What does “feel good foods” mean? It depends on who you ask. That’s why, every month, Feel-good meal plansPacked with nutritious recipes and a few wild cards, the show features new hosts: In July, Senior Test Kitchen Editor Silpa Uskokovic will cook with a cruise ship’s load of basil and discover how to make compost with less odor.
I bake a lot, both at work and outside of work. In the past few months alone, I’ve made a caramel cake, gluten-free banana bread, a fig-studded cornmeal cake, some controversial chocolate chip cookies (without the chocolate chips), a lemon drizzle cake, and a five-tiered wedding cake. So it’s not surprising that at the end of a long, sugar-filled day, the only food I can eat is something super flavorful, preferably with a veggie or three.
To satisfy this craving, I created the highlight of July’s Feel Good Food Plan: a quick and easy Chicken Basil Stir-Fry. Made with ground chicken, a few staples that I always have in my fridge door, and lots of basil, this dish is my ideal summer dinner: it’s quick, spicy, and makes the most of the fleeting ingredients of the season. Served with my favorite rice, it’s as energizing as a wilted tulip in cold water, and I hope it inspires you too.
Recipes to lift your spirits in July
I write this in the heat of the moment, sweating profusely and without any of the Carrie Bradshaw calm I imagined I’d have at my desk. Summer is fickle. We’re plagued by relentless heat and humidity, yet surrounded by the most delicious produce of the year. Eating can be a competitive sport of sweat and air conditioning. Instead of giving in and ordering takeout, here are four easy recipes I’ve saved in the Epicurious app for summer.
Easy chicken stir fry
My most popular cooking method is stir-frying, which fills me up. fastInspired by Thai pad kapao, this recipe sautés ground chicken with plenty of shallots, garlic, and basil. Basil isn’t just a leaf to sprinkle on tomato salads or toss into pesto. Cooking it like any other leafy green (and it is!) enhances basil’s cool tarragon-like top notes and sweet, grassy notes. Don’t worry about how much you put in the pan; just like spinach, a few minutes of sautéing will cause it to shrink dramatically, like a wool sweater in the dryer. Along with the four-ingredient sauce, you can also add halved cherry tomatoes or slivers of cute bell peppers you’ve seen at the market (shishito, Marconi rosso, gypsy, nibbler).
This flavorful, spicy dinner can be made in under 30 minutes.
Prepared noodles
This salad is loaded with vegetables and all you need is boiling water. The wasabi dressing instantly wakes me up after one bite. I don’t like smoked salmon (it’s slippery), but… Hot smoked The salmon was something else, firm and meaty, with a smoky smell that reminded me of a campfire. It was also incredibly easy to incorporate into a meal. Unlike usual, I prepared the other ingredients in advance, storing the oiled noodles, boiled green beans, sliced radishes and dressing in separate storage containers, then serving it on the largest plate the next day. I often have leftover dressing, which I drizzle generously on sourdough fried in olive oil and top with a thick layer of ripe tomatoes, which is delicious.
This cold soba salad features green beans, radishes, tender baby lettuce, and a tangy, mustard-infused vinaigrette.
Cod and lots of corn
It’s no longer impossible to find tomatoes and blueberries that taste amazing out of season. But what about corn? Thick sweet corn is happily still a summer staple. When I’m not just nibbling the buttered kernels off the cob, I’ll be making this Braised Cod and Corn Dinner, using Arctic Char instead of cod. at least I doubled the amount of crushed red pepper and left out the mint, which I don’t like (but if you have cilantro, you could use that instead), and because it cooks quickly, the corn stays sweet and crunchy.
Cod and other white fish shine best when steamed until aromatic and soft and falling apart.
The greenest grain
Every week, a bunch of wilted herbs from the back of the fridge makes me feel guilty. I toss them in this vibrant green buttermilk sauce, whipped up quickly in the blender. I cook my favorite grains in my Instant Pot, which cuts the cooking time in half and doesn’t heat up my apartment like a pot on the stove does. I throw yogurt in the blender with the buttermilk (or some days I add yogurt diluted with water). Sometimes I gently toss in a jalapeño or serrano for an extra zing. Instead of heating the sauce, I just spoon it over my freshly cooked grains. If you love a savory breakfast like I do, this is a wonderfully energizing breakfast.
This dressing reminds me of the freshest, greenest ranch dressing I’ve ever tasted.
This month’s feel-good discoveries
A comforting book about corpses
One morning in May, I woke up wondering what happens to our bodies when we die and no one, not our children, friends, or distant relatives, wants to claim us. I was afraid to look for answers online about such a personal subject, so I pushed the question to the back of my mind. Less than two weeks later, carton of eggs in hand, I was browsing a sagging table of free books near the farmers’ market when I stumbled across this paperback: Smoke gets in your eyes: Other lessons learned from crematoriumsThe universe really does work in mysterious ways. In this book, author and mortician Caitlin Doughty explains the inner workings of a crematorium. I expected to cry, but I didn’t expect to laugh so many times reading this book. This book is witty and agilely written. As someone who reads instruction manuals cover to cover, I gained a great deal of understanding and peace of mind from learning how our bodies are transported from the hospital or our home and cremated if we so choose. If you’re more of a visual learner, Doughty has a surprisingly popular YouTube channel dedicated to the dead and dying.
How to solve your compost problems
My husband and I have been avid composters for almost a decade. We are lucky enough to have a balcony where we keep our compost bin (a 22-quart Cambro, restaurant-grade). We are even luckier to have a compost drop-off across the street every Sunday. Still, some weeks we can’t compost because of trips, errands, or friends that overlap with drop-off times. We think twice and throw our food waste in the regular trash during those weeks. At our worst, we have had to watch as two weeks’ worth of compost packed into a plastic box gets more and more damp and smelly. Winters are forgiving, but summers definitely aren’t. If there’s one thing in this world I’ll never forget, it’s the smell of an overflowing compost bin. So when I had the chance, I was very happy to try out the Mill’s bin. First, let me clarify that the Mill does not compost food waste. It simply dries the food waste periodically, so it doesn’t smell and takes up less volume. The bin is oddly heavy, and I don’t like the fact that it connects to a Wi-Fi network, but it still looks promising. The lid closes automatically at night, incinerating the day’s husks, skins, and seeds. The next morning, I’m greeted by a coarse powder that resembles something you’d find on the forest floor. After a few cycles, I dump the powder in my regular compost bin. All the benefits of composting without the fruit flies, smells, or slime – a huge win.
That’s all for me this month. I hope you’re well and stay tuned for next month’s August 1st project. VICE Cooking Editor Hannah Asbrink proves that summer is the best season for hot food. Until then, stay cool and eat all the stone fruits you can get your hands on.
