Cooking
Chorizo stuffed dates with bacon and spicy marinara: I added this to my highlights on Instagram and am working on typing up the recipe for the site. Only a few ingredients but so special - smokey, spicy, sweet, saucy. Inspired by avec restaurant in Chicago.
Other things I cooked:
Lemon pepper shrimp orzo with sugar snap peas: I really do make this every second week - one of my favourite weeknight meals.
Alison Roman’s The Stew: a pantry go-to, I halved the recipe to make a smaller batch for myself.
Tuna melt: Can you tell I was low on groceries? This week I did a little mayo, greek yogurt, aged cheddar, grainy mustard, finely diced celery and green onion, plus lemon juice in my mixture!
Chicken Soup: Saved this to my IG highlights but made a Mexican-inspired soup this weekend with chicken bones I had in my freezer, adding in chipotle pepper, black beans, corn, and topped with crispy corn tortillas.
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Butter Sauce: I made this back in the fall and froze a serving of it, and just defrosted it this weekend - it was perfect! Served it on pasta with a side salad.
Health Nut’s Gluten-Free Pancakes: I’ve been looking for other uses for brown rice flour after buying it to make Andy’s chickpea burgers, and this is a great option! The pancakes are super fluffy and reheat well. The texture is different from traditional pancakes - a little bit “sandy” but I found topping with maple syrup and some greek yogurt added the moisture I felt they needed. If you are GF, these are definitely a must-make!
Drinking
Bread & Butter. Another California Cab Sauv to add to the rotation.
Reading
Social Anxiety and the Power of the Potato Chips. You are probably tired of reading about my love for Julia Turshen but this essay, which is an excerpt from her book Simply Julia, made me go “yes, yes, yes!”. I’ve never felt so understood - her words about cooking, connecting, disconnecting, and anxiety are exactly how I feel, but much more eloquently phrased.
Following
@cashinbakes - my friend Christine starting a baking IG and everything she makes is so drool-worthy! If you live in Toronto she does bake boxes every few months that you can order - I had the April box and it was amazing.
Listening
Kings of Leon new album. No favourite songs yet but I’ve enjoyed it in the background the last few weeks.
Using
My Always Pan. I totally succumbed to social media advertising and bought the Our Place Always Pan. I replaced my old set of T-Fal non-sticks with this one pan, and so far I’m loving it. Super lightweight, easy to clean, nice deep sides making it very versatile. It’s not huuuge so I don’t know if it would be great for cooking for a large group, but it’s perfect for cooking for 1 or 2!
Thinking
About the last week of my twenties! Turning 30 next week. It’s really wild to reflect back on the last decade and how much I’ve grown and changed as a person. Excited for what comes next!
Laughing
Have a great week!
Kaleigh