We've got a lot of recipes to ketchup on!
Spicy salmon bowls, impulsive pasta, and a compote that made me emotional.
Hello Food & Stuff friends!
It has been a long thyme time since I last popped in your inbox with my food thoughts and recipe recommendations, so long that Substack sent me a sad, sort-of scolding reminder email last week that it had been quite long since I wrote a post 😔 So here I am, writing a post, not because Substack scolded me but because I truly have wanted to get back to writing this newsletter and just kept doing other things! (see ‘& Stuff’ section for more on that)
Since the last time I wrote, it was the cold of winter and my grill was safely nestled under a tarp, enjoying its winter hibernation. I know some people grill year-round, but I like having something to look forward to when the weather warms up, so I save my grill for use during the spring and summer months. And I certainly have been getting my grill on — salmon, burgers, salmon burgers, charred veggies, and more have been hittin’ the grates and then hittin’ my plate. In case you missed it the last few summers, you should most definitely be grilling up some chicken thighs a la this Peruvian chicken & green sauce recipe; it’s simply one the best recipes you can make all summer.
Okay, I think we can conclude this intro and get to some recipe sharing on what I’ve been eating lately, and what you can be eating soon, too!
Your Friends Will Love These Spicy Salmon Bowls*
*Unless your friends do not like spicy food or salmon 😔 Maybe find new friends to enjoy these bowls with or tell your current spice-averse friends that they are wrong 🥰
I’ve made these easy spicy salmon bowls a few times in the last few months when friends have come over for dinner, and every time they’ve requested the recipe. I’ll be transparent with you, too: I’ve made another salmon bowl recipe by Half Baked Harvest that had an avocado and feta salad that intrigued me, and while the recipe was delicious, it used every bowl, measuring spoon, cup, and tool in my kitchen and most definitely did not take only 15 minutes to prep. So you can make either — both are delicious — but the first recipe from Recipe Runner is quite easy and incredibly tasty.
Don’t Toss this Idea: A Salad Party
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a party where everyone was supposed to bring a different salad. I actually loved it! There are so many great salads out there and I was proud of the spread of Not Sad Salads™️ that were served. I made a kale salad with cucumbers, red onions, strawberries, blue cheese, and candied walnuts. I would HIGHLY recommend adding farro and chicken for a full meal, but I kept it off for gluten-free/vegetarian guests! This strawberry vinaigrette was a delicious and different dressing than I’d normally make, but it was lovely!
Reminder on how to make candied walnuts:
Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 cup raw walnuts, chopped, ¼ tsp kosher salt
Directions: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and walnuts and cook, stirring often, for about 3-5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and begins to bubble a bit (be careful not to burn). Transfer immediately to a plate to cool and prevent burning.
A Moment of Love for Capers
Sometimes you’re scrolling Instagram at 3:30pm and see a recipe from @nytcooking and know: that’s what’s for dinner tonight. This “Spicy and Saucy Cherry Tomato Pasta” was a fun change from my usual rotation, and utilized one of my favorite ingredients: capers! Do you like capers?! I know those pickley little guys can be polarizing…but I doubled the amount the recipe called for because I ❤️ capers so much 🤩. Does anyone else like to put on a regional playlist when they’re cooking food centered in a different culture? The musical playlist selection for this recipe was “An Evening in Rome!” 🇮🇹
Sharing an unlocked NYT Cooking recipe link for ya, friends!
A Yogurt Bowl to Remember
In May, I traveled with my college pal Ashley White to hike on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland! We had an absolute blast, but I will say that a lot of the time, the food left something to be desired. Of course not the dinner we had at the Fish Box which you should definitely go to if you’re ever in Dingle… [interrupting our program to share]
But one of the best things I had the whole trip was our final morning before catching our flight out of Dublin was a yogurt bowl with maple granola and raspberry compote! It was so good it made me EMOTIONAL! I don’t know if I was just charmed by the experience of a European breakfast or riding off the caffeine high of my Americano, but I just loved this breakfast and was eager to recreate it stateside. The best recipes I have to pass along to you include this one for a simple raspberry compote, as well as a granola recipe I had last summer that my sister-in-law made.
And finally…back to cookies
Going to wrap up the recipe sharing here with an amazing recipe from who else but Smitten Kitchen, who has never steered me wrong. These Chocolate Chip & Walnut Brittle Cookies have been some of my favorite baked goods this year, and I’d even venture to say they are worth firing up your oven for even in the heat of summer!
& Stuff…
Here is a collage of some of the stuff I’ve been up to instead of writing this newsletter: buying overalls with garden gnomes on them, carb-loading and then PR-ing in the marathon, hiking 60 miles in Ireland, making 2 pounds burgers for hosting Aunt Grace Camp, buying my dog a tiny bucket hat, eating cake and reading a bunch of good books!
I’ve missed writing this and sharing my food thoughts, but I hope to be a little more consistent as summer cooking heats up! So many good eats to enjoy in this season. Until next time, I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking, drinking, and snacking on lately. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends that would be into this kind of thing, because food and stuff is for me, for you, for everyone!
XOXO,
Grace