A "Square" Meal

A recipe with the whole dinner in it, Cherries & Sugar Snap Peas

When you come across a recipe for a main protein like roast pork shoulder or a side dish like grilled zucchini, maybe your thought process is like mine, “Ok sounds good, but what am I going to serve that with?”. I’m a cook so the answers come pretty easily. But I know for some people that’s a struggle. And then you're tasked with finding a whole new recipe with all different ingredients. I love cookbooks that have little notes on the bottom to tell you what other recipes in the book would pair well with that dish. My friends Caroline Campion and Kathy Brennan have two cookbooks (Keepers and The Dinner Plan) that do a great job at that. These women are the real deal “Moms/Cooks/Food People” and if you like my newsletter I bet you’d love their books. 

Then every once in a while I come across a real “square” recipe. One that has all the components in one recipe: Protein, Vegetable and Starch. I think for weeknight cooking, especially by parents, these are real “keepers” as my cookbook friends above say. 

One Pot Lemony Fish with Saffron Rice & Green Beans

This is that kind of recipe. It’s all in there: Saffron Rice, Fish & Clams, and a big helping of Green Beans. It all cooks in one pot and comes out of the oven hot and ready to serve. The ingredients are simple enough that the kids will eat this but elegant enough that I would serve this to my kid-less friends :) It’s all about the layering of ingredients and timing. This recipe (which is hard to screw up) is going out to subscribers later today. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox, click that little green button below. 

MiniMouths

Dean is having a week! He was very into the saffron rice and had a few bites of the white fish. Some other things he got into this week: smoked tinned oysters (odd but he absolutely loves them), takeout Thai fried rice, pitted cherries (also added to our smoothies), and croissants. 

What I’m Loving This Week

My Oxo Cherry Pitter: Honestly, before having Dean I didn't have a use for a cherry pitter. I wasn't making cherry desserts and I’d just eat them whole and spit the pits out. But this season I’m all about the pitter! The Oxo one is really easy to use and makes giving Dean cherries a no brainer. This week our morning smoothie has been banana, pitted cherries, almond butter, a scoop of yogurt & ice. 

Sugar Snap Peas at the farmers market: I don’t know about where you live but every year, right about now, I get the most amazing snap peas from my farmers market. They’re so special and makes me turn my nose up at the supermarket ones the rest of the year. The flavor doesn't even compare. My favorite way to prepare them: trim the stem. Cut in half diagonally. Pan > butter > snap peas > chopped garlic maybe a little ginger > cook for 3-4 minutes > salt & lemon. Done. 

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer: This isn't a new book, it’s been around for over 10 years and has sold millions of copies. It had been on my reading list for years, but recently a friend mentioned what an impact it had had on her and her partner. So my husband and I are both in the middle of it now, and are regularly reading passages of it to each other. We’re both really resonating with the message. I don’t know, probably anyone, who isn't searching for inner peace and serenity. This book has a really straightforward approach to that. 

Wishing everyone a well rounded week XO Liv