Remember when we’d go around the room and say our names and one fun fact about ourselves? (Sorry to remind you.) Or when your therapist/doctor/trainer/yoga teacher asks “what hurts today”? Let’s do both those things because I want 40 Ingredients Forever to be less of a newsletter and more of a service that helps you use what you have to cook what you want. To turn raw materials into a finished product. Carbon into diamonds! But I need to know what we’re working with first.
If you’re inclined, go ahead and comment with your rose (highlight), thorn (challenge), and bud (something you’re looking forward to) about cooking dinner this week. Or just what you hope to get out of 40 Ingredients Forever.
If you’d like to share privately instead, my email is alislagle@substack.com.
Rose: spending time with my partner at the table (and listening to NPR while cooking!); a different use for my brain; some good sensory time; making the most of what’s in season
Thorn: having only a tiny amount of time/energy to cook
Thorn: the same....and cooking in a way that honors the beautiful ingredients of this world! (less junk food, without passing out from trying to keep up with the sheer quantity)
Bud: After cooking lovely meals every single night the past 20 years, I feel like I have a skillset and soulful cooking style that has room to grow. I do fantasize about cooking from a more loving place, rather than the day-to-day feed-the-bodies type cooking that is going on now...
Highlight (rose): Time by myself in the kitchen to think, listen to podcasts & music
Challenge (thorn): Limited time, limited budget, and a picky toddler!
Things I'm looking forward to (bud): Finding time-efficient recipes, ways to repurpose pantry staples, making smarter weekly grocery lists, limiting food waste & finding ways to be resourceful with leftovers!
Rose- after 25 years as a food critic- I’m learning how to create the flavors I love and crave.
Thorn- we are a multi-generation family full of food problems. Daughter can’t have bread, rice or sugar. Grands are lactose intolerant and don’t like spice. Husband is post heart attack and all that goes with that (no garlic or sodium).
Bud- the vivacious and lively dinner conversations around my table that fill my heart with joy. Also, someone else to do the dishes.
Rose: Making something for dinner that I know my mom loves (she lives next door and I cook for her most nights). Thorn: The package of fish that I've defrosted isn't quite enough for three of us so I'll get a little cheated. Bud: I'll make up for it with a mountain of roasted asparagus, YUM!!
Rose: listening to books and podcasts while cooking, cooking seasonal recipes
Thorn: finding the time and energy for cooking
Bud: discovering recipes that are delicious, simple, and can be enjoyed by the whole family (bonus if they can be batch-cooked and are freezer friendly)
Rose: Every time I step into the kitchen is an opportunity to be creative, take risks and learn/try something new (even when it’s a recipe I’ve made before).
Thorn: Baking and all exact sciences/measurements.
Bud: I’ve built a 12 spirit bar that can make 80ish classic cocktails and am looking forward to doing the same for my kitchen with 40 ingredients!
Rose: We're lucky enough to be able to afford to eat well and cook from scratch pretty much 100% of the time and not buy ready meals at all. We always eat together at the table.
Thorn: I'm diabetic & obese but find it hard to avoid carbs (except sugar is fairly easy); and my wife needs low salt to protect her kidneys.
Bud: Wanting to avoid ultra-processed foods -- ready meals is easy for us but struggling with things like sausages, ham, mayonnaise, etc.
Rose: 20 minutes at the end of a packed day of working and muming that results in a simple but delicious meal for my little family
Thorn: probably the same as my rose right now! When I make it happen, I feel like I can do anything. However, it’s a lot of work and careful planning and sometimes it all falls apart and/ or someone cries/ dinner isn’t great/ there is way too big a mess to clean up after bedtime.
Bud: my 2.5yo is starting to get involved in the kitchen so identifying recipes with easy tasks she can do when she inevitably says “mumma! What’s MY job?!”
Rose: the mental break cooking dinner allows from my millennial-hustley, pressure-to-always-be-productive life.
When cooking dinner I listen to my weekly Spotify curated playlist (because I otherwise fall into a pattern of listening to the same albums again and again) and allow myself to dance through the all chopping, washing, and sizzling.
I read what someone else asks of me in a recipe making it so I more or less don’t have to think, I simply do as I’m told.
Thorn: constantly questioning what societal ideas have sunk into my brain surrounding food/eating/cooking as a decently average 20-something female raised by the era of Weight Watchers and fads: intrusive thoughts include, but are not limited to:
“Am I eating enough vegetables this week?”
“Am I eating too much bread today?”
“I had this for breakfast, so I’m going to have this for lunch, this for dinner. I’m comfortable with that.”
“Am I hungry or am I just worried about what my options will look like later in the day?”
Bud: I’m looking forward to being home after some hectic travel, specifically after I deep cleaned my apartment and my fridge to anticipate my return; I feel like my house, my home, and my kitchen are waiting for me.
Thorn: I'm recovering from surgery and will have limited mobility/energy for the next 6 weeks
Bud: I just inventoried my pantry and freezer, and made a list I call "Pantry Brawl Fall" with ideas to use everything up. The first 40IF recipe already gave me another idea for my canned beans!
I love reading recipes, thinking about food and planning menus (rose). I’m less excited about shopping (thorn), which is why *I Dream of Dinner* has been so delightful. I can look for ingredients and easily substitute using what I have on hand. I’m so excited for this newsletter - I could not subscribe fast enough - and am making the bruschetta in flannel (adorable!) today.
Rose: My 8yo has returned to eating and loving tortellini with pesto, which was his favorite as a toddler and then anathema in early elementary school. Also, he's experimenting with spicy food, finally. Huzzah!
Thorn: After 3.5 years of pandemic cooking, I am so burned out and uninspired. It's hard to break out of the handful of dishes that are constantly in our rotation.
Bud: Looking forward to a few more weeks of amazing produce in our Bay Area farmers markets!
And in general - Ali, I love your recipes in the NYTimes. Excited to be here!
Thorn: i am a tad obsessive about kitchen organization and cleanliness, with roommates that are (inherently) messier than me. many times it feels more worth it to just not cook at all.
Bud: i love Ali’s recipes! maybe their simplicity and accessibility will get me more comfortable with taking up space in the kitchen :)
Bud: Agreeing with all the other posters about minimizing food waste, being creative with leftovers and learning to make something delicious out of what I have on hand. <3
Rose: I just love the feeling of spending time to make myself something that tastes amazing, it's like buying, wrapping, and then opening a gift all for me.
Thorn: I live alone and I struggle to make use of everything I buy before it goes bad, while not boring myself to death eating the same leftovers for a week straight.
Bud: Excited to experiment with different uses for familiar ingredients, and cut down on food waste. I've moved a lot in the last few years and throwing away (or putting into storage... bad idea) full bottles of black vinegar or avocado oil makes me very sad. I want to get better at using up what I have!
Rose: cooking is meditative for me and I enjoy the time it takes out of my day, even if it's a quick meal prep!
Thorn: I'm 6 months post celiac disease diagnosis so I'm learning to adapt a lot of recipes to be gluten free, but as a lifelong omnivore, I also get a little sad sometimes at what I can't eat anymore.
Bud: adapting more recipes, finding naturally GF recipes to try, and experimenting with new techniques!
Rose: Hearing you on my favorite local public radio show & learning about this totally cool interactive “newsletter”, which is giving me hope that 5pm might not actually be the worst time of day for the rest of my life...
Thorn: Trying to cook while tending to two small children has pretty much turned dinner into a very stressful event most evenings.
Bud: My Filipina mother is finally teaching me how to make some of her favorite dishes 💓
I am 78 years old. My late husband died 10 years ago and I remarried 2 years ago. My new husband likes home cooked meals and I want to cook for him. I would like some inspiration for my cooking. After so many years, I want to try new dishes.
bud: fresh inspiration with seasonal changes, updating and editing my recipes in a personal database (new project this year, has been amazing for meal planning and staying inspired and creative)
Rose: Cooking soup this week because it will actually be cool enough to enjoy it! (I live in sw Louisiana and we are just coming out of one of the worst drought/fire risk seasons anyone can remember in decades.
Thorn: I'm new to using fresh milled flour and working hard to adapt some family favorite recipes.
Bud: Fingers crossed that one of my daughters and her husband and son (our first grandbaby!) will be coming for a visit this weekend and we will get to spend time in the kitchen together :-)
A 40-ingredient system would help with staying under budget and reducing food waste. I do a lot of rice-beans-ground or shredded meat-veg meals so similar modular recipes appeal to me
Rose: Making delicious, nourishing meals for my family that fosters positive family time and encourages them to cook for themselves. Thorn: I get in a rut and don't always plan ahead.
Rose: cooking at the end of the day, chatting to my son and boyfriend about their days, delighting myself and others with a new recipe that turns out delicious.
Thorn: working (more than) full-time for the first time in 25 years, struggling to keep leftovers because son eats it all and I'd like food for lunch the next day. I had a window of 2 years where I was alone and could food prep but that doesn't really work anymore.
Bud: believing that I can find new recipes that will be more time / energy / ingredient efficient, looking to eat more sustainably.
Rose: spending time with my partner at the table (and listening to NPR while cooking!); a different use for my brain; some good sensory time; making the most of what’s in season
Thorn: having only a tiny amount of time/energy to cook
Bud: fresh recipe ideas!
Rose: Cooking for hungry teenagers
Thorn: the same....and cooking in a way that honors the beautiful ingredients of this world! (less junk food, without passing out from trying to keep up with the sheer quantity)
Bud: After cooking lovely meals every single night the past 20 years, I feel like I have a skillset and soulful cooking style that has room to grow. I do fantasize about cooking from a more loving place, rather than the day-to-day feed-the-bodies type cooking that is going on now...
Your rose has me feeling hopeful that my twins (currently almost 6 years old) will one day eat with gusto.
Rose: cooking for one after my husband died
Thorn: cooking delicious vegan/vegetarian meals (for one) that are from France or Italy
Bud: I’m making progress, but need help with having ingredients around that are NOT salad makings!
Rose: Listening to guided meditations, podcasts, or music while cooking.
Thorn: Cooking under time constraints.
Bud: Getting inspired by the creativity and passion of others for food.
Highlight (rose): Time by myself in the kitchen to think, listen to podcasts & music
Challenge (thorn): Limited time, limited budget, and a picky toddler!
Things I'm looking forward to (bud): Finding time-efficient recipes, ways to repurpose pantry staples, making smarter weekly grocery lists, limiting food waste & finding ways to be resourceful with leftovers!
Rose- after 25 years as a food critic- I’m learning how to create the flavors I love and crave.
Thorn- we are a multi-generation family full of food problems. Daughter can’t have bread, rice or sugar. Grands are lactose intolerant and don’t like spice. Husband is post heart attack and all that goes with that (no garlic or sodium).
Bud- the vivacious and lively dinner conversations around my table that fill my heart with joy. Also, someone else to do the dishes.
ROSE- putting together a healthy meal that everyone in my house will eat and takes 30 min or less. Fewer pots/pans/dishes the better.
THORN- having to use every single dish/pot to make a recipe- looking at you NYT recipes
BUD- not tossing food and having the confidence I can pull together dinner from seemingly nothing
Rose- Becoming more creative in the kitchen and honing in on being a better on-the-fly home cook.
Thorn- Reduce food waste and eatint what I have instead of buying new ingredients.
Bud- Making new meals for the first time and rediscovering flavors.
Rose: I like trying new recipes, so this will be fun!
Thorn: Cooking with an almost two year old in the house is a challenge, especially when taking the time to follow a new recipe.
Bud: I hope we'll find some new favorites to share with family and friends!
Rose: Making something for dinner that I know my mom loves (she lives next door and I cook for her most nights). Thorn: The package of fish that I've defrosted isn't quite enough for three of us so I'll get a little cheated. Bud: I'll make up for it with a mountain of roasted asparagus, YUM!!
Rose: listening to books and podcasts while cooking, cooking seasonal recipes
Thorn: finding the time and energy for cooking
Bud: discovering recipes that are delicious, simple, and can be enjoyed by the whole family (bonus if they can be batch-cooked and are freezer friendly)
Rose: Every time I step into the kitchen is an opportunity to be creative, take risks and learn/try something new (even when it’s a recipe I’ve made before).
Thorn: Baking and all exact sciences/measurements.
Bud: I’ve built a 12 spirit bar that can make 80ish classic cocktails and am looking forward to doing the same for my kitchen with 40 ingredients!
Rose: We're lucky enough to be able to afford to eat well and cook from scratch pretty much 100% of the time and not buy ready meals at all. We always eat together at the table.
Thorn: I'm diabetic & obese but find it hard to avoid carbs (except sugar is fairly easy); and my wife needs low salt to protect her kidneys.
Bud: Wanting to avoid ultra-processed foods -- ready meals is easy for us but struggling with things like sausages, ham, mayonnaise, etc.
Rose-I love food and trying new things
Thorn-when it feels like a chore, cooking loses joy
Bud-getting better at economizing intersects and remaking recipes
Rose: 20 minutes at the end of a packed day of working and muming that results in a simple but delicious meal for my little family
Thorn: probably the same as my rose right now! When I make it happen, I feel like I can do anything. However, it’s a lot of work and careful planning and sometimes it all falls apart and/ or someone cries/ dinner isn’t great/ there is way too big a mess to clean up after bedtime.
Bud: my 2.5yo is starting to get involved in the kitchen so identifying recipes with easy tasks she can do when she inevitably says “mumma! What’s MY job?!”
Rose: the mental break cooking dinner allows from my millennial-hustley, pressure-to-always-be-productive life.
When cooking dinner I listen to my weekly Spotify curated playlist (because I otherwise fall into a pattern of listening to the same albums again and again) and allow myself to dance through the all chopping, washing, and sizzling.
I read what someone else asks of me in a recipe making it so I more or less don’t have to think, I simply do as I’m told.
Thorn: constantly questioning what societal ideas have sunk into my brain surrounding food/eating/cooking as a decently average 20-something female raised by the era of Weight Watchers and fads: intrusive thoughts include, but are not limited to:
“Am I eating enough vegetables this week?”
“Am I eating too much bread today?”
“I had this for breakfast, so I’m going to have this for lunch, this for dinner. I’m comfortable with that.”
“Am I hungry or am I just worried about what my options will look like later in the day?”
Bud: I’m looking forward to being home after some hectic travel, specifically after I deep cleaned my apartment and my fridge to anticipate my return; I feel like my house, my home, and my kitchen are waiting for me.
I know when I start dreaming about cooking a specific dish that it's time to get home from traveling.
Rose: Having a repeatable excuse for creativity
Thorn: I'm recovering from surgery and will have limited mobility/energy for the next 6 weeks
Bud: I just inventoried my pantry and freezer, and made a list I call "Pantry Brawl Fall" with ideas to use everything up. The first 40IF recipe already gave me another idea for my canned beans!
Wishing you a speedy recovery
Rose: writing "YUMMY" across the top of a recipe which means it goes into the repeat line-up
Thorn: excessive prep time and dish use to make a recipe
Bud: Having a glass of wine and listening to a Spotify playlist while prepping dinner puts me in a happy place
I love reading recipes, thinking about food and planning menus (rose). I’m less excited about shopping (thorn), which is why *I Dream of Dinner* has been so delightful. I can look for ingredients and easily substitute using what I have on hand. I’m so excited for this newsletter - I could not subscribe fast enough - and am making the bruschetta in flannel (adorable!) today.
Rose: making a super quick oven roasted tomato soup
Thorn: preparing food for my 5-year-old who had an accident with his teeth on the weekend making him unable to chew.
Bud: my kitchen will be renovated at the end of the year. It will then have a deep sink and a modern oven. I'm very excited!
Rose: My 8yo has returned to eating and loving tortellini with pesto, which was his favorite as a toddler and then anathema in early elementary school. Also, he's experimenting with spicy food, finally. Huzzah!
Thorn: After 3.5 years of pandemic cooking, I am so burned out and uninspired. It's hard to break out of the handful of dishes that are constantly in our rotation.
Bud: Looking forward to a few more weeks of amazing produce in our Bay Area farmers markets!
And in general - Ali, I love your recipes in the NYTimes. Excited to be here!
Rose: being able to feed my family everyday, after a whole life as a shift worker. Those moments by the table are precious
Thorn: entertaining different tastes and keeping it all healthy, since I am trying to eat as healthy as possible
Bud: finding different recipes or ways of making what I really enjoy but haven’t mastered (yet)
Rose: spending time relaxing and emptying my mind from the stress of the day while preparing food, whether it’s for just me or for SO, family, friends
Thorn: two eternal ones - not enough time on work nights and feel guilty about food waste as often cooking for one
Bud: always looking for new ideas that will inspire me
Rose: Utilizing and repurposing lots of quality leftovers from dining out
Thorn: My partner’s taste in vegetables is *very* limited and I’m craving cooking more veg
Bud: Getting back to cooking more at home after hosting family and lots of lovely (but decadent) meals out
Rose: deep love for cooking and recipe-craft
Thorn: i am a tad obsessive about kitchen organization and cleanliness, with roommates that are (inherently) messier than me. many times it feels more worth it to just not cook at all.
Bud: i love Ali’s recipes! maybe their simplicity and accessibility will get me more comfortable with taking up space in the kitchen :)
Rose: I just really love cooking dinner - nothing says achievement like a delicious bowl of "look what we just made!"
Thorn: Making a conscious effort to use what I already have
Bud: Reducing decision paralysis by getting creative with what I know
Rose: eating yummy, not boring or bland, food!
Thorn: small kitchen that gets messy easily, especially when there's a lot of dishes or steps to a meal
Bud: trying new things!
Rose: That family and friends enjoy coming over for dinner
Thorn: Grocery shopping
Bud: Incorporating more vegetables into my dinners
Rose: Finding new things to cook!
Thorn: Getting enough protein
Bud: Agreeing with all the other posters about minimizing food waste, being creative with leftovers and learning to make something delicious out of what I have on hand. <3
Rose: I just love the feeling of spending time to make myself something that tastes amazing, it's like buying, wrapping, and then opening a gift all for me.
Thorn: I live alone and I struggle to make use of everything I buy before it goes bad, while not boring myself to death eating the same leftovers for a week straight.
Bud: Excited to experiment with different uses for familiar ingredients, and cut down on food waste. I've moved a lot in the last few years and throwing away (or putting into storage... bad idea) full bottles of black vinegar or avocado oil makes me very sad. I want to get better at using up what I have!
highlight: that "tasting" bit when the dish starts to taste good
bud: eating! and leftovers
thorn: figuring out what to make!
That moment when it starts to taste not just like something, but good—oh boy.
Rose: Decompressing after work by cooking something simple in the kitchen and then getting to enjoy with my partner!
Thorn: Cleaning up/dishes.
Bud: Streamlining shopping and pantry stocking so I (almost) always have recipes I can turn to!
Rose: cooking is meditative for me and I enjoy the time it takes out of my day, even if it's a quick meal prep!
Thorn: I'm 6 months post celiac disease diagnosis so I'm learning to adapt a lot of recipes to be gluten free, but as a lifelong omnivore, I also get a little sad sometimes at what I can't eat anymore.
Bud: adapting more recipes, finding naturally GF recipes to try, and experimenting with new techniques!
Frown upside down: When I had to go GF for awhile in college, I finally learned how to make rice
biggest upside of going totally GF has been how many vegetables I now eat!! Like, I am getting those vitamins!
Rose: Hearing you on my favorite local public radio show & learning about this totally cool interactive “newsletter”, which is giving me hope that 5pm might not actually be the worst time of day for the rest of my life...
Thorn: Trying to cook while tending to two small children has pretty much turned dinner into a very stressful event most evenings.
Bud: My Filipina mother is finally teaching me how to make some of her favorite dishes 💓
I am 78 years old. My late husband died 10 years ago and I remarried 2 years ago. My new husband likes home cooked meals and I want to cook for him. I would like some inspiration for my cooking. After so many years, I want to try new dishes.
rose: lively family dinners with teenagers who like spices and garlic and accept most vegetables (after many years of that not being the case)
thorn: keeping it simple yet delicious, accommodating conflicting food preferences, grocery shopping
bud: fresh inspiration with seasonal changes, updating and editing my recipes in a personal database (new project this year, has been amazing for meal planning and staying inspired and creative)
Rose: Cooking soup this week because it will actually be cool enough to enjoy it! (I live in sw Louisiana and we are just coming out of one of the worst drought/fire risk seasons anyone can remember in decades.
Thorn: I'm new to using fresh milled flour and working hard to adapt some family favorite recipes.
Bud: Fingers crossed that one of my daughters and her husband and son (our first grandbaby!) will be coming for a visit this weekend and we will get to spend time in the kitchen together :-)
Rose: disconnecting from the day by making a comforting meal!
Thorn: having a set of fresh, fun, accessible recipes that I can lean on for weeknights
Bud: new ideas that I can build off of!
Rose: cooking a dinner that gives me delicious leftovers for days
Thorn: finding great vegetarian recipes that don't call for garlic or onions (as much as I love both)
Bud: enjoying weather cool enough to turn on the oven
Rose: making our first soups of the season
Thorn: trying to figure out how to finish a whole cabbage
Bud: firing up the oven for roasted veggies
rose- following a new recipe and having it turn out to be a delicious keeper recipe
thorn- if a recipe alleges to take 30 minutes to make, it takes me 90
bud- my husband loves your cookbook and chooses a new recipe every week... can't wait to taste this week's new one!
Honestly the format is too difficult for my brain right now. I’m just tired of ordering premade meals and DoorDash
A 40-ingredient system would help with staying under budget and reducing food waste. I do a lot of rice-beans-ground or shredded meat-veg meals so similar modular recipes appeal to me
Rose: Making delicious, nourishing meals for my family that fosters positive family time and encourages them to cook for themselves. Thorn: I get in a rut and don't always plan ahead.
My friend calls "not planning ahead" being "spontaneous" and now so do I
Rose: eating healthy and getting fit after mutiple health issues.
Thorn: figuring out how to continue healthy cooking on the road (months on the road in a camper)
Bud: discovering your Substack!!!
Inspiration! I love new methods that make eating whole foods even more fun!
Rose: cooking at the end of the day, chatting to my son and boyfriend about their days, delighting myself and others with a new recipe that turns out delicious.
Thorn: working (more than) full-time for the first time in 25 years, struggling to keep leftovers because son eats it all and I'd like food for lunch the next day. I had a window of 2 years where I was alone and could food prep but that doesn't really work anymore.
Bud: believing that I can find new recipes that will be more time / energy / ingredient efficient, looking to eat more sustainably.
Rose: winding down and taking care of myself properly by cooking lovely food.
Thorn: being tired and giving in to cooking the same quick noodle dish to feed myself, rather than nourish my soul!
Bud: the arrival of autumn which means curry and soup, and all hearty, warming batch cooks 🍁🍂
Rose: having a night off from cooking
Thorn: losing my meal planning mojo
Bud: new cookbooks!
Rose: cooking in my case my main meal late afternoon every day
Thorn: it’s just me
Bud: stand up freezer
Would love to learn some recipes my spouse and I can batch cook for two adults + a baby!