Leftovers #98
Short, sweet and free! Clearly did very little reading this week (thanks, anxiety!)
On My Mind
– I can get stuck in a music rut so this TikTok account that recommends albums you should listen to has been great for introducing me to records at a pretty easygoing rate. Faye Webster’s I Know I’m Funny aha has been great to work to.
– A perfect post-pub meal that consisted of a cup of wild rice (that I’d already cooked with chicken stock earlier that day) in a pan, covered with twice as much chicken stock, 4 anchovy fillets, pieces of leftover chicken, finely sliced cavalo nero, the carrot from the chicken stock + all the garlic squeezed out of the bulb. Bring to a boil, pour into a big ramen bowl, add a big tbsp of your favourite chilli oil, a showering of parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. If I had herbs I’d have added them in too. Slurped it watching SATC sat on the kitchen counter.
– If I don’t reply, it’s just this because:
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Saved To Cook
My friend Will treated me to a batch of Italian wedding soup before we hit the sauna he built at the back of his garden (my favourite part were the beer covers that read “Leyton House” so we could continue drinking Radler in 60º heat). Here’s a good recipe but would 100% recommend using stelle pasta (they look like tiny stars)!
Also on the list to cook asap is pad kra pao because we love a crispy fried egg, spicy meat moment; Hainanese chicken ALWAYS, a one pot one portion recipe for pasta alla zozzana (basically all the Roman pastas rolled into one); Thomasina Miers’ cauliflower with crunchy fried almonds and turmeric which I think needs to be a dinner party salad; a basic bitch whipped feta, tomato and pickled onion salad because winter needs to leave immediately; a super simple hake curry from my fave Laura Jackson; and because I need all the help I can get making mayonnaise, Alice Moireau’s prosaic egg sandwiches.
Kitchen Utensil Heroes
Recently acquired a few bits for the kitchen that have genuinely changed how I cook and prep. Here they are!
A meat thermometer. I can eyeball a roast chicken pretty well but this is so great just to make sure you’re achieving the right kind of tender.
A small silicone spatula. I was so judgemental about silicone spatulas. Terrible use of plastic. BUT I WAS WRONG. I got a small one and it’s amazing how much liquid or leftovers I was simply throwing away. It’s also SO CUTE.
Castiglioni’s spoon for jars. This is not essential by any means, but it does work when you’re trying to get the last of the jam out of the jar. I stan Castiglioni after visiting his house in Milan last year.
A wooden citrus juicer. Can’t believe I’ve spent my entire life trying to squeeze the juice out of a lime with my bare hands. I’m only human! Mainly got this because I go through so many limes each week making salad dressing and also hot honey spritzes.
An immersion blender. I got a cheap one for £20 and it’s so great for making sauces and pestos (mainly pestos!). Still haven’t mastered making mayo with it but that might be more of a me problem.
Now Playing
Obviously. I love that she referenced Sex & The City, Shania Twain and Clueless in her newsletter about this song. It’s giving How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, too. Listened to it on repeat on the first day of spring.
Well I read this while fasting and that was a terrible idea 😅
But seriously, that salad with the cauliflower, tumeric and almonds looks amaaaaaaaaaaaazing. Noted.
Adore your writing - always captures exactly how I’m feeling!