Talking about her midlife passion, Jennifer Garner is 54 going on 30.
The question: What is she cooking these days? Garner is happy to share her recipe for bliss.
Her eyes dance as she smiles wide. The actress looks like that girl from “13 Going on 30” again.
“One of my favorite things now is to take some chocolate chips or my favorite dark chocolate. Whatever is in your chocolate drawer, and I have two of those in my kitchen,” she says. “I melt the chocolate over a double broiler or in the microwave. When it is off the heat, stir and add a couple of teaspoons of solid coconut oil. Stir. Add a splash of vanilla, a sprinkle of salt. Let it cool for a second.
“Scoop yourself a bowl of ice cream, any flavor, and drizzle the warm chocolate on top. You’ve now made a homemade magic shell,” she says. “You can thank me later!”
Garner is also heating up the small screen these days playing — what else? — a cook. She stars in and executive produces Peacock’s new series “The Five Star Weekend,” based on the Elin Hilderbrand bestseller.
She plays Hollis Shaw, a grieving food influencer who hosts a weekend in Nantucket with four friends after her husband tragically dies in a car crash. A healing time dissolves into secrets, lies, an identity crisis or two and even new romance. The cast includes Chloe Sevigny, Regina Hall, D’Arcy Carden and Gemma Chan.
“I think these stories resonate because half of the world is made up of women, and women are meant to need each other,” Garner says. “We exist with and for each other.”
She lives in Los Angeles with her children, Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14. Her good life advice:
Deal with grief
Garner’s character tries to push past her sorrow quickly and resume her normal life. It’s just not working. “The biggest challenge was that Hollis is really trying to push through grief. She’s trying to kind of put it on another shelf and not have to deal with it,” Garner says. “She’s trying to distract herself to make things beautiful in lieu of feeling what she really needs to feel. … The reality is grief is going to sneak up on you. It’s there. It’s right under the surface all the time. Grief is lurking.”
Bonding time
Part of the joy of the project for Garner was hanging out with her actress friends in L.A. and then Nantucket, where the series was shot. “There was an instant and very deep ease amongst the five of us, and it really worked to our advantage as we went through the shoot,” she says. “Of course, everyone at the start was quick to say, ‘Oh, five women. What’s that gonna be like?’ The truth is we got together. We played Pictionary with our director. We bonded.”
During downtime, Garner and the cast lived it up. “We had the food tour of Nantucket,” she says. “I really fell for the place. We loved the whaling museum.”
One of their best days together was a trip to the movies. “We all went together to watch ‘One Battle After Another.’ We stood up and gave Regina Hall a standing ovation at the end of the movie,” Garner says. “And it brings tears to my eyes because we got to celebrate our girl. And it was amazing.”
Talking point
Not talking things out can cause a lot of issues in relationships, Garner says. “Why do we have a harder time communicating with our kids than with people in the grocery store checkout line?” she says. “I think we all tiptoe around important conversations. As you age, you need to stop avoiding conversations that need to happen. If you’re so polite you might miss out on the grist and stuff of life.”
Forgive yourself
“If there’s ever a chance to be reminded to give yourself grace and to forgive yourself for some whatever, big or small, yes, do it,” Garner says. “Remind yourself that this too shall pass. Give yourself grace, step out on the right foot and do the best that you can in the next moment.”
No one’s perfect
For Garner, middle age has taken away the need to make everything flawless. “I’m not perfect. None of us are. We’re all kind of a mess,” she says. “The thing is, you can be a mess and get through it. We’re all constantly getting through whatever we’re messy about in life. I’m a really big believer in just kind of soaring up and over a lot of the mess in life.”
Age with power
“I’m proud that I’ve really earned every minute of every day of every year. I don’t want to be younger. I’m very happy to be this exact age. I’m grateful to be living in my power. What a joy to be at an age where I’m more and more friendly to myself.”
Joy of eating
Which food makes Garner smile — even if consumed only occasionally? “Pizza!” she says with a knowing smile. “Pasta! Bagels! Oh yeah! Food is so joyful. Did I mention ice cream?”
