On My Mind: Inside Cooking and Outside Layers

This is a relatively recent addition to my kitchen, but it has been getting its share of use this season. It’s actually in a merry-go-round of stovetop priority with the StaubDutch oventhat has lived on a back burner since I moved into my apartment four years ago. Highlights include a gazillion one-pot chicken-and-rice dishes, braised leeks, braised cabbage (I’ve been on a huge cabbage kick these days), and potato gratin. And it’s the vessel I use to simmer matzo balls for matzo-ball soup when said Dutch oven is full of … soup.

While the Staub gets all the soup glory, my Made In stockpot has also been doing some heavy lifting to make batches of chicken stock, which must be in my freezer at all times all winter long. It’s eight quarts, which means it can comfortably hold a whole carcass plus any extra meat, veg, and Parmesan rinds — and depending on what exactly is in there, it turns out about six quarts.

Gestura, which makes thetasting spoonI’m obsessed with, has a number of other tools. I use the bench scraper nearly every time I cook as a means of transfer — to scoop up and move chopped herbs into a bowl for garnishing, shredded cheese onto the top of a casserole dish for baked pasta, diced vegetables into a pot to start any number of dishes, and scraps from those vegetables into the trash can, among many other examples.

As for something on my kitchen wish list: I’m coveting a pair of sleeve protectors. I didn’t even know what these were until about a week ago when a former colleague, cook and recipe developerKendra Vaculin, posted anInstagram Reelwhile wearing them. They hold your long sweater sleeves up while you cook! Her post garnered so much interest that she made asecond videoexplaining that she got them from the makerYammamanin the very back of a shop in Soho calledBlue In Green. I love the look of her pair especially, so I’m planning to make an in-person trip, but as she points out, there are many similar styles available on Etsy.

This is a very unlike-me type of product, but walking every day is the most consistent part of how I exercise, and it’s been entirely unappealing to do that outside lately. It’s not just freezing but snowy and icy. A few errands and plans out and about in a week doesn’t cut it. My husband and I bought this machine last year, and it was living in our closet until I finally pulled it out a couple of weeks ago. It’s not nearly as nice as a long walk in Prospect Park, but I’ve been using it almost every day just to make sure I’m moving my body more than I would be otherwise. Better than nothing!

Another thing I’m doing at home: I got married in late October, and I’m a bit behind what the internet tells me is the appropriate window for sending thank-you notes — but I’m almost there! On a whim a couple of months back, I ordered these cards in a few different designs (the Champagne flutes and cake and bow), and they’ve been working out perfectly. They’re a great size: big enough that I can write a longer note when moved to, but small enough that a shorter note doesn’t look skimpy. I got some cutelove bird stampsfrom the USPS too.

When I do venture out these days, I’m feeling more prepared than ever thanks to some recent purchases. I own a long wool coat I got on sale from Theory several Februaries ago, and I’m obsessed with it. But when I’m just running around the neighborhood, it feels too tailored. Until recently, other options included a random few puffers passed down to me by family and friends — but nothing I had actually picked out myself and felt great about throwing on. When I went searching to remedy that, my requirements were particular: short but not too short, a neutral color that was neither black nor gray, and a neck covering but no hood. This one from Ariat, a brand I had never bought anything from before, fit the bill, so I gave it a shot. And I’m glad I did. It keeps me warm (even more so withmy Uniqlo PuffTechlayered underneath) and goes with anything and everything, whether I’m trying to look somewhat put-together for a casual brunch with a friend or just running up the block to the grocery store.

I wrote about this in ourlatest Strategist Haul, but I finally bought Blundstones. I’ve lived here through 11 winters without a pair, and now that I have them, I kind of can’t believe I waited so long. Classic for a reason.

Our friends’ baby is turning 1, and we’re going to his birthday party this weekend. At a book event for another friend at McNally Jackson last night, we wandered over to the kids’ section and bought him a favorite.