Best of the Week 07/2022
Gosh. What a week it’s been, at least globally. Perhaps locally in your neck of the woods. My brain goes to the micro-gems when things are like this. That’s not to say that I ignore what’s going on in the wider world, but rather that it’s important to stay hopeful and push on … and it’s the macro lens that seems to help me with that. I hope you are managing okay, dear reader. Love to you and your family and friends, whoever and wherever they may be.
best of the week
1/ Rich, umami-heavy mushroom stock makes so much sense, doesn’t it? I think Asian grocers are a GREAT place to find affordable mushrooms and dried mushrooms, FYI. I’m adding this to my to-do list (along with buying a chest freezer!)
2/ I love it that some people are still blogging and I loved reading this post about herbs and pesto. Thank you, Erica.
3/ Today at ALDI I saw an elderly gent with a bunch of these puff pastry twists in his trolley. I immediately grabbed a packet and I can see why he was stocking up. Delicious and very home-made-y. Have you tried them?
4/ Chef José Andrés is on the Poland/Ukraine border feeding asylum seekers. Maybe you want to help him do that? (Link)
5/ Do you want to grow your own mustard seeds, pal? I do! (Link) Imagine making your own mustard from your own mustard seeds?!
6/ Do you want to go to Italy with me. IN MY DREAMS. Sigh. This looks so good! (Link)
7/ Gosh I ADORE these photos. (Found here) They remind me of shack books. A jumble of nostalgia and intrigue.
recipes
This week’s recipe was for Kasundi! The kind that is perfect for slathering atop - or abottom - of your cheese on toast. Or eating with roasted things. Or putting in a sandwich. Or spooning onto rice. Or so many other things!
what I ate yesterday
For breakfast I had a pide with za’atar, tomato and onion from Al Alamay. I bought it on Saturday but it was super good on Sunday morning.
For lunch I had Turkish bread (from ALDI) and spicy hummus (also from Al Alamay.)
For dinner I made ‘Backyard Chicken’ from the very gorgeous book The Sicilian Kitchen by Michele Di’Barolo. It’s a deep tray bake and Max and I could NOT get enough of it. I adapted the recipe a little from the original (added wine, paprika, chicken stock!) Maybe you’d like me to share it here? If you are not a vegetarian?
tool of the week
I realised I had given Rin my pasta machine when I left for Tassie in late 2019 and she had not had time to use it, so I borrowed it back and now I want to make some curly-edged pasta ribbons. Thus I will need a curly-edged cutting wheel. Also called a pasta wheel or a ravioli wheel, I have just learned. So I think I will track one of those down. They have a bunch of them - and other perfectly great things - at Costante Imports which is quite near me. How great does this shop look?!
TikTok cooks
MixYummy’s filo pastry baked creation looks gorgeous! (Watch)
Cooking with Shereen makes marinara sauce. (Watch)
And her pita recipe looks great too. In fact ALL her recipes look brilliant! (Watch)
“To me, eating well is not just about what tastes good but about the connections that are made through the food itself. I am hardly saying anything new by stating that our links to what we eat have practically disappeared beneath sheets of plastic wrap. But what are also disappearing are the wonderful, vital human connections we’re able to make when we buy something we love to eat from someone who loves to sell it, who bought it from someone who loves to grow, catch, or raise it. Whether we know it or not, great comfort is found in these relationships, and they are very much a part of what solidifies a community.”
― Stanley Tucci, Taste: My Life Through Food
chatty highlights
Reannon: Where can I watch How to Build a Girl??? It is one of my favourite books!
Pip: It's on Netflix!!! https://www.netflix.com/title/81041267 xx
three good things
1/ Making a giant batch of Big Sauce today. It will go on breakfast eggs, in pasta dishes, alongside sausages, with tray bakes and so many other places.
2/ Better Things is coming back for a final season. Hopefully it will land in the next couple of days on Binge in Australia. Do you watch it?
3/ Listening to BBC Radio 4 in the dead of night when I can’t sleep. There was a very interesting program on File on 4 about scam subscriptions last night. Highly recommend. Forewarned is forearmed and all that jazz.
Best wishes and squishes to you pal! Do comment soon, if you fancy! I’d love to hear from you!
x Pip
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Tray bake looks delicious. Thanks for sharing your cozy newsletter Pip, very much needed this week ❤️
Another tray bake fan here.
It’s been quite the week, I’m just retreating further and further inward, self preservation and all that. My girl has just borrowed my pasta machine (I hadn’t used it in a very long time) of course now all I can think of is making pasta. I mean really!! She’s 4 hrs away from me, I can’t see myself getting it back.