Nice Pear: a weekly(ish) feminist foodletter | Issue #026 | 21 March 2021
Hello!
I spent a few days resolutely off social media this week (not for any noble reason, but because I didnāt want to catch spoilers for the Drag Race UK final before my husband and I had the time to sit down and watch it together - and I still think Bimini was robbed).
Anyway, I donāt know if that counts as a real reason (or even if I need a real reason) for this issue of the newsletter to be fairly lightweight.
The nights are getting lighter, the days are getting warmer, and Iām trying to spend as much time walking in my local parks, or through the city, as I can at the moment. Every group-chat Iām in is just telling each other how much we canāt wait to have a barbecue/picnic/beer-garden-sesh together ASAP. Almost 50% of adults in the UK have received at least their first jab, and I donāt know whether its the three coffees Iāve to head this morning or the sunshine-and-dogs on my long Saturday walk, but Iām somehow feeling optimistic for a better summer.
š Scroll on down for Things to Read & Things to Eat š
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Photo by Askar Abayev from Pexels
Things to read this week
This essay on why we follow recipes and measure out ingredients is an interesting read (spoiler: we do it because itās easier - because not everyone has the instinct for cooking, or the brain-space/energy to improvise every day)
If youāre one of the people who are vaccinated, hereās a primer on how safe (or otherwise) indoor dining is right now.
As someone who both writes about food, and has always a troubled relationship with body-image and diet culture, this essay from Julia Turshen in Healthyish struck a serious chord: āFor as long as Iāve always loved food, Iāve also been as conļ¬icted about consuming it.ā
In vegan stuff š±: A report in the Guardian reminds us how essential plant-based diets will be in tackling environmental damage and the climate crisis.
Where to find me this week
Iāve been working on this piece for Food52 for a while and its finally published! Read about Amelia Simmons, author of the first American cookbook and inventor of the cupcake.
This week I sent 3 pitches, got 2 rejections, and am in-discussion about an exciting commission!
As always, you can find me @ZoePickburn on Twiter, Insta, and other social media.
Thanks!
Zoe
Freelance writer & journo | Food blogger & newsletterer (she/her)
Say hello@zoepickburn.com with stories, commissions & foodie chit chat
If you enjoy Nice Pear & want to support it (or any of the other content I create online) you can always become a paying subscriber, buy me a virtual cuppa, or throw some change in the tip jar.