sweet kale salad

+ hojicha white chocolate bark, kid tidbits, and other miscellany this month

Hi there! The Substack experiment continues—welcome to a wee TRB monthly round-up. Here are some things we ate, did, laughed at, bought, watched, etc. in April.

food

I’ve been making this kale, Brussels, sweet potato and date salad a few times a month, usually a gigantic batch in a 9x13 pan that Fiona clamors to share with me all week long.

My very favorite dinner shortcut these days is picking up bibimbap fixings from our favorite Korean market and calling it a day with a big batch of rice and a couple fried eggs, maybe some leftover tofu from the kids’ lunches. One portion of veggies is usually enough for both B2 and me, while the kids get japchae and fish jeon.

Lately, I’ve been using up leftover chocolate we have (is there such a thing?) by making a little bit of chocolate bark. We made hojicha white chocolate bark with the leftovers from Easter—it was nice and smoky, a grounded way to temper the sweetness of white chocolate. Here’s the very simple recipe, which works just as well with matcha.

HOJICHA WHITE CHOCOLATE BARK

8 ounces white chocolate
1-2 teaspoons hojicha powder (matcha works well, too)
optional toppings:  candied citrus peel, slivered almonds or hazelnuts, candied ginger

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Best is a quarter sheet or smaller sheet that will fit in your refrigerator—a baking dish works well, too.

2. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in short, 15-second bursts, stirring after each, until smooth. Whisk in the hojicha until incorporated and no lumps remain. The exact amount is forgiving.

3. Pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper and use a spatula to smooth it out to the thickness you prefer. If you prefer toppings, add them now in an even layer.

4. Chill in the freezer or refrigerator for a few hours until firm. Enjoy.

little bowls

Luke got a little award at school and we were all very excited, so he got to make “Skywalker Sugar Cookies” from a Star Wars cookbook our friends gifted him. I was tempted to “edit” the recipe until I saw that it was the same as one of the top contenders in Erika’s bake-off, which is always my go-to for baking classics—and lo, they were quite tasty. (The same could not be said for the Landonuts we made back in February.)

Both Luke and Clara have little cookbooks that they like to flip through. Because Fiona’s now at the age where she copies everything they do, she likes to take Clara’s and say, “Cackolat, mmm, cackolat,” (chocolate) as she peruses.

miscellany

• On the hunt for a new makeup primer and thinking of trying this one. Any recommendations?

• I’ve never met a Biossance product I didn’t like, but this toner has been especially great and makes my skin feel refreshed and unclogged without being too astringent.

• Like the rest of the world, we are watching the last season of Succession, but also very excited that Somebody Somewhere is back. Looking forward to Hacks and Warrior later this summer.

Wishing you all a lovely May.