Good morning. This is the time of year for some of us when, if you’re not careful, you can find yourself relearning the concept of being chilled to the bone. Linger too long on the sidewalk talking with a neighbor, or dash to the bodega in sweats and no hat? It can leave you feeling like human permafrost. That’s a hard state to alter.
But broths and soups and teas can help. They’re internal blankets, drinkable hot baths. Yewande Komolafe calls them “restoratives” and relies on them to bring warmth and brightness to the coldest of winter days. Her three newest recipes do just that: a ginger and turmeric bone broth with greens; a citrus and herb tonic (above) that I like very hot; and a beautiful brothy Thai curry with silken tofu and herbs. I’ll make all three today and eat the curry for dinner. The tonic I’ll heat through for commuting. And I’ll keep the bone broth on hand for restoring myself after whatever misadventures the week ahead has in store. (Another blown light bulb in the car? Chatty Cathy at the farmers’ market? A lengthy wait outside for a Covid test? Could be anything!)
Here’s a plan for the rest of the week.
Monday
I love Hetty McKinnon’s new recipe for dumpling noodle soup, a pantry-and-freezer meal that’s loosely inspired by won ton noodle soup, with store-bought dumplings in place of the won tons, and a nice introduction to your celebration of the Lunar New Year. (We have loads more recipes for the holiday here.)
Tuesday
If you’re not making noodles or steamed fish tonight, maybe chicken? I found the roots of this astonishingly good recipe for chicken and shallots years ago, on the Twitter account of the chef Andrew Zimmern, who learned it from his then-wife Rishia, who adapted it from Martha Stewart. Wheels within wheels. “I call this the best chicken dish I ever made,” a subscriber noted below the recipe, which now has more than 8,000 five-star ratings.
Wednesday
Melissa Clark’s pearl couscous with creamy feta and chickpeas is a wonderful midweek meal, scratching the itch you might have for polenta or risotto, though with a lot less work. I like Melissa’s advice to serve the dish over a bed of raw baby spinach, which wilts in the heat. So good.
Thursday
These mushroom patties from Naz Deravian are inspired by Iranian kotlets and kookoo, and they make for a delicious vegetarian meal when tucked into flatbread sandwiches with lettuce, herbs and pickled peppers. (No flatbread? Try them on a baguette!)
Friday
And then you can head into the weekend with Sarah DiGregorio’s latest: a buttery cracker-crusted baked cod. It’s an easy version of a classic New England stuffed fish: cod coated in seasoned crackers and roasted simply until done. Substitute haddock if you can’t find cod, or use another mild, flaky white fish. (Soundtrack: “Scrod,” from Mente, historically Boston’s worst band.)
Tens of thousands more recipes to cook this week await you on New York Times Cooking, at least once you’ve taken out a subscription to our site and app. We think it’s a good deal. You get the recipes. We get to keep making more of them. So, if you haven’t already, would you consider subscribing today? Thanks.
We’ll be in the wings like doting stage parents should anything go wrong along the way. Just send up a flare to [email protected], and someone will get back to you. (You can also write to me: [email protected] I read every letter sent.)
Now, it’s a far cry from sizzling sausages and the scent of mead, but I’ve been looking for a new crime series to read, and Giles Blunt’s John Cardinal novels are shaping up nicely for that. Start at the beginning: “Forty Words for Sorrow.”
I’m a little late to it — they’re sold out — but Andrew Kuo’s “Ideal Map of New York City, 5/15/20” is pretty rad.
