Welcome to Cooking Stuff. This is a place where we talk about all things food, cooking, and life. I paused my regular publishing frequency to focus more on IRL projects but you will still hear from me every now and then, just like today. If you are not a subscriber, hit that button below to join us. Upgrade to a paid subscription to unlock the full archive of 80+ recipes and get cooking. More of me, here.
In the last few months, everything has fina-fucking-lly felt like it settled. My life is calm, I am doing things that bring me joy, and everything is boringly good. It’s something I noticed and something I celebrate often.
In my brain, and in my notes app, I am calling it a shift.
When we moved back to LA I desperately wanted to erase Kansas City. All I wanted was to be home with like-minded people, fresh produce, and sunshine. So the first thing I did was start following people, places, and things, on social media. Flooding my feed with all things LA. It didn’t take long before it felt weird.
Every day multiple social feeds were inundated with the same things. How on earth is everyone at the same popup, eating the same thing, posting a photo of the same angle of the thing, they all feel the same about it, AND they all are friends? I was often at home on my phone not at THE THING starting to feel left out and bad and myself?! That’s a no for me. I stopped reading all newsletters and I muted everyone on social media who made me feel any feeling besides joy. Within a week I felt better and I wondered if anyone really enjoyed doing this stuff or is everyone doing them because they should post on social media about it? You tell me.
There is a constant chase to do more and buy more that really turns me off now. Not to sound like an 80-year-old giving life advice but being present is what it’s all about. My day-to-day has been painfully boring recently so I’ll tell you. I walk the dog, meditate, maybe go to a pilates class, run a few errands, do a little computer work, garden a bit, sit outside and work, kiss my chickens, make dinner, hang out with my husband, and go to bed. Rinse and repeat. I’m sorry but I’m happy?!?!
I got married way before all of my friends and one of my girlfriends gave me shit for years about spending too much time with Marco. That I was supposed to get away from him for girl time, that I wasn’t supposed to do so many activities with him every week, etc. It wasn’t until recently that I looked around at my life and realized I was the lucky one. Marco and I have been able to create a life together. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company and every day we find joy in the mundane tasks of life. Our date nights are Target runs and to get an ice cream cone. We are in bed by 10 on Friday nights and we love it. That’s a good life if you ask me.
A different friend (I know, I have so many) didn’t get a job that she was excited about. This was my advice to her:
“I’m a big believer in what is meant for you will find you. You keep your side of the street clean and keep moving forward.
There have been so many things over the last few years where I believed it was THE THING I needed to get to xyz and when I got it everything would work out. Well, I never got any of those things I was fixated on. When I look back now I can see something significantly better found its way to me instead.”
You, my loyal newsletter subscribers, and I have spent many newsletters trying to figure life out and never did. I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m doing it. It’s hard for me to write stuff on the internet now. It feels so permanent, performative, and like I need to have a definite opinion all the time. I don’t. I change my mind constantly. I muted a third of the people I follow but I might miss them next month. I stopped reading Substack altogether and now I enjoy laying in bed reading Substacks on Saturday mornings. The internet is a fraction of our lives and I forgot what it is like to live real life for far too long.
I know one thing with 200% certainty. Salazar was a shitty restaurant 3 years ago and is still a shitty restaurant. It’s not even worth my review, it’s just all-around bad.
I owe you details about JAPAN. Oh, did I mention we went to Japan? We had a large credit from the Paris trip we had to cancel when Chaz got sick (RIP) and Marco had 6 weeks off. We looked at what our credit would cover and Japan was it. It was planned very last minute and a quickie, 3 nights in Tokyo and 2 nights in Hakone. Like everyone who has gone to Japan recently, we loved it all. I made a Google Map with everything we did. If you want those details, here it is.
But I’m going to keep the recap brief and do a bullet list.
Three days in Tokyo is enough. Go explore other places.
You need to go to a cat cafe.
Ramen, omakase, matcha gelato, curry, and Tsukiji fish market are a must.
JAPAN IS NOT GLUTEN-FREE FRIENDLY. Every sauce has wheat, Marco ate it anyway, and he still has a rash on his hand.
7/11 for snacks. Get lots of snacks.
Toy vending machines = fun
NO Harry animal cafe = sad
Kappabashi Street for knives, get knives!
Pino ice cream bites from 7/11
Stona from the pharmacy if you get sick
Shop at Don Quijote early in the morning when it is empty.
The Hakone loop is lame, skip it
Hakone Open Air Museum, not lame
Wear running shoes
Bring an extra duffle bag and shop, seriously
Bring your passport when you shop, tax free!
STAY AT AN ONSEN RYOKAN!!
We stayed at two onsen ryokans in Hakone and I recommend them both. The first was Kitanokaze Saryou. This is the more traditional 10-room one that we absolutely loved. We stayed in the Suzuran room with a private outdoor onsen and an indoor onsen but we didn’t use the indoor one. Our room was huge and we were in heaven. Our meals, dinner and breakfast, were traditional and the chef added a few little surprises.
The other ryokan we stayed at was Fufu, a hotel chain in Japan with multiple locations. Less traditional feeling more like a fancy hotel with a jacuzzi in your room but we still loved it and would stay at one again. The meals felt more mainstream Japanese to appeal to westerners but were incredibly delicious.
We liked the smaller more traditional ryokan but would stay at both again without question. Another trip is already in the works.
Snappy Spring Salad
This recipe comes from
, a killer chef who I cooked with at my most recent Backyard dinner. She developed this recipe for Algae Cooking Club and we were lucky enough to have them as a partner for the event. Along with Nour, the salad dressing I didn’t know I needed.Mackenzie just launched her Substack
where she will be sharing more recipes, beautiful photos, and all her fun thoughts. Mackenzie brings a lot of joy. Make sure to subscribe and enjoy her salad below!
Snappy Spring Salad
By Mackenzie Richmond
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
2 cups pre-cooked quinoa
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons algae cooking oil
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper, as needed
1 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and sliced on the bias
5 breakfast radishes, thinly sliced into rounds
2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced on the bias
1 green onion, thinly sliced on the bias
1 small bunch fresh mint leaves, removed from stems
2-4 tablespoons Nour lemon caper dressing
Zest of one lemon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place chickpeas in a small bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons of algae cooking oil, dried dill, marjoram, and thyme, salt and pepper. Once your oven is heated, roast chickpeas for 20-30 minutes until dry and crunchy, using a spatula to turn the chickpeas halfway through.
Heat the remaining two tablespoons of algae cooking oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the cooked quinoa. Fry the quinoa for 10-15 minutes, until browned and crisp. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the green beans. Bring a small pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Blanch the green beans by dropping them into the boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then immediately plunging them into cold water or ice water.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the green beans, sugar snap peas, radish, cucumbers, mint leaves, and green onion. Pour a few hefty tablespoons of Nour.
Lemon Caper dressing over the veg and toss to coat.
To serve, top the dressed salad with crispy quinoa, roasted chickpeas, and lemon zest.
Tickets for our next dinner are on sale now!
We are having a fun night all about Marco and his cocktails. On the menu:
Radishes from our garden and housemade Alexandre Family Farm butter
Orzo & Peas
Big Green Salad
Grilled Asparagus
Grilled Fogline Farm Chicken + Chili Basil Vinaigrette
Cherry Tart + Basil Ice Cream
We had dinner at Queen St. this weekend. It’s good, always has been good, but this time the fish we ordered came with rice. This was a cup of buttery rice cooked in crab stock and holy shit it was good. You can order it as a side and I strongly recommend you do.
Goes to Japan once and immediately buys a Toto 🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️. This is the one with the bells and whistles. YES, you need it. We all need it.
Amen 🙏🏼 to all of the above 🙏🏼 !!! ♥️