spring cleaning (and blanching)

going back to basics!

Hi friends!

It finally feels like we are out of the woods with winter here in the North East and it’s inspiring me to undergo a massive reset of my entire life. For starters, I just went through all of the condiments in my fridge and tossed the expired ones and I feel like a brand new woman!! In the spirit of de-cluttering, I’ve also decided it’s about time to give the recipe section on my website some much needed attention..

I started publishing recipes as early as 2019, long before my private chef days. It was a creative outlet for me and I mostly did it just for fun. I had no formal training in recipe writing, my writing style was loose and inconsistent, and was severely lacking in structure and uniformity. Not to mention, I never really measured ingredients nor used a cooking timer, so I basically guesstimated everything. It was cute at first, but now I think it’s time to grow up a little.

The process of writing my first book (which turned one year old this week yay!) was like a crash course in recipe writing. Through working with my editor, Molly, I was able to learn the unwritten rules, of which there are MANY, and really fine tune my skills. An arduous process, but I can confidently say that I am better for it. I’ve teased this before, but I am currently working on a very exciting project that I feel marks the beginning of a new chapter here at Wishbone Kitchen, and I really want my work to reflect that mindset.

So in typical me fashion, I’ve wiped almost all of the recipes from my website and am starting from scratch. Don’t panic, I still have the old recipes on file, they just need a little TLC before returning to the library. I want my website to be a functional resource as well as a source of inspiration, so I’d love to develop a collection of very simple, very “basic” recipes to act as the foundation of the library. Similar to the blanched spring veg recipe from my cookbook (which I’ve included below).

With that said, I’d love to hear from you as I rebuild: old recipes that you would want to see brought back, ideas for new recipes, or even your top cooking qualms that you’d like to see a deep dive on.

Blanched Spring Veg

My rule of thumb with most veg, but especially blanched veg, is that you need to dress them like you would salad greens: with salt, fat, and acid. I like flaky salt because it adds texture. For fat my go-­ tos are a drizzle of really good extra-­ virgin olive oil, chili-­ infused olive oil, or butter. Then for acid I like lemon zest and juice or a drizzle of vinegar. If you have some salad dressing on hand, that works, too.