I recently matter-of-factly told someone over tacos that chicken was at the bottom of the meat totem pole. What I meant was that chicken is not something I ever really order at a restaurant (the exception being fried chicken, of course) because, well, it’s boring and for the most part tasteless. Hot take! I still mostly stand by my assessment, but this week as I was organizing upcoming recipes to post, I noticed that every non-vegetarian dish I have on the list is…chicken.
I discovered this soup a few years ago, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s one of my favorite things to eat. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan of soup in general (with some notable exceptions like a tomato soup to accompany a grilled cheese), but this one is different. I crave it, especially in crisp weather just like we’re having right now. As soon as the autumn squashes start taking over the produce section, I pull out the recipe.
As you’ll know by now, I am always on the hunt for a cookbook featuring an underrepresented food culture. I have a few Palestinian cookbooks, and I think it’s an area of food that’s come more into the spotlight over the past couple of years thanks to prominent bloggers, but I hadn’t realized until I heard an interview with Yasmin Khan, author of the recently released Zaitoun, how diverse the territory’s food cultures are. She discussed in particular how interesting and unique she found the food in Gaza, an area she wasn’t able to visit. But she worked with the author of The Gaza Kitchen, a book I already happened to own, to do her research and learn the region’s recipes. The Gaza Kitchen has become one of my favorite books.
My cooking game has really taken a nosedive the past few weeks. The number of things I’m juggling – a new role at work, relationships, traveling, a seemingly never-ending to-do list that for some reason doesn’t involve standing by the stove – keeps growing, but the number of hours in a day or week hasn’t changed. I’ve still managed to get out a few projects, but the area that’s suffered the most is the weeknight dinner (also the workday lunch, but this was always the more ambitious of the two). I’ve found myself way too often resorting to ordering dinner and subsequently getting mad at myself for eating way too many Thai noodles.
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