Winter Chill Calls for Some Acceptable Hibernation

Something about the second half of February feels like one long week – the freezing cold lingers, hibernation feels acceptable still, soup is a requirement at least every couple day, plenty of television time is justified, and thankfully the days are getting noticeably longer. I still stand on the (snowy) hill that winter catches too much heat in the power rankings of seasons.

Anyway, I digress to get back to the typical flow for A Pinch Of. Been a minute.

After a busy past few weeks, it’s been nice to have a few slower days. Acceptable hibernation. Although after one full day of resting, my mind starts to get into a “what’s next” mode instead of easing through a long weekend. And as you can probably guess, that typically results in a trip to the grocery store then time in the kitchen.

Something I’ve started doing recently when the mind gets turning is writing out menus – dinner parties, bakeries, expanding on a recipe that stuck out. I can’t share all my tricks, so this will be a tease for a later time.

What’s Cookin’

I finally feel like I’ve scratched the long overdue cooking and baking itch this past week with a few homemades. Still have some catching up to do on saving recipes, but maybe on the flip side that means I haven’t been on social media as much? (The likely case is that the algorithms pushed me elsewhere.)

Green Garlic & Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup by Wishbone Kitchen

Also referred to as Swamp Soup, this soup came together in no time and tastes so fresh and full of health that it lives up to her description of “basically a flu shot.” There’s a reason why this is one of her most popular recipes. Definitely recommend, sick or not.

Sunday Dinner: Chicken Parm and Spaghetti

I have to give a shoutout to a nice Sunday dinner thanks to my mom. With some leftover sauce, she made some cutlets and finished them as some chicken parm for a great meal. No recipe here, just simply chicken cutlet + sauce + mozzarella + parm + basil with a side of spaghetti.

Baklava Babka Buns from Red Currant Bakery

Who’s back of the Week: Baked Goods. This was the real winner these past few days. I’ve had this recipe saved for a few weeks now, and I’m so glad to have finally made them. This is the recipe that reminded me how much of a sucker I am for brioche. So I’ve still got some work to do to make it as good as I’ve had from bakeries, but this was a damn good attempt, if I do say so myself. And topping it off with some flaky salt to finish… perfect. Will bring these techniques to other recipes as well.

Praise from the audience: “This is like a remix of a cinnamon bun that I had when I was little. Nothing like a good bun.”

NYT: King Arthur Flour’s Banana Crumb Muffins

So this King Arthur recipe published in New York Times is actually from a 90’s State Baking Competition in Connecticut, allegedly. And even more surprising, it was developed by a 9-year-old. So now almost 30 years later (jump scare for my age), the recipe has five stars from more than 4,000 ratings. I’d add one more five-star rating since this has now become my go-to bake to use up ripe bananas. Next time, I’ll try brown sugar in the crumb topping instead of the white sugar.

Feed the Feed: Carla Lalli Music’s “The True Costs of Being on YouTube”

Carla is one of my favorites across all channels, so I knew this piece was a must read when I saw she’s sharing why she’s stepping away from YouTube production. Talk about vulnerable. She shared all the costs of what she spent and how much she made, even with brand deals. My mind was quite blown because I feel like YouTube is already such a large platform and I thought it’d only keep growing as things shake up. Quite a question here to battle:

I suggest giving the piece a full read, and subscribing to her Substack (there’s a free option!). Again, this is all her experience with a production crew, so of course there are people who are able to produce things on their own and keep more money… but on the flip side: that takes time. There’s a value to everything.

I always find this side of content very interesting because rarely are those watching YouTube or other channels wondering about the behind-the-scenes costs on a few fronts.

How bout that for getting back to some longer content? The mind is always on over here. Happy to have this space to get out some thoughts and for kitchen space to keep me occupied and share some goods with others. Also nice to have a couple extra days off for a long weekend.

Enjoy the short week (or rest of the week) 🤘