Friday favorites 7/22
Successful cauliflower rice, French mustard, cookbook history, and more. Plus your input is needed!
Happy fourth Friday of July!
Some important housekeeping before we get started: After reading Wednesday’s post on my iPhone, I realized that some of the paragraphs felt a bit like walls of text. I typically write Come como Kiki on my iPad or laptop, so the formatting felt much more manageable on a larger screen. My apologies if your eyes crossed after reading for too long!
In an effort to provide a better user interface experience in the future, I’d like to find out how you guys are reading Come como Kiki. Would you mind responding to the poll below?
I’m also considering tweaking some small details related to layout, but that would only impact people who read in a web browser like Safari or Chrome. So I have another question for you:
Both polls are open for a week, so you have until next Friday to respond. I truly appreciate your input; I want to making reading here as easy and comfortable as possible! Along those lines, can we bring back the MIDI loops that played in the background of 90s Geocities websites? Just kidding (kinda).
Without further ado, find this week’s favorites below!
Have you ever had a bad experience with a food and it makes you forever skeptical? That’s how I feel about cauliflower rice. Don’t get me wrong, I love cauliflower, but about 10 years ago when the idea of ricing it was first gaining momentum on the culinary scene1, I decided to give it a try with semi-disastrous results. I actually didn’t even get to the stage of cooking the rice because trying to turn the brassica into something resembling a grain was a failure in and of itself. I really like the idea of cauliflower rice, though, so when we stopped by Punk Kitchen for lunch earlier this week I decided to go for the Paleo Bowl, which has the rice as its base.
Paleo Bowl from Punk Kitchen In addition to the cauliflower rice, the Paleo Bowl features an assortment of pickled vegetables, tomato, kale, and cashews. There was the option to add a protein, but I went for the vegan version and it was delicious. I think the key to cauliflower rice is not expecting it to be a rice replacement, but rather a unique way to eat the vegetable. Mixed with the lime-based dressing and the brine from the encurtidos2, the cauliflower almost took on the texture of porridge here, which was a delightful contrast to the crunch of the cashews and pickles. David had the Solomillo & Superfoods dish (pictured at the top of today’s post) and was a huge fan, so much so that we already have plans to go back. Cauliflower rice (and a well-prepared steak) for the win!
As a relatively new convert to the world of mustard, I found David Lebovitz’s newsletter this week about the mustard shortage in France fascinating. Did you know that Canada supplies 80% of the mustard seeds in France? I certainly didn’t! Reading about the shortage made me wonder if the scarcity is to blame for not being able to find our favorite mustard here in Madrid (Maille Moutarde de Dijon Au Vin Blanc, for anyone wondering) for the past several months. Of course, it’s worth checking out the issue even if you’re not interested in mostaza3; Lebovitz is a compelling writer and I love reading glimpses of his life in France.
As much as I want to be a podcast person, I’m much more of a reader than a listener. I try to stay focused, but I usually find my mind drifting (often to what meal I’m going to eat next!). That means when I recommend a podcast you know it’s good, and this week’s podcast from As We Eat is certainly worth a recommendation. The theme is cookbooks (similar to our current Sunday Sobremesa!) including the history of the cookbook and how the target audience shifted from royalty to the common folk. I also enjoyed the discussion around the idea of cookbooks representing an aspirational lifestyle. Check out the episode at the link below!
I have to admit that cooking has been a bit all over the place for us this week. I had big plans to make Rachel’s Chilli Garlic Courgette Stir Fry that she shared in the comments last week, but it had to be shifted to this upcoming weekend last minute (I can’t stop thinking about it; it looks incredible!). I did manage to throw together this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans, though. In it, cherry tomatoes are slow-roasted with garlic and olive oil before adding in white beans for a quick second roast and then topping with fresh basil.
Roasted Tomatoes and White Beans, post-basil sprinkle “Five stars,” David immediately remarked after taking the first bite, meaning that he would add it into our regular recipe rotation. The only thing I would change in the future is either slicing or grating the garlic instead of roasting it whole (I ended up slicing the garlic after the first round in the oven since it was still too hard to smash). Other than slicing all the cherry tomatoes (it took the time of two songs4 to cut them, but probably less time if you’re a faster chopper than me—very likely the case) it was pretty hands-off, and definitely worth firing up the oven. The leftovers were great quickly warmed up in a pan, but I could also see myself eating it cold straight out of the fridge.
That’s it for today! Don’t forget that this Sunday brings a new Sobremesa! Stop back by to participate in the convo. And if you have an idea for a future sobremesa topic, feel free to let me know!
Para mí es un placer, como siempre!5 See you Sunday!
Ki
On the beginnings of cauliflower rice: According to several sources, cauliflower rice was supposedly invented back in 1998 by chef Ben Ford, who is Harrison Ford’s son?! I have a feeling that he maybe wasn’t the first person to chop cauliflower into tiny pieces, especially since the primary source appears to be an interview in an Australian magazine with Ben himself, but who am I to question Indiana’s son? Plus the recipe in that magazine article sounds delicious.
Encurtidos: Pickled vegetables
Mostaza: Mustard
On the tomato-slicing songs: The Spins by Mac Miller and Lost by Frank Ocean (which I liked before it blew up on TikTok, thankyouverymuch), for the curious
Para mí es un placer, como siempre: For me it’s a pleasure [to write and be with you guys], as always!
Thanks for sharing the courgette recipe! Also, the internet is a tiny place. I made Deb's tomatoes and beans this week too - so good!
Oh, and I feel the need to inform you that we have the same favourite mustard!
Love the new poll feature, so useful!
Who knew mustard seeds mainly come from Canada, that was a bit of a surprise for me as well. David's newsletter is the first Substack publication I ever subscribed to! I especially enjoy his Instagram live grocery shopping hauls, such a fun guy 😆