Life's A Beach, I'm Just Eating A Cheese Plate
Tales of Blueberry Muffins, Ice Cream Cones, and Cheese Plates on the Beach
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce! We’re really into summer now and it’s pretty damn good. Stay cool this week and make sure to have at least one ice cream cone.
Julianne and Ian spent almost three weeks in Southeast Asia (check out her instagram for photos) and I welcomed them back with blueberry muffins. I used this Smitten Kitchen recipe for the Perfect Blueberry Muffin and loved it. The batter is thick and not too sweet. It comes together in one bowl, with tons of blueberries per bite. Each muffin has a sprinkle of sugar in the raw on top which adds the perfect crunch. I used plain greek yogurt which adds a little tang and made a double batch. There are still a few in the freezer, though they won’t last long. It’s summer in a muffin.
On my to make list: Thai Mango Cabbage Wraps
Emma and I had a delightful $5 evening - a workout class followed by $3 ice cream cones and a walk through Domino Park. Then we each spent $2 on groceries to pick up plantains and broccoli. I had a can of black beans so made bowls with sautéed plantains in oil, topped with lots of flakey salt. We cooked the beans with onion and lots of cumin and chile powder, and cooked the broccoli with scallions and spices. On top, hot sauce, of course. Don’t be afraid to cook with friends, even if it’s nothing fancy.
One more plug for this cauliflower recipe I made last week: roasted cauliflower with dates and an herb-nut salsa. SO good and easy.
Emma, Jesse, Julia and I went to the beach on Saturday and spent most of the day eating. Emma borrowed her parents’ car so we stopped at Trader Joe’s on our way and picked up four blocks of cheese, none of which made it back to Brooklyn. We also grabbed crackers, hummus and carrots and strawberries. Jesse put his architecture license to work, crafting not one, not two, but three rounds of cheese plates, using a frisbee to stabilize the plastic plate in the sand. We added other treats packed from home like dried mango and sweet and salty pumpkin seeds and could not stop eating. I know cheese on a beach sounds a little odd but it was not that hot and we had a cooler bag (crucial). Cheese is also fun to share and allows for lots of snacking, which makes the day feel like a vacation. Plus, according to this quote via Cup of Jo, “When you go on a picnic, it is customary to pack three times as much food as your would normally eat.” Done. We got two goat bries (so good), dubliner cheddar (h/t Nicole during our sophomore year), and another one I forgot the name of. Other key elements: buy lots of water, put some wine in your swell bottle, and reapply your sunscreen even more than you think you need to. Our beach reads were also excellent: Kitchen Confidential, Hey Ladies, and You Think It, I’ll Say It.
Cheese plate 2 of 3, plated in a frisbee
Something to order:
Brittney and I got oysters and wine at Osamil in Koreatown, which has $1 oysters till 7. It gets crowded later but is a fun spot to meet up and their sweet potato fries are made with purple Japanese sweet potatoes. The oysters were so big and good, we got a dozen and then got more.
We welcomed Julianne and Ian back with dinner at Testo. The pasta is homemade (get the gnocchi or the special ragu or the seafood pasta, everyone always cleans their plates) and the owner won’t let you leave without a shot of limoncello. It’s cash only and pretty small, so call ahead to reserve a table if you’re more than 2 people.
I did some work at Devoción in South Williamsburg. It’s a Colombian coffee roaster and the shop is huge, full of plants and freelancers. It’s a bit pricey (a drip coffee is over $3) so I wouldn’t rush back but there is a ton of space and good wifi (which they turn off on the weekends, FYI).
Allison and I worked outside at the Stumptown flagship in the West Village and it’s perfect people watching. There are few seats right off of 8th Street and the wifi works there too.
East One Roasters (a Sandra rec) in Carroll Gardens is a great spot to work with long picnic tables and good coffee. Sarah and I caught up and worked there before watching the World Cup at a local bar.
If you’re in a car on your way to the beach, Dunkin Donuts iced coffee is what you should be drinking.
Starbucks is phasing out straws! Good PR for sure and will set a trend, but the new cups with the sippy mouth apparently take even more plastic to create.
Related: Are straws trendy right now?
WeWork is eliminating meat from company events.
Less sexy than elminating straws but it might make a bigger difference long term: how to reduce plastic and foil use in the kitchen. I use that beeswax wrap to store half lemons and it works great.
Now some fun stuff:
Why you should eat fries with mayo. I usually use ketchup but did mayo last summer in Amsterdam and it’s pretty damn good.
Some American Rosés to try this summer (I tried a few of these in California and wow they are good).
Not all heroes wear capes, not all omelettes have eggs.
A great interview with Mama, a veteran server at Gramercy Tavern.
Meet Ben and Jerry’s Corporate Activism Manager
New York is always changing/ the rent is too damn high: Coffee Shop in Union Square will close after 28 years. Leah and I went there after a Beyoncé concert at midnight once and it felt so cool to be in that room.
Now some California stuff:
Eater did a California week with the 38 Essential California Restaurants and some fighting words on why California has the country’s best food. Is California better? I’m a huge fan of course, but my heart is in this filthy city.
Michael Bauer, the longtime critic for the SF Chronicle is stepping down after 30+ years. This is a huge opportunity and it will be interesting to see who gets chosen (hoping for a woman!)
And yes, we will commence a national search for the next @sfchronicle restaurant critic.
🚨Spread the word.🚨
Let us know what you'd like to see from the new Bay Area restaurant critic.https://t.co/Rx76lTp8rX
Charlotte (get her guide to the perfect cheese plate here) made some great points about peanut butter sandwiches:
Skippy is far better than Jif. Both have artificial stuff but Jif tastes more sweet and fake in my opinion. Skippy is the best for making Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It is unfortunately hard to pack lunches using the more natural stuff because the oil soaks into the bread and then the sandwich tastes dry. My favorite peanut butter to use for snacks and straight-up eating from the jar is Smucker's all natural crunchy peanut butter (salted). Also it comes in a glass jar, which you can reuse for other things.
If I shop at Trader Joe's one week, I might buy a few back up jars of the salted crunchy TJ's brand. I also really enjoy when grocery stores let you grind your own PB, but I can't let myself buy it because I don't think I would eat anything else if I did.
Aunt Sharon shared this great tip for natural peanut butter: If you turn the jar upside down and store it that way, somehow the oil gets absorbed into the jar and no stirring required!
Hillary recommends the 365 brand of peanut butter at Whole Foods, only $3 and little stirring required.
Leah buys Crazy Richard's natural creamy peanut butter. It's pretty cheap at Kroger and the only ingredient is peanuts which is my top requirement. Stirring it isn't that bad for a natural peanut butter!
Anjali is allergic to peanuts but still weighed in: My dad just switched to peanut butter powder for his morning oatmeal and is obsessed! It’s apparently half the fat but still all the good protein and flavor. I’m partial to sunflower seed butter or golden pea butter (I had never heard of this and am excited to try).
Thanks for sharing and please know you can always talk to me about peanut butter. It’s extremely important to me.
Next week we are talking about kitchen disasters. Tell me your biggest messes and fails. I once broke a housemate’s blender while making watermelon vodka coolers in Mexico City. There was glass everywhere, it was expensive to replace and I was SO late to the party. This is a safe space, so reply to this email with your stories.
Finally, want to hang out? RSVP here for next week’s happy hour at Brooklyn Cider House!
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo,
Abigail