STRESS / SWEETS / SWEAT
This week, we feel.
/Stress/
Pressure and tension.
Hi everyone.
You didn’t get your favorite Substack last week, did you?
Yeah. So.
I was being all cute and putting a newly gifted Miffy sticker on the outside of my laptop. Before placing Miffy in her rightful place, I decided to wipe the computer down. In the process, and in one of my less-than-bright moments, I sprayed a (supposedly “screen friendly”) cleaning solution on the outside… and on the screen… of my beloved and (very) necessary laptop.
The liquid seeped its way, slowly but surely, under the screen
and I decided
in that moment
that the newsletter needed to take a week-long hiatus while the laptop was on the mend.
It’s still not fixed yet.
I’ve written most of this edition of “On That Note…” with my two twiddling thumbs on my phone… with a little help from some borrowed computers along the way.
That’s one of this week’s stresses.
The Trump administration’s violent, militant assault against innocent protestors in LA this week…
Yet another display of unending brutality…
That’s a stressor. It should be for everyone.
I’ve had three doctor appointments, aches, pains, and a lack of sleep.
Those are stressors.
I’ve had a loaded schedule
and have been put through the wringer emotionally.
Often, I feel like a fully twisted towel.
I couldn’t possibly get more wrinkled, tied up, and strained,
yet it seems like I’ll never fully dry.
My positive, forward-thinking outlook of the past few weeks has kind of dwindled, too.
I think my emotions have gotten in the way of my objectivity. I’m putting pressure on myself, and feeling pressure from others more intensely.
The environment around me is turbulent and it has aggressively entered my psyche.
The thing is, though, I’ve always put on— and put up with— pressure.
I’ve always found ways to worry.
I’ve always been self-conscious, an overreactor, and a chaotic ruminator.
What is it, now, that’s really any different than before? What is causing this new, more sunken-in feeling;
The feeling of a never ending spin in the dryer.
Still,
I’ll be damp.
And still,
I’ll be wrung
With mildew growing under my fingernails.
A wrung out rug, damp with lemon juice and sprinkled with flour.
I’ve been baking all week, too.
That’s something that’s usually fun for me, and it has been, but still…
there were stressful salts amongst the sweetness.
On that note…
/Sweets/
The Sweet Tooth Social by Misosleaf.
This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to be one of eight bakers at Sharlene’s (aka Misosleaf’s) pop-up picnic in Brooklyn’s iconic Prospect Park.
Misosleaf is a pop-up cafe focused on inspiring wonder through imaginative third spaces and matcha-centric events. The Sweet Tooth Social was a gathering of 80+ sweets-lovers, all set up on picnic blankets to enjoy an array of hand-crafted desserts and green tea lattes.
The event was a success! The stress laid, more so, in the week leading up to it.
To understand what I mean, take a look at these pictures:
I hauled this giant suitcase full of mixers, sacks of flour, metal bowls, and other heavy shit from New Jersey to Brooklyn, back and forth throughout the baking process. One thing I will say is thank goodness for the large extra kitchen in Dalton’s apartment building. He graciously let my partner Emma and I bake in there (for probably over 10 hours total) and I sincerely appreciate it.
Emma and I met up a few times, making sure to recipe test prior to the big day.
If you couldn’t tell by those hectic photos above…
Well…
I’m just glad we recipe tested. Our first iterations resulted in burnt sesame cookie bottoms and mushy green lemon slop.
But,
we mixed and zested and creamed and folded and chilled and scooped and baked and cut…
and, finally,
we were done.
The stress wasn’t done…
but it was greeted by a tint of excitement, because now was time for the event!
Behind Prospect Park’s picnic house, we set up tables to showcase the excellent work everyone produced.
I was teamed up with Emma Chi. We made marbled miso black sesame cookies and matcha lemon mochi. The cookies were made using my brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe as the base, but instead of chocolate chips, we incorporated black sesame paste and miso paste. The lemon matcha mochi was chewy and chock-full of lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and matcha.
The gorgeous, spectacular, phenomenal, talented team of Alyssa Malabunga and Missy Lalo (Get Your Fix In) provided the most decadent tiramisu cookies and the most flavorful and soft ube crinkle cookies. Alyssa’s tiramisu cookies were stuffed with Ghirardelli chocolate chunks and a delicate coffee flavor, loaded with marscarpone frosting and cocoa. Missy’s ube cookies are a classic that she makes for events time and time again. She really, really knows what she’s doing.
Mary Chen from Mava Labs really went wild with flavor and brought two types of tarts that she and her partner Enrique whipped up. The flavor profiles blew me away. One had earl grey cream filling and yuzu whipped cream, the other was filled with a spiced chocolate ganache and topped with whipped cream.
The literally showstopping cake-decorating duo for this event, Stephanie Yang (Miss Fluffcakes) and Catherine Chua (Frosted Pixies), graced us with two masterpieces. Stephanie developed a stunning green cake; flavored by lemon, ginger, honey, and tea; and clad in fun piping and sugar work. It was filled with lemon olive oil layers, lemon ginger curd, ginger diplomat cream, and burnt honey cream cheese frosting. You all know how I love lemon, so I was in awe. Catherine made a two-tiered chocolate earl grey raspberry cake adorned with mermaid whimsy and detailed piping. Her piping is insane… probably the most detailed and flawless I’ve ever seen in person.
The star of the show, Sharlene, capped off the afternoon with some matcha and hojicha lattes, all handmade with the choice of oat or dairy milk.
I’m so proud of all of us. Thanks Sharlene, Fellows Collective, and Mava Labs for bringing us all together and to all the people who bought tickets and ate our treats!
And, as I wrote on Instagram, thank you to Emma; a talented, kind, and incredibly dedicated baker; for collaborating with me.
All
the
stress
paid
off!!!
On that note…
/Sweat/
It’s that time of year again.
The time of year when I’m waking up in a puddle of sweat.
Sometimes it’s due to the heat and awful temperatures outside.
Sometimes it’s due to my brain.
I am reminded of a poem I wrote for this year’s escapril…
a little rhymey-drafty thing I came up with while pondering
how my body could react so similarly
to both the little thoughts in my head…
and the power of the sun.
On that note… anxiety can couple up with excitement. It shouldn’t always remain its antithesis.
/Parting Words/
A song on repeat:
A snack I’m liking lately:
Dried mango
A drink I’m liking lately:
Misosleaf matcha
A random thing I enjoy:
Vintage tableware
A thing I’m reading or watching:
The Ultimatum: Queer Love with Olivia. I’m getting my reality TV brain prepped for Big Brother season
A clothing item I find fun:
With love and appreciation,
Annabelle
Than you so much for speaking on and bringing awareness to what’s happening in LA and with ICE!!! Great substack as always! 🔥🔥