Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
If you’re like me, you spend about 60% of your day planning your next meal (the other 40% gets divvied up between things I need to do and don’t feel like doing, my crush, how depressed Klaus is today and if I should do something about it, and celebrity gossip). I feel like my TikTok algorithm knows this about me because lately, ALL I’ve been seeing is recipe after recipe—at this point I’m saving them faster than I can try them.
This week I’ve been dying of viral plague (per the urgent care doctor, it’s not strep but rather a “severe throat infection”—SIR WHAT DOES THAT MEAN JUST GIVE ME THE DRüG$) and truly have not had the physical energy to do anything other than violently blow bits of vital organ(?) out my nose, and binge watch Gilmore Girls waaay too early in the season1. That said, all I’ve been wanting is to get back in the kitchen (putting feminism back 60 years, and what about it!) and try one of these gorgeous meals I’ve been saving. Since energy-wise I am still a couple days away from having the stamina to try a new recipe, I’m instead going to share some of my favorite quick weeknight recipes with you.
One note, I get 40% of my recipes from NYT Cooking, the other 40% from TikTok, and 20% from my mother. As an NYT subscriber, I am able to share a few recipes with ya’ll for free, so please enjoy my favorites below—a Friday gift from me to you.
NYT Cooking Favorites
Orecchiette Salad With Halloumi Croutons - EASY
One thing about me is that I LOVE a pasta salad. And this particular one basically fed me this entire summer—I’m not kidding you, I think I made this once every other week.
Gochujang-Glazed Eggplant with Fried Scallions - EASY
I LOVE Eric Kim and all of his recipes. This one in particular I used after I picked up some graffiti eggplant at a farmer’s stand in Vermont and it was the perfect use for it. It was quick, easy, and made for a great snack or a solid side dish for a main meal. I also can’t believe I’ve never made scallion oil before—it’s the topping I now want on EVERY. DISH.
Chicken with Artichokes and Lemon - INTERMEDIATE (how I rate anything that involves cooking meat)
This is actually a Passover dish I made for a mini dinner party in the spring, but it’s such an easy and satisfying one-pot meal that I make it year round. The chicken comes out juicy and coats the cous-cous beautifully, and you know me—any dish with artichoke is the best dish that could exist.
Miso-Butter Pasta With Butternut Squash - EASY
This dish single-handedly got me through the pandemic years, and it’s still my go-to every buttnutsquaw season. I promise you want this recipe in your arsenal.
TikTok
Sungold Pasta - EASY (as with any pasta)
This “saucy and glossy” delight requires you to actually find beautiful sungolds so prep this weekend with a trip to your local farmer’s market. Meredith also ate this for breakfast the next day and it looked divine, so yay for meals that work well as leftovers :)
Hot Honey Peach Margarita - INTERMEDIATE (because it requires DIY puree)
I love a summer marg with a twist and lately I’ve been getting so many recipes that incorporate gorgeous summer stone fruits and hot honey. It really feels like an unbreakable celebrity couple during this Summer of Divorce.
Chili Oil Scrambled Eggs on Toast - EASY
I can’t believe I’ve been Asian my whole life and never thought to cook my eggs with chili oil…S. M. D. H. This tiny edit to my breakfast routine has completely changed the game. Do this immediately!!
High & Dry - EASY
It’s a lowkey negroni and my go-to apertif on any summer evening.
Chicken Congee - EASY
I love Cassie’s recipes because they’re always exactly what I crave (read: Asian food always) and during this week of decay of my entire physical being, Chinese comfort food is all I need.
Gigi Hadid Pasta (but Asian) - EASY
If you don’t know about the Gigi Hadid pasta…welcome to 2022. It’s a simple but foolproof recipe—but like Cassie, I am just always craving Asian food and this twist on its Italian counterpart satisfies that craving.
Fried Rice - EASY (like, SO, so easy)
Whenever I have leftover rice sitting in the fridge I give it a second life by making some good ole fashioned fried rice (you never use freshly cooked rice for fried rice—it’s like an ancient Chinese rule!). Per my mother’s recipe, heat your wok and cook a few beaten eggs. Before fully cooked, remove and set aside. If you’re using other meat, or veggies like carrots or peas, cook that next and set aside. Now make the wok super hot, add oil, and then your rice. Separate your rice but do not press—scoop from under and fold it over itself gently. Put all ingredients back in the wok and just add salt (I don’t think it really needs soy sauce), chopped scallions and let it stir fry a little. Enjoy!
Tomato Egg - EASY
This is my favorite childhood dish and it’s SO easy. Literally scramble eggs with a little salt, cook down tomatoes with a little sugar, and mix together. I’m sure there are fancier ways to prep this dish but it’s just as good like this if you have good quality tomatoes!
Let me know if you try any of these recipes! Also keep an eye out for a dinner party hosting tutorial coming to Floor Time in the next couple of months. Since I’ve gotten into cooking I’ve decided that hosting dinner parties might be one of my favorite things to do. It marries all my favorite things: aggressive planning, cooking, color-coordinating of the tablescape and dishware, design and execution of a cutesy menu, and the opportunity to make a floral arrangement AND decorate a cake. Anyway, more on that later :)
Something I Thought of in the Shower
What came first, mini golf or golf?
Something Pretty
Another Lake George summer weekend in the books—I love when the sky is overcast post-rain and that little bit of sun peeks out over the mountain. Nature!
Something To Laugh About
Here are this week’s gems:
The ATLA rewatch continues, and apparently I’m not the only person on this train.
Just some wholesome Brooklyn content for you, courtesy of this sweet stargazing man.
Literally lives rentfree in my brain and so glad this reference has resurfaced.
Cake Boss was the show of my summers as a teen. I died at this.
More of a request—if anyone is going to Scotland anytime soon, can you grab me this? Please and thanks.
Something for Clarice
Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)
Happy weekend, ya’ll. I will likely still be in my bed or the couch reading and watching Gilmore Girls and hoping that rest and relaxation (read: ample drugs) will cure me of this plague 😷
Til’ next time, chefs. Your friend,
Clarice
By the way…I’m reading this.
For the first time I am asking for recommendations—all the books on my shelf are depressing or require a *little* too much brain power for my current ill state. Any easy reads you’ve been loving this summer? Send them my way please!
don’t you h8ers dare come for me, I’m feeble and ill.
Love to see a well-fed subscriber. I’ve ALSO been sick this week and soup kept me holding on - cooking it as much as eating it, probably. I did the caldo verde and a tortilla soup from NYT -- highly recommend !