I love this broth. It's easy to make and full of clean and rich flavors. I've paired it here with jackfruit as a stand-in for crab and vermicelli noodles, but you can leave the noodles out or sub with ramen or rice and swap out the jackfruit with seared tofu cubes or mushrooms.
There's something so satisfying with making this broth: cutting and smelling the lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Scooping out a knob of fiery red curry paste and watching all of the fatty ingredients create an oily slick that disappears with a stir and reappears again in seconds. The smell is fantastic. Taste as you go, adjusting as you like.
Crabless soup, using jackfruit, in a creamy broth with lemongrass, curry paste and ginger.
Ingredients for the jackfruit crabBruise the lemongrass stalk to coax the most flavor out of it! Remove a few of the tough outer layers and tough tops to expose the softer, pale yellow interior. Give it a firm whack or two against the side of your countertop to loosen up the fibers. Slice lengthwise, then into two or three pieces before adding to the broth.
<3
Trying to maintain a balance of keeping informed, and knowing when to shut the news off, turn inward, and calm down. Escaping into another TV series also helps. These all offer great ways to do that:
A great podcast for staying informed, while having the right amount of humor to balance out the anxiety.
The present moment is all we have. Feelings are like drops of water in a river; they come and go. The key is bringing love and attention to all emotions—especially difficult ones—caring for them as if you would a small child. The one thing that can lift us out of past and reduce worry about the future is bringing attention our breath, which anchors us and reminds us that the only reality that exists is the present moment, right now.
We are finishing up Season One of Search Party and I'm obsessed. Great characters and enough mystery to keep us wanting to devour the next episode.
A bowl of rich broth, kissed with warm spices, loaded with buttery+caramelized onions and topped with ramen noodles and seared seitan … perfect cold weather food! This recipe is modified and veganized from Bon Appétit's French Onion Beef Noodle Soup recipe, and the seitan recipe method is adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's basic seitan recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. It requires a bit of time investment, but worth the work. It makes a lot, and you can freeze the leftover broth and seitan for later.
Start by gathering your ingredients, prepping them and placing them in bowls so they are all ready to go.
Combine the caramelized onions and broth. Ladle into bowls with ramen noodles. Top with seared seitan. Shove into your face.
A super warm and comforting soup, kissed with fragrant spices and loaded with caramelized onions.
Ingredients for the seitan (can be made the day before)The broth freezes well and any leftover seitan can be tossed into sandwiches or stir-frys.
I love Adriene's calm voice, slow and intentional movements and reminders to tune into the breath. This practice will mean and be something different to everyone … for me, it's a chance to turn inward, become more observant and calm down. Grateful for this series.
Alcohol has slowly, over the past few years, made me sick. But I love the taste and smell, and the little ritual of drinking a beer with Jeff. He brought home some non-alcohol beer from Athletic Brewing Company and I LOVE IT.
A beautiful+heartbreaking love story.
The Chef Show on NetflixWatch Chef Roy Choi and writer+director and home cook Jon Favreau cook stuff and eat it.
Since it doesn't really feel like the holidays are coming, we're not doing traditionally holiday-ish food on Friday. I tested out these sushi rolls and, they are, ::chef's kiss:: perfectly perfect for us this Christmas. I'll also be busy making this Mongolian "Beef", Firecracker Cauliflower and these sweet potato tempura rolls at some point this week while watching the snow fall and feeling gratitude for what's here and being okay with what is.
I found a decently priced package of lobster mushrooms the other day, so decided to give them a try. Lobster mushrooms are not really mushrooms—they are a fungus that grows on other mushrooms (smart or rude?) that soften up quickly in warm water and have an amazing texture. If the cost wasn't so high, I'd be using them more in chowders and stews but, for now, they are a fun ingredient to use every now and then.
These meaty mushrooms are encased in a crispy tempura shell and paired with rich avocado and creamy+spicy kimchi mayo. It's the perfect little bite! Click here for more vegan sushi ideas and inspo.
PrintThis recipe will make more mushrooms and kimchi+mayo than you need, providing a little extra for snacking during prep time. The kimchi mayo is also perfect on burgers!
This focaccia is so easy and simple. Crispy on the outside, soft and pillowy inside, and perfect for soaking up vegan butter or garlic butter. Flaky sea salt hides in the little nooks and crannies, creating the perfect bite. It can also be an amazing pizza crust, to top with whatever you'd like.
Start by whisking together yeast, sugar and water.
After 10-15 minutes, the top will get a little foamy.
Place 2 cups AP flour into a large bowl.
Create a well in the center.
Pour your foamy yeasty mixture into the well.
Gently combine with a strong spatula until it starts to come together.
Add a little more water if it's too stiff, a little more flour if it's too wet.
It's ready when the dough starts to pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.
Flour your workspace.
Place your dough on the floured workspace and knead for about 2 minutes.
The dough should start to feel really soft.
And then it can be easily formed into a ball.
Drizzle the bottom of a glass container with some olive oil. Drizzle some over the top and rub it around so the dough is covered in oil.
Dramatically fold a wet tea towel.
Drape over the top.
Leave it in a warm spot near a warm vent, the top of your refrigerator, on a radiator or in your oven with the light on.
After 45 minutes to an hour, remove the towel and the dough should be doubled in size.
See those little air bubbles?
Punch the dough down to deflate some of that air.
Now knead it again for about 2 minutes on a freshly cleaned and floured surface.
Add some fresh chopped herbs if you want. I used some leftover rosemary, sage and thyme from Thanksgiving.
Again, you'll want the dough to feel soft and smooth.
Press the dough into an oiled cast iron skillet.
Make indentations in the dough with your fingers.
Drizzle some olive oil over the top.
Sprinkle with a generous amount of flaky sea salt. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes.
It's done when the top starts to get golden and your house is filled with the comforting scent of fresh baked focaccia. Any leftover oil that's in the bottom of the skillet? I drizzle it over the top, but it's not necessary.
Cut it into squares or slice like a loaf of bread for sandwiches. This focaccia tastes best if consumed within an hour after coming out of the oven.
Focaccia Pizza topped with Apple, Red Onion and Balsamic Glaze
or with
Toasted Ravioli Stuffed with Cultured Cashew Cheese
Easy + foolproof focaccia, ready in about an hour and a half!
IngredientsWe're only halfway into Season Two of The Crown. I don't really know that much about the British Royal Family, but I'm loving getting immersed in this series. Also, how perfect of an actress is Claire Foy?
I'm currently reading The Invisible Life of Addie Larue for a book group I'm in. I'm only halfway through, but obsessed. I love Addie and the way the author takes us back and forth between 1700s France and current-day New York City. When faced with choosing either an everything or nothing sort of life, Addie picks everything, but with one big condition. I don't think I've ever read a book like this before, and I kind of don't want it to end!
Nora McInerny, creator and host of the podcast, Terrible, Thanks for Asking always makes me think long after I finish an episode. I listed to a recent episode with Susan David, author of Emotional Agility. Dr. David talks about the dangers of "toxic positivity" and how putting emotions into a "good" or "bad" box can keep us from feeling fully alive. She says that "being able to hold the so-called positive emotions and the difficult emotions side by side … [is] what actually creates far greater levels of meaning in our life." Emotional Agility is on my list to read and learn from!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Star Market. All opinions are 100% my own.
This homemade face and body scrub is easy to make and a great way to smooth and soften your skin! Gather your base ingredients: ground coffee, brown or white sugar, coarse salt (for the body scrub) and coconut oil. You can add in a little vanilla extract or other scented oils or spices listed below as desired.
To make this face and body scrub, I use Italian Roast Ground Coffee and Pure Cane Granulated Sugar from the Signature SELECT line and OOrganics® Organic Coconut Oil, which are available exclusively in Boston at Star Market stores. If you live outside of the area, you can also find these products exclusively at any of the Albertsons Companies family of stores across the country, including ACME Markets, Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw's, United Supermarkets and Carrs. Visit starmarket.com/exclusivebrands to shop online or find a store near you.
Both scrubs yield about a 3/4 cup each, which lasts for a couple of weeks in a sealed mason jar. I use them once or twice a week.
Once you've made and stored away this scrub to use later, settle down and enjoy a cup of coffee! Both can be a great form of self-care. The Signature SELECT Italian Roast is smoky+rich, and the Pumpkin Spice coffee from their Seasons line is spicy+sweet.
Over these past several months, I've been trying to practice more self-care by also:
Practicing self-care in these ways has made my life feel more balanced, allowing more calm in moments of stress and the strength to work towards dropping resistance to things I can't control. It's a work in progress, but worth the effort.
How do you practice self-care? I'd love to know in the comments!A smoky+sweet scrub for the face and body. Exfoliates and softens.
Ingredients to make a face scrub** If you'd like, you can add in a few drops or pinches of the following for an added scent or moisturizer:
Thank you to Star Market for sponsoring this post. I had the opportunity to work with a plant-based selection of OOrganics® and Signature SELECT products from my local Star Market in Boston—check out your local family of Albertsons stores to see what's available in your area.
Star Market also offers Grocery Delivery and Pick Up for convenient ways to shop!
There is a good chunk of space in my freezer that's always filled with little pillows of carby goodness. Making homemade ravioli requires a bit of a time investment, but I love the process and end result and hoping this little tutorial will inspire you to love the process too!
Choose and/or make your filling. Ground vegan sausage, homemade cultured cashew cheese, carrot lox and pumpkin are all good choices. For this batch of ravioli, I made vegan spinach ricotta filling. Whatever filling you decide to use, have it all ready beforehand, set aside at room temp. You can use a teaspoon or fill a pastry bag if your mixture is smooth.
PrintA great filling for ravioli! Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag for piping into your ravioli.
Ingredients for the cultured cashew cheeseAny leftover cheese can be slathered over crusty bread or bagels.
STEP TWO:Make your dough. I use this recipe from Rouxbe, which turns out perfectly. every. time. I recommend making it the day before, wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerating it. Take it out a couple of hours before you want to make your ravioli so it's room temp and perfect for working with.
Cut your dough into four pieces (you can wrap the remaining pieces in dough if you'd like to keep them from drying out), then kind of flatten it out into a rectangle. Messy and jagged is fine.
Flour your surface. You can use a pasta maker attachment on a stand mixer, but I've also rolled out by hand with a mini roller.
When you start, turn your pasta maker attachment knob to one. Roll it through on the lowest speed a few times. If it gets sticky, fold it in half, dust with a little flour, and run it through again.
The dough should start to feel soft. Turn your knob up to two and repeat, but you don't need to fold it in half again. It was a little tricky for me to get it to run uniformly through the attachment at first, but got easy with a little practice.
Keep going … now turn the knob up to three. The dough is forgiving at this point, so if you get any folds or crinkles, no worries … just run it through again and it will all get worked out.
Turn your knob up to four. I like this thinness for ravioli, but you could stay at a three or probably go up to a five.
Love it when the dough does this!
Once your dough is twice as long as your pasta mold, cut it in half. Flour the metal portion of the mold, then drape one half over it. Use the plastic part to create a little concave space.
Pipe or spoon about a teaspoon into each well.
Lay the remaining piece over the top, flour side up, or it won't stick together.
Drape carefully when tucking your ravioli in.
Stretch or move a little as needed.
Use a rolling pin to get a clean edge.
Gently pull the edges away.
Carefully flip the mold over onto your floured surface.
Gently lift the mold up to release the ravioli.
Marvel at how soft and pretty they are!
Using a pasta cutter, roll it along the edges to separate.
I line a baking sheet with a silpat and use a spatula to transfer, one at a time.
Repeat this process with the remaining three pieces of dough.
Leave the ravioli out to dry for an hour or so, then transfer the entire baking sheets to the freezer. Once firm, you can pull them off the silpat and transfer to plastic bags or containers. I label them with their fillings as a final step!
TO PREPARE FOR LATER:Take out the desired amount of frozen ravioli and allow to come to room temp (I lay them onto a silpat or cutting board for about an hour). Bring a large pot of water to a small boil. Drop in the ravioli one at a time, increasing the heat if the boil drops. Boil for several minutes, then fish out with a skimmer and lay onto a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. This will allow any water to escape so you don't have any excess water in your sauce.
Transfer to plates or bowls. Serve immediately and enjoy.
More pasta dishes and ideas here! Some great reads, discoveries and little bits of gratitude from the past several weeks: The Queen's GambitThis Netflix series was amazing! Beth's character was so moving. I never thought I'd be excited to watch a series about chess, but YES! I loved it so much.
I recently read Eckhart Tolle's brilliant book, The Power of Now. In it, he described us as having two parts: our true self, which is consciousness in its pure state and that which does not identify with our form. It allows the present moment or the Now to be as it is. We can learn to turn our attention towards this part, and the book guides on how to work towards that. The other part of our self is our ego, which identifies with our mind, and looks to external things to validate its worth. This process can never be satisfied (or controlled, because we can't control external things or people). This causes endless suffering and keeps one stuck in the past or worrying about the future, and denies the Now.
It describes in great detail how to live in the Now and how to drop all resistance to what is. Although there is a ton more to take away from Tolle's book, I've been focusing on one of the ways he describes how to put this into practice:
If you find the Now intolerable, you can: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally as if you have chosen it—and dropping all resistance. Anything else is insanity.
I'm currently taking a 200-hour yoga teacher training. To supplement this, I'm also starting to look at Yin yoga, which the author describes as "a practice of undoing so you can let the breath fall away as you practice and become more relaxed." This book is so simple and beautiful, covering a lot without being overwhelming.
I've been babying these Calatheas for several weeks, and they are starting to push out new leaves. This gives me more joy than I thought it would, allowing me to set aside all of the big and heavy things of 2020 for a few moments and remember to notice and feel the small things.