What to do this weekend to get ready for the week
- Freeze your tofu to get the water out (check out Food52’s article here)
- Make A Very Good Lasagna
- Whip up a batch of Cold Elixir
- Clean your kale (just because)
Nothing Fancy’s A Very Good Lasagna
Lasagna makes for the perfect weekend meal. It’s time intensive, but not too fussy, and god damn is it all worth it when at the end of the day you’re pulling out that tray of pasta, cheese and sauce, and are able to bask in all of it’s perfectly browned and bubbling glory. We’ve been going the fresh pasta route because fuck it, we had no weekend plans anyway, and this way we can pretend we’re an elevated form of human being before we meet the great leveler (the L Train) on Tuesday. Our lack of social life and delusions of grandeur aside, the fresh made pasta really is totally worth it; plus, rolling out the pasta sheets is actually quite therapeutic and you can’t eat your therapist. -Zak
Bon Appetit’s Roasted Tofu & Broccoli w/ Creamy Miso Dressing
It’s true that no one really knows what tofu is. If you look for the wikipedia page you won’t be able to find one, that’s how little is understood about this spongy, mysterious, block of matter. All we know is that when done right the texture is wonderful and soaks up whatever tasty flavors you cook it with. That’s why we’re super excited, albeit a bit nervous, about this recipe. AND – Hot tip alert!!! Apparently an easy way to get water out of a block of tofu is by freezing it first and then thawing it out. Always get the water out of your tofu, this is what allows it to get nice and crispy! Note: While it certainly has a mysterious vibe to it, tofu itself is not a mystery, a wikipedia page does exist for it and after the briefest of glances I think its pressed soy curds. -Zak
NYTimes’ Masoor Dal
We know basically nothing about Indian food. All we know is that it’s crazy diverse, varies significantly by state, and is largely vegetarian. Dal has been on my mind since last summer, when Priya Krishna enlightened me to dal’s staple status when her Indianish cookbook came out last summer. And then this NYTimes Dal recipe came out and reminded me that we really should make this. Nigella Lawson also developed this recipe, and she’s a legend, so I expect this to be quite good. -Jane
Mocktail: Small Victories’ Cold Elixir
OK so these mocktails are getting farther and farther from cocktail territory. But I feel like everyone on the subway is sniffing and about to sneeze on me. And I really don’t want to get sick. So we’re going to make a batch of this ginger-lemon elixir, drink it all week long, and pray to the wellness gods that we stay sniffle-free. Julia Turshen also noted that you can add rosemary in, which will help with headaches, and since we have some sprigs about to go bad in our fridge – don’t mind if we do. -Jane
Jane & Zak: Meal Prepping from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 