“In order to stay focused, we must learn the art of saying ‘no’.”
—The Minimalists
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Mnmllist Version 2
Your minimalism bookmark: a directory of links that lists all things minimal
By Minimalism Life
Mnmllist is a small project, but an ever growing resource of links for all things minimal. Made by Minimalism Life's cofounder Carl MH Barenbrug and web developer and writer Manu Moreale, the duo have produced a wonderful bookmark site that not only features minimal resources, objects, and tools, it also embodies minimalist principles in its design. The text-only list of links is presented in an extremely simple, organized, and easily readable grid that can be filtered and browsed on any device.
The categories are wide-ranging and the curation is subjective, but comes from great knowledge and experience. The list overall is still fairly small in scale, but continues to grow on a daily basis and also welcomes suggestions from readers who may have an idea for a category, a product, or resource.
You can read about the concept behind Mnmllist (mnmll.ist) and how the idea originated in our previous feature.
Detail Before Retail
Why you should find time to make pasta
By George Maguire
Many have heard the zen proverb that says “if you don’t have time to meditate for an hour, you should meditate for two.”
I would argue that you could view homemade pasta in the same way.
You can buy great pasta. It’s everywhere. Italian cuisine is verified as one of the world’s favourites. Pasta lines our menus, our worldly supermarket and deli shelves, and the slow-motion food documentaries of Netflix. It can be cheap or expensive, vegetarian or meaty, dried or fresh, long, small, or ugly, and it’s delicious. It’s the one food that almost everyone loves, even catering to the unbelievably fussy and overly elitist.
The point is, pasta is hardly a needle and the haystack is everywhere you look.
So why make pasta yourself? I certainly didn’t until recently. Seemingly produced via culinary alchemy, fresh pasta is silky smooth, translucent and takes precious seconds to cook. It doesn’t resemble the ingredients that make it and it is the perfect vehicle for sauces spanning the savoury spectrum. But the process of making it and the variety of techniques can be intimidating.
Besides—you tell yourself—surely, someone else will do a better job.
Yes, that’s undoubtedly true. You are likely not steeped in Italian gastro-heritage or in possession of the most succulent organic San Marzano tomatoes or local ‘00’ flour. But that’s not the point. There is nothing spontaneous about mastery. What’s the worst that can happen?
Anyone that’s seen the show Master of None can relate to the neophyte’s first process. You gather the ingredients just like Dev—the flour, the eggs, the apron. You collect the patience and attention, spanning a few short hours. It’s slow going, and it’s great.
The message here is that if you don’t have time to make pasta, make time to make pasta. You won’t regret it. It’s the details that make life whole.
A Little More of Less
A few other articles we think you might enjoy…
Master Your Relationship to Time by Leo Babauta
When Minimizing Was The Only Option by Cheryl Smith
My weird phone setup, two years later by Manu Moreale
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