Hi Reader, I ate Danish butter cookies from the blue tin as a child, and every homemade version since has been measured against it. So instead of adapting another blog's recipe, I read the back of the Royal Dansk tin! No egg. No baking powder. That's why the factory cookie is dry and snaps clean. Egg-free dough won't pipe at home, so I use one yolk to bind it, and I leave the leavener out so nothing puffs where you want the cookie sandy. Make Danish Butter Cookies at Home Pipe the rings on...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I tested my marry me tofu three times before the sauce stopped drying out. Each time it looked right in the pan, then tightened to paste the moment the tofu went back in. The fix turned out to be smaller than I expected. I needed to basically add a full can of coconut milk. Fried tofu drinks up liquid FAST, so a sauce that looked perfect before the tofu goes in, turned thick and pasty by the time it landed on the plate, which is why I stopped reducing earlier than felt right and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, So, we're finally starting to see all the summer produce at its peak. And I'm always trying to figure out new ways to eat these veggies. Last week, I posted two reels showcasing how to use puff pastry + ricotta + summer veggies to make super simple veggie tarts, and they went mega viral. Even better, my inbox was full of folks that emailed and sent me pictures of their own tarts. Collectively, the two reels are sitting at around 1 million views. Over 5000 people have commented to...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, It is warm enough now that I have stopped wanting to stand over a stove at seven in the morning. Maybe you have too. So this week I went back to the breakfast I make when I want one less decision before the day starts. Overnight oats. You build it the night before, it sits in the fridge, and in the morning it is just there. No heat, no cooking, no thinking. I don't use protein powder in any of these, but you're welcome to add some on top if you want to up the protein even more. It...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Welcome to a new Saturday email. I've been wanting to write an email like this for a long time. My emails usually contain recipes, sometimes tips and links to products I use. But this is a bit different. It's just a personal letter from my kitchen table to yours, once every week, on Saturdays. I'm imagining that you are sitting at a table and sipping coffee, reading this and nodding along, thinking of the good things from your week as well. Each week, I hope to share a few good...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, We’re in the Olympic Peninsula (in Washington) for Memorial Day weekend. We missed the ferry we wanted to get on by 2 cars yesterday (and they cut in line in front of us, so really we should've made the ferry, but that's a story for another day). It did feel like the ferry was full of bikes and coolers and people with very ambitious plans. Ours is quieter than that. The baby is along for the ride, which is its own kind of plan, and mostly we’re doing slow mornings, cold beaches,...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, The first time I boiled tofu, I thought it was a strange thing to do. But it really is not! Two minutes in simmering salted water and the tofu firms up enough to hold its shape through the sauce. It also loses that raw soy taste that shows through when it isn't seasoned from the inside. Mapo tofu is silken tofu in a Sichuan sauce built on doubanjiang, a fermented Sichuan bean paste that you absolutely should consider getting for your pantry (this is the brand that I use and love...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, These six dinners are the ones my readers kept reaching for in April, and most of them lean hard on what's still good right now (i.e., asparagus, peas, fresh herbs, lemon). The quick links if you already know what you want: Easy, cheesy asparagus casserole Green goddess pasta bake Coconut red lentil curry Chickpea Buddha bowl Spicy edamame peanut noodles Mushroom stroganoff Here's the rundown. Easy, cheesy asparagus casserole Asparagus is at its peak right now, and this is the...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Quick reminder: I'm giving away a $50 Amazon gift card at the end of the month. All you have to do is leave a comment on any recipe you've made from Urban Farmie telling me how it turned out. Up to five entries per person. Takes a minute. Full rules here. But now, let's talk about Thai curries. Most home Thai curries taste flat. Mine did for years. I'd follow a recipe, simmer it forever, add more paste, add more salt — and it was fine, but it never tasted like what I'd eaten in...
6 months ago • 2 min read
