Klinta of Ecotarian Eats specialises in vegan recipes, baking experiments, and transparent process-sharing, engaging both “home-cooks” and discerning palates (Michelin chefs!). Her blind-taste videos are absolutely something else in terms of detail, honesty, respect, trials and errors as she compares different recipes across taste, texture, method, ingredients, price, and “crowd-pleaser” potential. Take, for example, her video of Michelin chefs’ blind tasting of vegan chocolate chip cookies:
with the Pick Up Limes recipe as a winner
So, yes, Pick Up Limes cookie really is a crowd-pleaser. And the best part, people were saying that they would pay money for these cookies, that they would buy them if they were available. And that’s such an awesome compliment coming from a team of a Michelin-star restaurant.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but as the festive season is approaching, this is one I’ve already added to my to-do baking list.
Astrid Lindgren, a famous Swedish author, created bedtime stories for her daughter Karin, who was recovering from pneumonia. Those stories became Pippi Longstocking, a character with mismatched stockings, superhuman strength, and a stubborn refusal to do things the conventional way. The old Swedish animations of Pippi Longstocking are perfect for dark, slow afternoons, when our daughter wants to curl up and feel a little unruly, but with permission.
As the children were sitting there eating pears, a girl came walking along the road from town. When she saw the children, she stopped and asked, “Have you seen my papa go by?”
“M-m-m,” said Pippi. “How did he look? Did he have blue eyes?”
“Yes,” said the girl.
“Medium large, not too tall and not too short?”
“Yes,” said the girl.
“Black hat and black shoes?”
“Yes, exactly,” said the girl eagerly.
“No, that one we haven’t seen,” said Pippi decidedly.
Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking
The TV adaptations catch all that mischief and heart. Pippi Longstocking can be watched here, Pippi Longstocking – Pippi Goes On Board can be watched here and Pippi Longstocking – Pippi on the Run can be watched here.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (the 2005 animation, on Netflix) has adventure, softness, and characters who stumble, learn, and grow. The world-building and animation are wonderful, with Buddhist philosophy and martial arts. The Common Sense Media review for this series is perfect: complex enough for adult appreciation, yet gentle enough for children aged 8+.
And then, Mr Rogers, the absolute gold standard when our family needs everything to slow down and make sense again. His episodes are available to watch online for free here. There is nothing fussy or loud, just simple kindness and everyday magic, delivered at a pace that lets shoulders drop.
Some of my favourite sources to read and watch are:
DW Euromaxx YouTube channel offers a wealth of insights into the worlds of European culture, design, lifestyle, and travel. This channel is part of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster.
Another Deutsche Welle YouTube channel is DW Food, dedicated to exploring global culinary traditions, food stories, and practical cooking techniques.
ARTE.tv is a truly world-class resource for documentaries, concerts, cinema and more. Founded as a joint venture between France and Germany in the late 1980s, ARTE offers a less biased, more nuanced view of arts, history, and society (all programming must pass through a joint Programme Committee where both French and German editorial teams review and approve content before broadcast; a dual filter that does help, I found, with producing less biased content). It is available in French, German, English, Spanish, Polish, Italian and Romanian. I can easily spend a whole afternoon just browsing their immense catalogue.
Messy Nessy Chic is my go-to place for delightful, overlooked wonders. The site feels like wandering through someone’s cabinet of curiosities, almost as if I’ll be caught trespassing. Their 13 Things series is eerily charming, from teapot ghost dolls to hold-to-light postcards to wearing your apartment clothes.
And to end this article, this is from the latest issue of messynessychic’s 13 Things:
David Bowie’s about the tyranny of the gallery and the space between comfort and panic where change occurs
Never plays to the gallery, I think, but you never learn that until much later on, I think. But never work for other people—what you do. Always, always remember that the reason you initially started working was that there was something inside yourself that you felt, if you could manifest it in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you coexist with the rest of society.
I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfil other people’s expectations. I think they generally produce their worst work when they do that.
And the other thing I would say is, if you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.