emotionally imbued falafel rings and cross-diasporic pineapple drink

unsnackable vol. 74

I have spent much of the last few months trying to opt out of the concept of time. Too aware of its unruly nature. Too aware of its compression and expansion and how it can swallow you whole. Left wordless on the edge of days that felt endless and too short simultaneously.

I relented and allowed the days to run together because it was too hard to bear. It is easier to keep rolling the stone up the hill if you do not acknowledge an eternity of waking up and starting where you began. 

I know that apathy scares me more than feeling the full weight of this moment, but for all I've lost at least I am gaining daylight. Hopefully, I'll be able to photosynthesize my way out of despondence. Or scrape up enough energy to let my fixations lull me into short bouts of creativity in the kitchen.

I spent a few hours on my roof and found inspiration in a bag of corn that had been in my freezer for a short eternity. I made a matcha latte that I will be legally required to recreate as a dessert post haste — sweet corn milk, some raspberry preserves, and my staple Kettl matcha which I was heartbroken to discover is now only sold in wholesale quantities.

I also used that same bag of corn (family-sized and on sale) to turn my second-day leftovers of a perfect reverse-seared steak into a pepper lunch riff.

Delicious coping mechanisms are an illusion worth savoring. I hope you find the same comfort in these unsnackables.

---

the unsnackables

sweet

UĞURLU FRAMBUAZ ÇIKOLATALI PIŞMANIYE (Turkey)

We are suffering in the long shadow of Dubai Chocolate and specters of dull, untempered chocolate haunt me like sleep paralysis demons manifesting in an inescapable confectionery trend. The presumed heirs to this pistachio treat can be easily spotted as they leap from cottage candy-makers on Etsy to local cafes and small artisan brands that act as bait for TikTok taste tests and DIY "dupe" recipes. The frontrunner appears to be tiny tufts of hand-pulled sugar, dragon's beard / pişmaniye. The combination of fluffy pulled sugar and the stodgy shell makes me feel a bone-deep sensory ick. Yet, I'm deeply amenable to the diminutive size and deftly draped thin raspberry-flavored shell of this similar treat created by a company with half a century of history

savory

MR CHIPS FALAFEL (Jordan)

As a person routinely traumatized by the annoyances of frying food, I seek the comfort of a perfectly fried bite without the annoyances of oil temping, splattering, and that odor that can comfortably lodge itself both in the fibers of your clothes and your every pore. It makes sense to me that these falafel-flavored chips are shaped like rings because they are profoundly meaningful and I would be very emotional if they were gifted to me.

thirsty

SODA BAHÍA GINGURÚ (Panama)

One of my summer low-waste beverage staples is a tea made from steeped pineapple skins with aromatics like ginger. I always thought it was a Nigerian recipe, but then I dug a bit and found recipes from Jamaica and in Cantonese. Maybe this drink is a distant cousin with a flavor profile featuring that same pineapple and ginger alongside orange, cardamom, coriander, and juniper berries(!!)

boozy

ASTRA SPEZIAL (Germany)

Maybe it is because I was raised in Leinenkugel country, but I feel that the shandy deserves veneration far beyond what it currently receives. There is no greater argument than this combination of Spezi (the beloved Bavarian blend of cola and orange soda) with beer. I'd pair it with a few spritzes of this, tempered by the sticky insouciance of a late summer afternoon and multiple coats of sunscreen.

---

I’m still figuring this out, but hopefully, you enjoyed v.74 of unsnackable.

If you didn’t please don’t tell me, tell your friends to subscribe because they hopefully have better taste than you.

---

Think you’ll miss me before unsnackable v.75 comes to your inbox? follow me on other parts of the internet and tell me about what you’re snacking on