what about us
soup, sandwich, & fries, and a winter salad that won't make you sad
Greetings, friends. How’s everyone doing? Does it feel like it’s two weeks into January, or does it feel like more time has passed? Or less? I can’t decide. This month always feels like it drags on for eternity, but it also feels as though it was only just Christmas. And I get kind of loopy around this time of year, too, because of the long nights. I drive home at sunset (if I’m lucky), start cooking dinner in the dark, eat in the dark, watch tv in the dark, and then it’s been dark for so long that I don’t feel very tired at my usual bedtime, so I stay up too late only to fall asleep the second I finally get into bed and open my book to try to read. And then I wake up in the dark and do it all over again.
But the days are getting longer, slowly but surely, and there are always things to look forward to. I’m participating in a writing challenge over the next two months, we’re planning a cookoff for February, and every night I get to eat a piece from our holiday chocolate stash. Whatever it takes, right?
I know I was just saying how I wanted to try to make more new dishes this year, but with my busy schedule lately and the grey weather driving me toward familiar comforts, it just hasn’t happened much yet. However, the stars aligned on Monday when I came home and opened the NYT Cooking page, ready to do an ingredient search for some inspiration for a quick meal, and this winter salad* was featured on the home screen. Usually recipes I find there are a ‘save for later’ kind of deal: either I don’t feel like eating that particular thing at the time, or don’t have everything I’d need for it, but this time I looked over the ingredients and had everything.
Eating salad in July is a crunchy, refreshing delight, whereas eating salad in January often feels like a punishment, or at least, somewhat of a chore. This one, with hearty kale and roasted squash, a nicely savoury and fatty almond butter vinaigrette, and sweet pieces of apple for crunch, feels… well, palatable for the time of year, even if the prospect of salad isn’t thrilling, precisely. We still have delicata squash left from our garden haul, so I roasted one, and the rest of the salad came together easily while it was in the oven. It’s nice to include a roasted thing when making salad in the winter, because it always makes me feel more cozy if my oven’s on warming up the kitchen while I prep.
Like some commenters, I added a little soy sauce to the dressing for depth (if your almond butter is salted, taste it before doing this), and I also added some shaved pieces of pecorino for serving. I really liked this dressing, a bit similar to both the miso tahini sauce I make often for rice bowls and salads, and a more traditional peanut sauce. It works well with the lemon used to soften and mellow the shallot and kale, and overall this was very satisfying, and I finished my plate before I became too weary to continue. One nice thing about winter salads is that sturdier greens like kale or root vegetables like beets hold up a lot more nicely once they’re dressed, unlike summer salads of crisp lettuces or tomatoes that are soggy and horrible a few hours later. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day and it was just as good.
It’s been so rainy lately, and nothing goes with a rainy day like a comforting bowl of ramen, in my opinion. I made the same kind I made at my birthday: this vegan tantanmen with tofu and shiitakes. This gets made often enough in my house that I don’t consult the recipe really anymore, and I still can never seem to get it into my mouth fast enough. The creamy, spicy, perfectly seasoned sesame broth is amazing and I’ve made lots of adjustments to the add-ins— broccoli instead of corn, puffed or baked tofu instead of fried, and so on— it’s never been anything less than delicious. I like some chili crisp on top, and sometimes furikake.
Oh, and because people always seem impressed with the eggs I make for this, here’s how I do it, based on info from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: boil the water, gently lower in the egg, and cook for 7 minutes. Fish it out and then plunge it into ice water to stop it cooking and cool it enough that you can peel it. I usually keep the water boiling, and just use that pot to cook the noodles.
After making a fresh loaf of bread in the morning, I made this mushroom soup with pearl couscous to serve it with for dinner, which I tried while Jeff was away for a couple of days in December. It was pretty good the first time, but I liked it even better this time with a few more alterations. I had some shiitakes left after making ramen, so I used a mix of those and brown mushrooms. If you’re looking at the recipe confused about what baby bella mushrooms are, they’re the same as cremini mushrooms, which are just a younger version of portabella.
Adding the parmesan rind and extra herbs to the broth the first time deepened the flavour nicely, but I found it wasn’t as creamy as I wanted— the original recipe uses heavy cream, so maybe oat milk just wasn’t powerful enough. This time I used coconut milk, in a quantity of nearly four times as much as the recipe called for, and it was absolutely perfect with just a dash of white wine vinegar at the end for balance. One final tip for this recipe: with the lid on, your pot will likely not be simmering over medium heat, it will maintain its boil, and the couscous will be overdone. Medium-low should be good enough if you keep an eye on it and turn the heat down or up if necessary. You can always cook it longer, but you can’t escape mushy pasta.
While the bread was still somewhat fresh, I made one of my favourite vegan sandwiches: the red-hot tempeh BLT from Isa Does It. I feel the hot sauce marinade— Frank’s, soy sauce, and liquid smoke— makes for more of a buffalo wing flavour than a bacon one, but it’s not important, because either way it’s incredibly good and filling. Sometimes it’s nice to increase the diner vibes by making fries, too, which we did this time using the cast iron pan oven-fried method.
Heat the oven to 450°F with the pan inside, and cut some potatoes home fries style (1” pieces or slightly smaller). Toss them with lots of oil and salt, and then dump everything into the pan and spread them out while they sizzle satisfyingly. Cook for 12-15 minutes, then give them a turn, bring the temperature down to 425°F, and cook another 10-12 minutes. They always come out nice and crispy outside and tender inside.
*Reminder that if you need access to a NYT recipe, reply to this email! I can share up to ten per month, and I’d be happy to help you out.
Thanks for reading— if you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with someone new! I like providing this to you for free, but it does still involve time and effort, so donations I can use towards cookbooks or future treats are much appreciated. Anyway, here is another forbidden snack (they still look so delicious to me).
I would very much likes the link to the nyt recipe for the salad. sounds good for a winter salad!