Laura's Substack Recommendations for June 2025:
@aimeeliu, MFA Lore. Aimee Liu offers her audience the invaluable, precious gift of her knowledge and experience as a veteran novelist, ghostwriter and graduate-level creative writing teacher. Her bestselling novels, informed by her Asian American heritage, have been published in more than a dozen languages, and she has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Poets and Writers, among many others. She distills the essential elements of a creative writing MFA in her articles, interviews and feedback services. MFA Lore is a must-read for aspiring authors to learn and be inspired by Liu’s insightful wisdom.
@renpowell, Dramatic Roots. Ren Powell is a playwright and theater teacher whose work has been translated into eight languages. Her plays have been performed in the United States, Canada and Norway, where she now resides and teaches. She is also the author of six poetry collections. In Dramatic Roots, she explores being human through the creative process of writing, poetry and performance. Ren’s writing exercises help readers to find the physicality of language, peeling back description, revealing sensation and meaning. She offers readers a place to connect to the natural world, the self, to memory, and the human need to belong.
@jessyeaston, AFTER/WORDS. Jessy Easton’s writing will leave you breathless. Her story of a childhood filled with meth, incarcerated parents, addiction, chaos and love, always rivets me to the page. Jessy writes what most would be afraid to say, and in facing the past plainly and with compassion, she teaches us how to write our way into a new future. Her essays and her serialized memoir, The One Who Leaves, are searing and unabashed, a clarion call for anyone who wants to face a painful past and create something new from the ashes. There is so much to discover and savor in the After/Words.
@ronamaynard, Amazement Seeker. Full of wonder, joy and a lifetime’s worth of well-earned wisdom, Rona’s weekly posts are something I look forward to every Sunday. In a world that often feels disconnected and under threat, Rona’s writing grounds me, moves me, and reminds me to savor the beauty of life and its simple moments. As a lover of the art of writing and a well-turned phrase, Rona’s prose never disappoints. A master storyteller, she always makes every word count. An accomplished author of two memoirs, many articles, and former editor of Chatelaine, Rona’s stories always draw me in. Each week as I settle down to read her post, I never know what she’ll write about and am always eager to find out. Her contemplations of little things and big themes, whatever amazes her, always fills me with quiet, appreciative joy.
My highlighted news source for the month:
@thelefthook, The Left Hook. Wajahat Ali offers hot takes on politics and culture in this unapologetic haven for progressives and anti-fascists, with a good dose of humor and snark. A former commentator for CNN and writer for the New York Times, Waj has freed himself from the censorship of corporate media and writes frankly about everything from rising authoritarianism and pop culture to parenting and Legos. I especially love his live interviews and discussions—conversations you won’t hear anywhere else. The Left Hook is a vital compassionate community for those seeking to speak the truth freely and intentionally, with laughter, empathy, and no holds barred.
Now here’s the recipe.
I’ve been making this chicken dish for at least twenty years and every time I serve it, people want the recipe. It’s similar to Chicken Marbella, but not quite the same. I often double the recipe. It stores well and tastes better the second day—and the third, if it lasts that long.
P.S. If you need precision in your recipes, you’re out of luck. I’m not a cookbook writer, but I love to cook, and everyone I’ve given this recipe to has done well with it.
Laura’s Puerto Rican Chicken
Ingredients:
Olive oil
Apple cider vinegar
Lots of black pepper, oregano and fresh garlic (a bag of peeled garlic would be great)
4 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3 medium-2 large onions, diced
2 medium-large green peppers, diced
1 jar capers, drained of juice
1 small or half a tall jar of green olives (I think the ones I bought were stuffed with garlic...definitely pitted)
20-30 pitted prunes, depending on size
4 TBL tomato paste
1 bunch freshly chopped cilantro
2 bay leaves
1 quart organic chicken broth
3-4 cups of white basmati rice
Marinate chicken in a pot, covered with lots of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, oregano and garlic. Tons of garlic. I don’t know exact amounts, but a lot more olive oil than the apple cider vinegar. 5:1 is my guess.
Marinate for at least an hour, or overnight. The longer the better. I aim for overnight, but it still tastes great if I run out of time and it doesn’t marinate that long.
Brown chicken on all sides in olive oil (after taking it out of the marinade). You’ll need to do this in batches.
Set browned chicken aside.
In the same large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté two diced onions, two diced green peppers and a bunch more garlic. I probably use 10 large or 20 small cloves of garlic. Cook slowly until the veggies get soft and tender. Crush another small handful of oregano between the palms of your hands and into the pot.
Add a small jar of capers, drained, and half of a large jar of green olives with juice, and 20-30 prunes, depending on size.
Add a finely chopped bunch of cilantro and a bay leaf.
Add the chicken back in.
Add 2-4 TBL tomato paste
Add chicken broth to make the whole mixture soupy and stewy so the chicken is submerged in broth.
Cook on top of stove for an hour.
Don’t add salt. Taste at the end and see if it needs any. Often the saltiness of the olives and capers is enough. I like salt and I never add salt to mine.
Adjust seasonings at the end.
Serve over basmati rice.
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