Heart Eyes, Vol. 222: Barbie and Magic Two-Ingredient Oat Brittle
Friends! Hello. Happy Friday. What are we up to this weekend? Anything fun? I have some things here and there—order and magnitude TBD—and in the meantime I’ll helicopter-parent my ripening cherry tomatoes and try to finish the novel I’m reading before I leave on vacation next Friday. Not bad for a summer weekend, I think?
As I said, I’ll be away the next two Fridays, but we’ll pick back up in mid-August.
Whatever you’re planning or not planning for these last days of July, I hope it all treats you kindly. I think you’re doing great.
What to Watch: Barbie
Back in June, I came here and I told you all about my favorite movie of the first half of 2023: not Barbie, but the series of trailers for Barbie that were helping me move from deep skepticism to hopeful anticipation. And now, finally, it’s here! I saw the movie last weekend at my local independent theater with a few hundred of my closest bedecked, bedazzled, and wildly enthusiastic friends.
I worried beforehand that the movie would be bad, and I am beyond thrilled to tell you that it is not bad; in fact, it’s excellent. Not perfect, but excellent. It’s joyful, it’s smart, it’s crammed with great jokes, it’s definitely more complex than you’re probably expecting. (I’ve read several reviews of Barbenheimer—Barbie and Oppenheimer together—that note how thematically similar they are, a thing that brings me a lot of joy.) Margot Robbie is genuinely wonderful in a role that I think is more difficult than it looks, and Ryan Gosling is both doing thoughtful work and obviously having an amazing time.
But really, what I loved about it the most? Is how weird it is. I think writer-director Greta Gerwig’s commitment to moderate strangeness is a brilliant way to approach this very American historical mainstream cultural product and get something true and also forward-looking out of it. And yes, there are voices we’re not hearing in this movie, or barely hearing, and plenty of territory left unexplored, but I think its level of focus and specificity is what makes it speak to so many people so clearly.
I’m still thinking about the structure of it—how all the different threads come together, and I wasn’t sure about the ending, but now I think it’s the correct choice—and I’m finding it useful to think about it in the context of Gerwig’s Little Women, which has some similar themes and executes them in similar ways. It’s all a lot to take in, but I’m enjoying it so much. Maybe you would, too?
A few things I’ve consumed about the movie after the fact that might also speak to some of you: this spoiler-filled episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour helped me sift through a few of my own thoughts and feelings; there’s also an episode without spoilers if that’s more your speed. Anne Helen Petersen had some great thoughts on Barbenheimer, as did the Fug Girls.
What to Cook: Magic Two-Ingredient Oat Brittle
Tucked into the breakfast section of Smitten Kitchen Every Day, the middle child of the Smitten Kitchen family of books, there’s a little recipe that took a solid five years to even crack my consciousness. It’s for a very simple oat brittle, and I guess I didn’t believe it was something I needed in my life? Or that it would actually be that good?
In recent months, though, it’s become a staple in my house—maybe because of all the yogurt I suddenly have around. Anyway, it’s genius: as it says in the title, it’s just two ingredients (OK, and a pinch of salt) and will take about a minute of your time, plus ten minutes to bake. My breakfast would certainly be sadder without it.
This is not the greatest, most complex granola you’ve ever had in your life; I don’t even know if we can call it granola at all. But it is a very tasty, satisfyingly crunchy thing that is like granola that I can throw together on a busy Monday morning while my tea steeps, and I’ve found myself doing just that on a surprisingly regular basis. One batch lends a happy bit of extra texture to about three days’ worth of yogurt for me, though you could easily scale it up to get more mileage out of it.
Pro tip: Leave some space on your sheet pan and add a handful of almonds to toast along with the brittle for some extra protein. Sprinkle it all over your yogurt or, honestly, just leave it on the counter and pick off bits of it to snack on every time you walk by. I won’t tell.
Magic Two-Ingredient Oat Brittle
From Smitten Kitchen Every Day, by Deb Perelman
1/2 cup oats
2 TBSP maple syrup
A pinch of salt
First, line a baking sheet with parchment for easy clean-up. In a bowl, mix the ingredients together. Spread them on a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, until golden at the edges. Let cool and enjoy.