Welcome to Friday Favorites! This quick glimpse of my week is for all subscribers (free and paid). I include a fan-favorite recipe, something I’m watching, reading, or listening to, a recent find, and a weekly win.
I made some darn good food this week. A chocolate protein smoothie with cottage cheese (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it); feta and cherry tomato chicken; a chicken stir-fry with leeks and bok choy; and a healthy Napa Cabbage Salad from Hetty Lui McKinnon. Every day for lunch, I would have some of the leftovers from the night before. That is empty-nester life, my friends.
The end of August is BUSY season with back to school, back to routines and maybe the desire to shed a couple pounds of summer fun. The napa cabbage salad I made last night might be my answer to an easy summer salad for dinner, thanks to a rotisserie chicken. I sliced half a head of napa cabbage very thin; added matchbook carrots courtesy of HEB; chopped celery; sliced green onions; almond slices; crunchy chow mein noodles; and a simple salad dressing. I plan to make a triple batch of the dressing and keep it stocked in my fridge. The salad is adapted from the New York Times, but I’ll include an excerpt of the dressing below. The original used store-bought roasted tofu; I’d recommend Trader Joe's sriracha baked tofu. In my opinion, the salad recipe could use some cilantro for something fresh and light and maybe some shelled edamame for extra protein. Here are the quantities for the dressing — I mixed it up in a glass mason jar.
6 tablespoons rice vinegar (use unseasoned)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (the real stuff only! Or sub honey or brown sugar)
4 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Add everything to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to combine. Will last for a week in the fridge. This amount of dressing is slightly more than you’ll need for one salad, but use the leftovers on another salad later in the week.
You can find all the SITK recipes I’ve shared, organized by ingredient, in my Recipe Index.
I’m two episodes into Sterling Point on Amazon Prime Video; I’ve been so tired this week that I fall into bed and pass out. I love the Muskoka lake life of the show and can’t wait to finish it! My dad was born in Canada and lived in Ontario until his teens. Lake life is serious in Canada. I’ve also heard Hijack on Apple TV is addictive.
In September, my husband and I have a belated anniversary trip for our 25th, and I’m hoarding some books for the long flight. If anyone has any recent releases they’d recommend, send them my way.
Gap is having their friends & family 40%-off sale if you need to stock up on any basics and these dressy track pants would be cute for fall. I also love this skirt from J. Crew and it reminds me of one I packed for my honeymoon over two decades ago. The 90s are cool again, which is not a hot take.
Speaking of skirts, I was driving home from a haircut yesterday and saw a trio of moms walking their kids home after school in long skirts and T-shirts: Cool in hot weather, chic and put together. Rosie Assoulin has a line at Target and this geometric pattern skirt is so cute. This red striped skirt is also adorable.
PSA: I’ve been wearing these wide-leg crochet pants from Veronica Beard on repeat, maybe a bit too much. But they look equally good with a white T-shirt and tennies, a chambray button-down, or a white linen blouse and cute sandals, so I keep reaching for them. And they are just as comfy as sweatpants! I might wear them on my overnight flight to Copenhagen in a couple of weeks, but last time I put these on, my husband said, “You’re wearing those pants again?” Makes me think they might need a little time resting in my closet.
In other news, I really want a big filtered water system for my room in our new house. I could stash it next to my Nespresso machine since I’m on a constant rotation of caffeine and water. Have any of you tried these? I was also obsessed with the Aarke hot water kettles for my nightly tea when I stayed at the Twenty Two in NYC this summer and they make a filtered water pitcher, but it’s not as big as I’d like. I’d prefer to fill it and forget it. And I don't need it refrigerated, since I drink room-temperature water. Please send any recommendations my way!
You guys are going to think I’m obsessed with unpacking, but I can’t completely focus on anything until I get rid of the boxes. I feel like this is a never-ending move! I was able to go through all the boxes and bins stashed in my garage this week, and now it’s on to the last six book boxes in a corner room of our new house. Are they novels? Cookbooks? Children’s books? It’s a mystery I plan to solve next week, but getting settled and breaking down boxes sure feels good!
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