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Hello again! Time for a few more of Rafi’s tried and true Unsolicited Recommendations (patent pending). What follows are just a smattering of things I’ve been enjoying lately that I think maybe you, a reader of good and distinguished taste, might like too.

Let’s get right to it!


David Strathairn: Despite being one of the most celebrated, awards-nominated working actors today, I get the sense that Strathairn still hovers comfortably on the edge of “that guy” territory — an actor audiences love whenever he walks onscreen, but who the vast majority of people couldn’t name with a gun to their head. Am I wrong here? Does Strathairn have an enormous posse of ride-or-die fans who chase him down the street like in A Hard Day's Night? Maybe. Nevertheless, do yourself a favor and find a solid Strathairn vehicle to enjoy in the coming days? Can I recommend season 3 of The Expanse? Or perhaps neo-noir classic L.A. Confidential? You could always go for The Bourne Ultimatum, in which he accurately identifies Jason Bourne. If you wanna get real weird with it, you could dive into his “what if the X-Men were like, super duper real?” TV series Alphas. My point is, there’s never a bad time for Strathairn. You’re welcome.

This soup: A big thanks to Leonora, who answered my call the other week for new recipes with this Apple, Parsnip, Sweet Potato, Fennel soup, which delivered maximum flavor for relatively minimal effort. Here’s her recipe, exactly as she sent it to me:

vegetables and fruits:

  • 2 large parsnips (peeled, rough chopped), 
  • 1 head fennel (fronds removed, cored)
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes (peeled, rough chopped)
  • 2 apples (peeled, cored, rough chopped)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)

other ingredients: 

  • 2qts water
  • Equivalent to 1 cube chicken bouillon (or more if you want a stronger taste from the liquid)
  • Vegetable or other oil of your choosing
  • Salt
  • Optional: pepper of your choosing

Procedure:

  1. Heat up a large pot with a bit of oil over medium-high heat
  2. Once the pot is hot enough, add onions and let them saute for a few minutes until they start to get soft
  3. Add the chopped fennel and saute with the onions for another few minutes
  4. Add the rest of the vegetables and fruits to the pot, with some salt and let them saute for just a minute or two
  5. Add the water and chicken bouillon
  6. Bring to a boil, then lower temperate and once it’s more of a simmer cover the pot
  7. Wait a while until the vegetables are very soft
  8. Process the soup in a blender or food processor, and return to pot
  9. Heat the soup through, adding any salt or additional seasoning to taste.
  10. Eat!

The Afro Soul Prophecy’s 2021 album The Heat of the City.

Just trust me on this one.

A good pocket knife: When I was 10 my parents gave me my first Swiss Army knife and I’ll be the first to tell you that there is absolutely no reason on Earth a child needs two blades, a can opener (??) tweezers, and the like. After spending two years of the pandemic essentially living out of Amazon delivery boxes, however, I decided that it might not be the worst idea to have a simple pocket knife on hand, if only so I don’t have to keep going back and forth to the kitchen to fetch a steak knife or whatever to cut through layers of industrial shipping tape each time a package arrives. After some intensive research (read: I googled for like 16 minutes) I opted for a Civivi Elementum, although the Benchmade Bugouts are supposed to be pretty nice as well, if a bit pricey. And as it turns out, having a nice, reliable pocket knife is extremely convenient, and I haven’t even cut myself once.

Unfollowing someone: This one’s evergreen, really. You follow too many people online. You just do, it’s a fact. Go ahead and take a minute to go down your Twitter list or Instagram or whatever your poison of choice is and unfollow at least one account you know, deep down, you don’t actually give a shit about. It’s good. It’s cleansing. You’ll thank me later — assuming I made the cut.


Okay, that’s it! Those were some things I’ve been enjoying lately, and I hope you enjoy them too. See ya next time, folks!

—Rafi

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