Holly Hughes’ annual collection, Best Food Writing, is always one of our favorite reads, and this year we’re proud that an essay from Cassoulet was included in the collection! Aleksandra Crapanzano’s gorgeous and moving essay, Lobster Lessons, will now find an even wider audience, and we couldn’t be happier.
Sometimes, I wander into the kitchen, hungry or pursued by hungry children, with a clear idea of how to satisfy that hunger. More often, I need to poke around in cupboards and the fridge before I can figure it out. Then there’s what happened the other day: a plan that I’d been hatching in the back of my mind — ruminating on it while I answered email, went for a run, edited two essays and went about the rest of my morning — took a detour when I opened the fridge.
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Apparently it is Feed My Parents Scraps Month, but luckily so far, no one is complaining.
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My parents have lived in San Francisco long enough now that it doesn’t feel like an occasion for them to join us for lunch, but not so long that I feed them totally unadulterated leftovers. Recently, though, I barely even had leftovers; I had this:
And so I turned it into this:
Any grains would do, though I happened to use rice. Any chopped vegetables are nice, and fresh herbs and/or toasted nuts would liven it up. The key was the bright, orangey dressing, which I failed to photograph as individual ingredients, but at least I do remember what I did:
Combine 1 tablespoon each
orange juice
soy sauce
rice vinegar
sesame oil
honey
Add
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil
A tablespoon of miso would be a nice addition, too, if you have it, but this version was very much about what I had immediately at hand.
Mix well, pour over your salad, sprinkle with sesame seeds if you’ve got them, and serve.