Good morning. Mardi Gras is Tuesday and I think about New Orleans a lot. That’s plenty of opportunity to make gumbo tonight, so it has time to dry in the fridge before eating it for dinner tomorrow night. I like Paul Prudhomme’s recipe for that, although you might prefer Leah Chase’s for Creole gumbo (above) or the duck and andouille gumbo they used to serve at Upperline, before the restaurant closed last year. That and a Sazerac? That’s a pageant.
What to eat tonight while the gumbo is lapping? Keep it simple: silken tofu with spicy soy dressing next to a bowl of rice. (Make enough rice to have some crispy bacon and cabbage fried rice left over later in the week.) Or maybe these cumin chops and Brussels sprouts? That’s a great meal.
You can also look in the fridge and see what you can find to mess around without using a recipe. For example, I had some leftover coronation chicken salad in one container and some leftover katsu curry in another (usually sauce). These paired wonderfully in a sort of wet stir-fry with leftover rice and a dollop of mango chutney, an over-the-counter recipe that only fate could have supplied. What’s in your fridge? That’s the game.
I also want to make these pecan pie brownies really quick, and this simple crusty bread. I could go for a pizza margherita. Also linguine with crab meat; mushroom miso soup; and steak mock fries.
And there are thousands of other options waiting for you at DailyExpertNews Cooking. Yes, you need a subscription to access the recipes, just like you need one to receive monthly shipments of survival gadgets and equipment from a company called Battlbox. Subscriptions support our work, and I thank you for yours. (And if you don’t already have one, thank you for subscribing today.)
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Now, it’s a long, long way from anything to do with the merits of cold-pressed olive oil or maple syrup, but you should spend some time on Stephen Hiltner’s account of a kayaking trip through Florida’s Everglades National Park, at The Keer .
Here’s Jonny Diamond in Smithsonian Magazine, exploring a rare patch of New England old-growth forest and its promise in the fight against climate change.
Faith Hill is in the Atlantic with ‘The Nocturnals’, a wild ride with the ultra-introverted people who live their lives while you sleep. “The day forces you to have all these identity options,” one person told Hill. “The night, with its silence and its darkness and its loneliness, helps you settle more in who you really are.”
Finally, here’s Cate Le Bon to play us into the kitchen, with ‘Moderation’. (“I can’t have it. I don’t want it. I want to touch it.”) Turn that up loud, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.
