the scrap bowl, my essentials, and a recipe

please take my lists with a grain of salt ;)

today’s scrap bowl: half a white onion, some apple., half an avocado, half a wrinkly white sweet potato, carrot, and an old jalapeno. A bowl rife with potential.

Open your fridge. Close your fridge. Try again because dinner looms. Peer deeper inside this time. Shut the door. Sigh. Think to yourself, there's nothing to eat in the house. If this sounds familiar you are not alone. In fact, I think this behavior is universal.

These brightly lit refrigerator spaces are not nearly as inspiring as the goods they house inside. That’s why abundant baskets of ripe tomatoes sitting out on a countertop or ropes of braided garlic strewn about a kitchen make for inspired cooking. We need to see it to believe it! Or maybe it’s just because by the time we open the door to our fridges we are already hungry and over it. It’s like grocery shopping on an empty stomach- which is so obviously a bad idea.

Enter the scrap bowl. My version of FIFO or first in first out, at home. The practice of organizing perishables in professional kitchens to ensure that nothing goes to waste due to neglect or not having eyes on it. Again, we need to see it to believe it. I designate a bowl that lives on my refrigerator shelf that collects produce we need to use up: half of an onion, some apple, a piece of a fennel bulb, you get the idea.

Most of my cooking begins with placing said scrap bowl on my counter and confronting it head on.

Removing it from the cold sterile fridge box already helps. That way a couple of ingredients are vibrating in front of me with all of their infinite potential. Sure, some of the potential is masked by dried outer layers (just peel them), or wrinkly looking butts (just cut them off) - and that’s ok!

Though the scrap bowl alone cannot complete a meal - it needs back up. It needs other key players like fat and flavor, it needs protein. Which brings me to my other chef-like behavior: a well stocked smattering of shelf stable ingredients, ie a larder, a pantry palace, a culinary capsule collection. Or just simply put, the goods.

In no particular order and with very little information about why, here is a list for you.

(I probably forgot some stuff but there’s a recipe at the end for an incredible 5 minutes salmon dish that culls these staples as well as some scrap bowl goodies to make a complete meal and that is why I wrote this newsletter so please ENJOY!)

Pantry goods that live in my fridge:

• Mayo, mustard (whole grain and dijon), gochujang paste, miso (white and brown), chipotle in adobo, chili crisp/crunch (usually the crunchy garlic one seen above and the og Lao Gan Ma), ponzu, oyster sauce, better than bouillon (I never fuck with boxed stock), hot sauces (I’m partial to the green habanero El Yucateco, Zab’s, and some Calabrian chilis in oil), ghee, ketchup, sriracha (original or I don’t want it).

Pantry goods that live in the pantry:

• Soy sauce (dark and light varieties), fish sauce (red boat forever), mirin, shaoxing wine, black vinegar, distilled white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil (I buy it in big tins of 3.5L and then use the shit out of it), toasted sesame oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, almond butter, peanut butter, various types of honey, molasses, pomegranate molasses, date syrup, harissa, tomato paste (Muti 2x), san marzano canned tomatoes (whole and crushed for good measure), big and small white beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, tahina (always Har Bra’cha), sesame seeds, furikake, bonito flakes, kombu, dried seaweed, coconut milk (Kara brand that comes in a box above all else), coconut cream, various tinned fishies (smoked trout being a go to in our household), capers, and I’m probably missing a ton of things but isn’t this enough to make some great food??!?

Honey Miso Salmon Bites

Why this recipe rocks: it uses pantry ingredients to create a surprisingly delicious dish. It's fast, simple, and always hits the spot. The cubes ensure that every bite of salmon is a caramelized cube of dreamy delight. It's like those pans that make only brownie edges—do you know what I'm talking about?