🎃The Pumpkin Edition

Plus a new Roasted Squash and Mushroom Dish

🌟 Welcome to The Flavor Files! 🌟

Dive into the delicious world where science meets food! You'll get a new recipe each week, links to even more mouth-watering dishes, the latest food and science news, and more.

📚✨ Exciting News! My new cookbook, Veg-Table, is now available wherever books are sold! This book delves into the science of vegetables and features 100 recipes for all skill levels, along with tips and tricks to make your cooking journey fun and accessible. Get your copy here!

Do you own a copy of Veg-Table? I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a review on Amazon (even if you didn’t buy it there). Your reviews help make the book more visible to others.

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Thank you for being part of this flavorful journey! 🙏🏾 Your support means the world to me.

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Hello Friends,

A few months ago, I attended a book talk where the author and host reminisced about "the good old days when desserts were simple, just a vanilla bean, none of the more 'complicated' stuff like cardamom." I was a bit surprised—haven’t we moved past conversations like this? No spice is better than another; they all have their place. Adding cardamom takes no more effort than adding vanilla. I get that they were trying to make a point about keeping things practical, but honestly, it didn’t quite land for me. I should admit that I do think that, like vanilla, cardamom is a little overused in recipes; there is still room to use other spices because that’s what makes this world of food so unique.

However, this conversation made me think about a broader discussion. What makes us feel a recipe is complicated? Is it the number of ingredients or steps that make it appear inconvenient? Is it the time that it takes to prepare it? Is it the thought of switching the oven or slow cooker on? Are some ingredients less familiar than others, making the recipe appear daunting? As someone who writes recipes, I constantly consider these questions to make it a more effortless experience and provide substitutes whenever possible. Sometimes, a scale and thermometer will ensure success versus giving cues that are easy to miss or are simply unreliable.

And regarding that earlier conversation about vanilla versus cardamom, my advice is to be creative, use what makes you happy, and ensure it works with the dish.

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My success with last week’s lacto-fermented tomatoes made me braver to move on and go deeper down the rabbit hole. I loved the lacto-tomato juice and leather (I used the tomato pulp to make lactose-fermented leather) I prepared from the tomatoes, so I decided to make a bigger batch and attempt nectarines and carrots. What should I ferment next?

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Fall is the biggest cookbook season of the year, and there are lots of good books coming out this year, including these three baking books that should be on your radar. The first is The Elements of Baking by Katarina Cermeij (Amazon/Bookshop), which focuses on making recipes gluten, dairy, egg-free, and vegan. Katarina is a scientist and applies her approach, which quickly becomes evident with her detailed methodology in the book.

The second baking cookbook is Milk Street Bakes (Amazon/Bookshop) from the Milk Street folks. The book does a lovely job of teaching baking, but I loved its global focus the most. I’ve already earmarked recipes like Portuguese-style sweet Potato Rolls and Colombian Empanadas to make this year. This week's third and final baking book is King Arthur Baking Company’s Big Book of Bread (Amazon/Bookshop), which follows a similar trend of teaching the basics of bread making while also taking you on a trip through the big and diverse world of breads. There are lots of good choices that would make a wonderful gift for a baker.

Have a smashing week,

xx

Nik

I can’t deny it any more than I already have: it’s time to enter pumpkin season. Between the Halloween decor in my neighbors’ front yards and the talk of what to cook this Thanksgiving in my friends’ group chat, I’ve realized I need to accept the arrival of the pumpkin. This year, my Pumpkin Recipe Collection includes two pumpkin breads, one with apricots and the other with Nutella, and savory concoctions like a pumpkin ginger soup.

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Roasted Delicata with Mushrooms and Pecorino.

This is a straightforward side dish to put together that I’ve added to my fall rotation. I’ve used an abominable amount of pecorino, but I love cheese, and it makes the squash and mushrooms even more enjoyable. You could garnish this with chives or fried sage to make it a little fancier for a Thanksgiving menu.