KITCHEN ADVENTURES: I’M GONNA GIT YOU SOCCA. I decided to make these chickpea-flour pancakes because other than the flour, all their ingredients were things I always have on hand. Super simple, just flour, olive oil, water, s & p, and whatever other thing you want to use. The Atlantic food blogger says: Socca (without the subtle, wood-smoked flavor) is easy to make in a skillet on top of the stove. The batter, which has no egg or leavening, will keep... Read more

THE FIRST TIME I HAVE USED THE TAGS “LENT” AND “LOL” FOR THE SAME POST. Via the Rattus of course…. Read more

“I went home and listened to classical music for an hour, trying desperately to recreate that feeling I had when I saw your breasts in the window….”—via Ratty Read more

DON’T LOOK NOW: Mini-reviews, mostly horror. I realized that there are a lot of books and movies I’m glad to have read or watched, even though I don’t have enough to say about them to warrant a full-length post here. So this is a roundup of a bunch of things you might want to know about. Hugh Kennedy, Everything Looks Impressive. Yale in the ’80s; is the protagonist supposed to be unlikable and unwilling to learn? Class resentment, demi-dykery, survivor... Read more

DAVID “BEYOND GAY” MORRISON AND SOME GUY, in “a conversation about the Church and same-sex marriage” at Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase (DC), tonight at 7.30 pm. I may be there! Because I can’t get enough of that wonderful Duff, apparently. Anyway, I thought you all might be interested. Read more

Uyeda says that his approach to cocktail-making is grounded in the Japanese tea ceremony. It is an “adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order.”–“Tokyo, Cocktail Capital of the World,” Hugh Garvey, in Best Food Writing 2009 Read more

I CANNOT POSSIBLY TOP CAMASSIA’S POST TITLE but you should know that she continued our secular-morality discussion from last week, here, and I replied in comments. ETA: Oh, possibly my old post about St. Anselm would be relevant?? Read more

PRIORITIES. Via the Rattus. Several of the other ones she links are also great, e.g. “Destiny.” Read more

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS is having a fairly epic book sale. I’m snapping up two books of medieval Jewish poetry. You should check it out! Read more

“FANTASY AND THE JEWISH QUESTION.” More, and well worth your time: “But it’s America that plays the crucial role here, not Judaism.” Robust comments thread as well! And a bit more here: fantasy vs. critique of fantasy. I’m pretty sure I prefer the latter, although there are exceptions. Read more