Hello, Ordinary friends!! It’s been a while since we’ve had a Sunday interactive playlist, for the simple reason that we’ve been trying to observe screen-free Sundays. But I noticed a similar line in two songs that are on heavy rotation here at The Ordinary, and I decided to post the world’s first Saturday Interactive Playlist. The Songs were Doomsday, by Elvis Perkins, which I love love love, and Train to Chicago by Drink Me, which has long been one of my favorites. And the lines were…

Man, I went wild last night
O, I went feeling alright

and

the train lurches left, lurches right
drunk on the train to Chicago, I feel alright

I made this video!!

So I started thinking about the feeling of alright. It’s a good feeling, and I think it’s more than just okay, it’s more than a mediocre feeling of nothing bothering you too much. In fact, I think it’s a feeling of well-being despite the fact that things might not be going that well for you. It’s a feeling from inside of you, despite what’s going on outside of you. And it has a sort of memory-of-childhood comfort that despite your current woes, everything’s going to be alright. So today’s playlist is alright songs. Add them yourself, or leave a song in a comment and I’ll add it for you. Bonus points for songs that don’t have “alright” in the title. So far we have a lot of VU, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan, and you can’t go wrong with a list like that!!

Sorrel! It’s delightful! It’s a little tart and lemony, but mellows when you cook it. It also darkens and thickens, which accounts for the strangeness of my pictures in this post! Our CSA, Sandbrook Meadow Farm has a plethora of lemony herbs, sorrel, savory, lemon thyme. I made a sauce of these with some white wine and honey. It’s a picante sauce, very flavorful, so I used it with some mild boiled potatoes. I think it would be nice with white beans or chicken or in an omelette. You can adjust the tart/sweet balance to your own taste. You could add shallots and/or garlic and I think capers would be nice, too, but I kept it simple this time.

Here’s a link to your ALRIGHT interactive playlist.

2 T butter
6 or 7 large sorrel leaves, washed and chopped
1 or 2 teaspoons fresh savory
1 teaspoon fresh lemon thyme
splash of white wine
1 t honey (or to taste)
salt and plenty of freshly ground peppers

(Optional, minced shallot and garlic, added before the sorrel leaves and cooked till just brown, or capers, added with the herbs)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the butter. When it starts to bubble and brown, add the sorrel. Cook, stirring frequently, until it darkens and softens, after a few minutes. Add the other herbs, stir to mix them in. When the pan starts to dry out, add a splash of white wine.

Stir in the honey, and taste the sauce for tartness/sweetness. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced and the sauce is just as thick as you like it. If it gets too thick, add a bit more wine. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, and stir into potatoes that have been boiled till tender but not falling apart. Or use any way you like!