Marcella Cooking Stuff • July 19th - July 25th
July 19th - July 25th
Hey, hi, hello! How are we all doing? This newsletter started out of quarantine boredom and fourth months later here we are. Still home, still cooking, still writing to all of you.
Kansas City, where I am, is relatively open. My yoga and barre studios are open, restaurants and bars are packed, people are just going about their normal lives while now wearing masks. Los Angeles, where the majority of my friends and family live, was open but has now shut back down as their numbers are still going up.
No matter where you are things certainly are not “normal.” Whatever normal means. The general feeling I have gotten is that we are all struggling. Whether it be from feeling a little depressed at home, needing to get away from your partner before you poke their eyes out, or feeling afraid of the unknown future. This is a crazy time and it’s hitting us all.
I have felt stuck this week. A little unmotivated and trying to change my mindset on my traditional ways of thinking. I spend a ridiculous amount of time on my phone now, something I always tried to limit. Taking photos, editing phones, posting photos, responding to messages, and keeping up a social media "business" means I'm on my phone a lot.
I have found myself not wanting to do it all and just wanting to cook. I have also felt out of fresh, creative, or innovative ideas for recipes currently. Sometimes I just want turkey sandwiches and egg-in-a-holes. Not too exciting to share photos and write about.
It is now above 90 degrees every day and huuuumid. I haven't been walking Josie or sitting outside as much. I will admit I stopped doing yoga for a few weeks here too. Why? Because I told myself I didn't want to. I was wrong.
This new normal is slow. I'm not going to run errands and take workout classes, I'm not going out to dinner or drinks, I maybe have an order a week for The Board Babe, I sit at a desk writing and researching most the time, and I spend a lot of time on my phone. It is what it is.
This week I forced myself to do two yoga classes, I did a long sweaty walk with Josie every other day, I FaceTimed with a few friends, and I reached out to people for recipe inspiration. I'm forcing myself to do the things that are good for me.
Here are some things that you could do if you feel stuck too:
Pet a cat
Sit outside in the grass and listen to birds
Read a new magazine that you would normally never buy
Make a new dessert recipe and then eat said dessert
Call that friend that you haven't talked to since quarantine started (That's a long time!!!)
Do a 20 minute Barry's Bootcamp live stream on Instagram (It's free!!!)
Shave your legs, do a body scrub, face mash, and hair treatment to pretend you are at the Korean spa
Draw a picture and mail it (yes, USPS physical mail) to your mother
Drive by your friend's house and yell out your car window to have a short socially distant conversation
Adopt a cat so you'll never feel alone again. Bonus points if you adopt more than one. Dogs work too.
Sunday
Blackberry Lime Tart
Cherry Tomato Pasta
Okay, the fruit tart saga continues and this one was not as exciting as the last. I had high hopes for it. I had a wonderful design in my head. All the components were looking good except...the crust.
Every now and then our AC trips the breaker. I'm talking once a summer. I made the crust dough, popped it in the fridge to chill, and ran out to get fresh blackberries. When I got home it was HOT in my kitchen.
The combination of goat butter and a sweaty kitchen was not good. I had trouble with it sticking to the counter and had trouble getting it in the pan. When it was in the pan I was so happy it was in that I didn't clean it up as well as I should have.
Then I sabotaged myself by leaving it in the pan while assembling. The pan has a removable bottom that should support the tart as you remove it. The combination of the thin cheap pan bottom, the weight of all the filling, and the tart being a long rectangle caused it to crack in multiple places.
She was imperfect but still pretty and so damn tasty. Creamy vanilla pastry cream, tart lime curd, and juicy blackberries is a heavenly combination.
Marco's garden, sadly, was a fail. The spot we choose was sunny early spring anddd then the trees grew in. Our tomatoes did not flower but my friend Megan's garden is thriving! One thing she brought us was a big bag of cherry tomatoes. These babies were bursting with flavor, and in combination with a few other pantry items, made a delicious simple cherry tomato pasta sauce.
I used some anchovies because...flavor! Basil, shallots, and Aleppo pepper flakes. Aleppo peppers come from the Middle East and can be used anywhere you would use normal dried chili flakes. It packs a punch in the flavor department with a unique fruity earthy tang. I haven't had any luck finding them in grocery stores but you can buy some from The Spice House.
Monday
Miso Soup
Thai Red Curry
I'm craving fall. Sorry, not sorry. It may be because I'm tired of being hot and sticky, or because we have had many stormy dark days, or because I have felt a little stuck and down.
A heavy storm knocked the power out all day this Monday. Our house was dark, quiet, and...cozy. All I wanted was soup.
I wasn't planning on writing a recipe for my Miso-ish Noodle Soup but I had a handful of people reach out for it. It is my go-to cozy comforting salty slurpy noddle bowl of yumminess. And it is so easy you could make it with your eyes closed.
I'm a big fan of all traditional Asian cuisine and flavors. When I lived in San Franciso I had Thai, Japanese, and Chinese restaurants right around the corner. When I lived in Santa Cruz my friend Alex and I would drive to San Jose for ramen. As a kid in Los Angeles, I would take trips downtown with one grandpa for shabu shabu and regularly eat sushi with the other. As an adult living in Los Angeles, Marco and I were spoiling being a few blocks away from Sawtelle. A street that’s lined with Asian restaurants and grocery stores. I would frequent the Japanese grocery store and have the ingredients for this soup on hand.
If you have not checked out your local Asian grocery store you must!!! You can find all the ingredients you need plus many other items you didn't know you needed. I'm beyond grateful to have one here only 10 minutes away. If you need help with specifics send me a message and I'll help you out. It can be a little overwhelming if you have never been.
My all-time favorite Thai dish is red curry. HOT red curry. Nose running and need to take breaks to breathe red curry. I don't have a recipe for it because I'm no expert in Thai cooking. One of my goals for this year is to dive deeper into the history and the how-to of Thai and Japanese cooking. After I'll share what I have learned but for now you can grab the Night + Market cookbook and check out this article to learn more.
Tuesday
BB Tarts
Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
I have made these Molly Baz pork meatballs a dozen times. They are loaded with flavor and do not disappoint. They have Vietnamese flavors that are built with minimal ingredients.
When I make them I zhuzh them up a bit. Here are my tips:
When pickling the veggies, the recipe calls for 1 cup of water. I do 1/4 cup of water and the rest rice vinegar. Not necessarily the full 3/4 a cup. Just enough to cover the veg.
Add some grated ginger to the pickling liquid as well.
I add asafoetida powder as a garlic substitute. It packs more flavor into the meatballs. More in asafoetida another day.
Thow the meatballs on the grill if possible!
BB tarts!!! These were just for funsies. I had a little bit of leftover dough and new mini tart pans to try out. Cute little patterns and a way to be creative. We are going blueberry picking on Sunday and I will definitely be recreating that blueberry pattern.
Wednesday
Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Crispy Rice with Shrimp, Bacon, & Corn
See that cookie? That is a new recipe I'm working on. Lemon Poppyseed Cookies. Think sugar cookie that slaps you in the face with lemon. I baked four batches the other day. Some chewy and some crunchy. The people of Instagram have spoken and they like chewy cookies. I, originally a chewy cookie lover, started to really like the crunchy. I sent the batches to my grandparents and will be testing the recipe again. Then I will send it out for you guys to try. This is a good one and I'm excited.
Crispy Rice with Shrimp, Bacon, and Corn...another recipe that I zhuzh up. It's pretty basic the way it is but with some TLC it is very satisfying. This is what I do:
Cook the bacon first and then cook the shrimp in the bacon grease. Bacon grease = flavor.
Add 1/2 a bunch of cilantro. Chop the stems and add them when you add the scallions. Fold in the leaves before serving.
Add a splash (or three) of fish sauce to season the dish.
Finish the dish was a generous squeeze of lime juice. 1-2 limes worth.
Thursday
Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
Warm Quinoa & Beet Salad
I had no clue people were so intimidated by Hasselbeck potatoes! A handful of people mentioned they thought they were too hard to make. They are just as simple as roasting a plain potato!
Yes, they take some knife skills but I learned a tip from Nigella Lawson that will make it easy peasy. Place the potato in the center of a wooden spoon. Hold the potato in the spoon, on a cutting board, and make your slices. The potato sits in the spoon and the edges of the spoon are higher than the center. When you make a cut the edges will stop your knife from going all the way through. The rest of the steps look like this:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Place a cast-iron skillet on the stove. Add 2ish Tablespoons of olive oil and 1ish Tablespoons of butter. Heat the skillet just to melt the butter.
Place your potatoes in the skillet. Roll the potatoes around and take a spoon to spoon a little butter into all the little cuts.
Pop in the oven and bake for 60ish minutes. Shake 1-2 times during the cooking process. Potatoes are done when they are tender, golden, and crispy.
I topped them with porcini salt and pecorino. Highly recommend that combo.
You have seen this Warm Quinoa & Beet Salad before! This is the perfect example of cooking with what you have. The recipe is composed of greens, beets, quinoa, nuts, cheese, and herbs. It calls for arugula, I used spring mix. It calls for walnuts, I used pistachios. It calls for dill, I threw in some parsley.
Recipes are here to guide you. Make them your own!
Friday
Taco Bowls
Brown Sugar and Roasted Cherry Pavlova
We had two friends stay with us this week. They are headed to stay at the lake house with Alex. I was so excited to have guests. Candles, flowers, lots of wine...I was happy to do all of it.
Build your own taco bowls for dinner. The usual cilantro lime rice, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, grilled bell pepper and corn, avocado, and radishes.
I tried a new bean from Rancho Gordo. Moro beans are a black and pinto bean hybrid. I cooked them the same as always with onion, cilantro, and broth. They reminded me of normal black beans but a tad creamier.
I also tried a new chicken recipe. Chicken thighs cooked in broth, tomato paste, tomatoes, onion, cumin, Mexican oregano, and chipotles. Once the thighs were tender I shredded them and stirred them back into all the flavorful juices.
Marco rating 10/10.
“You need to write up a recipe for this.”
Next time I make this chipotle chicken I will write up a recipe!
For dessert I made pavlovas. Two things I did differently for the meringue. 1. I pulsed the sugar to get it super fine before adding it to egg whites. This helped it incorporate better. 2. I used part brown sugar and the flavor was to die for!!!
Topped them with coconut cream and roasted cherries. The warm cherry juices mixed with the vanilla coconut cream and was delish. Start roasting fruit peeps!!
Random thing of the week:
My neighbor is a master gardener. She always brings us random plants. Back in March, she brought us three little pieces of a succulent. This is how much it has grown! We propagated it again this week.
Pet photo of the week:
Chaz being Chaz.
Thing everybody needs:
This weeks thing you need is coming to ya from my friend Halle. Halle just discovered dishwashing gloves and she wants everyone to know they are life-changing.
I agree with Halle. If you have a manicure, your hands are dry, or you wash it extremely hot water gloves are your best friend.
Every time I use the word “zhuzh“ Marco chimes in that it’s not a real word. It originated from the original Queer Eye back in the early 2000s. Merriam Webster says it’s a word, so it’s a real word.
It means to kick it up a notch or make something more exciting, lively, or attractive.
I zhuzh things up a lot and am keeping zhuzh in my vocabulary.
See you next week,
Marcella