Dispatches from Quarantine Kitchen & Beans
“2020 is a unique leap year, it has 29 days in February, 300 days in March and 5 years in April.”
I’m working on two posts this week, First Foods (per several requests from my bff with a 4.5mo old) and The Problem With The Term Picky Eaters. Neither of which is ready.
So I offer you, Beans.
But not just any pot of beans, the best pot of beans you’ll ever make.
I’ve also been thinking of ways to bring in other voices during this quarantined cooking time, as inspiration and community. I started making a list of curiosities I have about how others are handling this very food-centric crisis time. Here’s a snapshot from my Quarantine Kitchen this week.
Every shopping trip involves buying more: Butter
Favorite go-to: Tinned sardines
Keep running out of: Corn tortillas
Stress-eating: Dried cherries
A very versatile nut: Walnut
Last minute impulse buy I’m loving: Chèvre log
Endless flavor from: Ruby sauerkraut
Spring weed we’re enjoying: Chickweed (chickweed green sauce!)
Snacking on: Watermelon radish
New kid food: Daikon radish sticks
Quarantine ingredient I’m loving: Canned corn
Sick of: Beans (sorry, beans)
Not sick of: Buttered toast
Stovetop baking: Flatbreads!
Flatbread topping: Goat cheese, green sauce, pea tendrils, toasted walnuts
On everything this week: Pea tendrils
Forever in the fridge: Yogurt (I think I panic-bought yogurt?)
Quarantine Sandwich: Leftover grilled chicken, bacon, green sauce, goat cheese, watermelon radish, pea tendrils
Stale bread becomes: French Toast
Eating almost every day: Eggs
New tricks: 5 min Olive Oil pie crust
Getting greens in: Quiche, pasta, beans, kale chips, green sauce
Toddler night-cap: Hot Cacao
Restaurant food I crave the most: Los Tacos No 1 tacos
Another one: Rippers burger
Favorite food I won’t attempt to make at home: Perfect Butter Croissant
Take-out this week: “Noodles as long as the house” aka Pad Thai
Bon Appetit! Bonne Chance! Stay healthy & stay home.
Beans
I thought I understood beans. In their characteristic blandness, I at least understood their love language was salt-fat-acid-heat. I salted heavily, I added olive oil and chicken fat, never forgot the lemon or ACV before serving, and soaked/melted on low heat with restrained patience. It wasn’t until I watched BA’s Carla Makes Beans that I understood one error in timing & technique that makes all the difference, hint: it’s the whole lemon. Get it in there. You will not regret it. Watch this video and transform your bean knowledge forever. Also, her method was inspired by the current chef of beloved Marlow & Sons, the restaurant where I worked throughout my roaring twenties. Love.
And after you watch the video, if you want to “TWK” your bean experience: I always add dried kombu to my cooking bean pot (it melts and gives the beans a little silk feel, plus healthy minerals!) and at very end, I usually add big handfuls of chopped greens, whatever you have. I love cilantro, parsley, dandelion greens, sorrel, or simply the sad fridge kale you don’t want to eat anyway.
Bean inspiration for your skeptical child? Bean toast, topped with melted cheese is a favorite in our household. Or as an addition to quesadillas and grilled cheese. Purée a small amount to keep as ‘hummus’ or bean dip for crunchy vegetables and crackers. Toss with pasta and sausage.
I’ll regularly be posting recipe tips and pictures on Instagram. Please follow along!
If you’re cooking this week: Please be sure to tag @thewholekohlrabi, or share the newsletter with old friends, new friends, colleagues, family, etc.