Am I Cheap or Just Conscientious?
In other words, I made my own pistachio butter...
Do you know how much a 12 oz container of pistachio butter - excuse me - pistachio spread is going for at the must not be named specialty grocer I work at but you can probably guess because it’s products have taken over TikTok?
The ingredients? Organic California pistachios, organic cane sugar, organic milk powder, organic sunflower and safflower oils, and other organic ingredients have turned this product into a premium dessert alternative.
But before I reveal the price, which truly made my jaw drop, some news:
My friend Marissa and I have created a new L.A.-based event series and third-space community: Local Social 323. Marissa is a third-generation Angeleno and I’m someone who has managed to stick around for nearly 10 years. Both of us understand the importance of building a network of neighbors - a community - in a major city where feelings of loneliness and isolation are not uncommon.
If you’re in LA, join us for our first event, a comedy show, with an all-women-led lineup on Tuesday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
Give us a follow at Local Social 323.
Speaking of being cheap or conscientious, I wrote my first article for New York Magazine’s Grubstreet on the rising costs of wine by the glass. I profiled a $21 glass of California Chardonnay on the menu at the Williamsburg restaurant, Le Crocodile. To get a sense of how this glass of wine was priced, I talked to almost everyone involved: from the restaurant’s wine director to the wine producer based near Santa Barbara. TL;DR: Want to drink good wine? You’re gonna have to pay for it.
Okay, back to the pistachio spread.
If you want to get your hands on this product, you’re going to have to part with $45.99. Its neighboring product, the humble pistachio butter, made only with pistachios, retails at $17.99. Let me tell you about a time I almost put back a pint of Clover heavy-whipping cream at Sprouts because I thought it was $3.99, but it rang up at $5.49.
It wasn’t even ORGANIC!
I don't need to tell you that grocery prices are increasing to infinity and beyond, so that one hurt knowing that a pint of Trader Joe’s organic heavy cream is actually $3.99.
I do my research. Paying attention to detail is another story.
I had a similar realization this week when I made my 18-hour cold brew. I had the beans. I had the time. I even had a sieve and funnel to separate the coffee from its coarse grounds. A 12 oz cold brew in my LA neighborhood will run about $5.50 before tip. Cheap or consciousness?
I even made my own pumpkin spice simply syrup for my cold brew because I AM THAT GWORL who loves to add pumpkin-flavoring to everything. It’s so simple!
A recipe:
Stir together the following in a small saucepan over medium heat:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp of ground ginger
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
1 star anise pod or 3 cloves
Pinch of salt
Cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the burner and separate out solids. Mix in:
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
Store and refrigerate for up to a week.
After watching a TikTok of a woman making yogurt from scratch, I realized that while I do love a project, maybe not ~ everything~ needs to be homemade. So when I ran out of almond butter last week, and didn’t want to add on to my already high grocery bill, I did what came naturally to my [cheap] self…
I made my own nut butter.
There was half a bag of pistachios in my pantry from a recipe I made the week before, and given I had no other plans for the nuts, why not give pistachio butter a whirl and make it myself? Wait, I wasn’t cheap, I was conscientious.
The process took about 25 minutes as my Ninja blender (that I treat like a Vitamix) chopped, then pulverized the nuts until they turned into pistachio flour, and finally (finally!) into a thick greenish-brown sludge. I added some kosher salt, and accepted that “creamy pistachio butter” was not going to happen, and called it a night. The pistachio spread was the texture of wet sand, but was edible - good even- when slathered on an English muffin and topped with blackberry jam.
This week, I bought the almond butter, because what I learned is that cheap and consciousness are just two sides of the same George Washington coin.
Only one identifier has the better PR team.
R.E.W.D.
What I’m Reading, Eating, Watching and Drinking this week…
Reading: “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
I’m late to reading this 2022 novel and watching its most recent Apple TV adaptation, but I am enjoying every moment with this fictional book about Elizabeth Zott, a research chemist in the 1960s who defies all forms of traditional femininity and becomes the unlikely host of a cooking show. The writing is SO good, so witty, so tender, so original. I look forward to reading a chapter every night.
Eating: Alison Roman’s “Strawberry Shortcake Cobber,” Carla Lalli Music’s “Gingery Ground Beef with Lime and Herbs” and Molly Baz’s “Peach & Tomato Salad with Sizzled Halloumi”
I figure with a bookshelf full of cookbooks, I might as well get some use out of them and idk, actually COOK from them, while saving money (cheap and consciousness!) by not going out to eat.
Let’s start with the great. Alison Roman’s “Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler” from her cookbook, “Dining In” was probably the best dessert I’ve had all summer. I pushed it trying to make a strawberry dessert in September, but it came out better than I expected. The roasted strawberries get extremely sweet and caramelized. The shortcakes are similar to biscuits in flavor, and have a nice crunch thanks to the cornmeal in the dough. It was divine. Will make again come spring/summer.
Another hit was Carla Lalli Music’s “Gingery Ground Beef with Lime and Herbs” from her cookbook, “That Sounds So Good.” It’s a tangy, salty and spicy stir-fry with tons of ginger, lime and garlic. I add red chili pepper flakes for some spice, and serve over a bed of rice.
Molly Baz’s “Peach and Tomato Salad with Sizzled Halloumi” from her cookbook, “Cook This Book” was meh for me. It looked good, but mixing together peaches and tomatoes with a mustard seed vinaigrette and cheese was not exactly a thrilling melange of flavors.
Watching: “The Secret Lives of Morman Wives” on Hulu
This eight-part reality series about a group of Morman women living in Utah and making money from going viral on TikTok is exactly what I needed during my slump in reality TV. As an unscripted producer this show has everything - in the first episode alone, you have a scandal brought forth, an arrest and an unplanned pregnancy. My TikTok FYP is not filled with dancing Morman moms, but the story and the characters involved are so juicy, with each woman (and her family) battling what it means to be a “good Morman,” which makes great internal and external conflict.
Drinking: A little something for everybody over a two-week span.
This sake over the sunset. It was floral, fruit-forward, delicate and so, so smooth.
Rosé wine that tasted like an orange wine after the sake.
A Japanese-style lager made with jasmine rice and toasted rice flakes from San Diego’s Harland Brewing Company that reminded me of the sake. Super drinkable, but elegant to sip. Find it at Trader Joe’s.
A daquiri I made at home because it’s one of the easiest cocktails to make with only three ingredients (white rum, lime juice and simple syrup). Why is rum not more of a thing?
A white negroni made with mezcal instead of gin at Oldfield’s Liquor Room in Palms.
Till next week!
Great writing!! Loved it!!