sometimes food is ugly

get over it

happy libra szn ya’ll

I feel like everyone is obsessed with making pretty foods but can we just acknowledge that all food is beautiful in it’s own way/just bc something is ugly doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good? Like, are you gonna sit there and tell me that your thanksgiving dinner disaster of a plate doesn’t always taste amazing?

As a libra (aka I’m obsessed with aesthetics) — I, too, get annoyed when my food is ugly. Mostly bc in an instagram world, no one is going to want to look at ugly pictures of my food. But also — because imo food tastes better when it looks pretty. Probably why people are so drawn in by fancy plating, color-coordinated foods, & ~rainbow bagels~.

Sure, if I got a professional lighting kit I could probably make all of my food look perfect but who has the time or money?? It is impossible for me to be constantly on my photography & food styling A game, so while the camera eats first it does not always get the most appetizing picture. Plz enjoy the following list of ugly foods that honestly still look somewhat enticing & definitely tasted more amazing than many other things I’ve eaten recently.

1. most sauces in general but especially that pepper & yellow tomatoes sauce with spaghetti squash I mentioned in last week’s newsletter — do ya'll want the recipe? lmk

2. this banana bread. has anyone every made an attractive banana bread? honestly it seems impossible because none of the ingredients involved are cute

   

   tbh this is only like 1/3 of the loaf but we had already consumed most of it by the time I took a pic

   although this bread may be ugly, it tastes AMAZING. remember at the beginning of quar when everyone was making banana bread like it was their new career?

   ingredients

   • 2 cups AP flour

   • 1 tsp salt

   • 2 tsp baking soda

   • 1 cup softened butter

   • 2 cups sugar

   • 2 cups mashed (ugly) overly ripe bananas (4-6 whole bananas usually)

   • 4 eggs, beaten

   • 1 cup chopped walnuts

   • 1/2-1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

   how

   1. preheat the over to 350°, grease & flour 2 loaf pans, I also HIGHLY recommend using parchment paper so they are easy to remove once they’ve cooled

   2. whisk together the dry ingredients

   3. using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or your handheld beaters, cream the butter & sugar until smooth. add the bananas & eggs; mix until blended

   4. with the mixer on low, add in your dry ingredients, mix just until combined

   5. stir in the chocolate chips & walnuts (coat these in a bit of the flour to prevent them from falling to the bottom of the batter — I didn’t do this and ended up with burnt chocolate chips on the bottom of my pans)

   6. bake 50-65 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean & let cool until you’re ready to eat, the longer you wait to take the bread out of the pan the easier it will be if you don’t use parchment paper

3. 97% of all breakfast sandwiches are hideous

   

   Kevin dubbed this the “bless this messwich” because not only are breakfast sandwiches ugly but they are also messy

   ingredients

   • whole wheat bread, toasted w butter

   • 2 scrambled eggies

   • sharp cheddar

   • sautéed red onion & snacking peppers w salt & pep

   • roasted sweet potato with honey & chili powder

4. baked ziti (with rigatoni)

   

   recipe here. the recipe picture looks beautiful (obviously) but every time I’ve made it in real life — ugly.

5. tacos are practically impossible to take good pictures of no matter how beautiful they are in person. if you make a beautiful taco please send me a picture of it

   

   chicken tinga tacos w feta, romaine, red onion, & radish

6. most takeout — plastic containers aside, takeout is usually a bit scrambled mess as it has travelled a long way from home to get to you

   

   supreme samosa, pakoras, naan, chicken tikka masala, & chicken saag from Masala in the Square. I highly recommend to those of you who live in Somerville
   

7. I don’t have anything else to list but I hate the number 6 (ugly)

Am I going to start posting ugly foods on the TL? Probably not. Am I still going to be obsessed with making food that looks perfect? Yes. But I can accept that all my food children are beautiful in their own way & I will still cherish and devour them.

talk soon —

carter

p.s. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter — keep an eye on the youtubes for videos of my (not ugly) face & food #likeandsubscribe

p.p.s. please enjoy this #aesthetic picture (toot toot) to compensate for all of the ugliness above

carter_eats

just a lil brunch with my favorite drink the corpse reviver # 2 made with @lillet.usa #lilletbrunch 🍸
feat. homemade croissants, blueberry jam, apple cinnamon ginger galette, & rosemary sea salt sourdough discard crackers 🥐

September 20, 2020