the stew #2

hi friends, lovers, & people probably related to me —

132 — january & february has felt like one long megamonth to me this year. hopeful about more balance, energy & a consistent running/workout routine in march.

if you don’t have kimchi in your fridge right now you should make a different recipe (of mine) or go get some right away

sitting in the airport waiting for a connecting flight to NOLA (long story) i read carla lalli music’s newsletter about a spicy brothy dinner bowl. i screenshotted it for later & this week when it was rather effing cold, gave it my own spin making it more stew like & using up some odds & ends that i had stashed in the freezer. this is something that is incredibly flexible & endlessly riffable. there’s a couple non-negotiables (i.e. kimchi & broth) but everything else is choose your own adventure. the ingredients below were what i had on hand the only new purchases for this meal were chicken thighs & scallions. this is a lunch you never get sick of & a dinner that tastes perfect after a long ass day & a chilly walk home.

ingredients
kimchi
gochujang
broth / bouillon + water
left over ground pork
chicken thighs
sushi rice
spinach
scallions
yellow onion
ginger
garlic
chili crisp
black vinegar
soy sauce
fish sauce
olive oil
butter
salt & pepper

steps
1st in a dutch oven or other large heavy bottom pot melt a lil bit of butter & a splash of olive oil. then drop your chicken thighs (salt & pepper them) sear them a bit till they start to take on color & leave some lil bits at the bottom of the pot. temporarily remove them and add in a whole chopped yellow onion, 4 or more cloves of garlic (chopped or micro planed), a small to medium knob of grated ginger. cook until it starts to sizzle & smell fragrant. i had a teeny bit of ground pork leftover from some dumplings so i add that in too during this step. once the pork is cooked through add the chicken back in. this is where i mixed a generous amount of gochujang with some veggie & chicken bouillon and some water to make a super savory broth (probs like 5 cups or so) i poured that over till everything was covered and stirred in a cup of dry sushi rice. raising the heat to medium i let that hangout on the stove for awhile.

2nd i chopped a whole bunch of scallions and about half a medium(ish) jar of kimchi. the chicken should be cooked through here so take out & let cool slightly before shredding & adding back in with the kimchi & scallions. let this continue to simmer on the stove, taste and adjust seasoning as needed, this is where i add a splash of black vinegar, dashes of soy & fish sauce and teeny spoonful of chili crisp. once you feel like the flavors have melded add in the spinach and let wilt (any green could work here, this is just what i had!) the rice should be breaking down here and thickening it in a really lovely way. so now you’re done and ready to eat.

3rd ladle into deep bowls adding a lil bit more chili crisp if you’re a spice girl like me. eat until full and then pack the soup up into containers (i recommend at least one or two for the freezer for future you & the rest for lunches or dinner that week)

beautiful isn’t she?

particularly good things i consumed recently

winter activities take 3. parsons w/ megan a — a cozy & delicious hh hang, craft night w/ the maybe babies @ chloe’s we made valentines & ate lots of chips, wine tasting @ diversey w/ kiera, lots of catching up, walking & a couple of spritzes @ cara cara club — a lovely way to spend a sunday. wedge salads w/ steak & mini baked potatoes w/ kaitlyn & ryan (far superior to regular sized baked potatoes) diversey + smallbar w/ kate & becca — another excellent sunday & a fantastic burger. remedy + tavern tues w/ audrey, becca & kate — made a weeknight feel like a friday. soup, salad, & sandwiches w/ janel & kaitlyn (roasted fennel tomato soup, herby lemony little gem & crispy grilled cheeses). a snowy walk around the park & twin anchors for an early dinner with ryan (ribs & onion rings ofc) highly recommend having a linner (late lunch early dinner) on the weekends. ashton’s baby shower — so lovely celebrating you & having snacks (i made focaccia & a variety of dips/spreads & a lemon olive oil cake) & chatting all afternoon. avocado toasts - is it 2016 again? i had some leftover sourdough slices, a couple of stray avocados, just so you know it still hits. a brave new lil blue toaster & some bagels from terra (thanks bridge, then from steingold bake shop, thanks ryan). crispy chorizo & black bean tacos - kind of a cross between a hard taco & a quesadilla, excellent with avocado salsa & a lil sour cream. eastend — did 75 minutes of sauna | cold plunge make me a brand new person? yes, but i’m going to go back soon to be sure. le bouchon — ryan & my’s new monday’s off routine, bc 1/2 bottles of wine & probably my favorite moules frites. galentine’s! hosted my first party since the summer and it was so fun & wonderful to hangout with all the gals (THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING :)), did i set off the smoke alarm? yes, did a bottle of wine explode? yes, did we eat some salad & pizza & chips & mozz sticks (classic friday dinner), drink some wine, some mini cokes w/ nugget ice, have some treats (pretzel cigarettes (thanks ellen!), sprinkle(y) rice krispies (thanks bridge!!), & silky oatmilk dark chocolate pudding coupes? yes! a lil walk around the park w/ moll moll on a sunny saturday morning followed up by some chorizo, scallion scramble breakfast burritos

places. NOLA was a fab time, riding a street car & walking at least 15k steps a day without a coat on might alleviate your winter sads but i’m not a doctor. 1st stop — jacques-imo, straight off the plane for Ryan’s favorite dish in the world, a savory alligator cheesecake, it was excellent but also the mussels were so good a thicker tomato(y) broth on top a bed of MASHED POTATOES, gamechanger. a lil cafe right by our airbnb where we got arepas & lil quesatacos before heading over to magazine street to check out some galleries & walk around, a cocktail tour through the french quarter that involved absinthe & a large cat. felix’s for a variety of charbroiled oysters, etouffée, alligator bites & turtle soup. molly’s rise & shine worth the lil bit of a line & the hype — the crispy rice salad with yogurt & a scallion pancake was life changing, as were the bacon, hasbrown & biscuits & gravy. tell me bar a cute little natural wine bar where we had a little charcuterie plate & a couple glasses before heading to the ww2 museum big band valentine’s dance (which was such a good time & good excuse to dress up!), but that type of thing works up a bit of an appetite & it makes you thirsty so we went to lukes for crab fingers & fries before having a drink here, a drink there, drinks everywhere, erin rose’s frozen irish coffee was deliciously boozy. on our last day it was almost 80 degrees we went on a long walk up magazine street & another one through the zoo & the park & all the way back to our airbnb getting a lil wing & fry snack on our way before heading to bacchanal for a couple glasses of natural wine, a make your own charcuterie board & some wonderful live jazz in a cozy lil backyard.

books, tv shows & movies. colored television by dany senza, took me a minute to get into this one but i really enjoyed it, LA, academia, television, motherhood, a marriage & a lie. if you liked yellowface i think you’ll like this one too! ronin & the killing - the heisty/crime/ thrillery viewing continues, both of these are excellent please watch, would be a good double feature honestly. er — ryan & i are thoroughly addicted we are about midway through season 2 & it’s all we’ve been wanting to watch. bright objects by ruby todd — kind of weird but interesting, there is a comet, a cult & an unsolved hit & run, only in 90s australia.

things. this top that i wore @ galentines & told everyone it was slutty j.crew. still on sale which is how i scored it! i want this rug but it’s v. expensive. so it just lives in tabland for now along with one of those fancy wooden chopping blocks, a pair of silver ballet flats & some nice colorful flatware (sabre ofc).

currently consuming

a lil espresso, with both a green juice & a topo chico on the side bc i want all the beverages while i write this & also my emotional support mason jar of water

espresso, cermak produce green juice, topo w/ nugget ice

as always,
mk

p.s. the bitter cold doesn’t get to me if the sun is shining bc i love wearing my biggest turtleneck, jeans, good boots, my red puffy coat, a scarf, fleece lined mittens & sunglasses. but it’s going to be in the 40s today so maybe i’ll wear a smaller turtleneck? a smaller coat? less layers all together? how scandalous.