Five Easy Pieces: August 26

Your weekly roundup of useless information

Aug 26, 2022

Every Friday I share a quick hit list of 5 things I’m into. They may be wildly outdated or impossibly current. They may be overexposed and well known, or a hidden gem. If there is a product included, it is never sponsored or paid - this is just stuff I like.

1. The best soap for cooks

Mackenzie’s Fisherman Hand Scrub is our new favorite soap in the kitchen. It’s made with walnut husk and lemon oil, and is essential after chopping garlic. No more fingers stained with the potent odor for hours after. The scrub was created for fisherman, but seems to be just as home in the kitchen or the garden shed.

2. The ideal snacking pretzel

On a recent road trip we snagged a few bags of Goldfish pretzels. I believe them to be one of the finest widely available pretzels. Think about it: pretzel sticks are an imperfect form, a jagged mess, and maybe even an accident waiting to happen. And the typical form of a snacking pretzel (a twist) is really meant for a large soft pretzel, not a small crunchy snack. Goldfish pretzels are petite and can be tossed into the mouth with reckless abandon. They also make an excellent addition to trail mix (an improvement to the classic snack that I’ve begun to make.)

3. Cooking tunes

The Fruit Bats have been on constant rotation at the house. They are one of my favorite low-key bands with easy to love melodies and better than average songwriting. Their album Gold Past Life is a favorite to play while I’m cooking. My wife calls this music my “white guy rock.”

4. David Grann

I’ve been down a major David Grann rabbit hole lately. He’s a staff writer at the New Yorker where he writes extremely compelling true-crime and murder mysteries, chronicles adventurers and explorers, and explores dark corners of humanity. I love his writing and find it equally as engaging and entertaining as a great film. This is the piece that got me hooked.

5. Grillo’s Pickles

Whoa. File these under my favorite pickles ever. Over the weekend we made smash burgers, and I didn’t have any pickles on hand. I picked up this jar of Grillo’s and everyone agreed they were the best pickles we’ve ever had.

What makes them so special? A pronounced snap/crunch, a bright color that speaks to their freshness, and a potent amount of garlic. Not to mention a nearly lethal amount of dill. (That’s a good thing.)

I was new to Grillo’s, although I had randomly heard of them before from a collaboration they did with Carrots. An random pickle company collaborating with a niche LA streetwear brand? I’m here for it.