022: January Cooking Notes
Everything I cooked last month
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January has taken its sweet time. It’s been slow, it’s been cold, it’s been windy, it’s been rainy, and it’s randomly been warm (classic Northeast-during-climate-change medley), so my son and I have had a lot of time indoors, and regrettably fewer walks. This hasn’t necessarily translated into more cooking—at 10 months I can no longer count on him to chill patiently while I stand at the stove or prep table, making up songs about what I’m doing to keep him entertained. He plays independently, but if I’m doing something he wants to know what it is and be involved. He’s wanting to be held and included, which is very sweet, but unrealistic when it comes to chopping vegetables or checking on a boiling pot. Nevertheless, we’ve managed to put in some kitchen time, yielding the following meals. Lots of soups and stews, and many an infant-friendly omelette and frittata, pots of beans, and bowls of oatmeal. Slices of mozzarella, ends of bread with a thin layer of allergy-resisting nut butter on top, for him. A generous spoonful for me. Given the limitations I haven’t managed to experiment much. But I’ve made lots and lots of Saltie Hot Chocolate (and a bit of their Cold Chocolate too). I guess I’m on a chocolate kick. And it being January, there have been some attempts at immunity boosting the only way I know how—by brewing up big pots of chicken broth, and also some citrus-turmeric-ginger tonic, to ward of the many many things going around. January has been its characteristically slow and quiet self, and my pace in the kitchen has followed the same beat. Not mad about it, but hopefully February will have some new home cooking adventures in store.
The Notables
Black-eyed peas with ham and collard greens (after Toni Tipton-Martin & David Tanis) / The last several years we’ve held a tradition of making black-eyed peas for good luck on New Years Day. My favorite preparation is a cross between David Tanis’s Black-Eyed Peas with Ham Hock and Collards, and Kayla Stewart’s Hoppin’ John. I primarily follow the latter recipe, but integrate in Tanis’s ham and collards, for the perfect bowl of beans to start the year. The following day I ate leftovers with an egg on top.
Plain omelette w/ parmesan and freshly ground black pepper (Carter’s Cookbook 2) / My long-awaited copy of Carter’s Cookbook 2 arrived, all the way from New Zealand. The first recipe I tried was her omelette. I normally handle my omelettes a bit messily, but Carter’s method works a bit like a fruit-roll-up. You watch the eggs closely, and as they cook, flip the edge over itself with a spatula, and keep rolling it as it cooks. They’ve never looked so neat and tidy.
Sausage Ragu with mezze rigatoni / I recommend having a dish like this in your arsenal for those weird days you’re feeling depleted and low energy and just plain tired. Who isn’t? They haven’t gotten rid of the 40 hour work week yet have they? You will feel nourished and well-fed, due to all of those carbs and protein, after eating it. This particular recipe is perfect. Mezze rigatoni—the bitty one—is my favored tubular pasta shape these days.
Citrus and turmeric tonic and Chicken broth for sipping / This tonic is pretty medicinal, but you can feel it working. I added a lot of local honey to mine. A cold hit our household around this time, so I began panic-brewing this, as well as chicken broth. After bringing the broth to a boil and ladling it into mugs, I grate a generous nub of ginger and give it a good squeeze of lemon. Normally I’m not afraid of getting sick, but I’m a bit of a chicken (pun intended) when imagining life with a sick infant (or caring for an infant while sick, or both at the same time!).
Celery root, cabbage, & ham soup (Saltie: A Cookbook) / Cabbage continues to be just the best. It sounds boring but actually delivers the heartiest, sweet flavor. I love this soup, and think that it will become part of our regular rotation. The recipe calls for adding in chunks of crusty bread to the pot at the end, a bit like a ribollita, but knowing that we would want leftovers, I served the soup on top of slices of toasted bread instead.
Spinach Frittata / when it comes to introducing solids to my infant, I adhere to the baby-led weaning philosophy. Basic tenets include: not commenting on how much your child is eating/how they are eating/what they like, and no spoon-feeding, but rather allowing the child to feed themselves. And of course embracing the mess. Solid Starts is my go-to resource, and have just recently dipped in to her recipes. This spinach frittata has become a go-to. I buy the pre-washed spinach, chop it finely and sauté (sometimes with a bit of onion and garlic, but usually not), and add whisked eggs to it. It’s so easy and a very low-mess meal for Tycho. And I eat it too.
Pan-seared crispy salmon with artichokes (Cook this Book, Molly Baz); Citrus-roasted salmon / I somehow ended up with double the amount of salmon I asked for at the grocery store (paid for it too haha), so I roasted half for lunches the rest of the week, and pan-seared the other half for dinner. This was my first time cooking with jarred artichokes and it didn’t quite do it for me. Maybe I didn’t sear them long enough?
Poached chicken breast w/ rice, scallion sauce, and gingery broth / It’s hard to choose a favorite Molly Baz recipe, but this might be mine. There is nothing more satisfying than this dish—especially if you’re getting over a cold, or a hangover, or just want something comforting. This is nerdy of me, but it’s also deeply satisfying to make because she really has the timing down to a science. The efficiency of her recipes is addictive.
And now everything!
1.1.23 / Black-eyed peas with ham and collard greens (after Toni Tipton-Martin & David Tanis)
1.2.23 / Leftover hoppin’ john with a fried egg on top
1.3.23 / Persimmon-Lemon Jam (influenced by Marion Cunningham’s Fresh Fruit Jam from The Breakfast Book)
1.4.23 / Greek yogurt topped with persimmon jam; stewed apples with pumpkin spice mix (for Tycho); Split Pea Soup made with leftover ham
1.5.23 / Scrambled eggs & buttered toast; Italian sausage with potatoes and onions
1.6.23 / Plain omelette w/ berries on the side (for Tycho); Leftovers Pasta with the rest of our sausage/potato/onion dinner from night before
1.7.23 / Meatballs w/ homemade tomato sauce with Anchovy Colutura in lieu of tinned anchovies
1.9.23 / Oatmeal with persimmon jam, olive oil, and sea salt; Saltines w/ ricotta, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil; Chicken Puttanesca
1.10.23 / Soft-scrambled egg and ricotta sandwich (Saltie: A Cookbook); hot chocolate (Saltie); chicken stock; chicken soup with fennel and prunes (improvised)
1.11.23 / Soft-scrambled egg and ricotta sandwich (Saltie); Spicy tomato soup with lentils & fennel with toasted bread with cheddar
1.12.23 / Oatmeal w/ persimmon & peanut butter
1.14.23 / Split Pea Soup; Sausage Ragu
1.16.23 / Scrambled eggs and toasted, buttered sourdough; Pan-seared cod w/ red lentils & Sauteed dandelion greens
1.17.23 / Plain omelette w/ parmesan and freshly ground black pepper (Carter’s Cookbook 2); Pot of beans; beans on toast w/ arugula, parmesan, lime juice, and salt and pepper
1.18.23 / Plain omelette wtih parmesan and black pepper (Carter’s Cookbook 2); Hot Chocolate & Cold Chocolate (Saltie); Risoni al Limone
1.19.23 / Plain omelette with parmesan and black pepper (Carter’s Cookbook 2); chicken stock; chicken soup with fennel (improvised)
1.20.23 / Citrus and turmeric tonic; Oatmeal with peanut butter, pears and raspberries; Celery root, cabbage, ham soup (Saltie)
1.21.23 / Iced mocha with cold chocolate (Saltie); Pot of beans
1.22.23 / Oatmeal with peanut butter; Chicken poached in lemon and onion, served with cilantro rice
1.24.23 / Omelette for Tycho; Sausage & cream sauce on mezze rigatoni (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan)
1.25.23 / Spinach frittata; Roasted halloumi and tomato (Mina Stone, Lemon, Love, & Olive Oil)
1.26.23 / Strawberry oatmeal (Solid Starts); Pan-seared crispy salmon with artichokes (Cook this Book, Molly Baz); Citrus-roasted salmon
1.27.23 / Sausage, fennel, and orzo soup (improvised)
1.30.23 / Strawberry oatmeal (Solid Starts); Pot of beans; Poached chicken breast w/ rice, scallion sauce, and gingery broth
1.31.23 / Spinach & bean salad (for Julia); Spaghetti with chili oil and capers (Back Pocket Pasta, Colu Henry)