Miscellaneous shit from the past month Vol 5

After a long hiatus from doing concerts and all via Covid and just general disinterest due to life stage, it felt good to be back this year since I intentionally tried to make it The Year of Live Music that turned into the Year of Live Things in General. I saw Jagged Little Pill the musical in January, Bruce & the E-Street Band in Atlanta in February, missed the goddamn Gin Blossoms in February due to Covid but they were booked, Harlan Coben in March, music in the park in Langhorne at the end of May, Elin Hilderbrand in June,  Bare Naked Ladies/Del Amitri/Five for Fighting in July, and of course I saw Bruce at the Meadowlands, which was a bucket list concert for me, with Melissa and Tris the week before Labor Day weekend. Bruce was scheduled for Philly too with my Dad & brother but that was postponed until August 2024. Today is Bruce's birthday. Happy birthday to the boss!

Anyway the Year of Live Things concluded its booked portion this week with Ray LaMontagne at the Met and Kate Baer in conversation with Jessica Knoll at the Northampton Library. I also saw Jennifer Weiner at Bucks the Thursday after Labor Day, and had dinner with my mom after. I'm on the hunt for some live music/things to do for the remaining three months of the year, preferably around the shore since I'll mostly be there with a few spots of Philly intermixed. The live music/event doesn't have to be famous so if you have suggestions especially near the shore, let me know

The end of summer at the shore was good - MFD’s fam was down, mine over Labor Day, his Aunt Maureen spent a few days with us and it was nice to visit with her. Mom and alRich were supposed to be down this weekend but switched to end of Oct due to weather. 

Have I mentioned stilt people are at the top of the list with clowns of things I do not ever want to encounter?

Isn't she a beaut? I actually got one of those Brads deals things in my signature color. This was a fucking steal. It's quite a bit bigger than the yellow one from Aubrey I've been rocking the past few years and will likely continue to use for my shorter beach trips.

I just need to leave this here.

This will never go out of style. Fuck him and everyone excusing him and everyone on the fascist down escalator to hell.

Random things that have been kicking around in my head.

My hand is raised.

In the past week the dogs went back to Dog Beach and loved it - still another week before they are allowed back on our regular beach - and Shittah went to the vet and hated it. He refuses to be in a carrier so he went on his harness. He was pissed regardless.

Covid pause killed all of my creativity including cooking but I'm feeling like I'd like to do it again. I made greek chicken bowls recently, and ground chicken with a cauliflower veggie mix and some sesame oil and soy sauce to clean out the freezer. On the last day of summer (yesterday) I finally had two really good pieces of corn on the cob. I feel like I didn't get enough fresh farm food this summer. Also Snoop has cereal and it's not good. 

We cannot get enough of topo chico in the glass bottles with a little lime over ice. 

Adult level joy is finding the tart cherry juice you flavor your water with on sale for half price.

The only time I would ever touch Hunt's ketchup is to purchase it for a blind ketchup taste test happening this fall. Heinz only, FOREVER

Are we all loving connections as much as me? I do Wordle, connections, and a daily crossword all on my phone (I also do crosswords by hand still obvi). Gotta keep that aging brain fresh to death

This is my perimenopause headshot. Do you like it?

We are one main mini split and one window AC unit down at the shore. We are in the make a list of things to do portion of shore time.

Happy first day of fall. This is my favorite type of pumpkin.

My weekend plans were changed due to rain so I figured I'd use the time to catch up on random shit I like to keep on the blog. Hope you're well

Thursday Thoughts - Reminded who are we by the girls of wild strawberries

I carried a watermelon. MFD wanted to run and get his camera to capture the moment. 

Pasta salad season. Mine varies but is typically a Barilla veggie pasta base, some type of cheese, and obviously veggies. I lean to cucumber, broccoli (I throw it in with for the last minute and a half of pasta cooking), olives (kalamata in here but open to all), grape tomatoes, a bit of red onion, italian salami, an orange pepper that was about to go down, garlic salt, onion salt, garlic powder, and Olive Garden dressing. It's like a complete meal for summer. 

Getting rental season ready by doing things we could have done all winter. Insert upside down smiley face here. Painting shelves, touch up paint, trim paint touch ups, having powder room sink braced by a local handyman, replacing broken trim pieces, dry wall repair, Mermaid surgery to reattach the hangers to the back, anticipating arrival of new bench and stools that will need assembly. When I paint furniture these days, I prefer the Heirloom Traditions All in One Paint. No prep aside from cleaning needed, dries quickly, and it lasts. This is it after 1.5 coats in Capri on the right, I left it intentionally distressed in spots. It is pretty impossible to fuck up. I am painting two dressers this fall, one in navy and one probably in tea rose. 

Multiple mass shootings since Uvalde - which I wrote at length about last week - we have work to do as citizens. We cannot accept strangled minority rule. We must become ungovernable in the current system, and everyone operating in it holding change back must go, regardless of who they are and what "side" they represent. Follow Emilyinyourphone on Instagram, who is bringing action items as they come. Follow Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand. Moms....demand action here. Please. I am sorry it is falling on you like most things do, but if you just continue the work school after school activity wash rinse repeat nothing will change and we really need it to. We're all being ground down to not have the energy to effect change, but we must. We cannot have kids dying like this in America when it is not happening elsewhere on the globe where there are also guns, mental illness, otherness, misogyny, etc. These shootings and this culture of violence is entirely preventable and all of us are responsible for breaking the broken system. Some thoughts that resonated with me. 

Reminder, especially to women who are chastised for being aggressive or too much when working for something you care about, like kids being safe in schools. 

General reminder.

Analog LOLs

My perfect iced tea is brewed in a maker, and it's Boston Mint-in-Tea with a smidge of sugar and some fresh citrus, whatever is available

Happy happy birthday to my lady loves of over 30 years, KVSR who had her birthday yesterday and Kim who celebrates Sunday. 

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Girls of Wild Strawberries by Guided by Voices

Kick it up in the kitchen

Let's start this off by saying SEASON YOUR FOOD. 

Now that that's out of the way...I am not a spicy food person, but I do like a little kick now and then. It changes things up from my usual array of spices and my taste buds appreciate it. If you are also leery of food being too spicy, there are ways to add flavor and a little kick without burning your mouth off. And ways to season your food without overdoing it.

Check your Pantry

What spices do you have in your pantry? I hope you at least have a solid selection to season your food with, including some that are going to kick it up a notch to borrow an Emeril saying. Think about which spices you would prefer, and make sure you have them easily to hand as you cook. Chef  Curl Ardee is Black-woman owned spice company and her mild seasoning is kicky AF. I love Penzey's, of course - their Fox Point and Roasted Garlic are two of my favorite seasonings of all time.. I am also hugely into the McCormick blends, which I didn't even know existed until I started following Tabitha Brown on Instagram. 

Slow your Roll

When seasoning food, start slow, especially if it's spice you're adding. You can always add more but you can't subtract. Keep that in mind, because it can be all too easy for the spice to overpower the actual taste of the dish, and that is not what you want. Subtle and delicious is the goal. 

Understand How Spices Work Together

Spend some time considering how different spices work together. This will help you know something of equal importance - which ones simply don’t go together at all. Once you are clear on this, it'll be easier to create delicious meals that appeal to your palate. I promise you will look forward to vegetables more when they are seasoned well. 

Being Basic is Cool

A lot of cooking comes down to having the right sauce for the dish, which is why it’s important to be able to cook some of the most basic essential sauces out there, including ones you can add a spice to, like an aioli. MFD does like spicy food, and a sauce like this is a good way both of us can enjoy it - I can make it and split it and MFD can add more. This is a great, super simple recipe to make sriracha aioli from scratch. That can then be used as a side to so many dishes, or as a dip. Aioli is king, but it's a straightforward and easy thing to put together. If you add a feather to your cooking cap this year, let this be it. A nice sauce elevates boring old baked chicken breasts or pork loin, you know? Once you master this, move on to hot mustard - I'm going to try the one from Dwardcooks this year.

What new cooking ways are you trying this year?

 

Tips for Anyone Switching to a Vegan Diet

There are lots of different reasons why you might want to switch to a vegan diet. Some people do it for health reasons, other for environmental or animal welfare reasons. Whether you’re trying it short-term or looking to make a more permanent kind of switch, it’s important to consider how this might work for you and how you can stick to the switch you’re looking to make. So read on and find out more about doing that.

Take the Time to Learn from Others Who’ve Been Vegans for Longer

First of all, you should talk to anyone you know who has already been a vegan for a long time. They’ll be able to teach you a lot about the process of making this transition and the challenges you’re likely to face along the way. Make the most of those people as they’ll save you a lot of mistakes.

Find Recipes for Inspiration

Finding inspiration from recipe books is one of the easiest ways to get acquainted with your new lifestyle and new ways of eating. Don’t try to force yourself to come up with new ways of cooking and new recipes on your own; there are so many recipes already out there that you can enjoy and that have been prepared by professional vegan chefs.

Find Out Which Vegan Replacements You Like and Which You Don’t

There are lots of vegan replacements and alternatives that you can try out if there are certain foods that you think you’re going to miss. There are obviously all kinds of meat replacement options that you might want to try. But one thing that lots of vegans miss is cheese. There are plenty of good alternatives out there these days, so try them out. You can even get cheesy vegan pizza.

Image Source - CC0 License

Eat Plenty of Whole Foods

It makes sense to focus first and foremost on eating whole foods because that’s what matters most when it comes to staying healthy. Don’t fall into the trap of buying lots of processed foods that are branded as vegan. It’s much easier and cleaner to eat whole foods that you can cook from scratch in your own time.

Take it a Day at a Time

Finally, it makes sense to take things a step at a time and a day at a time when you’re looking to make big lifestyle changes. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself or make your life more difficult than it needs to be. Focus on improving your cooking and if you do have a few slip-ups from time to time, just accept that as part of the wider process and not something that you need to worry about too much.

Be sure to make the most of the ideas above if you want to make a switch to a vegan diet and ensure you make the change a sustainable one. Making these changes only makes sense if you’re willing to stick to the changes you implement and make a real success of things.

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This post was written with the Life According to Steph audience in mind

Resourceful to the bone - making the most of your leftovers and stretching your food budget

Everyone is feeling the cost of food rising. If you want to save or cut down on food waste, maximizing your food is the best place to start. Packaged, processed, and convenience food might seem easier, but it is absolutely not cheaper and it is 100% not more environmentally friendly. Individually packaged shit is yikes. With the cost of everything up, now is the time to make the food go further, and resourcefulness and leftovers are the best way to win this battle. 

People have a hard time finding the time to cook from scratch. This is not surprising given that most households are running 24/7. Here's an oldie but still relevant from me: my meal prep tips for an easier life. When we do have the opportunity to cook, we've got to make sure that those meals go further - cook once, eat twice or three times. Leftovers are an absolute treasure trove of opportunities. 

Redefine “Leftovers” As “Ingredients”

What you make the first time is not how you have to consume it the second or third time. When we have a bunch of leftover vegetables, this doesn't just have to be a side dish but can be the foundation for something else completely. For example, cooked vegetables and a can of tomatoes instantly create a healthy pasta sauce. You can blend your vegetables into an amazing soup or add vegetables to a frying pan with a few beaten eggs and you've got yourself a very healthy frittata. 

Ditch the Recipe and Use What You Have

You don't need to follow recipes exactly. Substitute with what you have in your fridge/freezer/pantry and wing it. It will be edible 90% of the time, I promise. 

Make Your Dinner Your Lunch

Another amazing way to save time and money with your leftovers is to leave a bit of your main meal aside so you've got some lunch for the next day. It only requires a little bit of extra planning and you can create a week's worth of healthy lunches for work or school. Even if you've got only a tiny bit left after your main meal, cook and add more vegetables, rice, quinoa, or pasta to bulk it out. 

Have a Leftovers Night

If you have a fridge stocked with bits and bobs of leftover foods, this is a money saving opportunity. Putting all those ingredients together may seem like a recipe for something particularly nasty, but creativity is the road to deliciousness. If you've got leftover ham, rather than slapping it in a sandwich with some mustard, turn it into a delicious bean soup. There are two ways to make 15 bean soup, including a crock pot. If you're short on time, take the easier route. All you need to do is put it on in the morning before you start your day and when you're done, it's done! 

Storing Your Leftovers Better

Food lasts longer if it's packaged to store correctly. Be savvy with how you store your leftovers. Freezing any leftover vegetables in airtight containers or ziploc bags is a simple way to ensure that you are storing everything and not wasting a signal morsel of food. Certain foods don't store in the freezer very well, but when it comes to vegetables, make sure that you label and date the contents so you can take them out and cook them up before they get that horrible freezer taste. 

Make Stock and Broth With Any Scraps

Bone broth is a very trendy food item these days, but rather than paying through the nose for it from a  store, make it yourself. Because bone broth is just something that everybody's grandparents made to ensure they ate nose to tail but is also an amazing way to ensure there's more flavor in your food. It's such a simple thing to do: all you need to do is keep any leftover bones and freeze them. When you have enough, take them out of the freezer and put them in a slow cooker for 24-hours with a bit of apple cider vinegar and a few herbs and you've got an amazing broth that can be a stock for soups and can even add flavor to your scrambled eggs. Let me know if you want to talk bone broth making.

Don't Throw Your Bread Away! 

If you buy high-quality bread it can lose its freshness after a couple of days. You can freeze it, or  salvage it as a side dish. Cut the loaf in half, drizzle some olive oil onto it, rub the side with half a ripe tomato, season it with some salt and pepper, and bake it in the oven until it's warm. Enjoy with soup or by itself.

It's the little things that add up to savings. What are some ways you're stretching your grocery budget right now?

Chicken. Eggs. Veggies.

Wednesday! I thought it was Tuesday for much of the morning, so yay? If you are here over the past two years you're basically getting a weekend post, Thursday Thoughts, a list of some sort, or random food talk. Today is random food talk.

I've been thinking about protein and veggies lately and how to get more of both, so this post is a meandering marriage all of those things. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Right, stop and get on with it.

Making good use of eggs

Aside from frying, boiling, poaching, and scrambling eggs, you can make a delicious crustless vegetarian quiche (like this spinach and mushroom one from Budget Bytes) or zucchini pie to get a good dose of protein and veggies in the morning. Both options require almost no preparation (well, aside from the zucchini prep) with most of the time going to the 40-45 minutes that it takes to cook it in the oven.

Adding Veggies

To breakfast, as above. To chili, last weekend. In veggie meat sauce, always. Leaning heavily on salads and roasted veggies with sheet pan dinners and raw veggies as snacks. How are you getting your veggies in?

Roast a whole chicken

I think chicken eaters avoid whole chickens a lot, and I'm not sure why. They are great and a good way to really use everything. I hate food waste in general, and if I'm eating an animal even more so. Don't toss away even a scrap. Roast it whole or carve it up and use all the pieces, anything you don’t have for dinner or prep to be used in the future can be put in the fridge for sandwiches the next day. As for the bones, you can use them to flavor a stew, making sure that you’re really using every single scrap of the bird.

Don't be afraid of thighs

The best chicken to cook with in my opinion is the delicious and flavorful thighs. They are one of the cheapest, too. I actually hate chicken breasts. I eat thighs most often by just making them solo or putting them in dishes as ingredients like in an instant pot kadai chicken, which my friend Kelly has been raving about. This loaded instant pot recipe also uses tomatoes and ginger, so good for you, and makes enough to feed the family for at least two days on it. My goal when making dinner is to always have an easy-reheat meal for lunch or dinner the next day.

Pick it all

Once the “best” cuts of meat are gone, you’re still going to have a lot of meat on that bird. Go over it with a carving knife or your clean hands, slicing and picking away what bits of  meat you can and shred them. This shredded chicken can then be used in foods like filling chicken enchiladas, which can be topped up with other filling ingredients such as spinach and tomatoes. You can also use shredded chicken in salads to get your veggies in and amp up the proteins.

Wing man

Freeze the wings from multiple birds until you have enough to make wings as an app for a Sunday afternoon. I love batch cooking them in the air fryer and then some can be plain, some can be korean BBQ style, some mildly spicy, and some hot buffalo. 

Use it all 

The rest of the meat left on the chicken, the cartilage, soft wobbly bits, and little shreds of dark meat is still worth keeping around. This makes chicken stock or broth with a depth of flavor you absolutely cannot get from a box or can. This can then be used as the base of future soups or to add plenty of that rich chicken flavor to other meals, as well as adding a punch of protein to meals that you might not be having any meat with otherwise.

I'm cooking off old recipes, which you can find here. What's your best use of chicken right now?

Spice it up - Simple homemade spice mixes

Hey ohhh. Happy Wednesday. The day after I over-salt my rice and eat the dinner portion instead of throwing it out and making another batch, and have to drink 20394830984 gallons of water last night while wondering if salt poisoning is a thing and I'm STILL thirsty this morning seems like a good day to share spice mix recipe recommendations with you. No? Don't worry, I threw the rest of it out. 

ANYWAY

I'm cooking through my freezer and pantry right now, which I try to do every January or February. Carol went through my spices in Philly and at the shore at the end of the year and purged all expired ones. I am out of taco seasoning here and was going to run to the store then I was like wait, I used to make this myself. So I did that instead, and it got me thinking about other things that are easy to make yourself if you are in the middle of cooking or don't feel like running out to the store. 

Please please please for the love of all that is holy, season your food while you are prepping and cooking it. PLEASE.

And of course the great thing about making them at home is that you have total control over what goes into the mix and how strong or mild the flavor will be. Here are a few off the top of my head-ish:

Homemade taco seasoning is great for uh, tacos....as well as any type of taco pasta dish or to flavor chicken or add to your favorite cold taco dip.

Ingredients:

1 tbs chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix together and use 3 tablespoons for a packet. I typically make a large amount and store in an airtight glass container.

Homemade Seasoned Salt is an easy way to add flavor to your food. It is a great way to use up leftover herbs and spices, and it takes just minutes to make. Also...speaking of salt...this is a seasoned SALT so it is going to be SALTY. Use accordingly.

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup kosher Salt

-4 tablespoons ground black pepper

-1 teaspoon Garlic powder

-1 teaspoon Onion powder

-1/4 teaspooon ground red/Cayenne pepper

-1 teaspoon Paprika

To Make:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and store in an airtight container. Use as desired to season food before cooking.

Homemade Curry Powder Indian curry powder is a homemade spice mix typically made of coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, and chili powder. It can be used to season chicken, beef, fish, or vegetables.

Ingredients

½ teaspoon ground coriander 

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

⅛ teaspoon turmeric

⅛ teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of red pepper flakes

 ¼-½ teaspoon chili powder

To make:

In a small bowl, combine ingredients. Depending on how spicy you want it, stir in in ¼-½ teaspoon chili powder. Store in an airtight container. 

You can also add other spices such as cinnamon or cardamom for extra flavor. This mix will keep for about six months stored in an airtight container.

Homemade Lemon Pepper is great for seasoning fish, chicken, or pork. You can also add it to homemade dressings and marinades. It's fresh AF and that comes through on the food.

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon lemon zest (from about one large lemon)

¾ teaspoon finely ground sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make: 

Combine the following in an airtight container. Keeps at room temp for three months

Homemade Italian Seasoning is easy and it can be tailored to your taste. All you need is a blend of dried herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. You can also add in some ground black pepper and red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. Without the peppers it is quite mild, which mine reflects because I don't like red chili flakes much. If you do and want the heat, go up to like 1 TBS of those. I go something like this:

Ingredients

-2 TBS basil

-2 TBS oregano

-1 TBS rosemary

-1 TBS thyme

-2 TBS parsley

-1 TSP garlic powder

-1/2 TSP red chili flakes

To make: 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Then store it in an airtight container until ready to use. It will keep for several months.

You can use homemade Italian seasoning on pasta dishes, pizza, or any other dish on which you would generally use Italian-seasoned bread crumbs. It's also great sprinkled over roasted vegetables or chicken breasts before baking them.

Those are just a few examples of how you can conjure spice mixes out of what you have separately spice-wise most of the time. 

If I'm buying spice blends, I prefer Penzey's (fox point and garlic salt seasoning are staples but most of their catalog is excellent), and McCormick mixes - the garlic, onion, black pepper, and sea salt is perfection. Chef Curl Ardee is Black-woman owned and the mild seasoning is chef's freaking kiss. 

Like Thursday Thoughts but on Friday

1. Yesterday just past 6:30 am I spilled half of my coffee in my lap in the middle of the Walt Whitman bridge. I should have known then that Thursday Thoughts was not happening on Thursday but I held out hope until 11:45 then lunch meeting. So here we are with Thursday Thoughts, Friday-style. It's been a week, and I don't mean that it's been bad, just full. 

2. I am thrilled with the OPI holiday collection this year. I'm not a product photographer but if you want to check these out on the interwebs I got all from beyondpolish.com - the website is a little clunky but they have availability when many others don't - all OPIs...Mylar Dreams, Paint the Tinseltown Red, To All a Good Night, My Color Wheel is Spinning, and Ready, Fete, Go. All sparkly and happy which is good in January and February too. 

3. Speaking of product shoots, Kim was up for a photo shoot at Evan's Evan Leslie Images Studio for her company Yunizon (sunglass folks, check them out, would make a great Christmas gift from a small biz too). She crashed with us and it was nice to see her face to face which happens once a year usually. Michelle stopped by the next morning and that was great too. A nice Tuesday-Wednesday change from the norm. We've all always been the don't sit next to our group in a restaurant type of people. Speaking of Christmas gifts, Evan does portrait work at his studio and beyond. 

4. I know there are a ton of aerie people out there but I haven't been one of them. This weekend henley mockneck sweatshirt thing changed that. Super comfortable, presentable on the zooms. They're 40% off right now and also my new uniform. 

5. As we approach the holidays and hell every day we know the importance of seasoning our food, yes? Yes. Very good, in the words of Tabitha Brown. Loving her Sunshine seasoning on chicken thighs. I also die for Fox Point by Penzey's on fish and veggies but since I was fresh out I subbed with this and it worked. Aside from no food period there is nothing worse than bland, unseasoned food.

6. I got my covid vaccine booster Tuesday. My reaction was similar to my reaction with shot #2 - symptoms arrived at the same time (23-25 hours after the shot) and were the same (chills, fever, general immobility) but were less intense and much shorter in duration. From like 12-15 hours of being totally down to about five. Lingering fatigue and general blah the next day too. As always still absolutely worth it especially as the Delta is still swirling. Bruce and Ben got their shots yesterday too and Bruce was up at 4 am telling me how hurt he was over it. I do not argue with dog vaccine recommendations either. Here's Billy Cat sandwich for good measure.

7. Photos from the week

8. This justice system does not work and is certainly not fair and balanced and I don't need to watch trials for this to be known. Neither do you. Why are you so invested in it? There is no possibility justice will be served in this trial in particular. What matters to me at this point is the lengths people will go to and the absolutely hypocritical mental leaps people will make to defend and excuse people like Kyle Rittenhouse while they puff up their chests and push out their comply or die bullshit in literally 90% of other cases. In trials like these, the defenses are invariably built on a shit scrap pile of white supremacy, patriarchy, and colonialism; and the people whose interests are served by maintaining these systems of oppression will go out among each other and demand they be defended. Guess what. Fuck off with your law and order bullshit when you know damn fucking well law and order only applies to some people and that you like it that way.

9. Reminder all the time but especially as we enter the holiday season (art via Banana Crush)

10. Ecards - 

TGIF. I'm off of work next week and I'm sliding into it with Adele. 30.