Christina Chaey is a recipe developer, writer and editor, former line cook, passionate home cook, and owner of 120+ cookbook. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and a very loud toothless cat. 

Christina worked at Bon Appétit for seven years, during which time she wrote and edited features, developed home cook-friendly recipes (like Green Curry Lentil Soup), filmed YouTube series such as "From the Test Kitchen" and "Making Perfect: Thanksgiving", and went on the occasional podcast episode. (adapted from Gentle Foods). 

September Cooking Hacks

Fall Clean Your Pantry

I love Fall's invitation to start winding down for the year and getting grounded in the kitchen.This is the time of the year when my cooking habits change the most drastically (the stove comes back on, things start bubbling and roasting and braising again), so I like to spend a weekend doing a pantry-centric version of spring cleaning (but, you know, fall) to surround myself with ingredients and tools I know I'll reach for all season. I'll stock up on a few pounds of dried beans and legumes and decant them into pretty glass jars stacked in the cabinet at eye level, double up on olive oil, toast and grind batches of warming whole spices I love to use in the fall like cumin and coriander, and dust off the fermentation crock for cold-weather projects like sauerkraut and kimchi. 

Preserve the Season

For the last handful of autumns, I've been participating in or hosting some kind of informal Kimjang, the time of year when Korean communities traditionally gather to prepare, mix, and ferment enough kimchi to last until the following year. Everyone participates in salting, seasoning, and mixing a giant communal batch of fresh kimchi, and everyone takes home a jar. As a second-generation Korean American who didn't grow up particularly tethered to many Korean traditions and customs, it's been joyful to forge new traditions that, while wholly "untraditional", feel authentically me and allow me to connect with my ancestral heritage as an adult. 

Gather Around for Hot Pot

One of my favorite ways to spend fall and winter evenings is to gather friends for an hours-long hot post feast surrounded by mountains of mushrooms, greens, all the tofu products (fried puffs, dried sticks, tofu knots, give me all. of them) and thinly slices meats for dipping and dunking. I have so many friends who have their own elaborate hot pot setups complete with portable propane burners, but I think this is the year I'm going to get my own burner. I recently got to sample some sneak-peek hot pot treats from my friend Natasha Pickowicz's forthcoming hot pot cookbook and I absolutely CANNOT wait to cook out of it. 

Start a Project 

After spending the warm season outdoors and generally outside the kitchen, I am always itching to get my hands into a new ambitious project, preferably one that spans a cozy Sunday afternoon. This year's project is learning how to make homemade soy milk and tofu! Asian Tofu by Andrea Nguyen. My favorite part of tofu-making is cooking with the soybean pulp, or the lees, leftover after straining out the soy milk-this precious byproduct is the foundation of biji jjigae, a bubbling Korean homestyle stew filled with kimchi and pork and thickened by the creamy lees. 

Lean into Frozen Fruit

Berry season comes and goes, but frozen blueberries have my heart forever-they are absolutely incredible for so much more than smoothies. I always have a bag in the freezer for baking (they hold their shape better than fresh) or for simmering into a quick compote for spooning over breakfast bowls or on toast. 

 

Photo Credit: Emma Fishman