Welcome! This week's cooking inspo
a one pot (for real!) pasta, easiest vegan miso soup & what I'm loving right now.
Hi guys!
I’m SO excited and flattered that you’re going to be following along over here. This new platform will definitely be a learning curve for me. But here’s what I’m planning for you..
Each newsletter will be full of ideas and recipes for feeding your family really well. It’s my BIGGEST PASSION in life to teach everyone that they can totally cook! And well! I’d like this newsletter to be a glimpse for you into exactly what’s happening over here, in my kitchen, every week. Weeknight recipes that are EASY, ACCESSIBLE and HEALTHY.
In addition, since this is a real slice of my food life, many of the recipes will be easily adaptable for baby or toddler. The recipes will have an easy option to turn the same ingredients into a meal for the babes. The idea, as my pediatrician enlightened me to, is that baby can (and should!) eat exactly what we eat, just smaller or softer. This really rings true if you’re eating wholesome home cooked food - and now that you’re here, you will be!
If everyone in your family can feed themselves with a fork and can chew solid food (lucky you!) you can just skip over that content! Or even better send it to a mama in need.
The first few newsletters, and the recipes in them, will be available to everyone so you all can get a taste of what you can expect here. My plan is to continue like this but the actual recipes will only be accessible for paying subscribers. Here’s the reason for the paywall… I think this information is of real value! And, although hopefully it looks effortless, it actually takes a lot of time and effort to produce this content.
THANK YOU again for your support, it means A LOT to me.
What’s up for this week:
Burst Cherry Tomato & Kale Pasta (with optional, but come on, Burrata)
Any Root Vegetable & Miso Soup + Bonus Baby Food
Some books, tools, and rituals I’m loving right now
The pasta has tons of cherry tomatoes and a literal bunch of kale in it. And drumroll… uses exactly 1 pot to cook it and therefore 1 pot to clean. The flavor profile and creamy texture is going to grant this pasta a regular spot in your dinner rotation. I really wanted to try that method of putting dry pasta, and a specific amount of water, in the pot with the other ingredients to cut out the task of boiling pasta in a separate pot then saving some pasta water for the sauce. Turns out it’s AWESOME and EASY! Not only does it cut out 3 (pot, strainer, vessel for pasta water) dishes to clean, it instantly creates a silky sauce from the starches in the pasta. It’s glorious, you’re going to LOVE it. Scroll to the bottom for the recipe.
The soup: if any of you follow me on the gram you know how obsessed I am with miso. And don’t be embarrassed if you're unfamiliar with miso. This recipe is a great start and I plan to have a whole newsletter dedicated to my love of this ingredient. This soup can be made with ANY mix of root vegetables - which are very healthy for you and very accessible in the dead of winter. The entire recipe is vegan, but if you have some homemade chicken broth in the freezer I highly recommend using it here. Here’s where the bonus baby food comes in… you blend a few of the soft cooked vegetables, a scoop of miso and a little cooking water first for your baby so the texture is a little thicker and more “spoonable”. Transfer that to their bowl or a container and press on blending your soup! Voila! Mom of the year. If your babe is a little older, a great idea would be to cook up some pastina or orzo and mix the soup with that as a kind of sauce. The recipe is down below.
What I’m loving right now:
Breath- by James Nestor. I CANT PUT THIS DOWN. Nothing to do with food but everything to do with health & wellness. You're like “um, a book about breathing? Sounds kind of dry”. Yeah, BUT it’s not - It’s a page turner. If you have any interest in your well being, which if you’re reading this newsletter that’s my hope, you HAVE to read this. I’m a wellness nerd so chapters on diaphragmatic breathing and ancient wisdom found in monasteries in the Himalayas are like 50 shades for me.
My mini food processor that is ancient and probably costs $9.99 from TJ Maxx, is getting some serious play recently. Here’s why I’m loving it: The big fancy food processor can’t handle a small amount of food scooped into it, it needs more volume than that to actually blend. Same with my Vitamix. So I keep that little guy right on my counter and when I’m cooking, I scoop out some of the cooked vegetables and whatever right in there, a drizzle of olive oil, blend and boom! Dean’s food is ready. The parts are small and easy to clean with basically just hot water (I don’t have a dishwasher). Truth: I bet those baby food appliances that cook the food then blend it for you are really cool. I don’t have one because a.) They cost $ b.) They take up counter space and c.) that means if I want dean to eat the same foods as our dinner, I have to add the vegetables, spices, fats etc into something twice rather than once into my cooking pot. I bet they are a bitch to clean too. But if Beaba wants to send me one to test these theories, I won’t object!
GRACE. I grew up saying grace every single night before we ate dinner. But then poof! That tradition was gone. I don’t run with a particularly religious crowd, rather a fairly spiritual crowd. So I don’t know anyone personally who’s in the habit. But I had an experience a few years ago that really moved me and I’ve been making an effort to reintroduce it. It’s been really transformative. I write all about it in a post on my personal website, that I’ll link here. If you’re interested in bringing mindfulness and gratitude into your dinner routine check it out. I’ll leave you with this beautiful quote that would be the perfect way to begin any family dinner and maybe spark some conversation…
“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha
If you’ve made it down to the bottom here, I wholeheartedly say THANK YOU! I hope you gleaned something from what you read and I can’t wait to talk with you more next week. If you feel to, please share this with your friends, family, breathwork teacher...whoever your people are!
Have a wonderful week!
XO Olivia
Burst Cherry Tomato & Kale Pasta
Serves 2 big eaters
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
A big squeeze (about 1 tablespoon) of anchovy paste
2 lbs. cherry or grape tomatoes
1 big bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
1 tablespoons kosher salt
2 cups short pasta (like orecchiette, pipette, or farfalle) basically half a box
3 ½ cups of water (maybe more)
1/2 cup grated parmesan (pecorino, grana padano, all good)
Half a bunch of parsley, chopped (out some basil in too if you have it)
1 ball of burrata (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with high sides or a dutch oven over medium heat. Remember it will fit all the pasta so choose accordingly. Add the garlic, anchovy paste, cherry tomatoes and salt. Saute for about 10 minutes until the cherry tomatoes start to burst and some jammy sauce forms on the bottom of the pan.
Add in the kale, dry pasta and water. Stir and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Stirring often (so the pasta doesn't stick), cook for about 12 minutes until pasta is al dente and water has mostly evaporated. If the sauce ever becomes too dry just add a little more water.
Stir in the grated cheese and herbs. Divide among serving bowls and top with torn up burrata if you're using it.
Any Root Vegetable & Miso Soup
Makes a big pot that serves 6-8
3 pounds of mixed root vegetables (such as carrots, sweet or regular potato, parsnips, beets, celery root, sunchokes or rutabaga)
¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil
4 garlic cloves
1-2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled and cut into big chunks
2” piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
⅓-½ cup of miso paste (all depends on the brand)
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Peel all of your vegetables, and chop them into big chunks that are relatively the same size.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the garlic, shallots, ginger and all the root vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes, only stirring a few times so that some of the veggies have a chance to get golden brown on the bottom. This adds a lot of flavor.
Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables by 1 inch. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat. Drizzle in the toasted sesame oil and the lemon zest and juice.
Working in batches, blend the soup until it’s very silky. You’ll add the miso to each batch before you blend. I just eyeball it when dividing. This way you can taste the soup right out of the blender and determine if it’s enough miso. Use your intuition here!
Pour all the batches back into the pot to heat it up before serving. If the soup is too thick simply add a little water to thin it out.
If you’ve got a mini mouth to feed this translates beautifully into a tasty and super nutritious baby puree. Before you start blending your soup, take out some of the soft veggies and put them into the blender along with a little bit of miso and lemon zest. Add just enough of the cooking liquid to loosen it but still keep it thick enough to spoon feed.
