Cooking
Macaroni Salad: This is probably my most requested recipe but it has been a true struggle to finally publish it. I don’t think I’ve ever made a macaroni salad the same way twice, I’m always eye-balling ingredients and playing around with ratios. One day I’ll publish the “choose your own adventure” version I’ve always envisioned but for now, at the bottom of the newsletter is my base recipe to riff off of. I’ll add this to the site soon! Also pictured here is my fav carrot salad (so easy, the best when you want something bright and fresh, but low effort, to pair with a meal), and chicken wings I made following our AirFryer’s cookbook instructions.
Other things I cooked:
Julia Turshen’s Honeymoon Chicken: Ok wow this was so delicious. I did this with a whole chicken like the recipe says but I think you could probably cut corners and do this with bone-in chicken thighs (or even boneless - you’ll just lose the chicken drippings in the sauce) to be even quicker. I served this with warmed corn tortillas, lime charred corn (frozen corn in a hot cast iron, lime zest, lime juice, salt n pep, a touch of chilli powder, butter), and lime crema (sour cream, touch of heavy cream, lime juice, salt n pep).
HBH Honey Garlic Salmon Bowls: I made this recipe again - it’s just so good! I do the salmon and veggies the same as the recipe but tweak the noodles. I make half a package of buckwheat soba noodles (the T&T brand, 363g package), and then for the sauce, I halve the soy sauce and the sesame oil, adding in 1-2 tbsp of rice vinegar and a squeeze of honey. If your sauce still tastes bitter (some tahinis a bitterer than others), try adding a pinch of salt. Salt usually balances bitter.
Melissa Clarke’s Shortcut Banh Mi: yumm this is like a sloppy joe meets a banh mi - so good and so easy, using ground pork for the flavourful filling. I did my pickled veg with regular radish since we didn’t have daikon, otherwise made this as the recipe says. So so flavourful.
Brunch at Home - Saturday edition: I’ve started documenting the brunches I make at home on IG reels, here are the recipes I used for Saturday’s waffle eggs benny:
Smitten Kitchen’s Cornbread Waffles: I love these with all my heart. This time added in 1 tbsp of honey and 2 green onions finely diced to the batter, for the touch of sweet and savoury.
Tyler Florence’s Hollandaise Sauce: this is my go-to hollandaise sauce recipe and it has never failed me. The perfect touch of lemon!
Molly Baz’s Perfect Poached Eggs: I follow Molly’s method for poached eggs in this salad recipe (skip to step 7) - using a strainer to get rid of the extra egg white allows you to drop in as many eggs you like at the same time, and they poach perfectly. 3 mins = perfect runny yolk.
For the brussels sprout topping, I did 1 shallot sliced, 1 garlic glove minced in a cast iron with olive oil and butter over medium heat until softened. I then added about 2 cups of thinly sliced brussels sprouts, and a good seasoning of salt n pep. Once those were softened and starting to brown, I added in some sliced deli ham (only because we didn’t have bacon! If I had bacon I would have started with that, removed once cooked, and then cook everything else in the bacon fat, adding in the cooked bacon bits at the end), and then a pinch of red chilli flakes, and a tablespoon each of apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. Continue to cook over medium heat until browned, sticky and delicious!
Assembly goes waffle, brussel sprout mixture, poached egg, hollandaise sauce. Perfection!
Hummingbird High’s Fudgy Brownies: I was craving brownies this weekend and I think these might be the perfect brownie recipe (if you like fudgy brownies). They were so good warm with vanilla ice cream, but I almost liked them better the next day fully cooled. So delicious. I also learn so much from HH’s tips in her article - such a wealth of baking knowledge!
Drinking
Bengal spiced tea. My sister-in-law tipped me off about this - it is now my favourite for afternoon tea because it’s caffeine-free! Taste almost like chai, super spiced. I have mine with oat milk and a touch of honey.
Reading
Following
@crispyegg420 her food photos are amazing, radishes have never looked so good!
Listening
Breast of Glass by James Xeres Fussell. (If you like folk music, check out all his stuff! My friend sent me his NPR Tiny Desk this week and I am now obsessed).
Using
Tap water to rehydrate stale bread. A few months ago my butcher gave me a baguette for free because it was from the day before and had gone stale/hard. He told me to run it under the tap (!!) and then put it in the oven to bring it back to life. I did it again last night with an end of baguette to make garlic bread and it’s really a miracle move. Don’t soak the bread with the water, just quickly pass it under the water - I popped mine in a 375F over (right on the rack) and within 5ish minutes it was back to its perfectly squishy self.
Thinking
About how cabbage might be my favourite vegetable? It is so versatile and it lasts FOREVER. Perfect as a crunchy slaw or cooked into stewy goodness. We’ve been eating a lot of cabbage lately, will do a round-up of my favourite cabbage preparations for the site!
Laughing
Have a great week,
Kaleigh
Macaroni Salad
Serves 6-8, 30 min prep
Ingredients
3 cups dried macaroni, cooked, rinsed with cold water (see step 1)
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp green relish
1 tsp white sugar (+ more to taste)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (+ more to taste)
½ tsp of each garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, dried herbs like basil, dill, parsley (or instead, use a pasta salad spice mix like Club House or Kraft)
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
½ a red or orange pepper, finely diced
¼ cup diced red onion (about ⅛ of a medium onion), finely diced
Method:
Cook your pasta in well-salted water until al dente - you want the pasta to have a little chew to it. Rinse immediately with cold water, tossing the noodles to ensure all are rinsed (this avoids it sticking together while you prep everything else). Allow to drain completely over a bowl while you prep everything else.
In a large bowl combine your other ingredients (mayo - > veggies), stirring together to make a homogeneous sauce with the veggie bits throughout. Taste. Does it taste good and super flavourful? Cold food needs lots of seasoning, so make sure it’s punchy! Adjust if needed.
More tang? More apple cider vinegar. More sweetness? More white sugar or green relish. Not feeling that YUM? Probably need a little more salt to bring out the flavours.
If you are prepping this ahead of time, remove a few spoonfuls of dressing for a separate container. The pasta will absorb some dressing so it’s nice to give it a fresh toss with dressing right before serving.
Ensure your pasta is well-drained (sometimes I even pat with a paper towel! you really don’t want a bunch of water in your salad), and then add to your dressing and mix together. Ensure everything is well coated and take a taste. Ask yourself the same questions from stage 2 and adjust if needed.
Serve and enjoy!