Sunday Meal Prep | Week of February 16
A tropical vacation for your tastebuds + a slaw that even my 5 year old will eat.
Even though the winters in LA are relatively mild, it still can feel a little cold in the evenings and it gets dark pretty promptly at 5pm. It might not be a “real winter” but it’s enough to make me crave a tropical vacation, and that’s precisely what was on my mind when I made this tropical salmon bowl for dinner a few weeks ago. I just wanted bright, vibrant, zesty flavors in a bowl—almost like I was somewhere beach-y and fun, but, you know, really at home with my children on a cold January night.
I had some salmon from the farmers’ market that I needed to cook or freeze, and I decided to do something I shockingly hadn’t done before: cube the salmon and marinate it. It’s amazing to me that, as someone who cooks a lot, there seems to be an endless stream of techniques and flavor combinations I haven’t experimented with before.
At it’s core, cooking really is just an experiment. Any chef or experienced home cook will tell you this. On Friday, for example, I made some Valentine’s Day pancakes for my kids and they were absolutely awful. To be honest, I’m not sure how I got it so wrong, but the batter was too thick and the raspberries I blended in to make them pink just turned into a weird brownish red color. Not what I envisioned, but Ozzie and Freya ate them without complaint—poor little Freya getting the scraps from the heart-shaped cookie cuter. Second children, le sigh.
Back to my tropical salmon bowl, this recipe boasts at least eight different plants and a carrot ginger dressing that is good enough to drink. I’d recommending shredding extra cabbage and carrot—we’ll be using it again later in the week, and you can make an easy and delicious slaw for lunchtime salads and bowls during the week (especially if you have extra carrot ginger dressing leftover). I used to do this by hand, but realized my food processor is much more efficient (for my anti-plastic stans, a glass food processor would be really dangerous and to my knowledge doesn’t exist, so I am still using this one but don’t put it in the dishwasher). Ozzie requests this salad weekly. I think he enjoys the crunchiness of the vegetables and bright flavors in the dressing.
THE BEST SLAW
Ingredients:
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded cabbage
- Olive oil
- Rice wine vinegar
- Tamari
- Toasted sesame oil (just a splash)
- Sesame seeds (for garnish)
I never measure the ingredients, just dress, taste, adjust. It will sit in the fridge for about 2 days before it starts to feel a little funky. You could also just shred your vegetables and dress as you eat. It’s really that easy. And it tastes great with cucumbers, bell peppers, fresh herbs, little gem lettuce, and avocado. Experiment a little ;).
Alright, let’s cook.
Here are a few meal prep adjacent things I’m loving these days:
The RealGirl
I am a big TRR shopper (and seller). I love it both for the sustainability and the hunt. Over the years, I have found so many gems—a Saint Laurent floral mini dress with tags (not this exact one, but my gosh!!), a Courrèges skirt, Celine loafers, and more at a fraction of retail price. After both my pregnancies, I was also able to find well-priced designer denim in larger sizes to wear while I was (impatiently) waiting for my clothes to fit again. And both times, I sold them back when I was done with them. Someone brilliant on The RealReal’s marketing team had the idea to launch a Substack and it’s great—very Gossip Girl, Lady Whistledown vibe that’s informative and fun to read.
Gel that doesn’t ruin your nails.
My dear friend owns a very cool nail salon in Venice (Ellie & Sass for my locals!) and she got me into this clean nail polish from the French brand Manucurist. They recently launched a gel-like product that is actually good for you nails. I hear it’s the cleanest on the market, it lasts, and you can get a kit for manis at-home.
As I’m writing this I’m realizing that this week’s menu really is like a trip around the world—in addition to your tropical salmon bowl, we have a Thai coconut and chicken soup, an offensively easy fried rice with leftover chicken, and a taco bowl. I love how we can repurpose similar ingredients, like chicken, carrots, or cabbage, to make something totally new.
