Two Lentil Soups for Crisp Weather and Big Feelings

Also: What to give every tween/teen on your holiday list

Hi, friends. Whew, what a time. Somehow, the election is HAPPENING imminently, and I am not emotionally prepared. My therapist gave me some great advice this week: When I start to panic about the ramifications of the election, I should just do something to focus on being right here, right now, not at all alone with any of this. Like: Instead of letting the panic spin me up and paralyze me, I could instead pick up trash on my block, bake cookies for the neighbors, go get a treat from the Yemeni coffee shop on my corner. I like this advice because it is physically grounding and it reminds me that I am still here, where I belong, with all my neighbors, and none of us are powerless, no matter what happens. You, too!

What’s for Dinner?

I have a soup recipe that I am working on for you, but it’s not ready yet. So instead today I am giving you two gift links (no paywall) to two of my very favorite lentil soups on New York Times Cooking.

Lentil soup #1

The first one is Lentil Soup with Smoked Sausage and Apples. It is hearty/comforting, but also somehow delicate, flavored with both cooked and raw apples, hard cider and smoked sausage. At the end, you stir in a little sour cream and Dijon mustard which adds both zing and creaminess. I love it.

Lentil Soup #2

And then there’s this Italian-inspired, tomatoey alternative, for which I do not have a photo, but NYT Cooking does: Lentil Soup with Sausage and Greens. The recipe calls for using the slow cooker, which you certainly can do, or just start step 1 using a large soup pot and continue from there, simmering until the lentils are tender, which will take about 30 minutes. It’s warming, filling and feels very nourishing, perhaps exactly what you (or your neighbors) need right now? Don’t panic, make some soup. Or, panic and make soup.

Opinion Soup

I want to share a very strong opinion with you, which is that I have the perfect gift to give any child from age eight to 15: Anyway Magazine. It was founded by Keeley McNamara and Jen Swetzoff, a midwife and a writer/editor who have been best friends since they were five years old.

If you are a parent who loved Sassy, do yourself a favor and get this magazine for every kid you know. It is filled with fun stuff (a feature on thrifting! recipes! word games!), real-life stuff (how to deal with new body odors and pimples, how to meditate, how to speak up when you see something wrong), and it’s just gorgeously designed and completely gender-inclusive and celebratory.

I recently renewed a subscription for my niece in Kansas (hi, Aubrey!) and as a part of that, I emailed with Jen. She told me to expect the next issue by December, but she also said this: “We're trying our very best to keep publishing, but to be honest, we're not getting enough new subscribers to last much longer.”

There are so many worthy struggles competing for our attention right now, but let’s not let this small, beautiful thing fade away. Our kids need this kind of magazine. Do you remember how it felt to get something in the mail as a kid? So fun, right? And if you’re a former Sassy reader, do you remember how amazing it was to have your reality and your aspirations and style and questions reflected in what you were reading?

Also! Do you hate finding presents for tweens? I do! It’s so hard! I feel like my life as a mother is just a long string of kids’ birthday parties that sneak up on me and find me without a gift. A subscription to Anyway is a gift that you can feel good about, that they will love, and it will last all year long. (This is not sponsored, I just actually love this magazine.)

So—a special for you, patient reader, who has humored me all the way to the bottom of this newsletter. Use the code Anyway-15 to get 15 percent off a subscription to Anyway.

And then cross that tween off your gift-giving list early. Wow, you’re so on top of it!

See you again soon, friends. Please take care of yourselves and each other.