The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Chef Natasha Pickowicz
Pleasures, Curated by Chef Natasha Pickowicz of More Than Cake
We’re back with another installment of
: Pleasures, Curated.I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy getting to know members of the Pleasure Lists community and what makes their Pleasures tick.
Natasha is one of my favorite bakers and people to follow on Instagram, so in the spirit of the season, I’ve made this newsletter free. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you might show your support and consider upgrading to a paid subscription so you don’t get locked behind the Pleasures, Curated paywall in the future.
Pleasures, Curated by Chef of More Than Cake
Natasha Pickowicz is a New York City–based chef, a four-time James Beard Foundation Award finalist, and the author of More Than Cake, one of the New York Times’ best cookbooks of 2023.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Social: @natashapickowicz
Pleasures
Playing fetch
Dogs are not the only domesticated animals that go fetch. My four-year-old Martini, a muscly silver cat rescue, has an insatiable appetite for the game. She likes to sprint after small springs I fling across my apartment, dutifully dropping them from her jaw at my feet. The game delights us both.
The smell of rice steaming with butter
Cooked rice is already one of the most intoxicating smells of all time, but the sweet, grassy scent of rice mingling with creamy, thick butter? I’ll drift by my kitchen every few minutes while I have a pot on the stove, just to inhale. Like sizzling onions or freshly ground coffee beans, it’s a smell that’s more viscerally enjoyable than the actual flavor in my mouth.
Soft, low winter light
Once all of the leaves drop off the trees in my small backyard, my apartment is flooded with gauzy light every morning and early afternoon. There is a scientific reason for this, of course. My friend Michael Graydon, a photographer who possesses a deep understanding of light, told me that during the winter, the sun really does hang lower in the sky than it does at the height of summer.
Fiction-induced weeping
Whenever I need a big, fat cry, 20 minutes inside a George Saunders short story will unleash the kind of full-body sobbing that I crave. His writing is so soulful and rich—seemingly simple but so much simmering underneath.
“Feeding” a soup
In the winter, I always like to have something brothy and aromatic bubbling on my stove. When the soup levels get low, I “feed” the pot by adding more water, more herbs, more vegetables, more grains, more beans, thus creating a whole new soup that has a trace of something from before still inside. The soup rests in its pot on the stove; no need for refrigeration, easy to resume feedings the next day. In this way you can create a whole narrative around your soup.
Walking in one direction for 7 miles
When I need to be outside for many hours, walking slowly but with purpose, I put my phone away and walk in one direction for at least 2 or 3 hours (about 6 to 8 miles). I have ended up at a highway overpass looking at LaGuardia airport doing this, and I highly recommend it. There is something very soothing and structured about walking in a straight line, no twists or turns, no decisions to make at all. You never know what you’ll see or find. Because I live in Greenpoint, usually this means I end up in Queens somewhere, like Flushing, or, as I said, the airport. The trick is to not worry about walking all the way back—if it’s dark or I’m hungry, I’ll take the subway home.
Botanical gardens
If I’m visiting a new city, the first thing on my to-do list is to find the local botanical garden. In my opinion it is the most revealing way to encounter a city’s character. Austin, Gainesville, Seattle, London, San Diego — there’s no better way to spend an hour or two than by investigating a city’s local flora and how it is groomed and maintained. NYC has two big, pricey ones (in Brooklyn and the Bronx) but nobody seems to know that the one in Queens, although much smaller, is free and full of charm.
Candying vegetables
We’ve all had candied orange peel or maraschino cherries. But have you ever candied a shiitake mushroom? Or a bell pepper? Or maybe some red onion? If the vegetable has an inherent sweetness to it (like beets, carrots, pumpkin), it will candy well. Just avoid anything allium-adjacent, though maybe candied garlic is delicious—let me know. Once they’re candied, add them to biscuits, shortbread, granola, cake—if you’d put a raisin in there, you can put a candied vegetable in there, too.
What does Pleasure mean to you?
Pleasure is a full-bodied experience of desire being met.
Who do you want to see next? Send me suggestions for who to feature in the next Q&A!
What Is “Pleasures, Curated”?
Each week, a new Pleasure-seeker will document their personal Pleasures and ruminate a bit on what Pleasure means to them. True to
style, I keep the list-maker’s je ne sais quoi in as much as I can — only minor editorial changes are made when necessary. I do this intentionally so that the writer’s inner world really comes through. The style of the list says as much about the writer as the list itself.Read Previous Q&A’s:
Why submit a list?
Pleasure Lists are a summary of what you need, want, or have, or see at a particular moment in time. They are a survey, an overview, a summary of the crucial facts of the state of one aspect of your life. It’s a kind of blueprint that can be a guide to the future.
Mull it over and if you’re moved to, send me a list.
Questions? Comments? Send any recommendations or suggestions for what you’d like to see in these newsletters my way. I’d love to hear more about what you’re currently finding pleasure in.
Join the chat below to connect with other members of the Pleasure List community:
Please share this newsletter! The Pleasure Lists is meant to be a collaborative project that calls people from all over to write, read, and share their pleasures — a global community of artists, writers, and pondering minds alike.
 | A guest post by
|