Kitchen Notes: Losing Daylight
Part cooking diary, part kitchen roundup, all things food-related
Welcome to Kitchen Notes, a new offshoot of the newsletter. Ingredients, ideas, and recipes for the month ahead. In this recurring installment, I’ll be recapping favorite meals and highlighting noteworthy ingredients or recipes. I’ll also share the cookware, tools, and small treats giving me joy in the moment.
With Sunday’s Daylight Savings Time, evenings come on quickly. Here in Brooklyn, the sun set yesterday at 4:46 PM. Since the weekend I’ve been spending more time in the kitchen, puttering with a cup of PG Tips, investigating the contents of our little pantry. With holiday cooking around the corner, I’m working to clear our cupboard—a third of a cup of red lentils here, a half full bag of buckwheat porridge there. Not all our meals are so practical: Many of the recipes below are less pantry dependent and more about highlighting local produce. With higher temperatures this fall, we’re seeing gorgeous produce galore at the market.
So without further ado, a list of recipes, cookware, and other food-y (not to be confused with “foodie”!) things on my mind this week.
Meals
Kabocha Squash Curry - If you, like me, have an aged box of Golden Curry languishing at the back of your cupboard, this recipe is a gift. Christina Chaey’s take on Japanese curry rice (kare raisu) is weeknight-friendly and delicious. Scrub and peel some kabocha squash; chop up a few alliums; build a curry roux. Then cook your garlic and ginger down, creating a base with vegetable broth. Add the squash, a handful of chopped mushrooms, and let everything meld together. Then add the curry roux and wait for the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice, or in my case, cauliflower rice.
Cauliflower Quesadillas with Jackfruit - Yes, I’m a card-carrying member of cauliflower cult. Yes, alliteration is silly. As a diabetic, my meals sometimes skew low-carb, since that often feels best and it’s easier to dose insulin for those meals. Cauliflower tortillas are a weeknight staple, easy and filling and vaguely healthy. They’re shockingly bad raw, but totally delicious charred. There’s no recipe here, just cauliflower tortillas, charred in a pan with melty cheese, chili-lime jackfruit (we use Upton’s Naturals), and a bit of avocado. Tomatillo salsa on the side brings some welcome acidity to the mix.
Parchment-Baked Lemon Miso Salmon - I recently picked up Rie McClenny’s and Sanaë Lemoine’s new cookbook, Make It Japanese, at McNally Jackson. It’s a beautiful and practical deep dive into Japanese home cooking. This was without a doubt the most chef-y thing we’ve made in weeks, a salmon dish cooked en papillote (wrapped in parchment) with veggies and lemon-miso sauce. Perfect mix of low effort and big flavor. The recipe is here, though I highly recommend picking up the book!
Tools & Tableware
Zizi Ceramics mug - Made in Santa Fe, this indigo mug makes everything better. I use it for morning coffee, afternoon coffee—let’s be real—and evening tea. Highly recommend!
Joyce Chen scissors - These scissors are an essential tool in my kitchen, with generous handles and fine tapered points, perfect for opening difficult packaging or trimming chives. The red is iconic, but I love the bright white too.
Lue Brass ladle - Does anyone need a handmade brass ladle? No. Is it lovely? Yes! This is a gorgeous little indulgence, the perfect tool for serving all those cold weather soups and stews. It also makes an excellent host gift.
Cookbooks
Tin Can Magic - Jessica Elliott Dennison’s ode to pantry staples is getting lots of play at home. As I shift to a more plant-based diet, I love how easy and satisfying her recipes are, especially on work nights. Her white beans with halloumi and herbs are incredible; see here for a similar recipe.
Occasionally Eggs - Alexandra Daum’s cookbook, based on her blog of the same name, tickets all the boxes for me—interesting flavors, whole grains, little to no refined sugar but still tasty. Her harissa lentil “meatballs” are worth price of admission alone.
Treats
Kettl houjicha chocolate - Local matcha store Kettl is my happy place, filled with aspirational teas (I don’t drink tea much at all) and even more aspirational ceramics on display. They recently introduced a new houjicha-flavored chocolate. We picked up a bar a few weeks ago and it’s been on my mind ever since—faintly sweet with the nutty flavor of tea. My dream pantry is overflowing with them.
Fresh bergamot - For a little thrill, I picked up some fresh bergamot at the Tin Building this weekend. What should I make with it?
For the next newsletter, I’m working on a piece about coziness and health in food writing. Think Home Cooking, Nigel Slater, homemade madeleines—all with attention to illness and care. Until next time, sound off in the comments: What are you cooking, eating, thinking about eating? I’d love to know.