There are so many things to be overwhelmed by right now, good and bad. How in the world can we find time to take in all the good, especially while we're being fire-hosed with so much bad every day? Like, the news right now is a constant fire truck grade diarrhea hose on full blast. It's disgusting, it's painful and we wonder why no one seems to be able or willing to turn it off. Meanwhile, many have called this the golden age of television, there are thousands of podcasts being produced weekly and I can put Spotify radio on and not hear a repeated or familiar song for days on end. And who hasn't written a blog and/or book, amirite?
Technology has made it faster, easier and cheaper to produce and consume all kinds of content, propelling our news and entertainment cycles into hyper-speed and all but killing our attention spans. I wonder daily how the hell I'm supposed to keep up. Mainly, I have to give up on my quest to be in the know about every single thing. I remind myself I can't possibly watch all the good TV, be informed on all the news and pop culture or know all there is to know about all the things ever... as much as I continue to hope and strive for that. I have to weed out what I don't care about and focus in on the best of the best. Thankfully, my friends are quality seekers who help me find the shiniest gold in this golden age of content. And whether they ask for it or not I am constantly raining recommendations on them, mostly as a way to project my FOMO onto my loved ones.
The Amazing Five is a segment I lovingly lifted (read: outright stole) from an amazing podcast called How to be Amazing with Michael Ian Black. With each of his amazing guests he asks for a single recommendation for something amazing in each of five categories: books, TV/movies, music, food and miscellaneous. It is fun to follow the suggestions of some of my favorite famous people and to learn that celebrities are excited about some of the same things I am excited about. I also like looking into a recommendation and being like, "Thanks but no thanks, Ira Glass. Not for me." It's like we're all just humans trying to avoid the shit hoses of life and find meaning, joy and amazing things.
Some of my favorite Amazing recommendations include Penn Jillette's recipe for chocolate cayenne blueberries, Judd Apatow, AD Miles and Al Franken recommending marriage, children and grandchildren like they're things I can one-day order on Amazon and Megan Mullaly reminding me about the Decemberists. Dan Savage also shared an all-to-relatable moment when he compared the current TV scene as "this college course that you can't keep up with the reading." Preach.
So welcome to my new weekly segment (read: semi-consistent thing I do whenever I get around to it for however long I feel like it): Things I Like That I Want You to Like Because I Think They're Neat and Then We Can Talk About how Neat They Are Together. Admittedly, "The Amazing Five" has a much nicer ring..
I have made this super easy and mucho delicious recipe multiple times now for company. It's customizable enough that I feel like an *actual* chef who can go off recipe, mix things up and wing a successful dish.
Pesto chicken veggie bake
Whatever veggies you think sound good with chicken and pesto... I use a zucchini (sliced into rounds) and some asparagus "snapped" into 1.5 - 2" segments
Grape tomatoes (2 cups-ish)
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs, I have used the thin sliced breasts in the past to cut cooking time in half)
Note: Like I said, pretty much all the ingredients and amounts are customizable. You can Google roasting times for different veggies or just play it by ear.
Instructions:
- Brine your chicken. I never cook chicken now without brining. Makes for cut-with-the-side-of-your-fork chicken every time. Fill a large bowl with warm, not hot, water. Dissolve some salt in there, a couple Tablespoons or so. I never use a measurement, makes me feel more "chef-y". Put the chicken breasts into the water and let them sit for 15 minutes. Take out, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
- While the chicken is brining, wash and cut your veggies. The zucchini works well in cm rounds or rounds and then halved or quartered. Snap or cut your asparagus into 1.5 - 2" segments.
- Put your washed, cut veggies and tomatoes into a large bowl and coat with 2 Tablespoons of pesto.
- Cut the chicken into 1" cubes. Add into your veggie bowl with the additional Tablespoon of pesto and stir it all up until well coated.
- Spread out flat onto one or two baking sheets. Make sure there is room between each chicken and veggie piece or you will end up steaming instead of roasting.
- Cook for 10 minutes and check to see if veggies are tender and chicken is at 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit. When I use thin chicken, 10 minutes of cooking is usually sufficient. If not, throw your pans back in for another 8-10 minutes.
- Serve warm as is, or over pasta if you like. You may want to add some olive oil or extra pesto to the pasta. Sprinkle some parm over, etc., get creative :)
Bonus: Use your leftover pesto to make some of the best grilled cheese you will ever eat! Spread pesto on some french bread, put a slice of mozzarella on each slice over the pesto and put some sliced tomatoes in between. Oil your pan with olive oil and cook until golden brown and cheese is melted. Delish!
Music
Though I have long left Christian music fandom, I love John Mark McMillan's new album Mercury & Lightning. His deep voice makes you long for a heart ears emoji, and his deep lyrics are full of the right kind of struggle and the big, unanswerable questions. These days, I think faith is less about being certain about anything and more about finding peace with the things we can't know or understand. I find this in JMM's music.
Bonus rec: after getting through Mercury & Lightning, I listened to Lil Uzi Vert's new Luv is Rage 2. Made for a fun Friday music mix last week.
Don't judge my TV taste on this one (late) recommendation, but have you ever watched American Ninja Warrior? I got sucked in the other day while it was on during a visit to my aunt's house. Of course I've known about the show for a while but have never had an interest to watch. After a few minutes, though, I was fully invested. It's insane to watch these hyper-athletic people accomplish crazy amazing physical feats. If you are later than me to the ANW party, give it a whirl.
How to be Here by Rob Bell, and also anything created by Rob Bell ever. His books and talks are full of peace, wisdom and inspiration. I feel lighter and more ready to live the kind of life I want to live after I consume anything he's created.
Truly wireless headphones. I think these are my current favorite possession. I can discretely and conveniently listen to anything all the time. While headphones are not discouraged at my work, they do give off a sense of unprofessionalism and closed-off-ness. (Often, closed-off-ness is a desired effect of headphones, but unfortunately I need to seem a little more open to interactions at work.) I wear one secret earbud all day. No one even notices when I touch my ear to pause or unpause. Love! There are better models, but the X2T headphones I bought are sufficient for the price, come with a super convenient charging and carrying case and are comfortable and easy to use. I have had a hard time using both buds in tandem, but I never really find the need to do so. Another critique of this specific product is that the volume of the beeps and voice that says, "POWER ON," "POWER OFF," etc., is uncontrollable and slightly too loud. When she yells, "BATTERY LOW," it startles me every time. Truly wireless can be expensive, so for the great deal I found these at I accept putting up with the shortcomings.
What are you reading right now that the rest of us should read? What great show should we definitely ditch our life and binge for the weekend? (Shout-out to Robin for recommending I watch Grace and Frankie on Netflix. Weekend well spent. Next weekend I'll have to choose which David Simon show to start...) What goods should we make sure not to miss out on? Share the gold in the comments below!
