The Weekly Wrap: January 23, 2022

They say everything is content these days. If that's the case, then why are there weeks when I draw a blank when it comes to writing these intros? 

I have a short list of ideas for intros to write. But, more often than not, when it's time to write, I don't want to talk about any of those ideas. Instead, I try to think about what stood out in my week. When that fails me, I tend to look around the room to see if something jumps out. When that fails me, I stare off into space and try to force inspiration. Sometimes an idea pops into my head, sometimes it doesn't. When my mind stays blank, I try some brunt force writing and see if something comes of it.  

Inevitably, I get a brilliant idea after I'm done writing for the week. One of these days I am going to remember to add those ideas to my short list.

How do you get around writer's block?

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• A forgotten pie that's really a cake or a bread pudding. [Atlas Obscura]
• I love a good deep dive on food science. [Considered]
• "the" photo. [Embedded - I haven't changed my "the" photo since 2017]
• Learn to be a better ally. [The Good Trade]
• Rude. [Vice]
• Baking buried bread. [Atlas Obscura]

• In dreams. [Throughline]
• Ordinary is good. [Life Kit]
• Removing the bias from science. [Short Wave]

• Delightfully soothing bouncing balls. [Shinyframes - reader submission]
• I used to watch the new episodes of Mythbusters the night they aired. Occasionally, I'll fall into a marathon of old episodes. This was one of those weeks. Mythbusters​ was such a great show. How can you not love science and explosions? [Discovery]

• We had a large number of ripe bananas chilling in our freezer. I hate to let them go to waste, so I made two loaves of our favorite banana bread. I omitted the chocolate and nuts. Sometimes I double the vanilla. This recipe makes a moist crumb and a lighter texture than other recipes. [Lemons + Anchovies]
• Winter is for slow cooker stews. One of my favorites is this rosemary garlic beef stew. The recipe is a little fussier than your average chop-and-dump slow cooker stew, but the results are worth. I love to dip a buttered piece of crusty bread into the gravy. Yum! [Budget Bytes]
• It took two stores to find bok choy, but I really wanted it to try out this saucy shrimp and noodle stir fry. We bought the wrong rice noodles (vermicelli would not have held up), so I made a bag of wide lo mein noodles we had in our pantry instead. The chili-garlic sauce gives this dish a nice kick. [Real Simple]