World Got You Down? Get Thee to The Kitchen

Friends, the news keeps getting worse, and if you ask me, there’s only one sure antidote: get thee to the kitchen.

There’s joyful therapy waiting in there for you––the sound and feel of chopping, the slicing, the colors, the smells. The focus on one simple task of making something delicious to share with those you love.

But you’re sick of cooking? You won’t be if you use cooking to connect with your creativity and intuition.

And if you’re saying “oh please, that’s her, not me,” give this method a try.

Join me in my world of easy, almost no-measurement cooking. Seeing recipes with only ingredients and few measurements may shower you with anxiety at first. Ignore the feeling and press on, asking yourself this question over and over: what do I want? What do I like? What tastes good with what? (Do I like carrots? Use a lot of them. Do I want cabbage? A little, so I’ll use some, etc.)

Once you get used to depending on your intuition, a whole world of cooking opens up to you. In no time, you’ll be able to scan a recipe, take a look at the ingredients and basic proportions (or compare several for ideas) and then skip right past the tedium into a flow of sheer fun and pleasure.

Check out this no recipe cookbook by Sam Sifton of New York Times Cooking, whose newsletter and cookbook recipes will teach and inspire.

So let’s take a break from the apocalypse and make some soup, shall we?

Shosh’s Moroccan Chicken Soup
(adaptable for Passover!)

Shosh is my Israeli Moroccan aunt. Maybe ten years ago, I visited her in Ashdod, where she made this soup and changed my life. Whenever the world’s got me down, this is what I make.

Now let it change yours:

Ingredients

• Whole cut-up chicken, with back bones (I have the butcher cut into 8 pieces and toss the innards) Plus you can add extra wings/drumsticks if you’d like.  
• Carrots
• Celery stalks (I also cook the core of the celery stalk, then toss at the end, for flavor) 
• Zucchini, cut into 1/3rds, so it’s fast, easy and you get big chunks in a bowl
• Yellow summer squash, cut into 1/3rds
• Head of cabbage, green or napa, cut into eighths or quarters
• 2-3 bunches parsley (lots of flavor, and if you tie them together with twine, you can toss at the end more easily, because they become a soggy mess.)
• Onions  
• Lots of garlic – I use peeled garlic — usually 25ish cloves per pot 
• 1/2 — 3/4 cup Osem chicken consomme (To me, this brand is the best. Safeway and most places carry it or you can get it on Amazon)
• 1 bag dried chickpeas, added at beginning of cooking process, or canned chickpeas, added when you serve, so they don’t turn to mush! 
• 1 box whole wheat or regular couscous, which you’ll flavor with: 
• White pepper, turmeric, salt, olive oil (to add to couscous)

Directions

1. In giant pot, put:
Cut up chicken
all hard veggies first (carrots, celery, onions)
Garlic (put into a bag and pound with garlic press till they split)
Osem bullion
Chickpeas (if they’re dried)

2. Add water to just a few inches below the top of pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour.  Then add rest of veggies, the zucchini, squash, cabbage. Simmer for another 15 mins or till the veggies are soft. 

3. Then taste! A little too watery? Add Osem. Are the veggies getting soft? Take them out of the soup and store them separately.

Notes: 

I like to store the veggies and chicken separately from the broth, so that the broth doesn’t get soaked up by the veggies by the next day. We also often make a meal of the veggies and chicken with no broth. 

I make the couscous and keep it to serve separately, so that it doesn’t get soggy. We like whole wheat couscous, which you can get at Trader Joe’s, but use whatever kind you like! Make it according to the directions, and then, when it’s done, add:  turmeric, white pepper, (start with a teaspoon each and add to taste) then add a big pinch of salt and a generous drizzle of olive oil. 

If you’re using canned chickpeas, I would store those separately so that they don’t get lost in your giant pot — just put a scoop into each bowl, along with the couscous when you serve it!

**note for Passover, skip the couscous and add my mom’s matzoh balls.

Charoset

This is my Israeli mom’s recipe. It’s so easy and SO good that we make it year-round.

Simply combine:

• Peeled, chopped apples (I like Honeycrisp but whatever you like!)
• Unsalted, raw walnuts
• Turkish apricots (these are naturally plump – key!)
• Big splash of Manischewitz (Concord grape flavor, not blackberry!)
• A couple of heaping tablespoons of Smucker’s Apricot preserves

Combine and serve. It’s heaven!

Zucchini, Broccolini and Chard (or any veggie) Pie

I’m calling this a pie, but if it’s for Passover or Shabbat, call it a kugel and suddenly it’s Jewish!

• Onions, sauteed
• Swiss Chard
• Zucchini
• Broccolini 
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup mayonnaise 
• Tsp Osem Consomme 
• Garlic 
• Basil leaves 
• Dried Northern or Cannelloni Beans – (cook separately till al dente, then add. I got lazy and tried this with canned beans the other day. Big mistake, so mushy.) 
• Pie/Kugel Topping – Mix of panko crumbs and parmesan cheese, mixed with a big drizzle of olive oil

Directions

1. Sautee sliced onions
2. Then in a bowl, beat eggs, add mayo and bullion, then add your onions and chopped (raw) veggies. Don’t cook the other veggies first or they’ll turn to mush in the oven. 
3. Bake at 375 for 30-40 mins till it looks solid and cooked, then add topping, add another spray of olive oil on top, and bake another 15 mins till golden brown
4. Feast!

California Matzoh Brei

Traditionally, matzoh brei is basically scrambled eggs with onions and matzoh. Our California version is that + great veggies. I eat this scramble constantly (without the matzoh).

• Onion
• Swiss chard
• Shitake mushrooms
• 3 eggs, scrambled
• 1 sheet of Matzoh 
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Sautee all veggies till cooked well
2. Run matzoh under warm water until it softens, and then crumble it into scrambled eggs
3. Add matzoh mixture into your skillet and combine till the eggs and matzoh are just cooked, maybe 5 mins
4. Top with parmesan cheese and basil if desired
5. Feast!

There are lots of recipes on my blog that you can use to experiment with this method. They mostly have measurements, but try skipping and connecting with your cook who lives within. I promise you, you have one, and once you find it, you’ll find your kitchen to be a place of great joy.

Happy Spring, everyone!

P.S. Long story, but New West Knifeworks is giving away my absolute favorite knife to one of my readers, just sign up here.

On top of that, they’re giving us all a 15% discount code (just use the code ChefJulie15) on all g-fusion and ironwood chef knives and utensils, good until May 31^st. I promise you that if you treat yourself or someone you love to one of these knives, its sheer beauty and functionality will sing you right into the kitchen. Using them brings inexplicably therapeutic and meditative pleasure. Enjoy!