Three Things

Flexitarian burritos, a giant cookie swap, food writer news

Good afternoon readers and eaters. Has everyone recovered from last night’s episode of Succession? Whoo boy. That was a lot! In more palatable news, I was thrilled to see The Weekday Vegetarians on Remodelista’s Stellar Gift Cookbooks List, but then I went down their “Kitchen of the Week” rabbit hole, and had a hard time coming back to earth. Here are Three (more) Things I’m excited about this week…

1. Burritos With or Without Chorizo (dinner tonight?)

As I’ve probably mentioned a few hundred times in this space, my oldest daughter, Phoebe is a college cross country runner and when I asked her this past weekend what she wanted for dinner, her eyes got all dreamy talking about one of her last races of the season, notable not just for how strong she felt out there on the course, but for what she ate afterwards: “A burrito as big as a child.” In other words, that’s what she wanted for dinner. And to be honest, it sounded unbelievably appealing to me, too. You know that particular voraciousness you have after a good workout? That’s what I was picturing. I’d go out for a long run, get that post-race, wintry-tingly feeling in my cheeks, have a fire, then make a good cozy dinner. And that’s how it mostly went. Except I might’ve skipped the long run part.

We happened to be at the farmer’s market when we were having this conversation, so I picked up some chorizo and a head of cabbage for some slaw on the side. I was thinking I’d mix a link or two of the sausage with some beans — I’d just ordered a few bags from Rancho Gordo, I just couldn’t remember which ones — and go from there. Turns out, all I had a giant stash of limas (of course) and some mayocoba heirlooms, which I’d never tried before, but as my husband would say, it’s not like they’re gonna be bad, so that’s what we did. And they were, of course, great, but keep in mind: You are absolutely encouraged to use canned black or pinto beans here if that is what you have on hand. PS It’s crazy easy to adapt these to be gluten-free, dairy-free, or meat-free for whoever is at the table. Here is the recipe again.

2. This Week in Cookies

It’s that time of year! I’ve ordered my cellophane bags and brown craft boxes and now all I have to do is figure out the all-important cookie box mix. Last week, I asked readers to share their showstoppers and the result is one giant cookie swap in the comment section. I’m also going back on the Susan Spungen archives and eyeballing these festive looking marbled shortbread beauties. My mother-in-law’s frosted Christmas cookies (above) which she’s been making with the girls for decades and which are easily Hanukkah-ed with the right cookie cutter, will be making a cameo without question. (Photo by Chelsea Cavanaugh from How to Celebrate Everything, illustrating that we do indeed celebrate everything.)

3. Ruth Reichl on Substack!

Ruth Reichl has joined the ranks of Substack — well, at least temporarily — and is sending out newsletter dispatches every day in December. It’s free and delightful and I particularly love her gift-a-day recommendations — that part, I’m quickly realizing is not free, so I will need to pace myself a bit. The newsletter is called La Briffe, and it’s like a mini magazine where she writes short essays, revisits old restaurant menus and advises on how to improve classic recipes. Reichl appears to be the headliner among the new exciting food acts joining the newly launched Substack Food. And I for one am here for it. Literally.

Have a great week!

Jenny

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P.S. The supply chain disruption is affecting products far and wide, including books! If you plan to order The Weekday Vegetarians (or any book) for a holiday gift, do it sooner rather than later. Writers the world over thank you very much.