Hello and welcome to the weekend. I’m going to be figuring out something to do with the buckets of cherry tomatoes that we have in the garden. I’ll probably wind up giving lots of them the confit treatment, which you can check out in this recipe. I also have some general clean up that I need to do out there. Things tend to get a bit shaggy in the garden this time of year and there are so. many. spiders.

I am also laying out the schedule for fall and holiday recipe content right now, which always feels so goofy. The last two weeks of August have this gentle/romantic/golden aura about them, and cozy season planning feels like a harsh interruption. But that’s show biz baby ;). I’m also deep in the archives editing old posts, links, keywords, all of it, all the time!

Take care out there! Sending my love all the way over to you :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. The Revenge of Millenial Cringe via The New Yorker
2. Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for humanity is terrifying (further recommended reading: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams) via SFGATE
3. Why Is Everything Spicy Now? via The Atlantic
4. “I Grew Up Wanting Models of Male Vulnerability, So I Became One” – Lucas Oakeley On Why More Men Need To Read (& Write) About Love via Service95
5. What Sport Psychologists Want You to Know About Mental Toughness via The New York Times (gift link)

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Listening to Dijon’s new one over and over and over. HIGHER! just does something for me–lush, layered and a bit glitchy. It gets into the core and just stays! Got our tickets for the Toronto tour stop and I am THRILLED. Also playing a lot of Hiss Golden Messenger on sunrise/sunset drives lately because it just makes sense.
2. Soy sauce deep dive!
3. Gary’s Economics and mental health. I could truly listen to this man talk about paint drying and be so enthralled, but I do love what he touched on in this episode.
4. Watching Season 2 of Platonic and it’s pretty good so far. Seth Rogan dresses like a caricature of a childless millennial from LA to the point of distraction sometimes (this is probably intentional!), but Rose Byrne is so, so funny that I can overlook it.
5. Looking at Altra or Saucony running shoes because Hoka drastically changed up my go-to Bondi’s. I do think the quality/cushioning has declined since Deckers Brands took them over, which is such a bummer. If you have running shoe recommendations with wide toe boxes and looooaaads of cushion, please hit me up in the comments.

5 Questions:

1. What do you make of Eleven Madison Park adding meat back to the menu?
   From what I’ve read so far, it sounds like the decision was almost entirely financially motivated. Of course there’s some disappointment because Daniel Humm really leaned into the messaging around sustainability, the fragility of the food supply chain, and social inequality when the restaurant went all-in on plant-based cuisine. Those issues very much remain on the menu so to speak. At the same time, I have a deep understanding of the exclusionary and dogmatic discussions that orbit vegan food at times. Folks often compliment my recipes with an anecdote of enjoyment on the part of someone with staunch anti-veganism views, which is fine to me! Some people just resist the lifestyle on principle. I know this: the practice of cooking for others contains layers of intimacy. There are belief systems and memories tied to moments/bites of blinding elation and bottomless grief. It seems natural to want to share that experience at the level of Eleven Madison Park’s artistry as much as possible. The cuisine looks to remain largely plant-focused and a vegan tasting menu stays on as an option. They have done a lot for the plant-based movement and likely will continue to do so! I guess I don’t really feel any particular way about it. A restaurant operating at that level has so many considerations (and financial realities) at work at any given time, which I empathize with to a degree. Ultimately, this decision to open up to more diners allows their highly inspiring vision of plant-based eating to keep pushing forward, which I do support.
2. I have a protein goal but end of day comes and I’m 26-32 grams short. Any tips?
   This happens to me all the time. Protein shakes are your friend!! Or just really try to front load your breakfast with protein so that you don’t have to worry about it the rest of the day. I can get my morning smoothie hitting 50 grams of protein no prob (and fiber to go with weeee!).
3. If you had to describe what season of life you’re in right now, what would it be?
   It’s one of gratitude for how things are right now (and what it took to get here), and also an openness to big changes. I accept the mystery of it all and am letting it flow freer than ever before.
4. Better to chop herbs or use bouquet for soups?
   I like an herb bouquet for stock because it makes the straining step easier. I would say a bouquet is great in a finished soup if you want the most subtle hint of a strong herb like rosemary or thyme. Even then, you risk the leaves falling out and someone taking a big old pine-y bite. I typically just mince those woody herbs super fine and sauté them with the onion, carrot, celery etc base in a soup/stew. Leafy herbs like parsley, dill or cilantro generally always go in chopped at the very end in my recipes.
5. Best way to wash/rinse delicate herbs?
   Place the sprigs in a bowl of water and gently swish them about. Then lay the sprigs on a clean kitchen towel so that they can air dry.

5 Seasonal Recipes:

1. Cherry Tomato & Butter Bean Skillet with Caramelized Fennel
2. Spicy & Crispy Peanut Tofu with Green Beans
3. 25-Minute Fresh Corn, Tomato & Avocado Salad
4. Grilled Cabbage and Fennel with Maple Mustard Cream
5. Braised Romano Beans with Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce & Lemony Ground Walnuts