Little did either of us know that the future would be full of screen teens, screen adults, and even screen seniors. No one is exempt from the black hole of focus thievery.
As our daily screen time averages increase, our ability to tolerate any type of social discomfort is inversely changing. The year 2020 placed us all at home and some of us never recovered.
Think about how many times you’ve declined a social outing in favor of an elastic waistband and some DoorDash or Netflix. Our social batteries are atrophying.
Recently, a coworker said to me, “my life’s not happening in here,” holding up her iPhone and telling me how she’d never had social media apps. She is younger than I am, and obviously lightyears smarter.
While deleting all social media apps might be too drastic for some of us, I have a way to combat our ever increasing screen use. And get us more face time, the real kind. But, it’s not what you think. Not a magic app that locks your social media (they exist) and not a cell phone safe (I’ve tried that).
It’s a party.
And, not only a party. It’s going. It’s doing. It’s saying “yes.”
It’s packing up two friends and going to Cincinnati for the weekend, it’s going to silent disco with a group of people half your age, it’s taking a walk at Woodland Cemetery with your best friend, it’s joining a new book club, it’s baking some granola bars for someone you miss, it’s lending the perfect silk scarf to a girlfriend in a fashion crisis, it’s trying things that make you nervous and saying yes to things that are slightly less than comfortable.
It’s resisting the familiar tug of your sweatpants and slipping into some proper denim with a zipper.
I think we all might like each other more than we think we do. It just takes a bit of bravery.
A couple months ago I went to some new friends’ apartment. They had received a shipment of oysters from an East coast friend and were eager to share. I brought guacamole, we sipped on French 75s and all took a stab at shucking oysters for the first time with differing levels of success.
I walked away inspired by the new company and the simple joy that spending time with good people can ignite. The oysters may not have been the reason they invited me over but it gave them a reason to invite me over.
Truly, all a party needs is a handful of friends or strangers and something to snack on. A cold glass of champagne is a total bonus.
But, this column isn’t about oysters because most of us are not blessed with East coast friends willing to ship fresh oysters. Instead it is in praise of what I consider to be the perfect warm weather party food. Shishito Peppers are a small, finger length green pepper available in most grocery stores and farmers markets.
The exciting thing about these East Asian peppers is that about one in twenty is hot, the others just have a mild pepper flavor. They have a thin skin that crisps up when roasted at a high temperature and when sprinkled generously with a good sea salt, they’re an absolute delight to eat. Shishitos are obscure enough that some guests may ask, “what are these?” but familiar enough that everyone will try them.
This simple preparation takes exactly eight minutes, you hardly need a recipe, and they accommodate nearly every dietary restriction. Make a platter of them. If you want to serve them alongside some Chalkidiki olives and a small bowl of Marcona almonds, no one is stopping you.
But trust me when I say they don’t need it.
Invite your neighbors over for no reason at all, pop open a Topo Chico and enjoy living this life IRL. Maybe this is the season of saying “yes.” And maybe it starts with these Shishitos.
Blistered Shishito Peppers
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Serves 4-6 as a light appetizer
1 lb Shishito peppers
2 T avocado oil
1 t Kosher salt
1 t Maldon salt to finish
Preheat the oven to the broil setting. Coat the peppers in oil and Kosher salt and spread evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Roast for 8 minutes, tossing once, until the skin has blistered on the peppers.
Finish with the Maldon salt and serve immediately. Don’t forget to put out a small dish for the stems.
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