Comfort food for uncomfortable times
The day before the 2020 US Presidential election is not a good time to write anything, not even a food newsletter. In thirty-six hours, the world will be different, and everything produced now will seem weirdly naïve, and prematurely out-of-date.
Nevertheless, hi. We all gotta eat, same during this election week—a nail-biter, whichever side you’re on—as at any other time. So let’s talk about comfort food. The weather is getting cooler. But these would be unsettling days at any temperature.
Do I have the answer to this year’s extraordinary tensions? I don’t, not really. But if, like me, you find that cooking dinner is a favorite self-care ritual—maybe the only one you’re regularly making time for—or if it’s one you’ve been meaning to try or get back to, you’re in the right place.
Fall means a return to soups and stews, one-pot meals that are both warming and nourishing. If you’re looking for inspiration on Trivet Recipes, you might try ribollita, in this case a Tuscan white bean and kale stew, made hearty with bread and finished with herb-infused drizzling oil, from Feasting at Home; leftovers get better in the fridge for several days.
There’s also green chili chicken chili, a Tex-Mex recipe that’s medium-spicy and easy to put together, from Jam Jar Kitchen. It would be great with a crisp green salad on the side; with avocado on top, it could be a meal in itself. Or a velvety Thai carrot soup from Minimalist Baker: peanut butter and coconut milk make it rich and satisfying, while onions and carrots (lots and lots of carrots) make it healthy.
Maybe try something with an unusual, collagen-heavy cut of meat, like Jacques Pepin’s pork neck and bean stew, excerpted from his cookbook Heart and Soul in the Kitchen, on KQED.
Last, don’t underestimate the carb-laden showstopper. The other night I made one of my favorites of the type, pasta with red wine. Spicy, rich, and regally purple in color, it combines the uplift of something fancy with the lowest-common-denominator pleasure of, well, a piping hot bowl of spaghetti cooked in alcohol.
Whatever happens this week, it’s going to be a wild fall and winter. Take some time to fuel yourself. Rake some leaves, or shovel some snow. Take a breath, and take another. We’re going to be in this for a pretty long haul.
Also this week, Trivet Recipes caught up with Abi Balingit of The Dusky Kitchen, a baking blog started while working from home during the pandemic. (Its name refers to the dimly lit room, in a shared apartment, where Abi does her bakes.)
Hi, Abi! Who is your hero of food?
My hero is Sohla El-Waylly, who has struck her own path as a chef and Youtube sensation. Her openness and courage to call out Bon Appetit’s problematic workplace, and to leave it, is so inspiring. Being a woman of color in these white-dominated spaces is not easy, and I look up to her resilience and culinary talent to guide me in my own endeavors. Most importantly, she has taught me to know my worth in and out of the kitchen.
What baking achievement are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the PASALUBONG treat boxes I’ve sold over the course of the last few months. I baked over five hundred servings of Filipino fusion desserts in my tiny kitchen. With the help of my boyfriend, we made deliveries all over New York, spanning Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Since August, I’ve had the privilege of being able to donate 100 percent of treat box proceeds to community organizations like Bed-Stuy Strong and Send Chinatown Love. It’s both scary and exciting to share my desserts with strangers, but the response has been so warm and enthusiastic that it’s encouraged me to keep putting my creations out there.
You just wrapped up a cookbook club, on I Am a Filipino: and This is How We Cook, by Nicole Ponseca. How did it go? Do you have any tips on how to run a cookbook club in the age of Zoom?
It was such a wonderful experience getting to have an intimate conversation about Filipino food and identity with Nicole Ponseca and all the members that participated. Although I wish we could have met in person, the fact that doing this over Zoom allowed people from all over the country to participate makes me grateful. I’m actually having another cookbook club meeting on December 6th to discuss Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat! You can sign up here.
My biggest tip for running a cookbook meeting is to err on the side of caution in giving someone enough time to say their piece. It’s hard not having IRL body language cues to know when someone is done talking and it’s safe to respond, but you’ll eventually reach a natural groove when everyone is more comfortable with contributing to the conversation.
What's a challenge you are currently looking to tackle in your baking?
One baking challenge that I hope to tackle soon is a Filipino dessert called Brazo de Mercedes. It’s a meringue rolled with a custard filling, and I think I’ve been hesitant to try it because I have a vivid memory of my parents struggling to make it themselves when I was younger. I’m also terrified of wasting the many eggs needed to make it if I mess up! However, I think I’ll be brave enough to try it soon.
Find Abi at The Dusky Kitchen, or on Instagram.
Finally, speaking of comfort, if you’re looking to detoxify your Twitter feed (or just cut it with something delightful), you could do a lot worse than the Redwall Feasts Bot.
See you in a couple weeks.
Trivet Recipes is a sharing site where food lovers can post recipes from anywhere on the web. To save and share content, create a free account and start posting today. And stay tuned. We plan to launch a food blogging platform, Trivet, in 2021.