Journal — Edible Living

POZOLE VERDE // MEXICO’S SACRED, SATISFYING STEW

Last night I made fish tacos with my dear friend Anna, (who we’re safely podded with)—a celebration of her finishing her first solo cookbook just this week. We both had half a fridge worth of food and six mouths to feed, and, as she pointed out—two half fridges are far better than one. It forced us to get creative and mix textures and flavors in a way that is almost certainly interesting, if not completely delicious (it was!).

We threw in all the things—cilantro, scallion, radish and lime into an herb salsa; then: cabbage and grapefruit and pea shoots into a zingy slaw. Pickled onions, and beautiful, flaky chunks of line-caught cod and wild shrimp, smothered in paprika, chile and lime were layered into tortilla—soft and crispy—with beans and one sole avocado. My palate came alive again, and this morning I woke up with a distinct craving for another big-flavor favorite: POZOLE.

BAKE SHOP, RECIPESSarah CopelandFebruary 19, 2021SPINACH, PHYLLO, EASYSPINACHRECIPES, QUARANTINERECIPES

EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY || SEASON TWO!! ✨

Hello, friends! It’s an energizing week over here at our house, for so many reasons. For starters, I am thrilled to announce that seasons two of EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY, my new series with Food Network, is about to launch, early this week. This show is the culmination of two decades of learning, growing, writing, cooking and renovating (this old house!) to make this moment possible, and I am so proud to share this dream with you.

There’s a lot of new folks around here, so bunches of you may have missed my first season, which aired over the summer (but is available to download and watch any time). The first season is full of fresh, seasonal and super simple favorites from my book, Every Day is Saturday. The new season builds on that and gets even better—a deeper dive into our life, our home, our little village and of course the meals that fill our plate every day. This is warming, winter food at its best!

Sarah CopelandJanuary 24, 2021

PALACSINTA (HUNGARIAN PANCAKES)

I didn’t plan that the first recipe I’d share with you in the new year would be Paliscinta, or Hungarian Pancakes—shot on my iPhone, on the fly in my kitchen, my kids swinging their legs at the breakfast nook with this week’s renovation debris just out of frame, but that’s 2021 for us so far. Very go-with-the-flow.

Go-with-the-flow has never been my mantra. I’m a planner through-and-through, an over-thinker, hyper-focused on big ideas and often, perfection. But 2020, and ten months of quarantine may have broken me of all of that, and I’m better for it.

So here we are—late on a Sunday night, sharing the one easy recipe that lit up my kids this weekend—the same recipe that lit up my husband his entire childhood, at the table of his Anya (mother) and Nagymama (grandmother) back in Hungary: Palacsinta, the first thing my mother-in-law ever made for me, and the very thing that we all beg for every summer when we return.

HANDMADE, RECIPESSarah CopelandJanuary 10, 2021pancakes

BEST (TIMELESS) LINZER COOKIES

We had a snowy today, a no school (even remote school), excuse-myself-from-all-non-essential-work snow day, and let me tell you, we really, really needed it. Is anyone else tired of being all the things, all the time?

A snow day is a perfect time to bake, but we’ve been baking nonstop for three solid weeks, so instead, we pulled out all the bits and bobs of our recent baking extravaganza, including the tidy linzer layers I’d tucked away in the freezer—and filled them with jam to eat alongside double-thick hot cocoa, sausages, cheese and snappy radishes—a perfect winter snack moment.

CRANBERRY SNACKING LOAF

We’re cranberry crazy over here. It’s partly because I signed up for a huge shipment of organic cranberries, direct from Maine, many months ago, and have been dolling them into muffins and cakes, bundt and loaves ever since. But mostly because cranberries remind me of my grandmother, who always stood, steadfast, quietly grinding cranberries with oranges and orange peel, apples and sugar through her own cast-iron meat grinder, making the sauce at every holiday meal.

I’m missing her, and my own mother, this year. Missing the smell of zest and tart cranberry filling the air, mingling alongside carols from my parent’s retro stereo, on morning till night, from Thanksgiving till New Year’s Day.

OLIVE OIL AND MANDARIN CAKE

The holidays will look different this year, but I can’t help but want to keep it magical —inspiring me to put on the ritz a little more, even if it’s just for my own family, at home — like serving one or two beautiful home-baked cakes, with a pot of cinnamon tea or wine for the grown-ups, and a simple spread of cheese and nuts and winter fruits.

For the sweets, I want something that doesn’t feel every day--something that screams holiday, without a lot of fuss. There is an elegance to an olive oil cake, especially one layered in shingles of shiny rounds of citrus that makes it an instant holiday centerpiece. But good looks are only part of the story. I only want a pretty cake that has the texture and flavor to back it up.

This cake wins in all categories.

CHOCOLATE BANOFFEE PIE

Years ago my friend Robert gave me a stack of two slim French baking books that are just divine—one called Caramel and the other, Chocolate. They are the kind of books with simple recipes and even simpler list of instructions, the kind where the photographs look mouthwateringly dreamy, but the recipes more of sketch, than a list of actual instructions for how to achieve such results.

It’s been nearly ten years since I had looked at them, but one day recently, I flipped through the book and landed on the same page I’d marked all those years ago—BANOFFEE PIE.

CREAMY ROOT VEGETABLE MASH (FAST!)

One of my Dad’s favorite food stories to tell is about the time he took the whole young family (me, my three-siblings and my mom) to a phenomenal four-star French restaurant 40 stories up in one of Chicago’s iconic skyscrapers. During the meal, the waiter served my dad an expertly executed rack of lamb, then made the rounds doing table side service of the chef’s flawless potato puree (or, mashed potatoes). The waiter dolloped a delicate swoop of puree on my dad’s plate, with flair, and this warning: “And don’t you dare ask for more.”

If you have my first book, you’ve already heard this story, but it perfectly exemplifies how my family feels about a creamy mash, completely lump-less, and luxuriating in butter and cream. But, a flawless mash doesn’t always need to error on total decadence to taste divine.

THE EASIEST APPLE TART (PROMISE!)

Every time I make or post this Easier-Than-Pie-Warm-Apple-Tart, from my book, Every Day is Saturday, people who don’t believe they are good bakers sigh and say—that’s so beautiful! If only I could make a tart that beautiful.

Oh, but you can! When I tell you this is the easiest dessert I make all year long, I am not exaggerating!

BAKE SHOP, RECIPESSarah CopelandNovember 19, 2020SPINACH, PHYLLO, EASYSPINACHRECIPES, QUARANTINERECIPES

BIG-FLAVOR (INSTANT POT) BOLOGNESE

As satisfying as a spaghetti-and-meatball dinner is a quicker way to get there is a big, bold Bolognese (or Ragu a la Bolognese, a ragu that hails from Bologna), which takes a quarter of the time to reach maximum flavor in a multicooker. I gave a LOT of thought to how much impact I could get from a quick-cook meaty sauce in a short amount of time, before including this recipe in INSTANT FAMILY MEALS. In short, I hesitated. But then, I dug in my heels and worked hard to solve some of the problems I worried about—and added ample amounts of harissa, good red wine and the best San Marzano tomatoes to make sure I could win the flavor equation on this one.

INSTANT FAMILY MEALS || MY NEW COOKBOOK!!

I have so much to tell you, I really don’t know where to start—which is why, of course, this post is long overdue! I’m here to announce that my newest book, INSTANT FAMILY MEALS, arrived safely into the world just two weeks ago, and is already changing the way families do dinner.

I say that both sincerely, and modestly—It’s not me, it’s the pressure cooker. It’s a game changer for busy families, especially now. And this book—which is chock full of the favorites I’ve been leaning on in a tough year, coupled with the big flavors of food I miss most from restaurants and take out food—is right on time to help your family.

INSTANT FAMILY MEALS (COMING SOON!!!)

It’s a hard day time in the world to announce something new. We lost another great Friday—Ruth Bader Ginsberg. But if I learned one thing from RBG, it’s to stay the course. Keep putting one step in front of the other. Do what you were put on this planet to do.

I have a lot more to offer this world than just recipes, but for the moment, I’m called to help families and in particular, parents, create a richer, safer, healthier, more vibrant life for themselves and the ones they love. I’m called to support mothers and fathers and caretakers in their journey to raise healthy, vibrant humans. One way I do that is through recipes, and this year, in particular, it’s through recipes that are spot on delicious, and easier than ever to put together and put on the table.

So, without further ado, I give you Instant Family Meals, my new book. It’s the next best thing to me being able to bring over a pot of Turkey Meatball Soup with Macaroni and Kale to your house tonight or a creamy, Double-Chocolate Cheesecake. It’s a warm bowl of porridge on a cold winter morning, a spicy, steamy vat of Kimchi Stew. It’s Bolognese in half the time and a Double-The-Veg Pot Roast so heady and satisfying the family will be begging for leftovers. In short, it’s a little help—a boost—a slim book packed with BIG FLAVOR recipes your family will love, crave and lean on in this taxing time in our history. Recipes that will nourish and delight, and also give you a little break.

SUMMER SEAFOOD PASTA

We said goodbye to summer tonight with this soul-stirring pasta. One of those moments, completely unplanned when your five year-old points to clams in the fish case and you can't resist because in some ways, clams represent everything you fell in love with about the East Coast when you first moved here, 20 years ago. Because now you're raising a boy for whom clams is normal summer fare, and though swirls of clams, corn, shrimp and pasta, sealed with a sprinkling of parm may not be details he will remember, but the feeling--the feeling when he ate it as his mother's table in late summer, with the sun still on his skin and his wild, curly hair damp across his forehead --that will stick.

ENTERTAINING, RECIPESSarah CopelandSeptember 13, 2020Recipes, SUMMER LUNCHES, SUMMER SUPPERS, seafood, seafood pasta, pasta recipes, spaghetti, shellfish, clams, shrimp, corn, cherry tomatoesComment

MAHI MAHI KEBABS WITH AVOCADO PESTO AND HERBS

When it comes to making dinner, there’s a fundamental difference between the way I meal plan, and how my mother did. I make whatever I’m craving right now (and what doesn’t require a trip to the store), my mom made what she knew everyone would eat--without complaining, and zero cajoling. 1980’s moms didn’t have time for cajoling, which meant our family meals were a fluid rotation of Cashew Chicken, Baked Meatloaf, or Thick-Cut Pork Chops with Corn and Mashed Potatoes. There were also kebabs—-all kinds of kebabs: Pork kebabs, chicken kebabs, veggie kebabs--anything that could go on a stick, mom put on a stick, because mom knew that kebabs were the Holy Grail of family food.

RECIPESSarah CopelandSeptember 8, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

LATE SUMMER MINESTRONE WITH CORN, ZUCCHINI AND KALE

The seasons are blending and it’s my favorite time of year—almost. Except this year there is anxiety. Worry about how it will all work, about children at home for months on end, about keeping all of the balls in the air.

But this much I know—there is corn and zucchini and tomatoes still in the market. In the orchards, branches sag, laden with blushy apples and almost-ripe-pears. Nature reminds us: where we see lack or even fear (what if, what if…)—look a layer deeper and we see that there is plenty. Abundance. Simple gifts.

As we grasp for summer sunshine and our favorite tattered sweater— in equal measure—it is time to make soup. More specifically, this soup.

RECIPESSarah CopelandSeptember 7, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

TURKISH EGGS WITH GARLICKY YOGURT

I’ve been leaning on old habits this summer-like simple, satisfying, eggs-as-hero meals. Turkish eggs--a spicy poached egg dish over garlicky yogurt- is a recipe I first learned when I was single, living in the east village in NYC (where Turkish restaurants abound) and often cooking for one. A good creamy-yolked egg is always incredible, but especially when you pair it with a garlicky, dill-forward yogurt (called Cacik). Instead of poaching, I quick- fry my eggs in butter and oil, and top them with whatever baby greens we have on hand, fresh feta, and Aleppo pepper.

Since more is more for me on flavor these days, sometimes I keep going with chile sauce or crushed red peppers steeped in brown butter, to drizzle over the top. This is great served warm, or at room temperature--for breakfast, lunch or even dinner, with a plate of flatbread, pita or warmed naan.

RECIPES, VEGETARIANSarah CopelandAugust 25, 2020Recipes, healthy eating, vegetarian

WHIPPED FETA WITH PLUM, TOMATO AND AVOCADO SALAD

Last summer, on my quick spin around the West Coast touring my then-new book, Every Day is Saturday, I had dinner with my old friends Sue Vu and Ben Mims in LA, during Ben’s first month as the new Food Editor at the Los Angeles Times. It was one of those late-night, multi-course meals that’s an extreme rarity for me these days--ever since we moved to the stix and had a second kiddo. We had a beautiful table facing a sea of youthful faces and the energy in the room was electric. It felt like magic, as did almost everything we ate that night.

Midway through the meal the waiter brought out a small plate layered with whipped feta, and piled high with crispy, blistered wild mushrooms. It blew our mind. Whipped Feta—we all said in unison. Why didn’t we think of that?

RECIPESSarah CopelandAugust 4, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

MELON, RICOTTA AND SNAP PEA SALAD WITH GREEN APPLE AND CHILES

It’s rained a lot the last few weeks, and the only upside of that is forced incubation (movies! baking!) and juicer melons. Cantaloupe, or muskmelon as my mom called it, and any such variety like French Cavaillon melon—are right up there for me with watermelon (and if you know me at all, you know watermelon always tops my charts).

András has been working long days all of July, and Greta has been invited on some outdoor play dates with friends in our Covid pod, leaving me and Mátyás to spend copious amounts of solo time together. After 6,972 hours at home alone, I have to keep reinventing things to keep it special—for me, and for him. Mátyás is not a good solo player, so it’s hard to find space to garden, create, cook, shoot and style on my own—things I crave—unless I give him a cartoon. So several days this week I did exactly that. It’s amazing what a half hour in the garden with a melon, a handful of green things and a single slab of cracked limestone that transports me to Italy, or Hungary—can do for the soul.

PEACHES WITH BURRATA, PROSCIUTTO AND FRESH HERBS

Few things say summer to me like fresh, juicy peaches. When it's this hot and cooking is off the table, this simple combination of peaches, burrata, and prosciutto is the perfect lunch or twilight dinner fix. You hardly need a recipe for something so simple and intuitive, but I thought I’d share how we make it, with a little visual inspiration for maximizing peak summer.

GRILLED CORN, TOMATO AND AVOCADO PASTA SALAD

We didn’t eat a lot of pasta growing up. We were a straight up meat and potatoes family, but come summer, my mom would make cold pasta salad—usually corkscrew pasta with halved cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, and basil— that accompanied us to the pool for evening swims, to neighborhood potlucks and to our best friend’s annual Fourth of July party, where it would mingle with grilled burgers, magic bars and root beer.

I loved this salad, and yet, I have never had it since. I have also never made it for my kids, even though my kids LOVE pasta. So this week I gave it a go, with a quick toss up with slightly elevated ingredients from the garden, plus creamy California Avocados, a cheekier noodle (ditalini) and some Parmesan on top.

RECIPESSarah CopelandJuly 2, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

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