1. Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots
I thought I was becoming immune to the joys of new cookbooks, but the last couple months have shown otherwise. Maybe it’s my newfangled, or rejuvenated, interest in cooking, or maybe it’s that recently there’s been a bunch of interesting releases. Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots, by Georgina Hayden, is one that was on my radar but not as much as it should have been until I paged through it at a friend’s house and immediately afterwards, got a copy of my own.
As you may have deduced, everything is Mediterranean inspired, but it doesn’t feel at all prescriptive — the dishes are simple and creative: a caramelized shallot, anchovy, and olive rigatoni; paprika, cheese, and honey scones; smashed cucumber, radish, and olive salad. There are great options for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike; I’ve already made the Fried Gnocchi with Crispy Sausage and Broccoli and will be making it again soon. For you, recipes: Fisherman’s Tuna and Potato Stew, and Creamy Fennel and Rosemary Gratin. – Kate
2. Mark’s delicata pasta for one
Not that I’m alone in this — on the contrary — but when I’m cooking for one I often turn to pasta. And if I have a delicata squash in the fridge, which I do most of the Fall … well, there it is. Got home from hanging with Holden for 24 hours while Kate and Nick went to a wedding, was exhausted from running around with a ten-year-old, et voilà. I wrote up the recipe for you. – Mark
3. Even if you don’t care about hand soap, you should try this hand soap
I have a bit of a fascination with hand soap. As a kid, I don’t even think we had “hand soap,” I think we just had a bar on the sink — where’s the fun in that? Of course I don’t enjoy the waste that comes with buying all those little bottles, though, so a while back, because of that (and, to be honest, because I’d been to too many restaurants that featured $50 bottles of Aesop hand soap and loved the scent so much but would never, even if I was loaded, spend that much on HAND SOAP), I tried Element’s refills and I am a convert. I bought a couple of their (plastic: I cannot have glass bottles on our bathroom sink, I have a ten-year-old) bottles and a bunch of bags of the soap and it is so lovely — it feels like a little spa trip for my hands every time I use it. I highly recommend the Pumice Stone Hand Soap. I love it for the little exfoliating scrubbies; Nick does not like it for that same reason. But I haven’t bought a bag I haven’t liked. – Kate
Comment