Low Effort, Big Reward

Hello and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes. These days, I find myself swinging from wanting to cook beyond the boundaries of my routine and wanting to cook whatever requires the least effort. (I also order more pizza delivery than I ever have in my life, and I love it.) Last week, breaking the routine meant…

Get Ready for Lunar New Year

Good morning. Andrea Nguyen has a lovely story in The Times this week about family celebrations of Tet, the Vietnamese holiday observed on the Lunar New Year, which this year falls on Feb. 12. “When Vietnamese people celebrate Tet,” Andrea writes, “they describe it as ‘an Tet,’ an expression that translates to ‘eating the New…

Saying Goodbye With Beans

After nearly three years of hemming and hawing, I finally bought an Instant Pot after two of my most trusted colleagues swore they’d never cook beans without it again. But having used it for months, I have to confess: I sort of hate what might be the most popular cooking appliance of recent years. It…