Friday Food Finds

Edition 3

Earlier this week in searching for guidance on roasting marrow bones, I came across the project My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea. Other than now being enamored with the project and Miss. Dunea’s artwork, I was mostly pleased with the way Anthony Bourdain's Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad came together.

The lemon-dressed salad is exactly what bone marrow needs to cut through and enhance its richness. And I am in completely agreement with Mr. Bourdain on his choice for his last meal on earth. As a bittersweet extra, you can even read the brief interview Miss. Dunea had with late chef, author, TV personality, and all-around captivating human being. The photo alone is worth a peek!

Testing notes: Our bones were a little longer than 3” — maybe more like 4” or 5” — which wasn’t ideal. I roasted the bones for 20 minutes and found the marrow to be melting a little on either end by that time. But when my husband and I went to empty the marrow onto our awaiting toast, it came out a little raw and pink. It wasn’t a big deal; I simply put the marrow-slathered toast back into the warm oven for a few minutes to finish cooking. Other than halving the ingredients for the salad (since we only had 4 bones), I followed the recipe as written and would gladly make it again — for my last meal or otherwise.

I tried Laura Wright’s Spelt Banana Bread in my continued quest to come up with my own whole grain vegan banana bread. After searching through pages of Google results for various related terms, this recipe checked all the boxes for me. I liked that it did not promote itself as being free of added sugar or low sugar (if I’m eating banana bread, it’s because I want something sweet). And I felt comfortable adjusting the relatively short, straight-forward ingredient list to suit my tastes.

I was actually surprised with just how sweet this bread was. If I were to make it again I would likely cut the maple syrup down to a 1/3 cup (104g). I do like how dense and — wait for it — moist it was, and as with any good banana bread, it’s a blank canvas for experimenting with different add-ins and other substitutions.

Testing notes: I skipped the pecans — I knew my 5-year-old would not be into them — and substituted with a combination of flaxseeds, finely chopped almonds, and a King Arthur product I really like in quick breads (I’ll share my secret if you really want to know!). I also baked the loaf in a 9” x 4” x 4” pullman pan instead of the 9” x 5”, which I think made the bake time longer by about 15 minutes.

I measured my ingredients by weight because it just drives me bonkers when weights are not listed in recipes. And I only used local (to Vermont) flours, a 3:1 combination of Trukenbrod whole spelt and Nitty Gritty Grain Co. all-purpose. Again, banana bread is a great opportunity to experiment with the ingredients you have on hand.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my lunches this week thanks to Pati Jinich’s Pinto Bean Soup with Masa and Queso Fresco Dumplings. She has a nearly identical recipe in her latest cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, so I’ll just note here that I used the quantities listed in the website version.

I was expecting a slightly thicker soup, but was not at all disappointed by the consistency that resulted. The masa dumplings were a really nice flavor and texture contrast in the soup, which was beautifully rich and silky from the beans.

Testing notes: I stuck to the recipe as written, only deviating with the broth I chose to add. Since I started with dried pinto beans and cooked them in a pressure cooker, I had a full 8 cups of bean broth to use for the soup. Did it make it extra flavorful and bean-y? I like to think so, but maybe next time I’ll try vegetable stock and see how that changes the flavor. I’d like to practice my dumpling-making too.

Our most recent dinner of the week was inspired by solidarity. Like many of you I’m sure, I have read and watched in horror as Putin’s war with Ukraine unfolds. There are many ways to take action, and as I carve out that path for myself, I’ve discovered a lot about the culture and land of Ukraine.

Olia Hercules is a cookbook author I’ve been following. She is generously sharing a lot about her home country, activating support, and counteracting the disinformation being spread by Putin’s regime. I turned to her website for a recipe to make in solidarity and support of her work, and came across the components of her Easter lamb dish. I didn’t have lamb handy, so instead prepared some chicken thighs and focused on the crunchy salad and saffron pilau.

Miss. Hercules’ recipe writing is beautiful, as is her food. The salad, as she mentions, “really pack[s] a punch in the flavor department.” And the saffron rice pilau had the right amount of aromatics to stand alongside and complement the salad and chicken.

Testing notes: I didn’t have celeriac (celery root) or kohlrabi for the salad, so I substituted local hakurei turnips and daikon radishes accordingly. These would have been very short matchsticks, so I cut them into rounds instead. I also had to use pre-ground coriander seed rather than whole, so I halved the amount. I made no changes to the pilau. I would love to return to this recipe when Easter comes, and I hope sincerely that the war will be a distant memory by that time.

Enjoy your time in the kitchen this weekend, friends. Please feel free to share this newsletter with a friend if a recipe makes you think of them. And please let me know what you’re cooking and baking. I’m ever curious.