Cook for maximum enjoyment
That's a resolution (New Year's or otherwise) that fosters health, happiness and prosperity.
Happy New Year, optimistic cook — and a warm welcome to CWB’s many new subscribers!
I’m absolutely delighted to have you here, and because there are so very many of you new readers (CWB’s readership swelled crazily in December!), I want to point you to this orientation page — so that in addition to receiving weekly emails, you can also explore all our offerings. If you like what you see, do consider treating yourself to a paid subscription, which entitles you to so much more.
Delicious resolution
I’m not usually one for resolutions, but I was thinking about one I keep seeing everywhere this year: COOK MORE.
Sounds good — kind of?! Do we really want to cook more? I already cook a ton. Maybe you do, too. I’m thinking the idea is to cook better, more easily and have more fun doing it. Right?!
To that end, my goal, for you and me both, is to maximize kitchen-enjoyment. Therefore, my big project this year will be helping you find your cooking happiness. I’ll do this by focusing on inspiring and guiding you — especially in one particular area: Helping you find more things you’ll have a great time making with your eyes closed. They’ll be things that will make you love being in the kitchen, that you can riff on endlessly, and whose results will wow you and yours.
❦
Let’s back up a bit. There are three ways to get maximum pleasure from cooking:
• Cook something you can make with your eyes closed
• Cook a recipe that’s easy to follow and you know will work and be delicious
• Embark on an ambitious cooking challenge that will bring a great sense of accomplishment
I’m going to explain the three paths to kitchen joy one by one. Then I’ll share the technique for a lentil-based vegetable soup that will quickly become something amazing you can make with your eyes closed. It’s dreamy to enjoy all winter, and to boot, it’s economical, healthful and brilliant at preventing food waste.
OK, let’s look at the three paths to kitchen joy:
1. Cook something you can make with your eyes closed
That way, your time in the kitchen is lovely and relaxing. To do this, you need to have some techniques you’ve internalized. It might be making soup (legume-based, meat-or-poultry-based, veg-based velouté-style, etc.). It could be roasting vegetables on a sheet pan. Or simmering a pot of beans. Or making pasta with pesto, with its infinite variations, or making a vinaigrette, with its infinite variations. It could be braising meats, poaching leeks, pressing corn tortillas, folding wontons, cooking fish in a pan, making a Thai-style curry, making risotto, baking a fruit crisp. Or masterminding a winter salad. The possibilities are endless, and the more you explore techniques and make them your own, the more of this kind of cooking-pleasure you’ll have at your disposal — and you can riff and improvise (or not) as your fancy strikes. I will help you learn and internalize all kinds of techniques.
Here’s an example of how soothing and delightful this way of cooking can be.
The other night, with all the serious cooking of Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve behind us (I was going to make latkes for Hanukkah, but I ran out of steam!), we had a plan for New Year’s Day: Make homemade pasta with two pounds of chanterelles we accidentally had on hand. (More on that in another post, perhaps.)
But I was not in the mood to make homemade pasta — nor to do anything, really, that required much attention. I wanted slow, lazy cooking with zero time pressure. Cooking that’s more meditative and relaxing.
I wanted to make something I could make with my eyes closed.
Right away I knew what it was: My favorite lentil-and-vegetable soup — with lots of turmeric and warm spices. It would certainly please the vegan in our holiday household, and lentils are traditional in Italian culture for ringing in the new year. Best of all, I knew I’d enjoy making it.
It’s a restorative soup, one that lets you use up all the vegetables in your fridge that might otherwise go limp. (And honestly, you can also use those that have already gone limp — no one will be the wiser.) I’m lookin’ at you, half-a-celery root and half-bag of arugula. We’ll get to the method and recipe at the end of this post.
2. Cook a recipe that’s easy to follow and that you know will work and be delicious
Sometimes there’s great comfort and joy in following a recipe you know and love. You can turn off your brain, go along with the trusty instructions and know you’ll wind up with something delicious. You already have your favorites. Maybe they’re from cookbooks you love, or websites or Substacks you trust — maybe even this one. The important thing is you don’t want to be thrown any curveballs, which is why beloved recipes are a great way to go. However, you can also stretch here and choose a recipe that’s new to you but comes from a trusted source. I happen to have a trove for you right here:
3. Embark on an ambitious cooking challenge
This could be something you’ve always wanted to learn how to make that’s a bit involved or means tackling a challenging technique. Or it could be something that’s not technically difficult, but maybe takes half a day, or longer — you know, a cooking project. Wylie’s decision to climb Mt. Panettone and then climbing it fits both criteria. Or today, as I’m attempting my second solo sourdough bread bake. (Note to those of you who are new here: I’m much more of a cook than a baker!)
Other examples of this:
• Make a dim-sum feast
• Throw a fancy dinner party
• Construct a maqulbet — the elaborate Palestinian upside-down, layered spiced rice dish
• Build a similarly elaborate Italian timballo or timpano, filled with pasta, meats and veg
• Master the art of Vietnamese bánh xèo — crispy, turmeric-happy rice crepes filled with pork, shrimp, mung bean sprouts and other good stuff
❦
Are you excited? I know I am! Here’s the lentil-based soup technique I promised. Many cooks won’t need or want more than that, but for those who do (especially the first time you’re making it), a link to the actual full recipe that follows will be helpful.
Lentil-Based Soup Technique (Sunday Super-Soup!)
This whole process usually takes anywhere from just over an hour to 90 minutes.
1. Sweat onions (and other allium) and aromatic vegetables
Heat two or three tablespoons of olive (or neutral) oil in a large soup pot till it’s shimmering, add chopped or diced onion (as much or as little as you like), carrots, celery and any other aromatics you like and have handy (leeks and turnips are nice additions). When I’m in possession of frozen or fresh chopped kale stems (leftover from some kale dish) I add those at this point too. When the onions are translucent, toss in garlic (as much or little as you like, or leave it out) — smashed cloves, chopped, sliced, whatever — chopped ginger (if using) and cook another minute or so. You can also add chopped or sliced fresh mushrooms at this point; if you do, let them cook a few minutes till they start to give up their water.
2. Add spices, if desired
Add ground spices such as turmeric (1 to 3 teaspoons is a good range; 3 makes it pretty turmeric-heavy), cumin, coriander seed, nigella seed. For best flavor use whole seeds and grind them yourself; toasting them in a small pan first adds depth, but isn’t necessary. You can also use pre-ground spices; nigella seed is used whole. Don’t know how much? Try a teaspoon of each you’re using (you can always adjust up or down next time). Stir in and cook two or three minutes. (Note: If you want to give the soup a more Italian or French vibe, you can skip these spices and add herbs such as thyme or marjoram instead.)
3. Add lentils, water, tomato
Use green, black, red, brown, yellow or any combination. I love green and black lentils, which keep their integrity, so always include one or both of those. Red and yellow lentils break down quickly into a soupy texture, so it’s nice to include one of those as well. But any lentils are fine. Two cups is a good place to start (that’s enough for a big pot), but the anything between one and two cups (or more) is fine. Rinse them well and toss them in, along with water (6 to 8 cups) and a can of chopped tomatoes (including the liquid). What size can? It doesn’t matter — just depends on how tomatoey you like it. During tomato season, of course, you can use fresh ones, if you like. Now’s the moment to add a bay leaf or three and/or dried mushrooms, if you’re using them (They are optional). You can pause for a cup of tea now, or take the time now to survey what else is in your fridge that you might want to add, and cut it up.
4. Add longer-cooking vegetables
All of the vegetables in this step are optional. If you want to use harder cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, rapini, broccolini and the like, you can cut them up and toss them in just after the lentils, or wait 5 or 10 minutes to toss add them. If you’re using very thick, tough broccoli stems, you might want to peel away the tough part on the outside before dicing. If you have cauliflower rice, that can be added now or closer to the end. Also add eggplant (peeled and diced), green beans, scallions, diced potato or sweet potato — anything you’d want to simmer for 20 or 25 minutes or so.
5. Assess liquid, and add salt, peppers/chiles
Check and see how your liquid is doing, adding a cup or two (or more) of water as necessary to get the soupiness you like. You can make it pretty soupy, or keep it thicker, like a vegan chili. Add salt (I start with about two teaspoons for a big pot and adjust up from there) and some kind of chile if you like (such as Aleppo pepper, cayenne, chile powder, Espellette pepper, etc.) Black pepper can be added here, too. Taste and adjust (you’ll adjust later again, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect — just don’t over-salt).
6. Add leafy greens, tender vegetables and soft herbs
What kinds of greens are cluttering up your crisper drawer, wilting or threatening to? Slice up larger greens (such as cabbage, bok choy or escarole), and toss in baby greens like arugula, baby spinach or baby kale whole. When I make this soup and don’t happen to have tired greens sitting around, I sometimes pick up a bag of baby kale, arugula or baby spinach, and dump that straight in. This would also be the time to add quick-cooking vegetables like zucchini (diced or sliced cut into thin half-moon slices), along with any leftover cooked vegetables, chopped up or cut into bite-sized pieces. Add chopped parsley (including stems), dill, mint, basil or whatever other soft fresh herbs you like at this point as well.
7. Taste, adjust seasoning, add water if necessary, stir and serve!
Here’s the recipe:
Once again, happy new year — wishing you all the best in 2026! I’m so happy you’ll be spending part of it with me 😍.
Lots of love,
Leslie
P.S. In case you’re worried that I wasted the two pounds of chanterelles in my fridge, I didn’t; I assessed them, noted they were holding up well. I used one pound to dress homemade egg pasta the next night (sautéing shallots in lots of butter first, with thyme, then adding sliced chanterelles, and emulsifying the butter in the mixture with pasta cooking water at the end). The other pound, after consulting Mr. Internet, I cleaned, blanched in water, drained, patted dry, sealed in a zipper bag and froze. They look beautiful and apparently will stay delicious.
P.P.S. I just pulled my bread out of the oven!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT . . .
Happy new year, and your sourdough turned out beautifully!
Love this framework for categorizing kitchen joy. The eyes-closed cooking concept really nails why certain dishes become anchors in weekly rotation - its not just about ease but about that meditative flow state where muscle memory takes over. I've noticed in my own cooking that the gap between "following instructions" and "internalizing technique" is where real confidence emerges, and that confidence loop creates space for actual creativity rather than anxious recipe-checking. Also appreciated the ackowledgment that physical limitations shape what ambitious cooking looks like, something alot of food writing ignores.