Early fall miscellaneous drawer!

cookbooks/reader questions answered/OCTOBER CLASSES!!

Hi pals,

A miscellaneous mix of things for you today. xooxox Julia

Four new cookbooks/book about food I am very excited about:

• No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating by

  Alicia Kennedy
  (all info right here!!) is “a culinary and cultural history of plant-based eating in the United States that delves into the subcultures and politics that have defined alternative food.” Alicia is one of my favorite writers and her first book is phenomenal.

• Crave: Bold Recipes That Make You Want Seconds by Karen Akunowicz (all info right here!!) is an inspiring collection of recipes from one of the best chefs I know. Karen’s food is SO GOOD and now you can make it at home!!

• My Every Day Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora by Yewande Komolafe (all info right here!! / it will be out end of October but you can pre-order now!!!) is a book that’s been long in the making by one of my all-time favorite recipe writers. Please read this profile of Yewande written by Mayukh Sen (also brilliant!) to understand why this book is so important.

• For the Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes by Klancy Miller (all info right here!!) is more than a cookbook — it’s interviews and essays and just the most beautiful homage to the Black women and femmes who have defined food. It’s out today!!!!

Reader questions…answered!

From Kira: What are you reading / watching lately?

I just finished Bellies by Nicola Dinan and thought it was so moving (and sad!). Also finally read Bryan Washington’s Memorial (incredible). And yesterday afternoon I finished R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface which I found so hard to put down and, wow, the publishing world details are accurate!! What am I watching? I cannot not be honest: Real Housewives of New York and Below Deck Down Under!

From Kathy: What do I do with all of this lettuce from our CSA? I don’t like salads!

Puree it into just about any vegetable soup, use crunchy lettuce for lettuce cups/lettuce wraps, shred it and add to sandwiches + cold noodle bowls. Give it to friends who have rabbits or chickens!

From Josie: Do you need to peel carrots?

No, but if you don’t peel them, definitely give them a good scrub! This cutie works well.

From Haley (hi Haley!!): What’s your favorite fall recipe? Oh gosh I have many fall favorites — it’s such a wonderful time of year to cook where I live because ALL OF THE PRODUCE IS SO GOOD. I love anything with roasted squash or roasted peppers. I love this fennel + apple salad. It’s so simple and goes well with everything. I love making this applesauce cake, especially now that I’ve landed on the dreamiest frosting (the whipped cream/cream cheese/honey mixture I discussed last week!).

From both Kristen + Rachel: Favorite meals that freeze well to give to postpartum friends? Bolognese sauce, turkey or veggie chili + cornbread (frozen separately), chicken soup, breakfast burritos, turkey + ricotta meatballs frozen in tomato sauce, and enchiladas are all of my go-tos. When I give these things to postpartum friends (or anyone going through something!), I like to freeze in individual or two person portions + include defrosting/reheating instructions just to make things really easy. And I pack stuff in deli containers so no one has to think about returning containers!

The best thing I ate last week…

So Grace and I got Covid last week (…I don’t recommend it! lol) and are hopefully nearly done with it. One of the best, most comforting things we had was a simple pot of sausage, potato + greens soup, basically a caldo verde. It took about 15 minutes to make (mostly thanks the fact that the greens were a container of already cleaned + lovingly prepared garlicky greens my pal Emmet made and dropped off for us as part of last week’s Full Fridge Club meal).

I put those cooked greens (about 3 cups of very garlicky braising greens) in a big pot along with about 2 cups of peeled and roughly chopped potatoes. I covered all of that with boiling water, whisked in some Better Than Bouillon, and let it simmer until the potatoes were cooked. While it was simmering, I remembered we had two smoked chorizo sausages in the freezer so I cut them into slices and tossed them in the simmering soup. That was it. It was so good and felt so incredibly nourishing.

This weekend I’m offering a SUPER PRACTICAL class that’s three lunches you can take with you. Read more about it below and »»» sign up right here!!! ««« Every recipe can be adapted to be vegetarian.

As always, general class information can be found »»» right here! «««

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And…I just posted all of my October classes!

Sunday October 1st / 2p EST: A Hearty Vegetarian Dinner

• Skillet Cornbread with Cheddar + Green Chiles

• Three Bean Chili

• Romaine Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing

Sunday October 8th / 2p EST: My Childhood Favorites

• Jennie’s Chicken Pelau

• Summer Camp Sheet Cake

Sunday October 15th / 2p EST: Kids Cooking Hour! (60 minutes / $25!)

• Sour Cream Pancakes

• Peach Smoothies

Sunday October 22nd / 2p EST: An Amazing Brunch

• Hibiscus Spritzers

• Chilaquiles with Roasted Tomato Salsa

• Limey Mango + Yogurt Cups

Sunday October 29th / 2p EST: Soup 101

• Parmesan Soup with Tiny Pasta + Peas

• Creamy Mushroom Soup

• Southwest Corn + Potato Chowder

Okay, that’s it! I’m thinking about writing about quiche next week…stay tuned! xo, Julia