(Link to my episode on The Dinner Special podcast—thanks for having me, Gabriel!)
For as long as I can remember, I have thought of myself as a writer. I cook, I take pictures of people and things that I love, I dance, I lounge around with no pants on, but fundamentally, I feel myself to be a writer. This is where I feel the most free, the most alive: Sharing pieces of my life with you through words, giving you shards of memory and feeling and thought that resonate with and refract your own experience, that penetrate the facade of living. That get to the core.
Which is why, when I joined this app that was in beta earlier this year, The List App, my life changed in a kind of earth shattering way. I wrote more than I had in months, obsessively, addictively, like something between the hit of a sugar high and an orgasm. The List App was a small community that threw dauntingly high profile founding members in with good ole folks like myself and Molly Yeh. It felt a bit like summer camp: Unbridled sharing, uncensored feelings, total immersion, and strangers that feel like your best friends in the whole world. The List App, in its infancy, felt like a family. A family of crazy writers, hopped up on confessionalism and wordplay.
I wrote about all sorts of things: My exes, my favorite foods, my fantasies, Diva cups, even about dating a priest (say whatttt?!). A few weeks ago, The List App went public. And now I want you to come join me. It’s a thriving community of listmakers from all walks of life and industry (you better believe the New York Times, Vogue, Man Repeller, and the Red Cross are all on List, too).
I’ll leave you with a list I wrote last week, an invite to join, and—of course—these stellar, gluten-free coconut flour pumpkin spice pancakes, garnished with the most astonishingly delicious maple caramelized pears. Served with extra maple, yogurt, and fresh pomegranate, they’re legitimately as good as pumpkin pie except without any grain or refined sugar involved. A cure for all that ails you.
CURES
• Anoint the chest and the back of the neck
with oils (frankincense for honesty, rose to soften the heart, lavender to calm) or anything that could be a blessing
• Tell the truth
unencumbered, unequivocated
• Sleep
for an unspecified amount of time, until living feels at least as tolerable as dreaming
• Look at the sky
unobstructed by anything except nature
• Cry
contort, release, emote, scream, wail, sob, be free
• Listen to your breath
shhhhhh
• Orgasm
yes
• Get in water
submerge, any kind
• Hold hands
sometimes your own if other hands are not available
• Touch the ground, a tree, a leaf
plug in, recharge, earth yourself
• Believe
have a little faith
• Beyoncé
who run the world
And there’s one more that I forgot
• Eat Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Maple Caramelized Pears
get the recipe on this week’s Intuitive Eating with Kale & Caramel
PUMPKIN SPICE PANCAKES WITH MAPLE CARAMELIZED PEARS (GLUTEN-FREE).
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
- butter for frying pan coconut oil for dairy-free option
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- dash allspice
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- extra maple syrup butter, and yogurt to serve
Maple Caramelized Pears
- 1/2 medium pear cored and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon raw coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- sprinkle sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice until fully blended. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin puree, almond milk, and maple syrup until completely incorporated. Whisk dry ingredients into wet, mixing just until fully blended.
- Heat a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over medium flame, adding butter to coat the pan. When butter sizzles to a flick of water, add batter in 1/4 cup scoops, spreading into circles. Let cook 2-3 minutes. When bubbles appear, flip and cook a minute or two on the other side. Remove once appropriately browned. Remove from pan and keep warm in heated oven while you cook the rest.
- Once all pancakes are done, wipe any crumbs from the pan, and add a teaspoon of coconut oil and a teaspoon of maple syrup to the pan. Swirl to mix and coat the pan. Place pear slices in a single layer in the pan, and let them sear and caramelize, about 5 minutes, or until caramelized and browned to your liking. Remove from heat.
- Serve pancakes with caramelized pears, yogurt, and maple syrup, or as you like!
