Vegan queso, a three-legged dog, and the history of refrigeration
You can buy a whole town in Montana.
In March, I launched Saltine, my new newsletter about fashion, interiors, and design. Subscribe here!
A look back at April and May—what I ate, made, and read.
🏔️Out and about
In early May, we went to Montana to visit family, traveling through Missoula, Bozeman, Red Lodge, and Billings. We managed to sneak in a date night at Chico Hot Springs near Pray, Montana (which is currently for sale, by the way—yes, the whole town!). It was my first time at the springs, and now I’m scheming a friend group trip. There’s a restaurant, a garden, a perfect bar, horses (horses), and antique-y rooms.
Between Chico and Billings, we stopped at Greycliff Mills. Right when we arrived, we spotted a dog (playfully) chasing a cat near a pond, like some sort of Mennonite Norman Rockwell scene. The dog turned out to be a three-legged heeler mix who gave us a tour of the grounds. I picked up black beans, goat milk soap, and a locally made French-style rolling pin from their shop, along with a three-pepper cheddar from their onsite cheese cave.
In Missoula, we had a fabulous early dinner at El Camino, including the best margarita I’ve had in a while. At Mother’s Day brunch at The Old Post, I got to instigate my favorite restaurant brunch move—a shared pancake for the table.
🧀 Eating and cooking
I made the vegan (cashew and sweet potato-based) queso on steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes from Sohla El-Waylly’s genuinely fabulous cookbook, Start Here. What a hit! The queso recipe (which you can also find on NYT Cooking) was easier than I expected, and yielded about three cups of the “cheese,” which I used the next day to make mac and cheese. We love a two-in-one recipe. I followed it as written, although I removed the chipotle pepper before blending, as I tend not to like smoky flavors. I also thought it could have been thicker, but I was being imprecise with water measuring. I’ll report back next time I make it. Also, the crushed Fritos were necessary.
I also made
’s blueberry muffins. I swapped yogurt whey for buttermilk or watered-down yogurt, which may have been the reason the muffins fell a bit (could also be my oven). However, the few that didn’t were fabulous, and next time I’ll be less afraid to overbake.By the way, I’ll be using the Substack app’s chat function to share recipes as I cook them. First one is here:
🪻The garden
This year in the garden, I’m keeping it simple. I’m growing tomatoes (two Sungolds and a Bumble Bee) and peppers (Lemon Drop, shishito, and habanada, which is a pepper bred to taste like a habanero, but without the heat!). Otherwise, my gardening strategy this year is focused on flowers, herbs, and more herbs.
I took a class from Kim Eierman at Brooklyn Botanic Garden last year about native pollinators (and bought her book, The Pollinator Victory Garden) and have been wanting to implement some of what I’d learned. I was happy to see that Hudson Valley Seed Company is working with Pollinate HV to offer native plant seeds. I bought the Purplestem Aster and Great Blue Lobelia, as both are suitable for our shady backyard.
Lots of plants, particularly ones native to regions with winters like the Northeast, need to be “cold stratified,” so planted in the fall to spend a few months in the cold ground. You can typically cold stratify in the refrigerator, which is what I did. I forgot about them in the butter drawer of the fridge, and five weeks later, when I remembered, the soil was no longer moist. I had nothing to lose, so I placed them under the grow lights, and they popped right up! I planted a few of them directly in the ground around my beds, and I hope they take. I will probably direct sow some more this fall for a spring treat, too.
Oh, and the blueberry bushes are back—one of them didn’t make it through the winter (I should have potted up the container, I think the terracotta wasn’t warm enough for winter). I grabbed a third Jersey Blue blueberry from Natty Garden, and it seems to have taken. I’ll pot it up at the end of the season into a larger container.
🫛 ICYMI
On Home Food:
On Saltine, I published a three-part series on our Montana wedding, 8 random things I’d recommend, and a collection of wedding guest outfits.
🧊 What I read
I just finished Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley, a one-of-a-kind account of the history of refrigeration and the food supply’s “cold chain.” I hadn’t made the connection between the industrial meat industry and the proliferation of mechanical refrigeration before. It also covers the use of ethylene, the (non-toxic) gas used to artificially ripen produce (part of the reason industrially grown tomatoes taste so bad). If you have a nascent interest in supply chain and food system logistics, you’ll enjoy this one.
I also read The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya, The Pathless Path by
, and The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel, which I’ll write about in an upcoming Saltine.🍫 Of note
I picked up a Mother’s Day gift at Maxwell Gift and Grocery in Bed-Stuy—a cute cross-stitch kit, picnic blanket, and a Lake Champlain Sea Salt and Toffee bar ($6), which Skylar accidentally opened (sorry, Mom). I couldn’t be too annoyed, because otherwise I wouldn’t have tried this amazing chocolate bar. Succulent, salty, sweet!
Letter of recommendation for the Classic White Kimchi by Kimchi Kooks from Precycle, which I’ve added to bowls when I want something a touch more interesting than sauerkraut.
S. Jane Kim from Silky Crunch asked me to contribute a summer-y item for her #BuyItForLife series. Click through to see what I chose! (And subscribe to Silky Crunch!)
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Loved Frostbite and am still thinking about it, especially when I go into big grocery stores!