Vol. 6.3: Overcooked.
Finally climbing out of the rut.
We’re wrapping up our series on kitchen ruts today, and since I sent out the recipe for this one a bit early, there’s not a new one included with this issue. Instead, you’ll find a lot of links, but if you’re here only for the recipes, or if the discussion of food fatigue feels triggering to you, just close out now - I’ll see you next week for an edition on the science of pasta and several new sauce recipes.
I’m going to pick up my list right where I set it down, so if you’re new here - or if you simply need a recap - you can find the first half of this issue here.
We discussed cleaning out your kitchen, reorganizing, and reconsidering where you buy your groceries, all in the name of kicking your brain out of autopilot. The next step is restocking your kitchen and fridge: what to buy? The list of must-haves for building a fortified pantry is a long one, but for the sake of working through a culinary brain-block, let’s focus solely on flavor: restock your kitchen with things that make cooking good food easy. Having tools and ingredients that guarantee flavor in just a few steps makes the task of feeding ourselves over and over feel less tedious - even more so than simply (and solely) restocking your kitchen with convenience foods would. There’s nothing wrong with having frozen or jarred food around - everyone does! - but when you’re sick of the mental process of cooking, you’re not going to find stimulation in opening a bag of fish sticks. Instead, make sure you’re buying the things that you need to make any ingredient or dish (even a convenience one!) taste great. Every kitchen should have a few cooking and finishing oils, including butter if you partake; a few different kinds of salt; different vinegars and some citrus for adding acid (a fresh lemon or lime is great, but bottled isn’t always terrible - I like the Nellie’s brand); a stock of black peppercorns, as well as a few ground chili options and hot sauces for adding heat; sugars for sweetness, but also things like honey, molasses, agave, and maple syrup; dried spices and herbs - blends are fine as long as it’s stuff you’ll actually use.
There’s value in evaluating your tools, too: you have the basic ingredients for adding flavor, but do you have the equipment, as well? Everyone should have a dedicated pepper mill, for peppercorns, as well as a mortar & pestle for grinding whole spices and fresh or dried herbs. Do you keep your butter in the fridge, and then wind up never using it? Pick up a butter keeper (your butter will not go rancid, I promise). Invest in a rasp/zester-style grater (also known as a Microplane, although that’s a brand name) - use it to season food with fresh citrus zest, hard aged cheeses, or salted egg yolks, and to grate fresh nutmeg and cinnamon. I use my immersion blender all the time - it’s possibly my #1 tool for fridge-cleanouts, because it turns random leftover vegetables, sauces, salsas, and cheeses into silky soups and pasta sauces without a lot of work. Other things I own in multiples because they get so much use: whisks, rubber spatulas, measuring cups & spoons, assorted sheet pans, mixing and portion bowls for mise en place, colanders and mesh strainers, cutting boards. You don’t need to own everything, right?, and I hate recommending to people that they just buy ever more Stuff. But name your rut - are you always short on time? does everything taste flat? are you always tossing rotten produce into the compost? - and splurge on a few tools that address your specific problems. Everyone lost their shit about air-fryers and Instant Pots and went out and bought one of each without a second thought; most of the things I’ve mentioned here will run you <$20. Also, whoever you are, however often you cook: sharpen your knives.
Back to that rotten-produce thing: if you’re buying vegetables and fruit with the best of intentions every week and finding that a lot of it goes to waste, try prepping produce ahead of time. Hard squashes, root vegetables, stalk veggies like broccoli and cauliflower and asparagus, Brussels sprouts, shell/pod beans like sugar snaps and green beans - those can all be cleaned, peeled, trimmed, and chopped ahead of time as appropriate; tossed with a little bit of olive oil to keep their surfaces from oxidizing and/or drying out, they’ll keep in a zipper bag or glass container in the fridge for several days. I’m not a meal-prepper in the modern sense - I personally hate the idea of cooking several things at once to then eat throughout the week - but I love having produce ready to go; it makes getting dinner together so much less daunting. Trimming broccoli and Brussels, peeling and slicing some yams, maybe even peeling and halving a few onions - I can do enough of that in under an hour to get us through the week, without having to commit to any final preparation. I can throw those prepped items on a sheet pan with some salt and spices to roast them, or add them to soup, or steam and puree for a pasta sauce, or land them on a hot grill for a few minutes. Even if you’re buying those vegetables “pre-prepped” in bags, don’t kid yourself: those often still need a once-over, so do it ahead of time. Raw vegetables like cucumbers, peppers, fennel - you can wash and slice those for salads; they’ll keep in a container in the fridge, lined with a damp paper towel, for 3-5 days. Tired of tossing strawberries, blueberries, and grapes before they start to mold? Rinse them and store them submerged in cold water in the fridge for a week or more; crazy but it works. The only things I don’t really recommend working up ahead of time: mushrooms, soft/summer squashes, tomatoes, and whole heads of lettuce. But, sidebar: maybe we just need a whole issue on vegetables.
This one maybe seems obvious - or possibly even a little easier-said-than - but if you’re mentally exhausted of meal planning, try actively seeking some new outlets of inspiration. Maybe you follow so many delicious, food-porny Instagram accounts that you don’t even pay attention anymore - you just scroll on by. Try un-following for a little while (you can bookmark to a special album so that you can find them again later), and seek out some new ones. Prefer to have stuff delivered to your inbox? There are a ton of great recipe newsletters out there: I get several, but some of my favorites are Molly’s (paid; 1 recipe per week at about $1 each) and these two from the New York Times (the newsletters are free, and while most recipes do exist behind a paywall, sometimes just reading the newsletter is inspo enough). Food52, Serious Eats, Bon Appetit/Basically, Mark Bittman, Cook’s Illustrated/ATK, and countless independent writers (hi) send out mailers, as well; just search your favorite food media site, or even Substack. Want to be more in-control about it all? Put that $1k microcomputer in your hand to work. I have two running threads in my Notes app: one for saving links to recipes I love or want to try, as well as for jotting down meal and recipe ideas; another one lists every store where I buy groceries and the specialty items that I love to get from each. Whenever the analysis paralysis kicks in and I can think of absolutely nothing to make for dinner, or when absolutely nothing looks appealing in the store, those lists are my life-rafts. (Want a peek at some of my favorites? Here’s a link-fiesta: this genius fish; this weird and wonderful soup; these two smart ways for using up herbs; my favorite fuck-it dinner - it’s excellent with spicy honey on top; this method for getting insanely crispy, salty, crunchy bits on tofu.) (Another sneaky pro-tip: find the authors of all of those recipes, and your other favorites, on Instagram, and give them a follow. Boom: insta-inspo.)
And, listen, if - after all of that - you’re still feeling numb and exhausted at the thought of cooking? That’s okay. We’re all working really hard right now. Take-out it is! But try rethinking your approach: order in some dinner for tonight, but get a little extra somethin’ somethin’ to inspire a homemade meal later in the week. An extra quart of queso would make a fantastic (and SO easy) mac & cheese in a few days, with some scallions and black beans and maybe some quinoa thrown in ( … quack & cheese?). If you’re ordering from a barbecue place, maybe get enough brisket or smoked tofu that you’ll have leftovers to turn into tacos tomorrow night. Make a shrimp fried rice frittata! Make a bread pudding with leftover brunch pastries - add some bacon and it’s Breakfast For Dinner! There are no rules. And don’t overlook the condiments and extras, either: ask if you can buy a pint of your favorite salad dressing, pickles, pasta sauce, kimchi. It’ll make you feel so much better about having scrambled eggs for dinner, again, if you can add something fresh and different to the plate.