Three Things
An easy soba noodle dinner, Passover brainstorming, how to be a dinner fairy ✨
Greetings friends and happy first week of spring, by calendar if not by thermometer. Our farmer’s market offerings are still a bit stingy, but I can tell the energy is picking up a bit — there are more people (and dogs) on line at our favorite vendors plus daffodil shoots are fighting their way through the grounds alongside the tents, and for now this is enough to make me feel hopeful about brighter days ahead. At least when the topic is…produce.
Some quick housekeeping before we get to your Three Things today: I wanted to remind new readers that my Substack is not only a newsletter that’s reliably to you emailed every week, sometimes twice a week — it’s also a living-and-breathing website that archives every single one of those recipes that you meant to make but then forgot about in your inbox — like for instance, my famous Mud Cake or the Sour Cream Loaf with Strawberries and Lemon that will see you through spring. The Recipe Index is organized by things like Protein, Vegetable, Quick-Cook, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Dinner, Lunch, etc, and is updated every week. You must be a paying subscriber to access it.
And now! Three Things I’m excited to tell you about this week…
1. It’s delicious, this is how I make it, end of story
Spring or not, it’s crazy how often I think of a funny asparagus moment in Yotam Ottolenghi’s newsletter a year or two ago. He wrote, “My colleague Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said once that his heart sinks every year with the arrival of asparagus in spring. Not because he doesn’t like asparagus (that would be crazy, you’d have to agree), but because he’s got nothing left to say on the matter. Asparagus is delicious, that’s how I make it, end of story.” Obviously, I agree on the asparagus point, but sometimes when I write up recipes in general, like this vegan soba noodle dish I made last week as part of a “Vegetarian Reset,” I feel the same way. I just don’t have more to say about it other than: “It’s delicious, this is how I make it, end of story.” Actually, I do have one more thing to say: It could not be easier.
Soba Noodles with Mushroom & Edamame
Serve at room temperature. Serves 4.
Note on leftovers: Noodles are even better after the flavors have had a chance to really meld overnight in the fridge.
2. Passover Brainstorming
My sister is hosting our Seder next week, and I’ve been helping her plan the menu. Here’s what we’re thinking so far: Matzo crackers with my Sweet Potato-Tahini Dip and Smitten Kitchen’s Wild Mushroom Pâté to start; Leah Koenig’s Matzo Ball Soup, two Harissa Roasted Chickens, the Slaw with Raisins, Crunchies, and Za’atar-Yogurt Dressing (shown above) from The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple (or here) and Greek-Style Lemon-Oregano Potatoes if I can figure out oven timing with the chicken. For sweets, I am considering the old standby Pavlova with strawberries or an Orange-Almond Cake (GF), but I’d also like to try something new in the chocolate dessert department this year. Passover celebrants: Let me know if you have any go-to recipes you swear by — dessert, chocolate or otherwise. P.S. Did you know that Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander published a modern Haggadah a little over a decade ago?
3. How to be a Dinner Fairy
A few weeks ago, we were barreling south on the Brooklyn-bound 2 train to meet friends for dinner, when we had a very New York moment: Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette was in the same subway car as us. She, too was headed to Brooklyn to eat with friends, but in passing she mentioned she was the one taking care of the food. Naturally, this activated my dinner antennae, especially since as far as I could see, Maria wasn’t carrying anything. So a few days later, I followed up with her, not to ask how it felt to write a mega-bestseller adapted for the screen by Richard Linklater or about her highly anticipated new novel Go Gentle, which is out in three weeks, but to ask about that dinner. Here is what she wrote back:
Something I do when I’m making plans with friends who have little kids... I pre-order Door Dash to their place for it to arrive after bath- and bed- time. This way, my friends don’t have to deal with the hassle, expense, and chaos that comes with hiring a sitter, plus free dinner! I get to see their kids for a bit, and we can all have adult-time. Yes, it’s very empty-nester-fairy of me, and I love doing it.
She also orders an extra dish so they can have leftovers the next day. How nice is that? Naturally, the whole thing reminded me, yet again, of how the least important part about gathering with friends for a meal is the cooking part of the meal.
It also made me think of all the times the dinner fairy has shown up in my own life. Like the night in 1999 when we celebrated our second wedding anniversary at a fancy restaurant — which was really quite a splurge for us — and when it came time to pay, the waiter told us, “The check has been taken care of.” Turns out, Andy’s boss had called ahead to pick up the tab and 27 years later, I remain completely blown away by the gesture. (I pay that one forward by picking up drinks or desserts whenever I get the whiff of a celebration.) Or all the mail-order meals that arrived in the weeks after my father-in-law died (looking at you, Salt Lick BBQ); or when my college friend sent Chicago’s best matzo ball soup to my daughter as she was recovering from wisdom tooth extraction. ✨✨✨✨
Have you ever been visited by the dinner fairy? Please tell me more.
Have a great week,
Jenny
Illustration by Phoebe Ward
Lunch of the week: Mackerel, bibimbap, and banchan with my friend Erin at Her Name is Han. I will be returning for a larger portion of the Chilled Tofu with Black Sesame Dressing (lower right) and if you are local, I suggest you do the same.
If you like what you read, would you take a sec to hit the ❤️ button at the top left or bottom left of this newsletter? It helps spread the word about Dinner: A Love Story and also really makes my day.
For more easy, approachable vegetarian recipes, check out my New York Times bestselling books The Weekday Vegetarians and the follow-up: The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple. 🍳🌿
We were just a dinner fairy for a neighbor that lost his wife. We wanted to do something but sometimes people receive too many random casseroles when a death occurs. So we gave him a Door Dash gift certificate.
I love the illustration by Phoebe Ward.