Taylor continues to move Swiftly 💿

+ Fires in Hawaii & Shit You Should Cook About!

shit you should care about

and

London Laura

Aug 10, 2023

My angels!!! Yesterday I drove seven hours down the country (through a LOT of snow) down to a little spot at Lake Aviemore (aka my fave place in NZ) where I’m going to be for the next week!! One thing I’m reallllllly good at is being alone (Normy tells me I’m a recluse but I’m just in my leave me alone era ok!!!) so I’m here to eat girl dinner, drink girl wine, write my little stories, read my little books, wear my little gumboots and walk my little walking tracks, and talk to no one (except for all of you!!!)

YOUR STICKERS ARE ARRIVING AND IT’S THE CUTEST THING EVER!!! Please keep sending pics to me of where you put them!!!!

Being part of the SYSCAhood is the cutest thing ever, so please PLEASE come and support the media you love, and become a supporter today 🥺

Taylor Swift announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
Fires in Hawaii have been declared a ‘major disaster’
This week in podcasts
Shit You Should Cook About: 🫘Giant Beans w Olive Oil & Tomatoes🍅
Olivia Rodrigo released a new single!!

Taylor Swift announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

And yes I did arrive to my lil cottage just in time to watch a grainy live stream of her announcing it and YES I DID FREAK OUT!!!! We were already in for a weird night when fans spotted Karlie Kloss in the audience (she went from having a literal bedroom at Taylor’s apartment to sitting in the 200s seats, but was soon moved to VIP) but the night got weirder as she sported a bunch of new blue outfits, played ‘New Romantics,’ ‘New Years Day’ and ANNOUNCED 1989 TV WITH THIS NEW ALBUM COVER:

She said in her announcement that the five vault tracks on this one are her fave EVER and that she doesn’t know how they didn’t make it the first time, so this re-record is going to be INSANEEEEEEE!

HOLDING MY BREATH UNTIL OCTOBER 27TH!

Fires in Hawaii have been declared a major disaster

At least 36 people have died as wildfires have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii. The fires began on Tuesday night, and powerful winds from Hurricane Dora (hundreds of miles away) pushed the flames toward Maui and Big Island. The historic town of Lahaina has faced the brunt of the flames, and from the footage we’re seeing looks to be little more than a smoking ruin right now, which is absolutely heartbreaking.

@vicenews Footage shared online shows the historic resort town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui devastated by the fire. #hawaii #wildfire #evacuation #maui #fire #rescue #hawaiifire #lahaina #US

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Biden has since issued a "major disaster declaration" which makes federal funds available to aid in recovery efforts on the island.

If you’re looking for ways you can help the people affected, here’s a big list!

This week on Culture Vulture (our pop culture podcast)

everything we know about the Lizzo allegations
what Jonah Hill can teach us about boundaries and therapy speak

Spotify:

Apple Pods:

This week on The Shit Show (our weekly news podcast!!)

the Australian mushroom poisoning case that’s got everyone talking
national’s policy on banning cellphones
zoom requires people to be in the office
an explainer on load shedding

Spotify:

Apple Pods:

Shit You Should Cook About: 🫘Giant Beans w Olive Oil & Tomatoes🍅

Shit You Should Cook About is written by London Laura - our resident ray of sunshine and co-host of Culture Vulture (our weekly pop culture podcast!) She’s a new London dweller, chief of romanticising literally everything, and will definitely ask you all what your love language is at some stage. You can find more Shit She Should Cook About over here!

Hiiiii whānau!!!!! After all my whining about the rainy non-summer we have been having here in London - WE GOT SUN!!!! It’s currently 27 degrees (a full 10 degrees hotter than what we have been having lol) and the sun is SHINING! I’m currently sweating on the tube en route to meet some friends for drinks in the sun (which is what you do when it’s hot on London) so today’s SYSCOOKA is short but sweet!! It’s one of the dishes that I became obsessed with when we were in Greece and ordered for most meals. I love fresh, simple food where you can see every ingredient and work backwards to work out what goes into it to recreate it again and again until it’s juuust right. Admittedly some greek olive oil / feta would likely take this to the next level but I think this recipe is a pretty close substitute for a euro summer!! She’s giant beans (butter beans when you can’t find them) with a light tomato sauce, fresh basil and sharp feta (in all honesty she’s a grown-up baked beans and we love to see it!) Would love for you to make it for one, or as a very messy part of an apero hour spread (which is how I served it last Friday!). See you in the SYSCOOKA Geneva chat which is simply my fave place on the internet!!!!! 💘💘💘💘

🫘Giant Beans w Olive Oil & Tomatoes🍅

1 clove garlic
1 tin butter beans (drained)
1 tin tomatoes (or 250g fresh)
Tblsp tomato paste
A LOT of olive oil
Half a block of feta
Thyme
Handful of fresh basil
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Sugar

In a cast iron pot, sauté your garlic in a good glug of olive oil, adding the tomato paste once it is nice and brown. Stir continuously until the tomato paste starts to change colour, then add your tomatoes, thyme, half the basil (torn up) and a good pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper. Add the teaspoon of sugar and a glug of olive oil, leaving on a low heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. When the sauce has reduced slightly and tastes good (add more salt / pepper / sugar depending on how you like it) add in your drained beans, another pour of olive oil stir gently (don’t break up the beans!) and leave for 20 mins on a very low heat. Once the sauce has reduced, the beans have absorbed some of the liquid take off the heat and crumble the feta over the top with the additional basil - and serve w garlicky toast or THE focaccia!