Something Good #1
Hello to friends both old and new!
Welcome to the first edition of Something Good, my bi-weekly newsletter. I’m Nina and I'll be your host 😉
I used to be an actor way back when (claim to fame: starring in Noah, a short film that won awards internationally, at TIFF, and at the Canadian version of the Oscars. It inspired films like Nerve and an episode of Modern Family and invented the screenlife genre of filmmaking).
I’m currently co-founder at Good People, where we’re building communities and finding better ways to bring people together. That’s now where I now spend most of my time.
I'm writing Something Good to share all the things I come across that mean something to me. Sometimes it's as simple as new recipes or music I'm enjoying, and sometimes it's long articles or conversations I've had and things I've been thinking about.
What they all have in common is that they're things that make my life feel well-lived.
And I want to share that with you.
I want to engage your mind, your heart, your hands, and leave you feeling like there's a special richness to the world that you can find here. And that there are other people with you, asking the same questions you are, looking to live with the same level of intention.
So I hope you enjoy, and that you find... something good here 😉
This caught my eye
🎵 A great live set by Stars at the Thompson Hotel in Toronto. If you're missing live music on hot summer nights, surrounded by other people - tune in. This was a band I fell in love with 15 years ago and the sweet moment at 4:44 gets me every time. 🎵 No one's getting older / and nothing ever changes / and I will never lose you / and you will never lose me... 🎵
🥘 A vegan butter chicken recipe that's SO easy to make. The perfect comfort food for when you want something hot, rich, and filling. I did the tofu bit ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge, so it came together quickly and made leftovers for days!
😂 This dog's got a certain energy. FUCK YOU I WIN! [Thank you to Niloo for sending this!]
🧠Are memories stored just in your brain?One group [of flatworms] was conditioned to live in a rough-bottomed petri dish, with the other in a smooth-bottomed one, for ten days. Both dishes were stocked with ample worm food (small pieces of beef liver), so each group was conditioned to learn that their particular surface meant “food is nearby.”... Afterward, all worms were fully decapitated (every bit of brain was removed) and left alone to regrow their heads over the course of the next two weeks. When they were put back in the chamber with the rough surface, the group that had previously lived in the rough dishes—that is, their previous heads had lived in the rough dishes—were still willing to venture into the lit quadrant of the rough dish and spend an extended period of time there more than a minute faster than the other group.
🍿 Watch Best Wishes, Warmest Regards on Netflix (44 mins). This is a documentary about the making of the final season of Schitt's Creek. I hit play on it immediately after finishing the last season and cried all the way through. It's a beautiful look at how Schitt's Creek was created, the values behind it, and the lives it touched. It's everything I loved about working in film for 6 years and makes you love everyone who loves this show. LEAVES NETFLIX FEB 28.
👇Amanda Gorman reciting "The Hill We Climb" is brilliant and moving.
Your turn
I drink tea by the bucketload, and my latest obsession is Masala chai. It's hard to find a blend that isn't too sweet or mild, and the closest I've come to perfection is Chai Darling by Toronto's Tealish.
Do you have a recipe for Masala chai that I can try to make myself? Email me. Help me. PLEASE.
Things my mother taught me
My mother grew up in Bulgaria during communism. It meant having to ration supplies, not waste food, and appreciate what you did have. She raised me to be mindful of that last part, and it's formed the backbone of what I think of as "sustainability."
I wanted to share some of those things with you!
🥖 Got old bread that you're thinking about throwing out? The kind that's gotten so hard that if it gets in a fight with your counter, the bread might win? Let's make it into the best croutons you've ever had 👏
Cut your crusty bread into crouton-sized pieces
Pre-heat 2 tbsps. of olive oil (or any oil you like for frying) in a frying pan
Once the oil has warmed up, throw the cubes of bread in
Add salt and any dried herbs you like (I prefer basil or spearmint but you really can't go wrong)
Stir the bread until it's to your preferred level of doneness
Take the croutons out of the frying pan to cool completely, then throw them in a Ziploc bag
The croutons will keep for quite a while if you let them cool down completely! If they're still warm and you throw them in a Ziploc bag, the water will let mold grow and they'll get bad pretty fast.
You can add them to whatever food you like to eat with croutons, or have them as a snack on their own!
ENJOY!! 😙👌
Closing thoughts
If you're enjoying this newsletter, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend! 💌
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in two weeks! 👋