Entertainment
Earl Grey Granola, Please!
Some people have routines so engrained they eat the same thing every day, poop at the same time, and generally have their lives together. I respect that but can’t do it. I need things to “sparkle” (which I can’t stop saying after listening to this episode of my favorite podcast, Hidden Brain) by having breakfast tacos one morning, granola the next, a giant apple fritter the next.
Last year, I worked with Justine Doiron (aka @justine_snacks, queen of beans) on the words for her cookbook that just came out, Justine Cooks. It was fun! I love her. She cooks how I aspire to: hyper-locally, meat-minimally, lots of bread and cheese. While we worked, I’d make recipes from her Google Docs that called to me, even though cooking from a Google Doc is as tragic as it gets. I still couldn’t resist making her preserved lemons that became a staple, tiramisu-inspired cookies that were a hit at my book club, breadcrumb-crusted beans that blew my mind… and then this granola.
As a wannabe Ann Arbor crunchy hippie, I love granola (see also: Birkenstocks, the Grateful Dead, not mowing my lawn). But it’s so expensive, I refuse to buy it at the store. Homemade, all the way. And I love how it looks in a jar on my counter, like I’m someone who’d never, ever hold a bag of Fritos to my mouth to cash in on the final crumbs. Justine’s granola recipe includes roasting pears, which is very chic, but I’m actually here for the crispy oats, which are coated in an Earl Grey-infused butter that fills your home with the scent of baking cookies. It tastes cozy and restrained, like a hug from an English grandmother. I eat it with yogurt and berries, or with milk as late-night cereal.
Earl Grey Granola with Roasted Pears
by Justine Doiron
(Note from Alex: Not to go all New York Times Cooking commenter on you, but I do mess with the recipe based on what I’ve got in the house, because in the handful of times I’ve made it, I learned it’s pretty flexible. So, here’s Justine’s original recipe with my little annotations in italics, take ’em or leave ’em.)
8 tablespoons salted butter
2 Earl Grey teabags (or 2 heaping teaspoons of loose-leaf tea, blitzed in a spice grinder)
3 medium Bosc pears, halved and cored
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons hemp hearts (I do 1 cup of pecans instead, I know that’s not an equal measure but it works, okay? I love nuts)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup honey (or maple syrup!)
1 large egg white
Milk of choice, for serving
1. Equally stagger two racks in the oven and preheat it to 325°F.
2. Set a small pan over medium heat and add the butter. Let the butter fully melt, then tear open the tea bags, pour in the tea leaves, and swirl to combine. The mixture will begin to bubble slightly, so turn the heat to low and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Place two pear halves on a piece on a sheet of aluminum foil, cut side up. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the Earl Grey butter mixture over the cut sides, and wrap them into a packet with the fold on top, being careful there are not cuts or punctures in the foil. Set them on the bottom rack of the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flaxseed meal, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the remaining 5 tablespoons butter mixture into the bowl, add the vanilla and honey, and mix well. (If you’re not making the pears, add all of the butter and up to ½ cup more oats if the mixture looks pretty saucy; you want it coated, not sopping wet!)
5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy. Add that to the bowl with the granola mix and stir to coat everything evenly.
6. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the granola on the sheet. Transfer to the top rack of the oven to bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.(I stir after 15 minutes and make sure to keep an eye on things at the 25-minute mark because my oven runs hot and burnt granola is an expensive mistake.)
7. To serve, add half a pear to each bowl and top with a heaping scoop of granola and a splash of milk. Drizzle on any remaining buttery pear juice left over in the foil; it will dot on top of the milk, which is supremely satisfying.
8. This recipe will leave you with some leftover granola, which you can store in a cool, dry place for up to a week.
Alex Beggs is a writer and copywriter who lives with her partner in Michigan. Her articles have appeared in Bon Appetit, Elle Decor, and The New York Times. She has also written for Cup of Jo about her dad’s meatloaf, cold cake, and (very) bad hair days.
P.S. Blueberry baked oatmeal, and overnight French toast.
Reprinted with permission from Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen by Justine Doiron. Copyright © 2024 by Justine Doiron. Top photograph copyright © 2024 by Jim Henkens; other two photos by Alex Beggs. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 23, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re on Twitter.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A bird’s sound.
Mashable Top Stories
Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
The letter E appears twice.
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
TWEET
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
Beaches: A New Musical review: Jessica Vosk gives her all to a disastrous Broadway adaptation
Be sure to read the fine print about Beaches: A New Musical, now on Broadway. This is not an adaptation of the beloved 1988 movie, in which Barbara Hershey played advocate and lawyer Hillary Whitney, and Bette Midler brought bawdy brilliance to singer C.C. Bloom. The Broadway stage musical Beaches is instead based on the movie’s inspiration: Iris Rainer Dart’s 1985 novel about the highs and lows of the friendship of outgoing actress Cee Cee Bloom and sheepish preppy Bertie White.
The author has a heavy hand in this stage adaptation, writing both the book — with the help of playwright Thom Thomas — and the lyrics, while Mike Stoller, who once co-wrote songs for Elvis, composed the music. This makes for a stage show that is shockingly disconnected from Garry Marshall’s cinematic tearjerker, as the plot is starkly different, especially for Bertie/Hillary. However, directors Lonny Price and Matt Cowart fight hard to bring the Beaches that movie-goers loved to the stage in some capacity. And leading lady Jessica Vosk does her damndest to bring a Midler-level moxie to every scene and song.
It’s just a shame that Dart’s book and lyrics are less the wind beneath her wings and more an anchor sinking the whole production.
Beaches on Broadway ditches most of the movie’s songs.
Samantha Schwartz, Bailey Ryon, Jessica Vosk, Kelli Barrett, Emma Ogea, and Zeya Grace as Cee Cee and Bertie in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin
Only “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which won the Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, makes the playlist for the stage musical Beaches. In the movie, Midler also sang moving covers of “Under the Boardwalk,” “The Glory of Love,” and “Baby Mine.” None of these makes the stage. And bad news for fans of Midler’s playful performance of “Otto Titsling,” the comical story of the uncredited inventor of the brassiere; that daffy track doesn’t make it to Broadway either. Worse news: This last omission sharply reflects how Dart leaned hard away from the movie’s most fun and campy bits.
Beaches — in both versions — begins with a grown-up Cee Cee (Vosk) rehearsing a song for a big show, when a mysterious phone call causes her to race away. Then, the story flashes back to decades before, when Cee Cee was a fiery little girl (Samantha Schwartz) who befriended a shy, posh little Bertie (Zeya Grace) on a beach in New Jersey. The two became pen pals, supporting each other through fights with their overbearing mothers and frustrations with boys and then men. For a stint in their 20s, they’d live together in a cramped but beloved apartment as Cee Cee tried to make it as an actress, and Bertie helped out at the theater — mostly to avoid her mother and Michael, the boring man she was expected to marry.
Both women will marry soon enough. But while Cee Cee’s career takes off, Bertie (unlike her movie counterpart, Hillary) fails to realize her dream of becoming a lawyer. However, she does still have a daughter that she adores. A big misunderstanding will keep the two friends estranged for years, but they’ll ultimately reconnect over Bertie’s pregnancy, and then again when she gets fatally ill.
Despite all the highs and lows of their relationships, the songs that Dart and Stoller write all feel achingly one-note. “You Believe in Me,” “Wish I Could Be Like You,” and “My Best” all share the sentiment that these two are so different yet love each other more than anyone else. Even “God Bless Girlfriends” — sung by their annoyed husbands — echoes this. And none of these numbers has the emotional wallop or the visual language of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Instead, they all feel like mediocre AI-generated imitations of that great song.
Beaches on Broadway presents confounding characters.
Brent Thiessen (left) and Ben Jacoby (right) as husbands John and Michael in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin
Seeing Beaches the movie made me curious about Beaches the musical, but Beaches the musical does not make me curious about Beaches the book. The songs are frustratingly forgettable, but moreover, the story feels vexingly dated and thin.
Mashable Top Stories
In Mary Agnes Donoghue’s script for the movie, Hillary’s ambitions as a lawyer made her equal to C.C. in ambition. In Dart’s Broadway show, it’s hard to understand who Bertie is, as the author/playwright leaves gaping holes in her story. Bertie has dreams of becoming an attorney, but when they go nowhere, it’s unclear what she’s done instead. Likewise confusing is, who is Aunt Neetie? Bertie’s daughter Nina brings her up repeatedly, qualifying her as her “real” aunt as a means to show disdain for Cee Cee. And while both “aunts” seem in contention for raising Nina after Bertie dies, because Neetie isn’t on stage, she’s a distracting obstacle with no grounding. What we do know is Bertie says she has no sister. So maybe Neetie is her sister-in-law? But after their divorce, Michael has no relationship with his daughter Nina. So, what’s the likelihood Aunt Neetie is Michael’s sister? It’s a perplexing plot hole that becomes more grievous in the show’s final act.
Dart also ignores Bertie’s privilege with a song called “Normal,” where Bertie taunts Cee Cee that the brassy star could never have a “normal” life. But all her examples are about being wealthy, like having servants on hand. And these are all things the affluent Bertie has had access to since birth. Her husband, Michael (Ben Jacoby), gives no further insight into who she is, as he’s a thinly sketched creep in a suit coat. By contrast, Cee Cee’s husband John (Brent Thiessen) is a creep in an open denim shirt. They come off as the same guy in different fonts.
Now, you might wonder if that’s intentional to bolster the queer undertones that existed in the movie. Queer audiences have long speculated whether or not these women were actually in love with each other. Well, a lyric in “The Brand New Me” might have you think so, as Bertie sings about realizing she’s in love with a girl. But it’s a misdirect; she means the brand-new her. Then, the women share a double wedding on stage, where both are giddily dressed as brides. Here, the six actresses who play Bertie and Cee Cee as children, teens, and adults frolic together, while the grooms are a bland accessory. (Like an unconvincing beard?)
Jessica Vosk and Beaches directors try to bring the camp and Midler flare.
Jessica Vosk stars as Cee Cee Bloom in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin
This is a thankless show for the cast. The songs are awful. And all of the adult actors, aside from leads Jessica Vosk and Kelli Barrett, are tasked to play multiple thin roles, including teen Cee Cee (Bailey Ryon), teen Bertie (Emma Ogea), Cee Cee’s mom (Sarah Bockel), and nuns, TV studio techs, nurses, and people waiting for a plane. It can actually be confusing when all of a sudden the actor who plays Cee Cee’s husband is in a scene as a different character, with no attempt at disguise beyond a suit jacket. But props to Zurin Villanueva, who is given a smattering of bit parts, and manages to be dazzling and funny in every one. Here’s hoping she’ll get a role worth of her charisma soon.
As for Barrett, she commits completely to Bertie’s agonies and ecstasies as Dart’s script has her character turn on the head of a pin, from furious to benevolent. It’s not her fault that it doesn’t work. It’s the unconvincing lyrics, made-up cliches possibly snatched from Hallmark cards. Barrett is at her best in the dialogue scenes, where she can play with Vosk, whose vivacity lifts everyone around her.
Vosk gives her all to every underwhelming song. And while I can’t remember a single lyric from the new Broadway numbers, I can remember the way my heart soared as she hit a high note with a broad smile. She’s a stunner who understands why the audience has come. She’s working hard to give us Midler-like oomph. And that is echoed by her teeny counterpart, Samantha Schwartz, who is a dynamic pint-sized showgirl with charisma and chutzpah to spare.
Zeya Grace (left) and Samantha Schwartz (right) as Little Bertie and Little Cee Cee in “Beaches: A New Musical.”
Credit: Marc J. Franklin
Vosk sinks her teeth into Cee Cee’s zeal, jealousy, and earnestness. Directors Price and Cowart support her by bringing in Midler allusions, like a scene where the staging suggests Cee Cee is performing at a bathhouse, as Midler used to, or a double-bunned red wig that recalls Midler’s look in Hocus Pocus. Likewise, some costume choices — including the little girls’ outfits — recall the movie directly, gladly playing on the audience’s nostalgia. You can feel in these choices the attempt to please an audience of women who connected to Hillary and C.C.’s tumultuous story and to the queer audiences who love Midler’s brassy bravura. But these flourishes, while charming, cannot wrestle Beaches from the banality of Dart’s writing.
Plus, the rest of the staging is a mess. Rather than physical set pieces, a collection of columns affixed with projectors blares suggestions of a setting, like street signs or graphics, which do not evoke mood or location effectively. The front of the stage is a sandy beach dune, with fronds poking up for the girls to play on. Then, in the final act, when they are on a beach, the backdrop is painted. After so much projection, in this final moment, where the beauty of the beach itself could help anchor the heavy emotions about to flow, they went with a backdrop that looks like a motel room painting.
More thoughtless, though, was the blocking. A platform on the stage creates a second stage, which is used as a beach house veranda, a TV studio set, and a variety of other theater stages for Cee Cee to strut upon. This was multipurposeful and smart. However, the blocking often has the actresses sitting or lying down on this stage. In my orchestra seats, there were times I could not see who was singing without moving my head to crane around the person in front of me. I’m short, admittedly. But at the intermission, I switched seats with my guest, and he, who is not short, still had issues, despite the person in front of us not being exceptionally tall! Maybe this is a show better suited for the cheap seats?
All in all, Beaches is a profound disappointment. Vosk gives her all to racy jokes, high notes, and an iconically bold heroine. The supporting cast is asked to sing, dance, and play a bevy of small parts and thinly written characters. The directors try to weave in elements from the movie and Midler’s broader impact to appeal to fans of her and the film. But in the end, this show is doomed by Dart’s underwhelming writing.
Beaches is now on Broadway, and will begin national tours this fall.
Entertainment
Stuff Your Kindle Day is live now — score 150+ free ebooks for 1 day only
FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on April 23. The Cozy Mystery Book Blast, hosted by Cozy Mystery Book Club, isoffering cozy mystery books for free.
This has been such a huge month for Stuff Your Kindle Day. We’ve already been blessed by a number of free giveaways, and we’re not done yet.
The Cozy Mystery Book Blast, hosted by Cozy Mystery Book Club, is offering participants the chance to download 150+ ebooks without spending anything. Everything that you download is yours to keep forever, so take this as your sign up to stock up ahead of the summer reading season.
Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We’ve lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.
When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?
The Cozy Mystery Book Blast takes place on April 23. This free giveaway only lasts 24 hours, so you will need to act fast to download everything you want to read. Clear your schedule, make a list of priorities, and add to your TBR list with this limited-time promotion.
Which ebooks are free?
The Cozy Mystery Book Blast has a helpful hub page with everything on offer organized by sub-genre:
You can find these free ebooks from the Kindle Store and other popular retailers. There really is something for everyone in this latest book blast.
Mashable Deals
Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?
Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there’s no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don’t count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so don’t hold back.
The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal
Why we like it
These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase for a limited time.
Marlins' solid pitching, hitting too much for Cardinals
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 23, 2026
