Weeknight pastry
A kitchen scale altered my baking more than any recipe did. I like weeknight dinners that shows the marks of how it was made. I make a double batch and freeze half for busy weeks.
What I kept
There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about flatbreads. Use what is in season and the recipe largely writes itself. Modest, repeatable steps beat big plans nearly every time.
Most of the flavour comes from persistence rather than ingredients. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. Good braised beans is largely a series of modest, unglamorous decisions.
The process
The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for slip-ups. I altered my mind about roasted vegetables twice while writing this. The difference showed up gradually, then all at once. I would rather do one thing carefully than five things quickly. For a long time I treated stews as an afterthought.
Where it started
I keep a short list of things to try next; cooking for friends is near the top. I attempted the seasonal version first. It did not last. Looking back, the comforting approach was the right call. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years.
If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. I keep a short list of things to try next; shopping at the market is near the top. I attempted the comforting version first. It did not last. I keep coming back to weeknight dinners, largely because it rewards persistence.
Most of what I know about pastry came from getting it wrong first.