The spark list

Lately, I’ve been struggling with the idea of joy.

It’s not that I don’t think it’s important—I do. But these are trying times. What is joy when so many are struggling and suffering?

I’m not sure.

It just doesn’t feel like the right time. (Though any time should be the right time for joy, I know).

As I said, I’ve been struggling.

This week I started thinking: what if I need to go smaller?

What if joy, in all its gorgeousness, is out of step with today? And trying to find it might be making me feel worse.

What if we just need small and sweet? What if all we need is a spark?

So, this week I was on the lookout for sparks—the tiniest thing that stirred something in me. What were the moments that felt like goodness, even on the smallest and slightest scale?

And, of course, I found them.

I started keeping a list, so I could share with you. Here are a few.

I’d love to hear about anything that is sparking for you these days. As my friend Emily says in her Three Good Things project: if it feels hard or overwhelming, make it smaller, make it smaller.

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• It’s cherry season and this week I’ve been working my way through a bag of them. Each one feels like a languid luxury and I make sure to slow down and enjoy it. Some winter day I am going to look back on these moments with longing.

• A few years back I switched to line drying my laundry and I’m always surprised by how much I enjoy it. Especially the sheets, especially in summer—they smell like captured sunshine. I can’t wait to slip into a newly made bed tonight.

• It’s been foggy in the morning and I can’t tell you how much I love it. Any summer day that starts off chilly makes me happy. If it’s misty enough to need foghorns, I am overjoyed.

• In this era of political cruelty, I’m seeking comfort. My current favorite streaming show is North of North (Netflix). Set in a small Arctic community in Nunavut, Canada, it is full of heart and humor, though also giving space to what is hard. The Inuit culture and community are woven through every aspect of the production (the pop songs recorded in Inuktitut are lovely the parkas and earrings so beautiful). Despite the below-freezing temperatures, the show has such warmth. I now wish I could hang out and drink beers with my entire community next to an ice floe on an evening where the sun does not set.

• I mentioned pickled red onions to a friend and was surprised to discover this is not something everyone has in their fridge. I think it should be (and I’m not the only one, either). They are easy to make, a good way to use up lingering bits of onion, and perk up so many recipes. When you make them with red onion they turn a brilliant PINK, but you can use white or yellow onions or shallots.

I toss mine into salads or sandwiches, use them to top tacos, avocado toast, deviled eggs—and the brine always ends up in a salad dressing. They cost pennies to make, but the payoff is huge. I recently saw someone buy a massive jar of pickled red onions at Costco and that seems like a waste of resources. I don’t follow a strict recipe, but I measured things out to share with you (below).

How is your summer going? What feels like a spark for you these days?

—Tara

Pickled Onions

I make these in fairly small batches, as I like them a bit crunchy and don’t want them sitting for days. The brine recipe can be doubled or tripled or more, for larger batches.

In a clean jar mix:

1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Shake the jar to mix the contents and dissolve the salt/sugar. Add about ¼ cup sliced onion—make sure all onion pieces are fully submerged.

Let sit at least 30 minutes before using. Store in the refrigerator. Will last several months, but the onions become softer over time. I prefer to use within a week or so.

You can also add spices, if you’d like—take your pick of bay leaves, peppercorns, caraway, cumin seeds, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, crushed coriander, and more.

Something else to enjoy: my books