Weeknight Meals

I love any dish that can be made using water rather than stock. It’s a bit of useful laziness that can help establish the clean, pure flavor of the ingredient itself, whether it’s carrots or clams. One key is a slow, patient approach to cooking (or “sweating”) the onions and garlic, creating sweetness and depth. Homemade curry powder keeps well for a few weeks and warms up deviled eggs, beef stew, or hot buttered popcorn.

Delicate fresh broccoli and cauliflower from a garden or small farm don’t resemble the useful California sorts that are a fixture in our produce drawer the rest of the year, and so we enjoy them while we can. But because broccoli and cauliflower do travel and keep exceptionally well, I make these recipes year-round, just allowing for slightly longer cooking times when dealing with more mature vegetables.