Scraps is back on Saturday

We had an unplanned hiatus

Hello again,

What have you been cooking lately? Any plans for the summer?

I’m making small talk because the elephant in the room is… I haven’t been around since February. Lots of reasons, main one being I have a new job, and another is sometimes you just don’t feel like documenting your dinner plans. But even before I had the new job I was trying to keep away from the mentality of Scraps being a job, because it isn’t. The goal was always to waft in and out with things, rather than treat it like a publishing job in and of itself.

This is a short post to say firstly, thanks for not hitting that unsubscribe button, and also, Scraps is going to come out on Saturday mornings, and the next edition is on Saturday the 3rd. Going forward, it’s going to be a bit more agile, but it will also veer off in wild new directions if the mood takes me.

Some issues will be about a specific ingredient, and some will be about how to use a thing you only bought for one highly specific purpose. Some will be dispatches from the kitchen, even if the whole thing is so delicious there are no leftovers whatsoever. Sometimes I’ll share some things I paid other people to make for me (this is known as going to a restaurant).

Saturday’s edition is focused around a relentlessly amazing steak dish I did recently, which I served with a lime, anchovy and shallot butter. I’m excited about it (especially when you find out what I did with the leftovers).

Until then, here is a whistle-stop tour of the things I ate, drank, and cooked recently.

Mondays are almost always larb (with turkey or pork mince) or some kind of fiery, pungent noodle dish. These drunken-style noodles used a whole pack of Thai basil and featured crispy beef.

I also love dandan noodles — there is a great stall selling them in Spitalfields market — but at home I’ve been subbing in fresh pappardelle noodles instead.

As the preeminent food-waste newsletter, I am a big advocate for roasting cauli leaves. Just bear in mind they’re kind of fibrous, so you either need to finely chop them after this stage, or be prepared to use a knife and fork.

Can’t pass Borough Market without hitting up Padre.

Thanks for reading and see you Saturday!

C x