My Favorite Easy Shakshuka
Shakshuka is pure comfort food. It doesn’t have a season, and it doesn’t need a reason.
But oh, are there reasons.
Since I last posted in October, a LOT has happened, but the biggest news (which is news to absolutely no one) is that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. And in New York City, we were at the very epicenter for quite a long time and are still finding our way out. My loved ones and I have been fortunate in that we have been able to stay home and stay healthy. Although this is something we do not take for granted, it doesn’t diminish the fact that social distancing and living under quarantine for months can be mentally taxing.
A lot of my time in quarantine has been spent cooking and eating comforting foods and of course, making bread. It’s been great to see so many of my friends learning to make sourdough, because now I feel like part of a big club!
But if you’re like me, you’re having trouble keeping up with your bread-baking habits. With a loaf in the freezer, a loaf in the bread drawer, two loaves proofing in the fridge, and jeans up in my closet that I haven’t worn since March giving me side eye from beneath a thick layer of dust, what am I supposed to do with all of this BREAD?!
ENTER: Shakshukaaaaaaa.
BBQ “Pork” Loaded Sweet Potatoes
September becomes a strange month after you finish music school. This is my second September since graduating Juilliard and (finally) concluding my quest to collect as many music degrees as possible, but it still feels weird.
When everyone else is frantically throwing together a seating audition and you’re just at home drinking tea and practicing at your leisure? Great, but weird. When everyone else is at school until 12 AM rehearsing and you’re in bed by 9:30? AWESOME, but still weird. When you no longer have someone else deciding where you need to be at every second of every day? That’s especially dope, but also… Kinda weird.
September as a freelance musician is also odd, because it bridges the gap between the end of summer (not that busy) and the fall (WHAT DAY IS IT WHERE’S MY CAFFEINE DRIP SOMEONE BOOK ME A MASSAGE AHHHHH). Regular teaching starts up again, gigs happen more regularly, and all the chill vibes I was giving off in August get ready to fly south for the winter without me.
But since we have a little time left before the busiest part of the fall season, I thought it would be fun to try a little experiment this month.
Heirloom Tomato & Fig Salad
The end of summer is upon us, and it’s bittersweet. Now that Labor Day Weekend has passed, many of us are resuming regular work or school hours, putting our beach supplies back in storage, and saying goodbye to cookouts and rooftop bars. But even if you do work normal hours all throughout the summer, there’s something about that post-Labor Day feeling (i.e. today, right this very second) that’s just kind of a bummer. But it doesn’t have to be.
I LOVE this time of year. It marks a transition from not liking how my violin strings sound 75% of the time (#gutstrings #humidity) to thinking they sound pretty okay 75% of the time. It means that soon, I can stop worrying about maintaining a pedicure and get my cute boots on until at least March or April. And soon, I can go apple picking and make ALL THE PIES!! But for now, it’s still technically summer for another month, and all of the perks that come with crisp, cool weather aren’t here yet. So how can one really make the most out of this weird, transitional SummerFall? Two words: fresh produce.
Sesame Chili Potato & Cucumber Salad
As much as I like to think I keep it current with internet phrases and memes, more often than not I am actually embarrassingly out of the loop.
Exhibit A: Until a quick Google search about 5 minutes ago, I literally had no idea what a “hot girl summer” was, why everyone has been trying to have one, or where the phrase even came from. Even now though, I only have a vague understanding of the criteria. Does it require having a tan? If so, I’m automatically disqualified. But does it involve cooking in an air conditioning-less kitchen on a 100˚F day and questioning every life choice I’ve ever made? Then I guess I’m nailing it.
One-Pot Spicy Cajun Chicken Sausage Pasta
I try to live by the simple rules in life. You know, like, always treat others the way you would want to be treated. Always start the day with breakfast. And NEVER go into Trader Joe’s without a plan.
Raise your hand if this has ever been you at TJ’s:
“Well, my cart is at least 85% vegetables, so I guess one box of dark chocolate peanut butter cups won’t hurt. Or 4…”
“FALAFEL SPICED VEGAN CAULIFLOWER GNOCCHI DUMPLING NUGGETS?!? Where have these BEEN all my life?!”
“I don’t know what a ‘Quartet of Snacks’ is supposed to be, but it’s going in the cart.” *SIDENOTE: filing away under ‘genius string quartet names’*
But rules are made to be broken after all, which is why I have more hummuses in my fridge than I can possibly finish, and also why this recipe exists.
