Happy Wednesday. We’re slowly but surely inching our way to the end of the week. My week has been busy with a few good parts and bad parts.
The good part: I started my corned beef last night and can’t wait to cook it on Sunday. I make my own pickling spice with salt, Prague powder, dark brown sugar, black and yellow mustard seeds, a few cardamom pods, bay leaves, allspice berries, juniper berries, cloves, a little nutmeg, a few pink peppercorns, a few black peppercorns, and a few other special ingredients! I’m so excited to see how it turns out. Normally, I would try to brine it for more, like, 7 days, but time got away from me this year!
Who else is excited about corned beef hash and shamrock shakes? 🍀
The other good part: I’m making pork chops in tomato sauce tonight. I think I’ll sprinkle them with shredded mozzarella and broil them until they are nice and bubbly, similar to my Calabrian chicken recipe (which desperately needs a reshoot…yeesh!).
The bad part: It’s the end of an era for my face. And by face, I mean my absolute favorite glasses. I don’t even know what happened; they just snapped and broke. Fortunately, I had the foresight to fit my prescription into my super old glasses when I got my pink glasses nearly 5 years ago. Though I feel like I’m reverting to a very outdated version of myself, it feels weird! I think glasses-wearers will understand.
New Recipes
I have two new recipes for you. One is the beef stew I teased in my previous newsletter, and the other comes to you from
! It is a vegan version of the roasted garlic sauce I made a few days ago.Beef Barley Stew
I honestly was a little surprised that I had not one single beef and barley recipe out of all the barley recipes on my website. Needless to say, I’m very happy to finally have this recipe up on the site, and it’s a good one. It’s so savory, with sweet vermouth–my current muse–adding just the right hint of sweetness.
Vegan Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce
This vegan tomato sauce is lush and sweet and brings a surprisingly complex flavor profile for such a simple sauce. It also uses sweet vermouth, which perfectly accents the savory garlic and tangy sun-dried tomatoes. You can get the recipe on Exploring Vegan by clicking the button below.
Reader Favorite
I want to keep this midweek newsletter short, so I’ll only share one reader favorite today. It’s for one of my favorite cod recipes that you can easily throw together tonight!
One-Pot Cod and Pearl Couscous
Thank you so much for the comment, Kristi! This is also one of my favorite easy and delicious cod recipes. The buttery, meaty Castelvetrano olives, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and mild cod all work together so harmoniously in this one-pot wonder.
Okay, I think that’s about all for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful week filled with lots of tasty food. If you make one of my recipes, be sure to let me know how you like it.
Have a great week, everyone! Byeeeeeeee! 💖💖
P.S. Need more recipe inspo? You can view all my recipes by clicking the button below.