We’ve made it through the first month of 2019. Congratulations! It is so cold out right now. Here are two good things for you while you’re staring at the grey weighted blanket that is the sky.
First, remember that in Toronto, on January 1, the sun set at 4:51 p.m. On February 4, it will set at 5:32 p.m.
Then, think about the desert. It’s been coming up a lot lately.
DESTROYER (2018) is a desert movie, even though it’s being referred to as an L.A. movie. It is bright, and harsh, and exhausting. Everything is stripped and sun-bleached. Sebastian Stan’s undercover backstory involves a childhood in Las Cruces. Dust looks creased into everything. It will probably not warm you up, but maybe it will make whatever’s happening here look a bit more appealing as an option.
As this movie, and many others, have shown, bad things can happen in the desert – it contains a lot of possibilities, a feeling of endlessness, a vastness you can disappear into. But it isn’t inherently evil. “I only fear other human beings, not the world,” writes Dionne Brand:
“Anyway the desert is beautiful.” Go there, the driving is transcendental and your hair will look great.
But! Maybe you find the idea of a desert boring. You want mountains, waves, colours.
Too bad, you’re wrong! Though it’s a punchline on SUCCESSION (seriously, I highly recommend this show, it is secretly the most anti-capitalist show because it will make you never want to be rich, never, ever, ever) the desert was special for a more important HBO antihero.
He got it! Feel grateful for cloud cover, stay warm, and hydrate. And don’t worry, it will be insufferably hot soon.
Until that happens, make some shortbread cookies, because nothing is better than having a sandy dessert in a desert.
Ingredients:
1 lb (454 g) butter
1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar
2 1/4 cups (350 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) rice flour
Directions:
Cream butter until smooth.
Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
Beat in flours.
Form into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and place on baking sheet.
Flatten slightly with fork.
(OR on lightly floured board, roll out dough to 3/8 inch (9 mm) thickness.Cut with cookie cutters and place on baking sheet.)
Bake at 325°F (160°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool on rack. Store in air-tight container. Makes about 5 dozen.
Source: McCormick "Club-House" Rice Flour bag, circa a few years ago. This recipe does not appear on the back of the bags any longer.
What’s Good is a sporadic newsletter meant to fight back against Sunday nights, angry tweets, and harsh lighting. This edition is brought to you by Montreal bagels, sheet masks, those hand warmers that you shake to activate, and, as always, the moon.