This month was wild! The girls talk Elon Musk, obsessively making the same recipes on repeat, what it means to spend all your time, spare and otherwise, on the couch with covid, and more, duh. Listen to the end for some exciting updates about the Spare Time Book Club and flaming hot takes about cottage cheese.

SHOW NOTES ⬇️⬇️⬇️

How did you spend your spare time this month:

• AA: listening to podcasts, being a single dog mom, seeing Joseph 2x, pelotoning, making peanut butter rice crispy treats
• MM: being so sick with covid!! aka sitting on the couch and watching stuff. May I recommend bingeing all the Twilight movies??

Best/Worst:

• Best MM: crisp gnocchi with brussels and browned butter
• Best AA: salad I made 5x in a row - 365 sesame ginger dressing
• Worst MM: having covid
• Worst AA: No Goodbyes 
• Shared Best: Eric Kim / Korean American

Spare Time Rec:

• AA: Las Cultch / Everything Everywhere All The Time
• MM: Okay, Boomer the pod & Severance

Culture / 3 Things You Need to Know:

1. A - Audrey Gelman Pivots to CottageCore
2. B - CNN+ to shut down
3. C - Elon Musk buys Twitter

Wild Card: a classic AA hot take about cottage cheese

Look Ahead:

• MM: the summer travel chaos is drawing nigh
• AA: more live music, celebrating Erika, getting a new job, picnics 

March has come and gone, and we have lots to say about it! We're talking auntie life, Instagram detoxes, our 30s, sushi, depression, and more. Never a dull moment, people!



⬇️SHOW NOTES⬇️ 

Intro:

• Welcome to Spare Time - where we endorse spending your free time however the fuck you want!
• Book Club - stay tuned for updates about our first Spare Time Book ep ~coming in April~. Speaking of April, our book is Easy Beauty by Chloe Cooper Jones

How did you spend your spare time this month:

• AA: being an auntie, family dinners, music (lizzy/holly), making the carolina gelen salmon, professional mask
• MM: turning 30, having guests in my home, meeting co-workers in person

Best/Worst:

• Best MM: birthday lunch: Ekiben the Neighborhood Bird sandwich (ft. Rich As Fuck by Lil Wayne)
• Best AA: torched salmon sushi / the pancake song
• Worst MM: feeling depressed and having memory loss (~vulnerable~)
• Worst AA: none of my pants fit me lol / I need a brand new wardrobe

Spare Time Rec:

• AA: Maren Morris new album Humble Quest / bring back the honeybar
• MM: @crispyegg420

Culture / 3 Things You Need to Know:

1. A - the slap heard round the world 
2. B - Taylor Swift backlash Where the Crawdads Sing
3. C - Joe Harding, who crafted the Don’t Say Gay Bill in Florida, had his house destroyed by a tornado. I’m no expert but…seems like a sign from a wrathful Old Testament God.

Look Ahead:

• AA: Whole food journey (so no croissants) 
• MM: deleted instagram; digital wellness journey? Fitness journey???

The 2nd ep of Spare Time has arrived! February is...the worst? The dreariest of months had us wrestling with our spare time in more difficult ways. We unpack that, as well as other crucial topics du jour: hot cereal milk, bouldering, strawberry cream cheese frosting, Wordle, and beyond!

In short: here's how we spent our spare time in February 2022. Thanks for spending yours with us.💕

⬇️SHOW NOTES⬇️
 Intro:

• Welcome to Spare Time!
• What does Spare Time mean to you right now? - kicking things off with a little existential crisis!
• Book Club - Feb update + March announcement 

How did you spend your spare time this month:

• AA: cds, feeling blah, traveling a little, listening to music a little, making froyo (finally)
• MM: Grocery shopping too much (see: AA’s budget journey). Planning so much travel! What the 

Best/Worst:

• Best MM: strawberry cream cheese frosting & boxed brownies–go off queens!!!
• Best AA: rock climbing
• Worst MM: ikea……again
• Worst AA: zucchini falafel 

Spare Time Rec:

• AA: Inventing Anna? But actually Love is Blind 
• MM: Sorry but…all the Wordle spinoffs?! (quordle, octordle, worldle, wordle español, nerdle)

Culture / 3 Things You Need to Know:

1. A - Hot milk in cereal? (Carolina Gelen we need answers)
2. B - The president of Ukraine has the most outrageous backstory
3. C - Euphoria really happened this month and it was a wild ass ride

Look Ahead:

• AA: croissants or cook from a book?
• MM: yard parties! Landscaping? What is the normal amount of time/money/labor to invest in the yard of a rental property?

Welcome to Spare Time [formerly known as easy-ish]. We're thrilled to bring you the newest iteration of the pod, where we'll expand our palates and horizons to cover all things extracurricular, including but ~not limited to~ food. We're talking books, we're talking music, we're talking random internet drama! 

Spare time is so special, silly, and sacred to us both, and we're so excited to share that space here!

Here's how we spent our spare time in January 2022. Thanks for spending yours with us 💕

⬇️SHOW NOTES ⬇️

 Intro:

• Welcome to Spare Time!
• The Podcast formerly known as Easyish (and also How Easy Is That)
• What does Spare Time mean to you? 

How did you spend your spare time this month:

• AA: Listening to Lizzy McAlpine an unhealthy amount, re-learning to knit, dreaming, finding clarity, watching Insecure 
• MM: crocheting, Facebook marketplace, prepping LNY menu, watching Yellowjackets, Dopesick, journaling, cooking a lot of food

Best/Worst:

• Best MM: feeling cozy and at peace at home!
• Best AA: Apple Pie / Mushroom Sandwich @ HMC
• Worst MM: A truly horrific IKEA errand 
• Worst AA: Omicron lol

Spare Time Rec:

• AA: Yerba Buena - pre-order now!!! / Something I vehemently do not recommend is A Little Life
• MM: resin coaster-making–both easier and harder than you think!

Culture / 3 Things You Need to Know:

1. New Music we are manifesting this year 
2. Inventing Anna - discuss Anna Delvey 
   1. https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/how-anna-delvey-tricked-new-york.html
   2. https://nypost.com/2022/01/20/she-also-asked-the-swindler-whether-she-had-time-to-think-about-her-actions/
   3. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/nyregion/anna-delvey-sorokin.html
3. Ina Garten & Martha Stewart beef - h/t @grossypelosi

Wild Card:

• If you have jets in your bathtub…never use them again or go on a cleaning journey with MM

Look Ahead:

• AA: Not working past 6 / Creating work boundaries + My home budget / cooking journey + my workout journey + music 
• MM: going outside into Rock Creek Park more!

this ep comes to you live from an innocent past where lady omicron wasn't surging her face off, but you can still make cookies if you're stuck at home for Christmas, n'est pas? 

here's what's in our easy-ish cookie box: 

• Homemade Pepp Patties 
• Figgy Cornmeal Cookies
• Bakery Style Butter Cookies
• Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
• Chocolate Caramel Crackers

Honorable Mention: Brownie Cookies

here's your comprehensive grocery list:

• Powdered sugar
• Corn syrup
• Shortening
• Peppermint extract
• Semi-sweet chocolate (39 oz) = 6 ½ cups 
• Candy Canes
• AP flour
• Fine cornmeal
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsalted butter (1 ½ cups) + 1 cup + 1 cup - 3 ½ cups aka 2 packs 
  • 1 cup softened
• Sugar 
• 1 Orange
• Vanilla extract
• Egg - 5
• Fig spread 
• Milk or cream
• Sugar in the raw
• Jam
• Sprinkles - holiday colors or whatever 
• Red / green sanding sugar 
• Salted butter
• Light brown sugar
• Matzo or saltine
• 1 cup hazels 
• Flaky salt 

here's your run of show: 

1 - Salted Chunk Shortbread:

• Mixer 
• 2 hour chill
• 12-15 mins
• 350

2 - Figgy Cornmeal Cookies:

• Chill 1 hour up to 3 days 
• Stand mixer
• 375

3 - Bakery Style Cookies:

• Immediate 11-13 mins cook
• Piping
• Time to refrigerate 
• 350

4 - Chocolate Caramel Crackers: 

• Cool time 
• Stove top 
• 350

5 - Peppermint Patties:

• Immediate
• No oven 

Happy baking!

the gals are back and here to tell you that a whole roasted cauliflower can and should be the star of any show. want to know how to help miss cauli shine like the delish bish she is? listen on!

you asked and we listened: here is a breakdown of how to make a very involved lasagna. it's a little annoying but guess what: still not that complicated! in addition to this delicious italian din, the gals break down their thoughts and feelings about béchamel, pork roll, and Matt James! 

it's all about caramel this week y'all! pronounce it however you want, just don't let it smoke. learn everything you ever wanted to know PLUS the recipe for AA's famous apple cider caramel candies.

this week we unlock the magic and mystery of the roast chicken! yes, there is raw meat and yes, there is a nearly intact animal in your refrigerator, but truthfully this technique is as easy as making some fun chicken choices, and we're walking you through it. learn all that and more on episode 4.2!


show notes:
⁃Its still extremely hot in dc but otherwise great 
⁃We went to the ren faire and we are also now Jonas Brothers fans? 
⁃Marie enjoys spam and she’s not afraid to say it! It is featured in her BOTW. 
⁃AAs is a Neapolitan sundae….why are we not eating more Neapolitan desserts? 
⁃Marie’s worst continues to be the turkey leg from ren faire 
⁃Alissa’s is a truly disgusting cherry sorbet 
⁃Today is all about ROASTED CHICKEN!!! Marie has roasted over 50 chickens in the last two years so she is an #expert
⁃Hot take: why do we act like pancakes aren’t just cake? 
⁃What we’re chewing on: a lot of Japanese-style rice snacks - so how much rice is too much rice?

szn 4 is here and we are jazzed to talk about how great food isn't that complicated! the first item on our list of stuff that feels scary to make/hard to get right: caramelized onions! hear all the deets on the tried and true Avilov Method, as well as Alissa's ~original~ onion dip recipe. more in the notes below!

⬇️
⬇️
⬇️

episode 4.1 notes:

• SEASON 4 BABY!!!!
• Acknowledging our famous tagline: because great food isn't that complicated! Which will be the theme of the season
• Pod is moving to bi-weekly but the good news is that the easyish news will also be bi-weekly on the off week
• During the hiatus, Marie went to 4 weddings, spent many weekends in Boston, and also visited Chicago. Shoutouts: bagelsaurus eggspanola + roasted tomatoes + bacon on a pretzel bagel, breakfast sandwich from formaggio which consisted of foccacia-ish bread, baked egg souffle, slice of cheddar (thin), spicy aioli, bacon, cuban sandwich which was one of the absolute best
• Alissa went to Philly, MN, Raleigh, etc., and had some of the best food that America has to offer.
• MM replenished the salty buckwheat chocolate chip cookies to stock the freezer - it is THE superior cookie dough 
• AA had a life-changing sandwich from Mighty Bread Co. in Philadelphia
• MM WOTW bad dinner from Crosby’s Southern Food in Chicago due to a lack of seasoning 
• AA WOTW the chocolate croissant at fitz and starts which is allegedly the best croissant in Philadelphia but I would have to….disagree.
• The name of the game this week is Caramelized Onion and Alissa share’s the recipe for her famous onion dip!
• MM made a caramelized onion and fennel risotto from NYT 
• Hot take of the week: the Nacho dept @ Chilis is run by a genius 
• What we’re chewing on: wedding food!