Who are you?
Sorry, I realized that comments were only open to paid subscribers! I opened them up to everyone, so I hope to hear a little bit about you. Even if I already know you, I’d love to get a sense of what excites you in the kitchen these days.
I’ll be taking a break the next couple weeks, so see you back here in September!
I went ahead and opened up the soba salad recipe to everyone as well :)
It’s August, it’s been so hot, and I don’t particularly have anything to say this week. What I’d really like to know is more about YOU. There have been a few more of you lately, and I’d love to hear who you are and what you want to read about. I’m also thinking of organizing some happenings in the fall, both online and in-person, so that maybe we can get to know each other better.
So please, hit the button below and tell me about yourself.
Where you live / who you cook for / any biographical info you want to share
Something you think everyone should eat this summer
What you want to work on in the kitchen this winter
I’ll go first:
I’m Kate, I live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with my partner Anthony and our 3-month-old Miro. I cook for work, though I’m trying to figure out what that looks like with a baby. At home I mostly just cook for me and Anthony, but I love throwing dinner parties for friends, and I can’t wait to start making food for Miro in a few months.
I’ve mentioned this in a past recipe but here’s what I think you should try this summer: grate or food process a raw summer squash, sprinkle it with lots of salt, and leave it to sit for 30 minutes to a couple hours. Rinse the salt off and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Then put it into a sandwich: with tomato and mozzarella, or mayo and hardboiled eggs, or labne, or peanut chutney, or pesto, or anything else that can incorporate the freshness and bulk. I never thought of myself as a zucchini person, but I eat whole ones myself this way now.
This winter I want to work on more nutritious baking. For health, of course, but it’s also a taste thing. Whole grain or heirloom flours add so much more flavor than AP. Maybe it’s because I’ve altered the way I taste, but I’ve started finding most cookies to be too buttery, and I think I prefer them with olive oil or coconut oil. I also love to substitute nut butters for some of the fat and flour in baking recipes, but it’s difficult to get the ratios right. I’ve started keeping a spreadsheet that tracks the percentage of each ingredient in my successful bakes. (I’ve found, for example, that my desserts are around 20% sugar, whereas conventional recipes tend to be 30%.) I plan to bring the fruits of these experiments into this newsletter.
Your turn!
What I’m Cooking
Cold soba salad with hijiki and tofu
This dish can be made any time during the year, but when it’s so hot in the apartment that we have to hide in the bedroom (the only part with air conditioning), then it’s the only thing that makes sense. It requires turning on the stove, but you can do that part in the morning and let the kitchen cool down by the time you want to eat. It’s a great picnic dish, since you can prepare it ahead of time (even a couple days ahead, if you wait to add the avocado) and serve it at room temperature or even colder.
Hi! I'm Amalia and I live with my spouse and our two cats in Crown Heights, NY.
My spouse does most of the cooking and I do all of the baking. We love hosting meals for loved ones and it's not uncommon for us to have 7-10 people over each weekend for a delicious lunch or dinner, or both.
We try to use seasonal ingredients when we can, and one of my favorite summer meals is what we call, "Vietnamese tofu". It's a magical mélange of pan fried tofu with tons of tomatoes, garlic, and a dash of fish sauce. The only time we eat this is during the summer, when tomatoes are abundant and at their peak of deliciousness. We even brought it as our dinner to a drive in movie. Everyone should eat it and have their taste buds revel in the umami.
This winter, I want to work on my pie baking skills. I usually limit pie baking to summer, when I can consume as much seasonal fruit as possible. At any given time during stone fruit season, there are 10 peaches on our counter...I haven't made many pies in the winter, but I want to lean into savory pie's and learn how to make a really good vegan pie crust.
Hi! I'm Sarah, and I live in a small Victorian town in southern NJ. I cook for myself, my husband, and our 2 year old. I planted a garden for the first time this year so I have a plethora of all sizes, shapes, and colors of tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, and greens that have been fun to experiment with.
I'm currently growing baby #2, so my cooking has been limited to what my all-day morning sickness and energy will allow this summer. My favorite treat when I'm feeling well is a toasted slice of sourdough with a thick layer of mayo and slices of big, juicy tomatoes sprinkled generously with flaky salt.
My grand plan for the winter is to master homemade pasta. My last two winters have focused on bread, so I'm keeping the carb-train rolling and moving into pasta.