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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Vegetarian
Pomegranate-Molasses-Glazed Carrots With Crispy Chickpeas and Feta
This is not the sort of recipe you make on a harried Tuesday night, when you’re stretched in a million different directions, and efficiency is the core operative. There are no promises of it being ready in under 30 minutes, or of dirtying only one pan*. Instead, this is the type of recipe you break out when you have a moment to breathe, to at-least-partially concentrate on the task at hand, and to get a little lost in the process. Yes, it requires more attentiveness than the set-it-and-forget-it-ness of most recipes today. And, yes, you will need to be puttering about or near the kitchen for most of this time, but that’s time you can spend catching up on a great podcast, making other components of your meal (if you choose to eat this as a side, rather than the main event), or doing a bit of meal prep to help you along in your week.
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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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Lentils With Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Yogurt
It used to get to me when someone would describe the recipes I share here as simple or easy, like somehow that was a critique on my culinary skills and creativity, or it was a subtle, passive-aggressive jab at my worth as a cook and recipe developer. I’d wonder if years of working in online media had served as blinders, limiting my focus to the Pinterest-friendly realm of one-pan, slow-cooker, and weeknight-friendly meals. Or, maybe I was *gasp*, in 2014 terms, “basic.” But then something funny happened: I realized that sharing doable, realistic recipes was my goal all along. That by keeping things (for the most part) beginner-cook-friendly, I was creating content that could reach, and hopefully inspire, a wider swath of readers to go to the grocery store (or better yet, farmers market), fill their bags with delicious things, and get in the kitchen.
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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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Turkish Eggs With Garlic Yogurt and Tomatoes
Smokiness tends to take over, dominating everything it touches, and so it is a flavor I tend to avoid. But every once in a while, I taste something that helps me understand why people swoon for that licked-by-fire quality. This recipe is a prime example; here, smoked paprika and aleppo pepper flakes infuse melted butter with warmth, depth, and a brilliant sunset color. Drizzled on top of poached eggs, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, and a swoosh of lemon-garlic yogurt, the softly-smoky butter ties everything together, rather than clobbering your tastebuds.
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Summer Squash With Parmesan, Pine Nuts, and Basil
Summer squash, pine nuts, Parmigianno-Reggiano, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. You might look at this pared-down list of ingredients, and be tempted, as I initially was, to gild the lily, perhaps with a spritz of lemon juice or a few drops of rosemary-infused oil, but trust me here — or rather, trust Deborah Madison — this recipe doesn’t need it.
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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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