And so it has begun: the last week of the year, that notorious liminal stretch between Christmas and a new year, when time abruptly downshifts from sport mode to neutral. Will it be productive? No. Will you know what day it is? No. Will you put on hard pants? That’s none of my business.
I love this week. Back in the quiet of my own home after the obligations of the holidays, I can putter around and do the things I said I never had time for the other 51 weeks of the year. It may seem counterintuitive after a marathon of big-meal holidays, but this is when my project-cooking urges strike.
Without the pressure to put on a show, I can settle into Genevieve Ko’s tofu and spinach-filled dumplings with chile crisp, from-scratch wrappers and all, which will sustain me well into 2025. I may not have a crowd to feed anymore, but there is always a fridge and a freezer to stock.
And for the pantry: Cybelle Tondu’s ginger sesame granola, good in an airtight container and on your yogurt for the next three weeks.
Ginger Sesame Granola
Projects needn’t be labor-intensive. Some of them simply take time, which we have plenty of right now. So for the fridge, make Melissa Clark’s nondairy yogurt! Make Lidey Heuck’s sauerkraut! Make Eric Kim’s kimchi! (Just hold the fish sauce, and read his tip for substituting it.)
And in the freezer, next to Genevieve’s dumplings, nestle in pint containers of Ali Slagle’s vegetable stock, Rick Martínez’s salsa taquera and Genevieve’s oven beans.
If there is still a crowd to feed, you may be making latkes, as Hanukkah falls later this year. Classic potato or this new vegan recipe à la Melissa, anyone?
Or, if you need to keep tiny ones in your house busy during this strange week, make Ham El-Waylly’s bean and cheese pupusas. “Parents: These are great if you have little kids,” wrote one commenter. “My littles really enjoy making the pupusas (and eating them). We’ve even let the kids have a pupusa-making party with friends. Big hit.”
Plop everyone down at the kitchen table, throw on Ham’s how-to video and revel in an activity that keeps their hands busy, their minds entertained and their bellies full.
Dumplings With Chile Crisp
Oven Beans
Vegan Latkes
One More Thing!
With some time to kill, there’s no better excuse to turn on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel in the background as you cook or lounge or tidy up.
After you spend 20 minutes with Ham’s pupusa video, check out this one-hour On the Job marathon with Priya Krishna or a project-cooking tutorial: I always make Claire Saffitz’s perfect challah and cinnamon babka this time of year, and her how-to is indispensable for nailing the braiding technique. I’m also eager to add Vivian Chan-Tam’s hand-pulled noodles to my limbo-week traditions: “This will take some time,” she says in the video, “so put on a good podcast, soundtrack.” Aye aye, Vivian!
Thanks for reading, and see you in 2025.
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