Welcome to the first edition of Boozy Bits, the weekly newsletter from your favourite Booze Hags, Terri & Cassie. We’re using this space to deliver you the show notes from each episode because we think the format will be easier for you to access them at a time that is right for you. We’ll also be delving a little deeper into subjects we’ve discussed on the podcast and offering you some further recommendations as they arise.
So let’s get stuck into it!
I was pretty surprised this week when Terri kindly told me that she admires me for rewatching or engaging with content (over and over) that I love. I actually just assumed that everyone did this and as a result I’d never given it much thought. But since she brought it up, I have been thinking about it more – about why I love doing it so much and why I’ve never felt guilty about it either.
First of all, I do have those feelings of wanting to stay up-to-date and watch, read or listen to the most popular content of the moment, the kind of stuff that seems to spring up out of nowhere and all of a sudden EVERYONE is talking about it and recommending it. But more often than not, I just don’t get the popular stuff.
When I sit down to watch something on Netflix, I’m usually doing it out of a desire for entertainment and comfort. I don’t need to be challenged or stimulated intellectually, because I think I get enough of that in my daily life. In my mind, life is too short to be watching stuff you don’t enjoy, and while I’m always open to finding new shows or movies to enjoy, 9 times out of 10 I just want to be watching what I know I will love, not what I think I should love.
So this week, while you’re browsing through Netflix, why not do as Terri did with Hairspray, and as I did with Shadowhunters, and rewatch something you absolutely adore that is just what you are in the mood for in that moment. It could be something you haven’t seen for ages, or you might have already rewatched recently. It doesn’t matter! And while you’re watching it, just enjoy it. Don’t worry about what you should or could be watching, just be confident that you are giving yourself exactly what you need right there, right now.
~ Cass xox
What we’ve been drinking lately
2018 Blood Moon Wines Sang de Lune Shiraz, Yarra Valley VIC
2017 Billy Button Rosso, Alpine Valleys VIC (Cass)
Unico Zelo Yuzu Vermouth, Adelaide Hills SA (Terri)
KI NO BI Kyoto Dry Gin, The Kyoto Distillery, Kyoto, Japan (Terri)
Mikkeller Spontandoubleraspberry (Terri)
What we’ve been watching/reading/listening to
Hairspray on Netflix (Terri)
Stranger Things Season 3 on Netflix (Terri)
Stranger Songs, Ingrid Michaelson (Terri)
I Might Regret This, Abbi Jacobson (Cass)
Rewatching The Shadowhunters on Netflix (Cass)
Slow-cooking (Cass)
Are you planning a trip to Japan soon and looking for some recommendations? Or were you just a bit intrigued by all this Yuzu booze Terri has been getting into lately? Then check out her blog on Drinking in Japan.
Lemon + Cinnamon Lamb Shanks with Gremolata
Serves 4
Image by The Cook’s Grocer
This is my go-to slow-cooker recipe, which I adapted from Sarah Wilson’s version in her cookbook I Quit Sugar. Don’t worry too much about the gremolata if you can’t be bothered, it’s nice but not essential!
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
1 brown onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into 2 cm chunks
3 stalks celery, chopped into 2 cm chunks (reserve the leaves, chopped)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
a dash of apple cider vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon, or juice of 2 lemons
Lemony Gremolata
3/4 bunches fresh flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons, or 2 tbs chopped preserved lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
1. Place onion, carrot, celery in the slow-cooker. Arrange the shanks on top then add the remaining ingredients (except the celery leaves) over the lot.
2. Stir a little (no need to mix completely). Put on the lid then cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. In the final 20 minutes, add the celery leaves.
3. Make the gremolata by combining all ingredients in a food processor.
4. Once you are ready to serve, remove the shanks and pull the meat from the bones, then return the shredded meat to the pot. Turn slow cooker on high and allow meat to absorb the liquid for 15 minutes.
5. Serve with a tablespoon of Lemony Gremolata.