this week in recipe links + cookbooks

cook the food, close the tab

Howdy! I’ve got a small victory from a long week to share: I’ve closed - and cooked - all of my recent recipe tabs!  

Welcome to a short tale of clicking through tabs and loungin’ with cookbooks.

This is not an everyday occurance. There’s usually one window swept aside, accidentally minimized, half-heartedly bookmarked, or quickly closed - only to never be found again. And that one looked so good! D’oh.

Those potential crumbs in the keyboard are a mere price to pay for this uh, modern marvel of exploring recipes instantaneously on the internet. Which includes the good-to-great, the copycats, the repetitive, and the questionable alike.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it surprises ya, and sometimes you know from the get-go this one is suspect, but that one looks legit!

Scrolling aside, rest assured, I still turn to my cookbook collection and relax with library holds & check-outs for inspiration on the regular. 

I suppose I just don’t trust newer cookbooks the way I used to - with a few exceptions, of course, the names Hetty, Isa, J. Kenji, Ruby, Bryant, Andrea all coming to mind. Actually, let me blatantly link some of those with wildly exciting new releases way down below.

The thing is, to expand on that point from a moment ago, a book caught our mutual attention the other day at the library and we grabbed it off the shelf by title and concept alone, later realizing I semi-recognized the author from Insta-ness. Of course. We read it through with some brief “oohs” and “ahhs”, which quickly turned to more “huhs” and “ehs” over a cocktail glass full of BROTH (for dinner!) and growing concerns about diet culture. I won’t name names. I will simply take a deep breath, move on, and continue with a far more delightful read.

Anywhoo! J + J approved links-turned-dinners coming your way…

What follows is a week’s worth of recipes from seven different tabs that were read, followed, successfully closed + and eaten by two humans for dinner. No qualms! Only a couple of auto-play vids that tried to take over my screen and streaming jazz station! Pertinent notes and links follow.

ppk tofu buffalo wingz + sourdough biscuits for valentine’s day, true story

1) Kate’s Tofu Buffalo Wings, The Post Punk Kitchen 🔪

I don’t think I ever had the time (or very-early-twenty-something confidence - howev, current day me would waltz right in) to dine at the titular Kate’s Joint itself, but I do have fond memories of being in awe of its very existence while eating from a lukewarm yet thrilling box of take-out on the Fung Wah bus back to Boston. Did that box contain a tofu club sandwich? Messy gravy fries?…Salad?! Cake!!?! That’s what I grasp in the memories.

I definitely wasn’t ready to eat anything “buffalo” or “wing” by that point in my life. That wary nibble would probably occur a year or two later at the equally iconic Foodswings, for the NYC/vegan scene/familiar. Frankly, by that point in life, I had only very recently become acquainted with Thai stir-fries, BBQ sauce (in a tofu burrito by Fenway Park, no less) and uh, AVOCADO, because where would I have seen one by that point? Taco Bell?!?

Well, duh, life goes on, so many restaurants do sadly close, and I’ve since become quite fond of vegan wingz of many varieties. The simple, fried & sauced Ota tofu sticks of Hungry Tiger Too in Portland come immediately to mind, and years ago, Jules insisted I make Joni’s “Toffalo” Wings on the regular.

Let me get to the point of this first link, and something I can’t resist when it comes to making “wingz”: as much as I don’t mind deep-frying or shallow-frying in non-gross oils, and as much as my spouse may not believe this second one even more - I do try to avoid messes.  And well, the price of non-shady neutral oils is higher than ever before in stores where we live, so this all sees me BAKING vs. frying. And that’s what I did with this brand new PPK recipe…..because where would I even put an air-fryer?!

These were awesome, and I would do it again! Oven at 400F, parchment paper, drizzle of organic canola here & there, super crispy panko, flip, adore, dip in sauce, devour,  yadda yadda. What I’m saying is, this one is a revisited CLASSIC and I hope Isa isn’t too disappointed that I baked ‘em, because I am officially beyond eager to get my hands on FAKE MEAT: the cookbook.

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2) Overnight Sourdough Biscuits, Artful Homemaking 🥄

Hello and welcome to my favorite biscuit in a while. This is the second time I’ve made this particular overnight recipe. It is easy, patient, and makes a lovely, soft & tangy biscuit. I do opt for chilled virgin coconut oil for the ‘butter’ component (surprisingly, the only oil to decrease in price at Costco in recent months, hmm). I also intend to make them taller one of these days…

It was more of a matter of sourdough discard action on our return from vacation and happenstance that this made it to plates of the above Kate’s Buffalo Tofu + seared broccoli + crudités + ranch, but, no complaints noted. : )

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3) Danny Bowien’s Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Sichuan “Fish Fragrant” Fried Eggplant), Saveur 🔪

sichuan fried eggplant, tofu, bitter greens, jasmine rice

Mission Vegan is another enticing newish vegan cookbook I’ve spent time flipping through that is motivating & colorful as heck, although sadly, not conducive to my middle-of-Alaska existence, no matter how well stocked I consider my pantry. Alas. That aside, this is a multi-step dish from the older namesake cookbook that I try and make whenever those beautiful nightshades enter my life again (particularly the long, violet Asian varieties). That’s obviously not as often as I’d like, but I already said ‘alas’ in this same bit, so just know that it’s worth the effort for a “melt-in-your-mouth” saucey, garlicky affair that’s so, so good with bitter greens & steamed rice. 

(And fyi - ah, yes, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting more than one of the NYC iterations, RIP to those, too).

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4) Foul Mudamas, Zaatar and Zaytoun 🥄

When in Brooklyn, I visit the institution that is Sahadi’s on Atlantic Ave (Yeah, yeah I’ve been to the shiny new Industry City locale, it can be convenient but lacks the charm of the hustle, bustle & history, ya know?)

And when at Sahadi’s, I’m buying dried beans that include some type of favas, among other things and swooning  into + over the olive bar. I’m once again sensing a pattern here, because I feel inclined to wax on about how gosh - soothing - the melt-in-your-mouth vibe of stewed favas can be. 

there’s foul mudamaas in there somewhere

This was the first time I incorporated chickpeas as well as favas into this Lebanese version of the traditional Egyptian dish, both cooked from dried in my case/pantry life. 

Trust me, they’re under those precious cherry tomatoes and minced parsley, and plenty of fresh lemon juice.

Also an excellent reason to make sourdough pita.

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5) Penne with Caramelized Cauliflower, Chili and Garlic, LA Times 🥄

Let me repeat a dinnertime mantra from my twenties, courtesy of my Italian American lineage: when you don’t know what to make, reach for the pasta, garlic and olive oil. Maybe some chiles, breadcrumbs, and/or lemon or parm. A bitter green or alluring veg.

case in point: pasta con cavolfiore verde

This one is a classic recipe I came across when contemplating some green cauliflower, and the next thing you know, dinner. I appreciate how the directions point out how deliciously pleasing it is to “caramelize” the cruciferous into the dish here.

so nice I made it twice, well, no, but the iterations are endless

Plus, I’m pretty stoked to mention that I had this postponed pasta prepped days in advance and it was PERFECT after a hefty day of double doctor’s appointments in Fairbanks (ahem, a 4.5 hour round trip).

6) Jet Tila’s Vegan Pad Thai, Food Network.com 🔪

Another cookbook I spent some time of late with is Jet Tila’s latest, 101 Thai Dishes to Cook Before You Die. I enjoyed his prior work, 101 Asian Dishes (yadda yadda) so much that I sent my brother a copy for his new apartment a couple of years back. Apparently he’s even opened it once or twice! 🍴

pad thai, pickled daikon, jules’ orange date salad à la padma

And not that it’s a deal-breaker because I often take more pleasure in reading “as is” recipe and/or veganizing them myself, BUT, I did take note of the short but impressive “plant-based” chapter in this newer book, which makes sense recognizing both Jet Tila’s expertise and both the long history & modern buzz around meatless Thai cuisine.

This Pad Thai recipe is both in the book and on the website above. It was legit and encouraged me to press some tamarind paste into juice, something I haven’t done in years and really brings that authentic-ness (that, and the sugar).

(btw, I will point out that I would 1.5x the sauce on the next go or decrease the noodles; the noodle ratio may be different in the book vs. the mega website).

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7) Butternut Squash Gnocchi, Teaspoon of Spice 🥄

butternut squash gnocchi night

Okay, okay, one more for the road! I hadn’t made gnocchi in some time, and never squash-based. And then came a roasted butternut squash, an experiment of ambitious but far too thick ramen broth (ehhhh), and what to do with the leftover mash. Not the broth, that I washed and stir-fried the noodles, in case you’re wondering…and to remind myself it was all o-kay. 

I turned to gnocchi, and used the recipe above as a base. The nutmeg and smoked paprika were a seriously nice touch. I incorporated a smidge of aquafaba and then just enough extra flour to bring it all together. Seared in a hot cast iron of olive oil with lots of sliced garlic, minced lemon peel and purple kale raab in lieu of a brown butter sauce, because sage would be rad but yadda yadda, when in Rome the middle of Alaska !

Thumbs up to a successful dinner project, even if we both agreed they looked like little orange chickin’ nuggets.

Thank you for reading through this totally hot week of links!

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Once again, let me ask:

What have *you* been cooking or meaning to cook lately?

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P.S. I use the Duck Duck Go search engine to make things a little less invasive in my perusin’.

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References + Relevant Links:

This Week’s Link Collection:

• Kate’s Tofu Buffalo Wings, The Post Punk Kitchen #ppk4eva

• Overnight Sourdough Biscuits, Artful Homemaking

• Foul Mudamas, Zaatar and Zaytoun

• Penne w/ Caramelized Cauliflower, Chile and Garlic, LA Times

• Jet Tila’s Vegan Pad Thai, Food Network

• Butternut Squash Gnocchi, Teaspoon of Spice

back to this one

🌟 Final Cookbook Shout-Out !

• Cook as You Are by Ruby Tandoh (+ free mini version download w/ 10 recipes) another library suggestion/hold that I’m utterly cherishing - so inventive & welcoming!

• Ever-Green Vietnamese by Andrea Nguyen (WANT)

• Fake Meat by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (WANT)

• Mission Vegan by Danny Bowien (ALAS)

• Tenderheart, Hetty McKinnon (YUP, on the list!)