For some reason, this summer has been kicking my butt. (I would love to know, what’s the best way to make home-brewed coffee as strong as possible?) Besides the constant feeling of never quite being caught up, I will say we’re making the most of our summer—we had some really fun and wonderful firsts, including taking our kids to Legoland, and we ate and made some tasty things, too. Here they are.
food
It is plenty hot now as I write this, but every June gloom, especially this gloomier-than-usual one, we end up gravitating towards food more fitting for winter than summer. I first learned of haluski (at least, one version) through Ali Slagle’s recipe on NYT Cooking, and it was all that we hoped for and more. The cabbage cooks down sweet and aromatic in all that butter, and I can never get enough of bouncy egg noodles in any application. Sometimes I find recipes that purport to “sneak” greens into dishes don’t really include all that much, so I’m always happy to find ones that genuinely pack a good serving of vegetables—this is one of them.
Filed under “little recipes that are way greater than the sum of their parts” is Japanese butter rice—nothing more than hot rice with a generous pat of butter and a drizzle of soy sauce. Sometimes we find ourselves with just a little too much rice left into the cooker after dinner, and this is the perfect, comforting evening snack to use it up. I didn’t know that “butter shoyu” was a thing, but it’s for good reason—the combination is so much more than it sounds. Nami talks more about it in this recipe for Japanese corn rice, another recipe that is perfect in its simplicity.
Another June-gloom hero and the absolute most satisfying quick lunch—especially while struggling though one of the 84,789 colds we’ve had this year—has been a quick kimchi jjigae. I’m calling it “leftovers kimchi jjigae” because it’s even better when it means we can use up the odds and ends of the little banchan cups of kimchi from takeout. The result is deep, rich flavor with little to no effort. Sometimes I’ll add a nest of thin Cantonese egg noodles or a brick of ramen, but my favorite side with this is still white or purple rice.
LEFTOVERS KIMCHI JJIGAE
1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon minced garlic 2-3 shallots or 1/2 onion, finely diced 2-3 green onions, sliced 1 cup kimchi, with juice 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or, ideally, a Korean anchovy stock or dashi, if you have it on hand) 4-6 ounces tofu, cubed 1 teaspoon gochujang (optional) 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional) 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional) Salt, to taste
In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and green onions and cook, stirring, until just softened.
Add the kimchi and continue to cook over medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes, ideally until the kimchi juice reduces, and the kimchi darkens and begins to caramelize in spots. I love fried kimchi, so this step goes a long way in deepening the flavors that I like and adding a round, savory heat—I don’t rush it.
Add the stock of your choice and stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer and add the cubed tofu. Taste and if you think it needs a little more flavor or heat, add the gochujang, sesame oil, sugar, and/or salt.
Simmer for 2-3 more minutes, or until tofu is hot. If you like noodles, you can add them at this step and serve once cooked through. Otherwise, enjoy hot, with white or purple rice.
kids and other adventures
We took the kids on their first trip to Legoland in June to celebrate Luke “graduating” from kindergarten and Fiona’s birthday. I can assure you there was no shortage of stimulation (we decided to stay in the Lego hotel, to boot) and it may or may not have taken us a week to recover, but we all had the very best time.
Here’s our spread Fourth of July—lots of food but nice and simple. As with many things, I consulted Ella Quittner’s Absolute Best Tests on Food52 for how to cook our dogs.
Revisiting some of our favorite eats this summer—Huge Tree Pastry’s beef roll is still my favorite in all of SGV.
miscellany
We watched Season 2 of The Bear and while we didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Season 1, it was still pretty great. Episode 6 in particular was a doozy.
Warrior is back! We’re as hooked as ever. I want to know where they find their music.