While I always have a packed fridge - to be honest, it’s usually a hodgepodge of random bits of veggies, scraps of proteins, and scoops of grains.
I’ve been working as private chef for a couple months now as a side hustle. And wow - it’s been one of the most challenging and fun things I’ve ever done.
For most of my life, I used to cook like this:
have a food craving pop in my head
google how to make that thing
run out to get ingredients for just that thing
make it
eat it
probably never make it again
But now, there’s actually people relying on me to nourish their bodies (the pressure!)
It requires me to actually sit down and menu plan, create a budget, get all the ingredients at once, ensure the dishes can hold up for the week - oh, and not to mention taste delicious.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, is that in order to be the most cost and time effective in cooking, I need to be able to work with ingredients that I can use in multiple different recipes. Where the creativity comes in is making recipes taste different even if I’m incorporating the same ingredients. And I’m grateful for this challenge - because any of the recipes I’ve shared here are a result of being forced to have to come with things to not only feed these people, but also how to feed myself with what’s left over.
To boot, I’m really excited about sourcing local farm produce from a CSA. The CSA I work with, Brooklyn Supported Agriculture, sends out their list of offerings a few days beforehand based on what’s actually in season. Which means, I’m now using the ingredients to influence the meals. A complete 180 from the days where I used the recipe to influence the ingredients. I’m sure you can relate because I think most of us start our cooking journeys this way.
I know this is a newsletter that shares RECIPES for you to follow, but today I really want to talk about how to *not* follow recipes so closely.
I think the difference between being a “good cook” and a “great cook” is that a good cook can follow a recipe to a tee, but a GREAT cook can be creative to make up their own recipes / adjust existing ones.
And y’all, I’m telling you, it took SO long for me to move past the “good” cook category. I’m a *virgo moon sign*, so I love rules and following direction - I looooove me a recipe. But when I got comfortable enough in the kitchen to let go a little - I started relying more on the ingredients I wanted to use and my taste buds to guide me. And then the real magic started happening. It takes time to get here, but if you have the passion for food and cooking, you’ll get that confidence and make some truly delish stuff.
And these summer rolls are a fantastic place to start if you are on your “great cook” journey. For me, this one was an instance of using the weird bits left behind in the fridge, some creativity, and a hot ass day with no AC in my apartment.
This week, I looked in my fridge and what did I have? Some leftover CSA carrots, cucumbers, basil, scallions & radishes. Some shrimp in the freezer. Homemade peanut sauce for a chicken satay I did for my client. And…are these rice paper wraps in my pantry that I bought in 2018 and never opened?
Let’s make some Motherf*ckin SUMMER ROLLS!!
There are so many ways to make these rolls (try googling this and you’ll see), but today I am going to encourage you to take whatever crisp veggies, leafy herbs & protein in your fridge and work with that. If you don’t have anything in your fridge - then go buy the veggies, leafy herbs, and proteins that you can use again this week! Go out and buy rice paper wraps as a staple in your pantry (at least these ones lasted me 4 years…). And if you are a fellow #saucybitch, make this peanut sauce (takes about 5 mins to put together) and just keep that in your fridge (you’ll want to smother it on lots of things, I promise).
I’ve also made these with leftover roasted sweet potatoes, leftover chicken breast, leftover green beans, almost brown avocado - just to give you a sense of the range of things you can make summer rolls with. I think next time I’ll even try making them with fruit - oooooh like a mango, basil, strawberry…whatcha think?!?
The best part - this came together in about 10 mins, never required me to turn on my stove to sweat even more than I already am, and made me feel fresh and light AF (types that sentence as I eat a spoonful of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter straight from the jar lol….)
Now go on and do the damn thing!
Peanut Sauce
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 squeeze of honey
1 inch of fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup of water, add more as needed
Sriracha to taste, optional
Blend whisk everything together in a bowl. Taste and add more soy sauce (for saltier), Hot sauce (spicier), water (thinner) and adjust to your liking. Store in a sealable jar for about 10 days.
Summer Rolls
Makes 1 serving, about 2 rolls
Ingredients
1 half carrot, julienned
1 half cucumber, julienned
10 basil leaves
1 radish, sliced thinly or with mandolin
1 half green onion, thinly sliced
Shrimp, sauteéd in soy sauce until turns pink, about 3 mins (roasted chicken breast would also be yummy!)
Peanut sauce
Sesame seeds, toasted
2 rice paper wraps
Sriracha, if you like spicy
Prepare your veggies.
Rinse and salt + pepper the shrimp. Turn the stovetop to medium heat, heat your pan add a little olive oil, and when it’s very hot, add the shrimp. Add a little pour of soy sauce and toss. The shrimp is finished with they turn pink, about 3-5 mins.
Prep your rice paper wrap: Just dip it in warm water for about 1-5 seconds so that it is softened (if you do more than then this, it will fall apart.)
Pull the rice paper from the water and put on a flat surface.
Add your veggies, herbs, protein, peanut sauce and sesame seeds in the middle of the wrap (leave room on the sides for rolling up).
Roll it up! Fold the corners over the top of the ingredients, just a couple inches overlapping. Then take the long-edge and fold over, tucking slightly under the ingredients on the other side. Then gently roll. That was very difficult to explain with words, so here is a video! One of the first lessons my mom taught me in the kitchen was how to roll a burrito (her first job was at Taco Bell lol).
Make 2-3 for yourself for a light meal, or go ahead and make a pile to share with friends.
Happy cooking,
Love ya mucho!
Tessa