What to cook this week

What to cook this week

Hello. How are you? I’m moved to ask this question every other month because I think it’s important to recognize that you may not be doing well at all. We are two years into the pandemic and about two weeks into the war in Ukraine. There are heartbreaks everywhere, and there are times for all of us when it seems too much to bear.

That we bear it despite everything can be a sign of our humanity, but it can have a psychological cost. So try to give yourself a break today or some day very soon. Get out of your head. Restart and reload. (These remedies are cliché, I know. But they’re important nonetheless.) You could take a long walk or a long car ride, spend a day on the couch with a book, fix something difficult, or go at the shop.

And of course you should cook. No one in the history of the world has ever spent a Sunday doing the Great Lasagna (above) and not come away delighted (and exhausted) with the experience, with an incredible meal to serve with family or friends. You cannot control the darkness around us. But you can make a lasagna and, in doing so, experience a kind of temporary and inspiring escape. Do you want to try today?

And be sure to advance your analog clocks. DST started at 2 a.m. As with the rest of the week…

Tuesday

I like the idea of ​​this roasted cabbage caesar saladfrom Hetty McKinnon, a hearty vegetarian main dish with caramelized cabbage wedges and crispy chickpeas.

Friday

It’s Holi, and Priya Krishna has brought us a great recipe for pistachio saffron blondie. And if you’re observing Lent, it’s a good time to end the week with fried catfishsautéed greens and Millie Peartree’s new recipe for cheese grits kissed with garlic powder.

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In the meantime, we’re here to help if something goes wrong while you’re cooking or using our site and app. We’re at [email protected], and someone will get back to you. (You can always write to me: [email protected]. I read every letter sent.)

Now this has nothing to do with turmeric, pizza or caramel, but you should read Lisa Miller’s book profile of street photographer turned philanthropist Brandon Stantonthe creator of Humans of New York, in New York magazine.

Vicki Constantine Croke, writing in The New York Times Book Review, had me order the latest from Jack E. Davis: “The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of the American Bird.” (I saw one coming down the East Arm of the Delaware River a while back!)

Check out these two new poems by Ange Mlinko in the London Review of Books.

Finally, Guided by Voices played at Irving Plaza in New York on March 4. Here is the video of “cut out witch” of the show, and although it cuts early, it is fine. They really looked like they were having fun. I will be back on Monday.