When I first cracked open my copy of America’s Test Kitchen’s newish cookbook How to Roast Everything, my instinct was to flip past seemingly-basic recipes like weeknight roast chicken, roasted thick-cut pork chops, baked sweet potatoes, and this, a gussied-up twist on roasted broccoli, but that would have been a mistake. Sure, I know my way around the kitchen, but with cooking (and many things in life), it’s often small lessons and tweaks to technique that make the biggest impact.
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Vegan
Indian-Spiced Cranberry (aka Borlotti) Beans
I still vividly remember my first trip to one of NYC’s winter greenmarkets: While walking to Tompkin’s Square Park, a dreamy blanket of snow began to cover the streets, so despite the mile-long trek through the cold, I was in good spirits. On top of that, Andrew and I had moved to Manhattan about a month prior, so even something as ordinary as running an errand still felt novel and exciting. All of which is to say that I was feeling quite optimistic. Intellectually, I knew that seasonal eating in the Northeast was a whole different game than doing so in San Francisco, but it didn’t quite hit me until I walked through those greenmarket stalls. Despite the farmers’ efforts to attractively display their harvest, the situation looked quite bleak: bins of onions, potatoes, and apples dominated, with a sad, scraggly head of cabbage here and there. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. A bit dismayed, but still determined, I filled my bag with as many apples and onions as I could comfortably carry, plus a cider doughnut, for the chilly walk home.
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Deep Immune Soup With Turmeric-Ginger Broth
Every once in a while, the stars align and a recipe comes to me just when I need it most. In this case, I was flipping through Laura Wright’s The First Mess Cookbook, tabbing recipes to try, on the same day that Andrew came down with a nasty head cold. Boosted with a generous dose of ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and chili flakes, this golden broth would have caught my eye, sick patient or no, but under these circumstances it quickly jumped to the top of my to-try list. Steamy, spicy, and sinus-clearing, it does it’s advertised job well, and since the solid ingredients are classic noodle soup additions (orzo and the tried and true trio of onion, carrot, and celery) it’s also quite comforting.
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North African Sundried Tomato Soup With Couscous and Olives
When the frosty wind nips at your nose and you wake up to dark skies, it can be easy to get down on autumn. (But wait, can’t we have one more month of long, mild nights and bushels of heirloom tomatoes?) Mostly though, I look at this time of year with a lot of love. I’m more than ready to be done with hot, humid, sticky days, where a walk outside practically mandates clutching (and gulping down) an Olsen-twins-sized iced tea for its internal cooling properties. Equally exciting are the endless mountains of squash, apples, pears, beets, and other goodies flooding the markets right now. But if I had to pick one thing I like most about fall, it’d have to be the return to soup season. My love for this coziest-of-cozy foods knows no bounds, and recently I had a particularly-good excuse to try out a handful of recipes: at 29, I had my wisdom teeth taken out.
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Marinated Bell Peppers With Pine Nuts and Herbs
Strategic cooking is never a bad idea, but it’s particularly useful during these summer months, when the days are long and hot, park picnics and beaches are beckoning, and social calendars are full. In other words, now is the time to maximize your efforts in the kitchen by embracing make-ahead recipes, like these super-versatile marinated bell peppers. Flavor-packed and tender, they’re an excellent addition to sandwiches (try pairing them with pesto, prosciutto, mozzarella, and focaccia), antipasti platters, or as a stand-alone side for some grilled steak or chicken. They also make for a vegetable-packed, Whole30-friendly breakfast, when topped with a couple fried or poached eggs.
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Miso-Avocado Soba Noodles With Kale
As much as I love creamy pasta dishes like bechamel-rich lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and baked pastas, that combination of ultra-rich dairy and pasta is a ticking tummy time bomb, so I try to avoid it unless it’s really, truly worth it. Instead, I typically get my creamy noodle fix by tossing al dente strands with sauces made from non-dairy alternatives like cashew cream, almond butter, or, in this case avocado. It might sound a bit odd, but when blended up with miso, garlic, a touch of lime juice, and olive oil, avocado transforms into a rich vegan sauce. Paired with nutty soba noodles, ribbons of kale, and crunchy sesame seeds, it makes for a guilt-free, totally-craveable dinner option.
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Banana-Walnut Bruléed Oatmeal
Last October, Andrew and I embarked on a semi-spontaneous roadtrip from San Francisco to Brooklyn. With little planned besides deciding on a timeframe (a little less than two weeks), and a couple spots we wanted to see (namely Monument Valley and Sedona), we set off in a southerly direction. Our first stop was an overnight in Palm Springs at the kooky-chic Parker Palm Springs, where we wandered the lushly-green grounds, played a game of tennis, and ate a lovely breakfast.
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Squash, Pinto Bean, Corn, and Kale Mason Jar Salad
Thanksgiving leftovers are pretty epic on day one, but by day two, I tend to get a little bored by the mild flavors and starchiness of it all. That’s where this rainbow of a salad comes into play. A celebration of fall produce — ok, corn is not really in season, but thawed previously-frozen kernels work great here — it is a fiber-packed antidote to holiday overindulgence, and a great make-ahead option.
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Miso Carrot Soup
With the possible exception of this rosemary-garlic chickpea recipe, there’s no soup that I’ve made more frequently than this miso carrot number. Velvety-smooth, savory, and slightly-sweet (from the carrots and onion), it’s just the sort of good-for-you comfort food that this week calls for.
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Spinach-Stuffed Sweet Potato
When you start referring to your fridge as “the cheese fridge,” it is both a sign that you’re living your best life, and that your diet could perhaps use a slight tune up. These past two weeks, Andrew and I have been eating our way through Paris, and as the previous statement suggests, it has been a deliciously hedonistic time thus far. After a whirlwind of baguettes, Bordier butter, squab (or pigeon, as it’s called here), wine, chocolates, pâté, macarons, steak tartare, and the aforementioned cheese, my body is practically shouting for a leafy-greens-heavy meal (or two).
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