Orts & Reports: Flannel Bakewear, Chutney?! and Swedish Meatloaf

All the News That’s Fit to Eat in 3 Small Bites

Small Bite #1: Bake Sessions with the Dueling Julies

On a stormy Saturday last month, when Maine was getting pummeled by yet another storm and the tides were setting records and flooding took out the island pier and roads, boathouses and buildings statewide, my phone chimed with a text.

“It’s this kinda Saturday here,” wrote Julie F, with photos of her snowy deck in Bangor, Maine and a batch of molasses cookies fresh out of the oven to prove it. “I made the dough last weekend. They are amazing!”

After further probing from me—it’s my job, what can I say—I learned that all that fridge time makes them fluffier. “At least two hours,” she noted, “but chilling for a week didn’t hurt.”

Julie’s other tip? “You must wear flannel and slippers when baking. This is key.”

I donned a flannel shirt and slippers and proceeded to conduct my own bake session with a batch of peanut butter kisses sent in last month by pen pal

Julie B. Hughes

. This Julie’s recipe also called for fridge time—an hour, but I let the dough chill all day and baked ‘em up for an evening snack. Worth the wait!

In an interesting twist, her latest recipe—also molasses-themed—just arrived in the mail and once I test her Molasses Granola Bars, I’ll be sure to share a virtual bite with you all.

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Small Bite #2: The Vegetarian Reset Challenge

In healthier news, fellow food-writing friend

Vasudha Viswanath

kicked off 2024 with a cooking challenge: Make four days’ worth of meals from her gorgeous cookbook, The Vegetarian Reset. I bought the book last year and I’ve made a few dishes already: savory zucchini bread, hazelnut brownies and burrito jars, to name a few. I’ve also earmarked, like, all the other pages for future meals, it’s that good a cookbook.

Needless to say, I signed up for the challenge because I’m always up for a challenge and in mere moments, received 10 recipes, a customized shopping list, meal prep instructions and two bonus recipes not found in her book.

What can I say? My tastebuds were tantalized all week. I even set aside a lifelong aversion to chutney, purchasing not one but two different flavors of Indian chutneys for the Cucumber Papdi Chaat, a stunning rainbow-hued array of crisp fresh veggies layered with Greek yogurt and <ahem> chutney, on a bed of chickpeas and cucumbers and topped with masala peanuts roasted the night before.

meal prep: Cucumber Papdi Chaat

My other favorite, Apple, Ginger & Mint Smoothie, was a bonus recipe Vasudha’s husband dreamed up. A husband with a side hustle as a recipe developer remains but a dream for me; my sweetheart is your basic meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Whatever. The smoothie was indeed dreamy, a billowy velvet cloud of flavor, thanks to the addition of avocado. I can’t lie, I was a little skeptical about pairing it with an apple but, hey, an avocado is a fruit, right? It grows on trees and has seeds and yes, makes for a creamy smooth power breakfast drink, as both Max and I discovered.

yup, it passed the sniff test

Showrunner Vasudha will be offering the Challenge again soon. Jump on the waitlist here!

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Small Bite #3: What I’m Working On

I wrote a bunch of stuff and I’m pitching it to various publications and it’s taking a hot second to land anywhere yet and I’m…okay with that.

• A Kitchen is a Kingdom, Volume 2: How family ghosts are helping preserve a century-old food writing legacy

• Secret Recipes: Shhh…I’m keeping this one a secret!

• Not Your Mother’s Meatloaf: The grease-smudged handwritten meatloaf recipe from a 5-star Swedish restaurant that found a home on the pages of my mother’s cookbook.

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We’ll be back next week with a special Valentine’s Day edition.

Your Pantry Pals,

Amie & Karyl