Life lately
Sarah’s family is currently showerless as they undergo a bathroom renovation.
Abby’s daughter started preschool this month. Her perspective on Plum’s new adventure reminded Sarah of this post by Jen Dary.
Reading lately
[one_third]
Sarah read another Celeste Ng novel, this time her most recent one: Little Fires Everywhere. She cannot recommend it highly enough.
Abby finished The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and found it to be a delightful romantic comedy in book format.
Cultivating creativity
Do you see yourself as a creative person? In this episode, find out which one of us identifies with that label, and hear more about our creative lives, how we prioritize creativity, and where we look for inspiration. (Hint: We both love Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic.)
Eating lately
Abby made saag/palak paneer in the Instant Pot and is loving the extra insert she got for Christmas.
Sarah enjoyed eating a shrimp and corn risotto (similar to this one), as made by her mom on a recent trip to Missouri.
If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening!
Friendlier 
Instant Pot help please! Not related to the recipes mentioned on this episode, but I tried a chuck roast tonight in the Instant Pot and it turned out tough 😦 It was a roughly 3 pound roast and I added about 2 cups of water and onion soup mix to try to make the meat for French dip sandwiches. I put it on manual and set it for 37 minutes b/c I’d found the recommendation of 35-45 minutes for that size…usually these type of roasts fall apart to the touch when I do them in the crockpot all day, but after I let the pressure come down gradually, the meat was pretty tough 😦 Any tips?
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Ugh! I’m sorry this happened to you. So frustrating. I had this happen recently with brisket, but what was weird was I had put two briskets in and one was done and one was not. I had to re-pressurize and cook for another hour to get the tough one to fall apart. Maybe yours just needed more time though? This recipe (just googled it) says 60-80 minutes for a 3 lb chuck roast: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/sunday-pot-roast-instant-pot-recipe/ I will also say that I still like my slow cooker over the IP (both pressure and slow cook functions) for some things, so I’ve kept it around. -Abby
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Are you ladies familiar with the Brain Pickings Newsletter by Maria Popova? I actually learned about it from an episode of the podcast On Being. It’s lovely to glance through every Sunday morning in your inbox and read if one of the topics interests you. This one today reminded me of this episode on creativity:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/01/29/madeleine-lengle-glimpses-of-grace-self-consciousness/
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I had not seen that! Thanks for sharing.
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