I LOVE THIS AND I LOVE YOU!
Food, sports, fashion, home, travel, books, tv, and more...
In honor of Valentine’s day tomorrow, I figured I’d share some things I have been loving this month. If you’re subscribed you should also have received my special Valentine’s Day Jam recipe! <3 <3 <3
If you’re reading this, I assume you’ve come over from the lovely world of TikTok. Due to my recent travels and overwhelming amount of work (which I am thrilled to soon be able to tell you about), I’ve been unable to respond to comments and DMs as much as I usually try to. Much to my delight, all of you have different interests that pique your curiosity. Much to my dismay, I’m unable to make a singular video on all of the things that I love. That’s where substack comes in…
I have been loving writing weekly for you all whether they be city guides, recipes, or food history deep dives. Today’s newsletter is going to look a bit different as I’ve compiled all of my current favorites: food, sports, fashion, home, beauty, tv, books, movies, travel...
This is my love letter to YOU!
FOOD
Condiment x Crudité Snacking Game is in full force at the moment. While Dijon mustard is always included on one of my snicky snack platters, I have a few new additions I’ve been addicted to.
Black Garlic Ketchup: Halen Mon really did something with this one… It has all of the pungency one would want from a bite of black garlic without leaving you with an overwhelming taste in your mouth. It’s sweet, slightly tangy and has a really nice texture that’s not drippy thin nor claggy thick. I’ve been loving it in breakfast wraps or in rice bowls as well.
SPICY Mrs H Balls Chutney: while I was always a fan of the standard Mrs Balls, I picked up the spicy version in South Africa. Although it’s not really that spicy at all, the heat element leaves a really nice addictive flavor. I love dipping aromat sprinkled carrots in this.
Fish sauce + Mayo: just try it. I love it mish mashed in rice for a cozy evening dinner.
Chive Cottage Cheese + Everything but the Bagel Seasoning: so delish in a celery boat, crunchy, creamy, savory and salty.
Beans as a side: In my household, a snicky snack platter is usually served on an XL plate or platter to ensure maximal crunch and condiment dippage. This large surface area means that it’s big enough to plop a little bowl on there for an extra addition. This is where beans come in… Recently, I have been utterly addicted to Bold Beans - while black beans are my favorite, their white beans and garbanzos hit the spot when served alongside crunchy veg. They’re nice and salty but taste even nicer with an extra squeeze of lemon.
Coconut & Banana Jam: I have been addicted to remaking my these two jams. They’re both so limey and fresh!
The banana jam is a great replacement for fried plantains (think rice bowl with black beans, salsa, avocado, corn, fried egg etc). A few of you have made it this week!
The coconut jam has a fun texture and is a great addition to yogurt bowls, chia seed puddings or on its own as a little snack.
Idli: These little bites of heaven are steamed rice cakes made from fermented rice and lentil batter. They are incredibly popular in Southern India and often eaten as a breakfast food. I was introduced to Idli last year by my South Indian friend and was pleasantly reacquainted with their tangy taste in Cape Town. This same friend surprised me with a bag of them last week and I can assure you, all 10 of them were gone just 3 days later… The natural sour taste of the fermented batter levels up the flavor of the cake and makes them incredibly addictive. I like my Idli to be the center of the show so I eat them with coconut chutney and yogurt; however, they can also be eaten alongside curries and medu vada (black lentil “donuts”) as well.
ugly DELICIOUS ok Anchovies: Yes, these are always my but after my trip to Spain, I’ve been craving that specific salty, briney flavor that anchovies impart. I also just restocked with some FishWife tins which was a big highlight this past week.
My Cinnamon Vanilla Salt: duh, always.
SPORTS
Formula 1: Alpine’s new livery! It’s understated, clean, simple, and shows off all of the sponsors without looking chaotic. I was lucky enough to attend the Alpine launch (pinch me moment) and asked the drivers about their favorite condiment…
The Olympics: I can finally say that the Paris Olympics are coming up now that it’s 2024. While my dream of fencing in the Olympics never came true, maybe I’ll be able to go this year anyways…
Handball: I’ve never gotten into handball even though it’s an incredibly popular sport in France. This all changed when France beat Sweden with this incredible goal.
Rugby: It’s 6 nations season baby! If you’re not acquainted with the sport, Netflix just came out with a series to make it a bit more digestible for you. I’m currently not loving it because France isn’t playing that well but whatever let’s hope that changes.
Pilates: Tt’s so nice to be home and have a routine. I’ve been loving being able to go to Ten Health regularly. If you also want to try it my discount code is CLAIRE10 (not an affiliate code, I’m just a big fan of their instrufctors and love that their locations are spread across London!)
leaving you with a pic of my RBF
FASHION
Sézane trousers: I’ve never been a big slacks girl… I love my jeans, but I had never found slacks that work until these. They’re my new go-to for work events, smart casual dress code and even for nights out (they’re long so you can rock a heel with them).
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserSézane boots: These work perfectly with the pants above. It’s also been raining quite a bit as of late so I love being able to stomp around in these outside and not worry about wrecking them.
Aligne Coat: This tan wrap coat looks exactly like the fancier, more expensive Max Mara one but is just as warm and comfortable. The material is actually really nice and I’ve been loving wearing it to level up a look (and stay cozy and bundled up).
Quick reminder you can find all of my fave closet items here on my ShopMy
HOME/BEAUTY
Orange Blossom: I can’t divulge too much but something exciting is launching soon… STAY TUNED!!! Can you guess? Take a stab at it in the comments!
My Fable Glassware: I’ve gotten a lot of questions about these recently so I’m linking the set here! They’re super thin and yet I have yet to break any. Knock on wood.
Merit Beauty: I’m so grateful that the brand let me not only bundle my top 4 products for you but also let me call them face condiments?? Life is fake and so funny.
BOOKS/TV/MOVIES
MILK: I finally got my hands on this book! I am about a day into reading it and halfway through already. I have always loved love Mark Kurlansky’s work (COD, SALT) as it is jam packed with interesting food history that changes the way you see the every day item.
One Day: I watched this entire series on Netflix in the span of 3 days… I LOVED it. I found the acting and casting spot on which made me so excited for the new Golden Globes casting award starting next year.
Love and Other Drugs: Why had I never seen this film before last week? I don’t have an answer but wow, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions during those 112 minutes.
TRAVEL
As many of you have noticed, I have traveled quite a bit lately. I am truly so grateful for it as I’ve been able to learn so much from cultures distinct from my own in just a mere few months. It makes me so happy to impart the different regional histories and my new knowledge about a locale with you all on TikTok or here on Substack. Now that IG city guides are gone, Instagram will be my personal gallery (nice and curated unlike TikTok) which I’ve also really been loving at the moment.
I AM GOING TO TOKYO IN APRIL!!!!!! Hoping to hit a strawberry farm, a wasabi farm, a shaved bonito restaurant, Michelin starred Ramen and of course, taste test lots of Lawson and 7/11 egg sandwiches. I may even visit a soy sauce factory but it’ll be koji inoculation season so kind of meh visually? It depends if I have time because somehow my schedule is already getting packed? Feeling so lucky for this international community!
a very blurry photo of a very happy Claire in a very fishy Tsukiji in 2016
Anyways, regardless of how you’re celebrating or who you’re celebrating with, I hope you all have a day full of LOVE tomorrow! Buy yourself a lil tea or coffee, go for a stroll, smile in the mirror, whatever your heart desires. ILY A MILLI thank you for letting me live my dream life <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Please let me know what you are loving at the moment in the comments! And should I write one of these every month???
Orange blossom candle 😮💨😮💨☺️
TOKYO! I'll be there this weekend! Do you have any memorable recs from your time there in 2016? MUCH LOVE❤️