Closed Loop Cooking Weekly Newsletter 5.19.23

CLC Weekly đŸ‘„đŸŽInherited kitchen improv

May 19, 2023

May 19th, 2023

Hi friends,

The art of improvisation is alive and well in my kitchen. As we know, the ethos of CLC is grounded in a use-it-up mentality–making the most of leftovers, produce rejects, and unconventional eats. I stan an imperfect veg and aim to educate responsibly. All thanks to my mother for instilling best practices in her early efforts to make conscious, scrappy kids.

I owe my fearless kitchen prowess to her. Not that she was much of a cook herself (sorry, mom) but her love of play, experimentation, and lack of resources allowed me creative space to make mistakes as a young chef. Encouraging my own blind confidence, I was never self-aware enough to realize where my skills were lacking. This gritty trial-and-error approach towards life built a foundation of adaptability, an anchor I return to in moments of wavering. My ability to improvise is an inherited homage to her “yes, and” vantage. And for this I am infinitely grateful. She created moments of excited curiosity in the face of an empty fridge. Made resiliency a daily routine and inspired a hovering-on-hoarder love of glass jars.

A belated moment for Mother’s Day magic and looking to our favorite guiding kitchen figures this week. The kitchen moms and mentors we can thank for all of our unconventional, delicious eats.

Stay hungry,Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Farm lines. // @hawnuhlee

The dish >>

Great lettuce and the discovery of cooking with Ronna Welsh of The Nimble Cook

Interview by Maia Welbel

While researching our ‘Low-waste leftovers through the ages’ feature a few weeks ago I (Maia) knew the cookbook roundup wouldn’t be complete without The Nimble Cook by Ronna Welsh. Billed as “A paradigm-shifting book that helps cooks think on their feet, create brilliant dishes from ingredients on hand, and avoid wasting food,” The Nimble Cook has all the playfulness, accessibility, and genuine love for the craft of cooking that we aim to embody here at CLC.

Today we have the absolute pleasure of hearing from the author herself, Purple Kale Kitchenworks founder Ronna Welsh! Ronna has been cooking and writing about food for almost three decades, and built a cooking school in Brooklyn (and online!) where she teaches home cooks how to be more resourceful, creative, and happy in the kitchen.

Read on to find out how a stressful parenting circumstance led Ronna to becoming an educator, what she would change about her book four years out, and what she snacks on when it’s just her in the kitchen.

We are big fans of Purple Kale Kitchenworks and the Nimble Cook book. What first got you into cooking?

Almost 30 (yikes!) years ago, I was in the final months of finishing a graduate degree in Rhetorical Theory and Criticism in Austin, Texas — miserable and aimless — when I bumped into an acquaintance who had just left her job cooking for a small cafĂ©. I was tempted by the idea of moving away from books for a while and picking up work with my hands, so I applied for the open cook position. I had no prior experience or relevant skill, but I convinced the chef I could work hard. After one day, I was hooked on the intensity, rhythm, and discovery of cooking. Plus, I always loved to eat.

I’d love to hear how you describe your cooking philosophy, whether it’s for yourself, your family, or a big group.

The best cook will always let their ingredients take the lead.Your cookbook was published in 2019 and includes 400(!!) recipes — Has anything about the way you cook or what you like changed since then? If you had the chance to add a 2023 addendum, what would it include?

While the book is packed with recipes, there is a good deal of strategy and philosophy that got cut in the end. (Editors think readers get scared off by “too much to read!”)  I was happy with the overview that made it into the final edit (“3 Steps to becoming a nimble cook”) but I’d like the chance to revisit it in an addendum or for another book. I’d love to write a really practical guide — with a series of fun, buildable exercises — to help people of all skill levels become more resourceful, confident, and creative in the kitchen. 

Are there any recipes from the book you’ve been partial to making recently?

There are great lettuces at the markets right now, so I like having a variety of dressings on hand. I’ve been using the coriander seed vinaigrette on radishes and spring turnips, mustard vinaigrette on roasted broccoli rabe and watercress, and cumin raisin dressing on arugula and spinach.

Can you share a little bit about how Purple Kale Kitchenworks got started and how it’s evolved to be what it is today?

I was a chef for a new restaurant in Brooklyn when my first daughter was born. This was in 2006. At 9 months old, she was diagnosed with a host of developmental delays that required considerable intervention. This made all full time work — especially restaurant work — impossible for the short term.

A team of therapists started to come to my house daily and in our small talk, we turned to food. They saw the pleasure I took in preparing food for my daughter as she grew, and how stressful it seemed for other new parents to feed their kids and themselves well. They encouraged me to teach, so I eventually wrote down the nimble “system” I had set up for myself. My first class wasn’t designed for parents specifically, but that audience took to it immediately. Then word spread to all cooks who wanted to seriously up their game.

As my classes gained traction, I archived them for what would eventually be my cookbook. Now, in the same studio I built to test recipes, I continue to teach, as well as host pop up dinners, video shoots, and community events. COVID prompted me to translate my instruction to the screen. I now have a few online courses that are great companions to my cookbook and help me directly teach people outside of New York.

What is something you really enjoy about teaching?

I enjoy discovering alongside others.

Any more challenging parts?

I have to continually remind myself that good instruction can happen in small doses and that I don’t have to teach everything I know all at once.

How does sustainability factor into the way you cook and teach?

As a chef, I prioritize ingredients over recipes. This means I work with — and encourage others to choose — the best ingredients they can afford, all the time. These ingredients are in season, kept whole and intact, eaten as fresh as possible, and grown with care. I teach students all the ways they can capture an ingredient’s flavor, whether it’s by using its often neglected seeds, stems, or peels, or by capturing and reusing byproducts of the cooking process, such as pan drippings and pot waters. My goal is to help people get the most out of their ingredients and efforts, and to help them cook more pleasurably and often. 

As a teacher I imagine you must also have the curiosity of a lifelong student — has there been anything you’ve learned lately that you’re excited about?

I’ve been tinkering around with different ways to eat ingredients raw, especially those we typically cook. This practice forces me to slow down and study an ingredient I thought I already knew well. My arsenal of peelers, graters, mills, and blenders, along with a collection of different salts, helps me explore different ways to taste and use a single ingredient. 

Who is inspiring you in the food world these days?

My students. I just led an 8-week online course called The Nimble Cook Challenge, where I assigned students a tiny cooking task each week, culminating in a system of practices for becoming a more resourceful and creative cook. What they created was original, inspired, and always delicious.Is there a cookbook you find yourself going back to over and over?

At the risk of being boastful, I refer to my own cookbook all the time. While I am especially proud of the more elaborate dishes in the book, I use it most often as a reference for simple preparations of individual ingredients (what I call Starting Points). I brought home a mess of rhubarb this week, so I looked up my brine to pickle it. I haven’t decided what I’ll do with the pickled rhubarb, but now I have it on hand for when I do. 

What is something you love to make when you’re cooking just for you?

Things on toast: smoked trout, mustard, and pickles; avocado and walnut oil; tomatoes with a pile of dressed herbs.

What is bringing you joy this week?

My puppy!  His name is Frankie. And margaritas in the sun.

Thank you for sharing this peek behind the scenes of your incredible career, Ronna! 

Make sure to check out Purple Kale Kitchenworks classes in person and online, and of course buy Ronna’s book, The Nimble Cook: New Strategies for Great Meals That Make the Most of Your Ingredients

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