work on with friends Erin Murray and Cindy Wall.)

Also new-ish in Nashville, an outpost of New Orleans restaurant Turkey and the Wolf. We had the “salad” of sweet potato waffle fries, Panang curry, lime leaf, peanuts and Thai basil. Here’s the bologna sandwich—also a glorious mix of texture and nostalgia. Is this stoner food? Will you need a nap afterward? Probably. But what fun.

I’ve been listening to Kristina Murray’s new record Little Blue with its easy-going honky tonk groove. She comes from Atlanta but lives in Nashville, so seeing her at Eddie’s Attic felt like a connection point to two places I’ve been calling home lately. I also learned that the top row of the small section of stadium seating in this listening room is the best seat in the house.

Also in Atlanta, we caught the premiere of the hip hop musical Young John Lewis. I hear it will be hitting the road soon, so stay on the lookout! Powerful, creative, inspiring.

I haven’t written much in this space about my job at Wildsam, which keeps me busiest day to day. We tell stories that aim to awaken readers to the wonder and awe around us as well as the thrill of a road trip. Here are just a couple I’ve enjoyed from the first half of the year.

Star Power // Started work on this one, along with writer Megan Eaves, about the time a certain major event happened in early November. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciated talking with people who encourage us to keep looking up.

Paths Across the Prairie // “Wisconsin native Erinn Springer and Turkish-born Sabiha Çimen set out to explore the Dakotas, looking to discover heartland vistas and deep community. Together, the two photographers learned how their ways of seeing the world fit together in an epic American landscape.” Their photos are accompanied by an essay from Eliza Blue. “I am the pilgrimage,” she writes. “And my goodness if that doesn’t feel a little holy.”

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Recipe:

Peach season! Here’s a recipe from my cookbook Nashville Eats via the wonderful Jesse Goldstein.

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Title Track: About those Moons and Junes…