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Seasonal Sundays (Week 23) Early June |  |
Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...
But first, a look back on the week that was.
You and we and nearly all of us have survived the upended months of March, April and May.
But this past week, we crossed the grim milestone of 100,000 lives lost in the US to the coronavirus, an impossible portion of the estimated 365,000 across the world. Day by day, I've tracked the numbers for the country and for Missouri, an odd but oddly effective coping mechanism. But my little Notes charts reveal that total US deaths doubled in just 30 days. It's unfathomable. And here in Missouri? Don't even get me started.
Still, it is the loss of a single life – George Floyd, an unarmed African American man – in my home state which careened our country into televised chaos. Suddenly it's not Mississippi Burning, it's Minnesota Burning.
All the big emojis here. Heavy Sighs. Breaking Hearts. Breathing Lungs. Clasped Hands. Raised Fists.
As many of you know, my father is 94. He served aboard three battleships in the Pacific near what would become the end of World War II and in the Army National Guard during the Cold War. This morning, I heard the sadness in his slow, slow words. "I used to think ... .... ... .... that this ... ... country ... ... ... could survive ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... anything." He paused a long while before finishing the thought. "Now, I'm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... not ... ... ... so sure."
Recommended Reading Letters from an American, especially the May 29th missive. "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters."
About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: An hour south of St. Louis is an area called Old Mines known for a distinct population of French Missourians with their own dialect and culture. Near St. Joachim Church and school is a peaceful cemetery with old iron crosses, a frequent stop when we have out-of-town visitors. This photo called to me this week in remembrance of so many lives lost, a single cross standing out from among all the others. Recommended Reading Old Mines on Wikipedia.
PICK ONE
Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.
- THE RECIPE Everything Bagel Breakfast Salad
Cook. Eat. Repeat.
Here's my appeal for mealtime minimalism, the idea that you don't have to think up a new breakfast or a new lunch every day. It's a way to think less about food rather than more. It's maintains that the ritual of healthy satisfying staples can fill you up in a way that the new and the novel cannot.
- THE RECIPE Magical Breakfast Cream
Something New to You? A Challenge!
It's one thing to know what we like. It's another to get caught in a rut of repetition. Every so often, I may offer a challenge to try something that just might be new. The challenge is yours to accept – or y'know, not – but I hope to pique your palate!
- THE RECIPE How to Poach a Perfect Egg, a technique so easy, you'll never forget
More Healthy Summer Breakfasts
- THE CASSEROLE Easy Green Chile Egg Casserole No bread! So easy and variable.
- THE SKILLET VERSION Green Chile Scrambled Eggs An easy, healthy breakfast.
- THE RECIPE Green Pepper Frittata, a summery riff on my master recipe
- THE MASTER RECIPE Never-the-Same-Twice Vegetable Frittata
A Small Boost to the Consumer Economy
For weeks now, our household expenses have been 90% groceries, 10% other. When we were isolating at home, who needed anything besides, you know, TP, hand sanitizer and groceries?
And while we continue to isolate, maybe our cautious re-emergence is symbolized by small but momentous-feeling purchases ...
- A SUMMER SKIRT! This is such a fun summer skirt from RipSkirt Hawaii, it's yoga pants for summer with nice fabric and skirt length, a little stretchy and super comfortable, a wrap skirt but not revealing. I'd definitely wear this in a business-casual environment but it's a great about-town skirt too, easy to dress down or up. I can easily imagine buying another ... and another.
- WHIMSICAL OUTDOOR ART I splurged a little for a fun piece from Etsy, a school of fish in rustic metal for our new outdoor room.
- COFFEE MAKER This is our second or maybe even third purchase of the same Cuisinart coffee maker. It's a real workhorse, the old one lasted six years, which means approximately 2200 pots and 26,000 cups of coffee, that 4.5 cents per pot and .004 per cup. Compare that, you know, to $3 for a plain coffee at Starbucks. Shocking, eh? For the record, we're also Folgers coffee people, the Cook's Illustrated-recommended Folger's 100% Colombian has been the house coffee for years and years and years.
- MINI FOOD PROCESSOR While I was at it, I replaced my trusty little mini food processor with a new model, after struggling with a cracked blade for too long. While a small food processor in no way replaces a big Cuisinart, I use this little guy alllllll the time and am happy that there's a newer model of the same mini food processor, also from Cuisinart.
- BTW my love affair with the Kona Non-Stick Grill Mats mentioned last week continues, I grilled dinner (especially vegetables!) outside four times this week! That's three times more than in an entire year or two or even three!
- Just a reminder, I personally select everything that's mentioned here — nothing is sponsored, nothing is paid advertising. Oh and if you happen to buy something via a link to Amazon (just Amazon, no others), Kitchen Parade may earn a small commission. Zero pressure, just an FYI that's required by law and good manners.
My Disclosure Promise
What's New?!
This week I've been living and breathing rethinking and coding leafy greens, to say nothing of eating up the pounds of turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens that appeared in our last grocery pickup.
It takes time to get these right, even though I've been building these pages for years. But in the last couple of months, have some new ideas on how to make them even more useful to regular readers but also to Google searchers who may be less confident/practiced in the kitchen.
Some of you maybe saw this when I published it earlier this week. But I've added even more to the page in subsequent days! And good news (I hope!) – more greens to come in the next few weeks!
- THE COLLECTION Leafy Greens Recipes – Alphabet of Vegetables
Text Me Back!
I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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2020
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna