Comfort Food, Classes, Overproofed Bread and Simple Salmon
This week we have a simple weeknight salmon, an open conversation about what comfort food means, an Open Kitchen question about bread and a couple of class opportunities! And all the way at the bottom is a super sweet video from a reader, Robyn who teaches cooking classes using my book, Good and Cheap, for women living in a shelter and working to get housed. It’s magnificent and empowering work and she shared a video with us here today.
Upgrade to a $5/month plan and you get access to the Wednesday live/recorded Blissful Cooking Method classes. This past week’s recipe of soba noodles with sweet, blistered eggplant and mango with tons of herbs and spicy tangy dressing was so fun to make.
I’m also thinking of making this a weekly newsletter, because they are getting a little long in this bi-weekly format. I’m thinking one week we do a recipe and one week a piece of writing and/or the open kitchen column? Let me know if that appeals. I love to hear from you!
An Open Conversation about Comfort Food
The wonderful Julie Ohana reminded me of this topic and I think it’s really important. We will be teaching a class together very soon. Please sign up for our offering (more below) if you are interested, or let me know if you can’t make it.
Comfort food is often misunderstood. It’s associated with indulgence and overeating and generally looked down upon. But eating for comfort is entirely human. We are comforted by milk in our caregivers arms as we learn how to be a part of the world. Our body needs food and we learn that it feels pleasurable to have our needs met. That pleasure is something to listen to, not ignore. If we listen we notice that it feels pleasurable to be full and nourished, it does not feel pleasurable to be stuffed and uncomfortable. Pleasure is our great teacher! When we ignore pleasure, that is when we start to fill ourselves with the things we think might give us comfort rather than what our bodies are actually telling us gives us comfort.
So I believe the misunderstanding of comfort food has everything to do with how commonly we are disconnected from our bodies communication system. Instead we look to what other people or advertising tells us will bring us pleasure. And that is not reliable for US in our unique bodies and experiences of life.
Here is a brief piece I wrote in Good Enough about comfort food
“Take spaghetti and meatballs, for example, a dish that conjures up a strong image of comfort by dint of having been presented as a comfort food in practically every TV show, movie, and book consumed in Western culture for the last fifty years. But please don’t take this as a suggestion without examining what image is comforting to you (not to others, and not in the traditional sense of the phrase). What I mean is: Take whatever dish has a strong comforting image for you, and make it a thing to look forward to. Comfort food doesn’t have to be rich or heavy or storied or the work of a beloved grandmother. Instead is should conjure up an image of comfort that you can hold in your mind as you engage your efforts to bring it forth into the world. An image that comforts with a thought long before it hits the plate. That lends you power. That supports you and cheerleads you through your efforts, like a friend.”
I think comfort is knowing “we can do it” or that we can have what we want; pleasure and safety. We will also change as we grow and will need different things from our food and different things will bring us comfort at different points in our lives!
You can get comfort from food in SO MANY WAYS.
The comfort of eating and how good it feels to be full and nourished.
The comfort of a particular flavor, texture or aroma.
The comfort of a memory associated with a food. The food stimulates your imagination and allows you to re-experience a comforting time.
The comfort of knowing you have a fridge with food in it.
The comfort of a familiar recipe.
The comfort of a plan or routine like spaghetti Thursdays.
What else do you think we could add to this list? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Open Kitchen #5: What’s up with my tiny bread?
Here is our question of the week for Open Kitchen, the feature where I answer your kitchen/yoga/meditation and anything else in my wheelhouse questions! Please submit your questions for Open Kitchen through this form. The questions will be anonymous so no need to think twice about anything embarrassing. Remember chances are if you are wondering something or having an experience there are many others who are as well and when you have the courage to ask the question you help all those other people too.
“I love making bread but it always comes out of the oven shorter than the dough went into the oven (the dough will be an appropriate height over the tin but falls during the baking process). I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong to make the dough fall every time. Thoughts?”
In short, it is overproofed! This means that the dough has gone too far with rising before it hits the oven and so the bubble structure is weak and will fall. Basically the yeast ate itself up too quickly.
In bread baking we usually do two risings. The bulk ferment where the dough rises all together and doubles in size, and then a second rise to double after we have shaped it into a loaf or a boule or whatever we want it to be.
Rather than relying on time estimates in a recipes, for the two different risings it’s best to wait until the dough doubles in volume (which I know is hard to estimate, but it’s a much more reliable metric than waiting an hour or whatever the recipe tells you). Then when it has doubled in volume you shape it and let it rise again until just barely doubled in volume. You do not want to let it get really big or the yeast will run out of food, lose its structure and fall in the oven.
The reason we don’t want to rely on time estimates instead of these things we can see with our eye and senses (the double in volume) is because every kitchen is different in warmth and moisture levels and a zillion other tiny factors and that can make the rising times be vastly different.
If you want more detail on this, check out this wonderful informative video here. And good luck! Use your senses and you’ll get there.
Lemon and Garlic Salmon with Rice and Cucumber and Tomatoes
Serves 2
TL;DR: marinate the salmon in butter, garlic and lemon, cook the salmon in a hot pan, cook the rice, and serve with cucumbers and tomatoes.
2 fillets of salmon, skin on
2 tbsp butter, melted
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup brown rice
1 English Cucumber of 3 persian cucumbers, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
Za'atar breadcrumbs (optional)
In a small container, place the salmon skin-side down and drizzle over the melted butter and lemon juice, sprinkle in the chopped garlic and salt and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cover the brown rice with 1 1/2 cups of water and a bit of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook on low heat, covered for 30 to 40 minutes or according to the package instructions for the type of rice you are using.
Salt the cucumber and tomatoes, and set aside. You can add a little lemon juice to it as well if you have any.
In a pan on medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until it sizzles. Place the salmon skin-side down and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes, covered with a lid. After 4 or 5 minutes, flip the fish, being careful not to tear the skin if possible. Let it cook through for about 3 to 5 minutes until a knife inserted into the thickest portion of the fillet is able to easily pierce all the way through and it flakes apart. Before removing from the heat, pour any remaining marinade into the pan and let it sizzle for 30 seconds or so. Sprinkle with Za’atar breadcrumbs if using.
Serve the brown rice, cucumbers and tomatoes and salmon all together.
Opportunities to Connect!
I am doing 1 mini retreats this summer, on July 22, and will not be offering one in August. Sign up as soon as you can to secure your spot! More to come in September!
Every Mini-retreat has a similar agenda but different food, theme and sequence. They are all magical, but each one feels special and changes to meet the needs and vibe of those who attend. It is a co-created experience of healing and community.
Agenda
9:30-10: settling in with tea 🍵
10-11:30 meditation and restorative yoga 🧘🏼
11:30-12 Leanne cooks and shares embodied cooking practice 🍳
12-12:30 Eat lunch and chat/share 🥗
12:30-1 final breath-work and meditation 💨
Float away into the rest of the dreamy weekend feeling released and connected.
3-Week Culinary Art Therapy Course with Julie Ohana and Me!
Julie Ohana, renowned and brilliant culinary art therapist and I will be co-teaching a cooking class series this June! Are you ready to feel so good while you are cooking you can’t even stand it? Are you ready to feel empowered to process your emotions through cooking so that it becomes a space of healing and self connection? Then come join us!
We are thrilled to invite you to our 3-week Culinary Therapy Class Series, where you'll embark on a journey that combines the art of cooking with the power of therapeutic healing.
Dare I say it’s also killer value at just $100 for 3 sessions.
Here's what awaits you in our 3-week Culinary Art Therapy Class Series:
Week 1: Mindfulness
In this foundational session, we'll immerse ourselves in the world of mindfulness, bringing focused awareness and intention to every step of the culinary process. You'll learn practical techniques to cultivate a mindful kitchen environment. We'll craft exquisite dishes while fostering a deep connection with the ingredients, igniting your creativity and cultivating a sense of calm and presence.
Featured Recipe: Creamy Hands off Scrambled Eggs and Pickle-y Sausage Cauliflower
Week 2: Building Confidence
Prepare to ignite your confidence as we learn to give ourselves what we really need to be successful. We take the “I can’t” out of the equation by creating a recipe and a process that works for our needs. We stop comparing and we notice all we are capable of, FEEL IT and then eat it up!
Featured Recipe: Fast White Bean, Chorizo, and Hearty Greens Stew
Week 3: Playing with your Food
Get ready to unleash your inner child and indulge in the magic of playful culinary exploration. During this final session, we'll celebrate the joy of experimentation and creativity with food. We'll encourage you to think outside the box, challenge conventional culinary norms, and craft whimsical and visually appealing creations that spark joy and delight.
Featured Recipe: We will be playing together to create our own Cheese and Snack Platters
When you sign up you will get a link to the classes and a flip-book of the recipes we will use for the classes.
The classes will run three Wednesdays in June, the 14th, 21st and 28th from 10:30-11:30am ET.
The series will be offered virtually over zoom so you can join from anywhere and be in your own kitchen! Each week will feature a new recipe from Good Enough which you will receive when you sign up. The investment for the entire 3-week series is $100.
Benefits of joining this class include:
Enhanced mindfulness, fostering a deeper connection with the culinary process.
Increased culinary skills and confidence in culinary artistry.
Playful exploration that unlocks your creativity and inner artist.
Practical strategies to incorporate culinary art therapy into your daily life.
Robyn from the Wheeler Center in Indianapolis shared this video featuring the cooking classes she teaches using my book, Good and Cheap as a guide. I’m so honored whenever the book gets used in community settings like this. I think of it as a book that is also a teacher. Something that can be used to empower and guide people on their own journeys no matter where they are in life. It’s also simply touching to see and feel the impact learning to cook can have in a persons life. It is a survival skill, it is pleasure, it is calm, it is power, it is agency, it is therapy. Thank you Robyn!
What a sweet video of your book being used in the BEST way!
I think hearing from you each week would be a good thing, especially since you are piling up on the extras. You could always fade back in the winter, if necessary. But it’s such a strength to have these collaborators with you!