I don’t know why I’ve cooked items that aren’t vegetarian lately. Maybe it’s the cookbooks I’ve been getting. Both Michael Ruhlman and David Chang heavily use meat in their books, and it’s hard not to be inspired by the way they use ingredients. Or maybe it’s that at some point I had to acknowledge that this blog is more about the way I cook and eat than just about the meal plan that started it all.
I’ve been bad about photographing food lately. I’ve still been cooking, albeit a bit less. I’ve had a stressful few weeks, and while normally cooking tends to soothe my anxieties, I couldn’t quite muster up the effort. It was kind of a “go home late from work and crawl in bed with a glass of wine after eating toast for dinner” kind of week.
I did, however, make dinner with my friend the Saturday before, and while I roasted another chicken (I’m addicted, suddenly) she put together a beautiful pear and almond tart from my Macrina cookbook, which if you don’t own, you should.
it was a pretty perfect fall day today. warm in the sun, but the breeze was cool. this makes me think of soup. honestly, i don’t need a huge push to think about soup, but there was a crispness there, okay?
i know i’ve made dumplings before and posted the recipe, but this was another one of those scenarios where i had an original plan that veered way off course. i’d seen a recipe a few days ago for momo’s, a tibetan dumpling served with a spicy tomato relish, but then my mind got very, very set on soup and so i just combined the two… sort of.
i had one of those days at work. one of those days where you think, “if i could just do something, make something that turned out perfectly, this whole day could turn around. i could just forget the last ten hours.”
i decided when i woke up this morning that i wanted stew. i knew i had some white beans in my cupboard, and i felt like a hearty soup was exactly what i’d want when the sun went down and the warmth left the air.
there’s been rain in the bay area the last few days, which is a little early for this nonsense to start, as far as i’m concerned. we have wet winters here, but september and october are usually a sunny and warm respite after the foggy chill of june/july. it makes me feel cranky. and it makes me crave comfort food when i’d usually still be trying to cling to tomatoes and melon.
disclaimer: cell phone photos. please don’t judge. i was in a hurry.
in early 2007, i was in new york with my friend angie, and we were visiting our mutual friend emily. em took us to ssäm bar — david chang’s newest restaurant — for lunch the day after we arrived.
i’m going to admit right here and now that i was a much less adventuresome eater back then. picky? not even close. but compared to now, when i’m willing to try/eat just about anything with the exception of tripe (which i’ve had and dislike) and nato, which i just can’t get behind. (something that has the consistency of snot and smells like ammonia and really bad old cheese? i just can’t.)
i’m making you really hungry, right?
anyway, here i am at ssäm bar, staring at the build-your-own menu that is reminiscent of chipotle, and emily is trying to insist that i try the original ssäm. my comparison to chipotle is not crazy, just so you know. david’s ssäms (my crush on him means i get to call him by this first name) are essentially a korean riff on a burrito. you started with a tortilla, and went down the bar while the person behind the counter piles on what you request, wraps it up in tinfoil, and passes it off to you while you seat yourself. the beverage listed included regular and diet dr. pepper and bottled water.
i didn’t really want to try the original ssäm, i was being wimpy. i was looking at the list of possibilities and wanted to choose all the things i knew i liked. kimchi and pickled mushrooms wrapped up like a burrito in a flour tortilla did not sound like a sure bet to me and i was in new york, dammit, and was going to only put things in my mouth that were amazing. but in the end, i caved under peer pressure, and all i can say is that i thank god that emily challenged me in that moment, because i kind of think it changed my relationship with food forever.
i moved this last weekend, out of my place i’ve been in for two years and into a new neighborhood with my friend beth. the kitchen is definitely older (think california in the 1970’s with that tuscan-style tile everywhere) but it is large and sunny and changes one thing in a big way.
i am now able to show you shots in the kitchen. my old kitchen was big and i loved it, but it was dark. nearly every photograph i took was in the dining room or outside on my back steps or in the yard, and now i have great, natural light inside.
i’m in the midst of packing to move, and so i haven’t been cooking much these days. i did go to the market, however, and whipped up another batch of a really simple, slow-cooked tomato sauce that is nestled in my freezer for the winter months.
i’m sorry if you all tire of my tomato posts. but seriously, this gorgeous stuff was a $1/lb. how could i not stock up like this? i could not resist, i was powerless.
i went home earlier this month for a few days to attend a dear friend’s wedding. well, actually i went to minneapolis for the wedding with my whole family, and then we slipped back to our small city in wisconsin to hide away and spend some family time.
this is part of our backyard, and my dad has been slowly but surely transforming what i remember as a child into something pretty magical. we found out well after my sister and i grew up that he’s allergic to grass, so it’s now a rock and flower garden throughout, with a pond, a running stream and two patios. oh, and also a large herb garden.
