It looked so sad, sitting on our driveway. Our old stove, the one that had been central to our kitchen life for more than 20 years, had been cast out, banished to the driveway, where it sat in the cold and rain for a few days, and then was hauled away, headed to the junkyard. It would be pulled apart for scrap metal, at best. I hate to think about it there, lonely and stripped bare.
I didn’t want to say goodbye to it, indeed would have kept it, even in its state of decline. I accepted the old stove’s flaws. I understood the old stove’s flaws. I mean, who among us is perfect, and who does not have their own flaws, both large and small?
We had been chugging along for a few years, with a broken burner, and it was fine. Aside from Thanksgiving Day, when do we ever need to actually have four burners going at once? And so I forgave the stove, and we carried on with three burners. Then, the oven stopped working properly and I forgave that, too. I could still bake a decent cake, still pull cookies out of the oven that were golden brown, only I had to rotate and turn the pans. A lot. But it was OK, because we had been through so much together in 20 years.
Then the day came when the smell of natural gas filled the kitchen when I tried to warm up the oven, and the cost of fixing it — again — outweighed buying a new one. It was a sad reckoning. For the old stove, it was time to say goodbye.
Once I started thinking about how much time I had spent in front of our old stove, the sadder still I became. I made baby food on those old burners, countless birthday cakes inside the warmth of its oven. Memories of all the meals we made for children and their friends came flooding back: the Friday night pizzas and pot after pot of macaroni and cheese. All of it, on top of and inside the oven.
Now, we have a new oven and it’s fine. I’m grateful for it, of course, and we are getting used to each other. The oven works perfectly — there are no hot spots. And like magic, all four burners work. I’ve been using it a lot, cooking up a bunch of springtime food, which on these cold and rainy days, feels like the right thing to do. Here are three of my recent favorites, recipes that came from our new stove and oven.
Potato salad could be considered a harbinger of good things to come. It is a classic dish to bring to a party (remember those? They’re coming back!) and this potato salad would be a fine dish to share with friends. I love a good potato salad, with eggs and pickles and lots of mayonnaise, but I also like to mix it up now and then and try something new. In lieu of the classic mayo-egg dressing, this salad is topped with plenty of fresh ginger and garlic. Garam masala is a simple Indian spice mixture, easily found in the supermarket, and it’s made up of a few different warm spices: cinnamon, coriander, cardamom and a bit of cayenne. The spices, combined with the aromatics, are a good balance to creamy potatoes and crisp green beans. The salad improves with age so feel free to prepare it a day ahead.
We love soup in our house, in any season. The recipe for springtime minestrone feels very this-season-al, with tons of veggies and fresh herbs. The best thing about this soup is the broth, which is loaded up with garlic and fresh herbs. Simmer gently a few garlic cloves while the vegetables cook up, then add everything to the broth — it makes for a beautiful bowl with a ton of flavor. And while homemade broth is always good, store-bought is fine in this recipe. See the note in the recipe about the brand I use. I added a handful of chives from my garden, which were bright green on a cold and rainy morning. (They’re always the bravest plant, popping up first when the earth has just barely let go of its icy blanket.) I also added plenty of fresh dill, which is a particular springtime favorite of mine. Dill has an earthy, warm scent and it filled my kitchen as we prepared to eat dinner. We ate the soup with crusty bread and each of us piled mounds of Parmesan cheese into our bowls. Elliot ate three bowls of soup, as 16-year-olds can and should do. In my house, I keep the pasta separate, then people can fix bowls the way they like. In this way, those that prefer low-carb (me) can add a few spoonfuls of pasta, and the carb lovers (teenage son) can pile it in.
I made the hand pies for an outdoor, socially distanced, COVID-era gathering. They work for this kind of thing: No cutting, touching or sharing one large dessert. But even if you’re not going to be with other people, little sweet pies are nice to have around. They have a buttery crust, a sweet-but-not-too-sweet-filling, and are rolled in sugar to make the outside crunchy. The filling is made from a chopped apple, and any old apple will do. I used a scoop of mixed frozen berries, the kind I keep around for smoothies. Use those, or any berries, fresh or frozen, that you have on hand. Fruit of the forest usually includes rhubarb, but it’s not quite rhubarb season yet. When you can find the beautiful red stalks, a bit of it, chopped and added to the fruit, would be a fine addition. A good thing about these little pies, and I say this about almost all of the desserts I make: they’re good to eat at any time of day. Mid-morning cup of coffee? Good time for a hand pie. Afternoon snack? Hand pie! And, late night snack? Yup, hand pies are good then, too. Consider making a batch of these for anyone who needs cheering up. They are cheery, indeed.
Here we are, my new stove and I. It’s working just as it should, and we really like the griddle that runs down the center of the cooktop. Elliot fries eggs on it and it’s great for grilled cheese and pancakes and sausage.
As the new stove and I get to know each other and start building the foundations of a long and fruitful relationship, I’m taking a moment to look back. I’m grateful for our old oven, for sustaining us, for standing by and cranking out cake after cake in good times and yes, being there as I made soup and other comforting food in times of sadness. So goodbye old friend, thanks for the cupcakes and the roasted turkeys, the curries and the crepes.
Thanks for those things, and thanks for everything.
Caroline Barrett is a freelance writer who lives in Delmar. You can reach her and follow her work at carolinebarrett.com.
Potato Salad with Indian Spice and Herbs
Serves 5
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 green chile pepper, seeded and chopped (see note)
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 rounded teaspoon garam masala
Pinch salt
2 cups trimmed haricots verts (extra fine green beans)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salad greens, for serving
Toasted cashews, chopped
Fresh cilantro leaves
Flaky sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
- Place a large pot of salted water over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender but not falling apart, 8 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over a medium low flame and add the chile, ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or so, until soft and fragrant. Stir in the garam masala and a pinch of salt and cook for another minute or so. Add the green beans and cook, stirring, until they are bright green, 2 minutes, turning the heat down if the garlic starts to brown. Remove from heat.
- Whisk together the remaining olive oil and lemon juice, then combine with the potatoes and the green bean mixture, stirring gently to spread the spices over all.
- Spread the salad greens on a serving platter, then top with the potatoes and green beans. Garnish with the cashews and cilantro and finish with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Best at room temperature.
- Note: I use a cubanelle pepper in this recipe, for its mild warmth. You can substitute an anaheim or poblano pepper (both of which have more heat but would be good in this recipe.)
Springtime Minestrone Soup with Green Garlic Broth
Serves 5
6 cups unsalted chicken broth (see note)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
½ yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 bunch thin asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1-15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked orzo or other small pasta
1 cup mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used parsley, dill and chives)
Black pepper and salt to taste
- In a soup pot, heat the chicken broth with the garlic. Bring to a gentle simmer and leave it while preparing the vegetables.
- In a large saute pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion and carrot together until softened. Add the asparagus and tomatoes. Cook for another minute or two, until the asparagus is bright green and the tomatoes have softened. Turn off the heat and season with the salt.
- Remove the broth from the heat and add the cooked vegetables, along with the spinach and cannellini beans. Stir well and let the spinach wilt.
- When the broth has cooled, add the pasta and herbs.
- Taste and add salt, if desired. Serve warm with bread.
- Note: Homemade chicken broth is great, but if you don’t have any, store bought works well too. I like Kitchen Basics unsalted chicken broth.
Crispy Fruits of the Forest Handpies
Makes 15 4-inch pies
For the crust:
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2-3 tablespoons cold water
For the filling:
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch salt
½ cup sugar for dusting the pies
- To make the crust, combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the egg and butter and pulse a few times more, until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Turn the machine on and add the water in a stream, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Turn off the machine. Remove from the bowl, wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Prepare the filling by gently stirring the ingredients together. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a ¼-inch thickness. Use a 4-inch biscuit cutter to cut circles. Set those aside and reroll the scraps.
- Pour the sugar into a shallow bowl.
- To fill, place a heaping tablespoon of the filling on a circle, fold in half, and press the edges to seal. Use a fork to make a decorative edge, if you like. Press both sides into the sugar and place on the parchment. Repeat with the remaining circles and filling. Use a sharp knife to make a small X in the top of each.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
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