Cooking Clutter Kitchen #6: Mei Li & Main
Mei Li and Main show us around their Brooklyn kitchen.
Mei Li is an accountant who enjoys knitting, sewing, and is currently learning French. Main is a software engineer who has been exploring NYC through food and coffee. Let’s see what they’ve got cooking in Brooklyn.
Cooking or baking?
Main: Cooking! I find cooking a lot more intuitive than baking. I think that I have a good feel for seasoning food and knowing what flavors will go together.
Mei Li: I definitely prefer baking. I like following recipes and I like how precise you need to be to accomplish the more difficult bakes. Intuitive is a good way to put it. I don’t find cooking intuitive, the way I do with baking. I don’t have the knack for throwing together excellent meals and I always forget the seasoning when I cook. Plus I’ve watched enough Great British Bake Off to have a general feel for how most baking is done.
Favorite cooking tool?
Mei Li: I love the microwave. I got it second hand from Facebook Marketplace. It has fun stop and start buttons and also a dial to select the cook time. I am a pretty lazy cook and I love that I can just cook a whole (chopped) zucchini with a sprinkle of water in 2-3 minutes flat. Top it with some tomato sauce and bam! Lazy zoodles.
Main: I love my espresso machine (and my entire coffee cart). I have been obsessed with making coffee at home for years now but only recently entered the world of espresso. The rabbit hole goes pretty deep because I now have specialized accessories to distribute the coffee grounds before tamping into the portafilter. I even have started tinkering with my water chemistry (using Third Wave Water) to try and get a better flavor in the cup. My machine is perfectly capable of making cafe quality espresso drinks and I almost never go out to coffee shops anymore.
Go-to source for new recipes?
Mei Li: I usually turn to Pinterest. If I know what I want to make, I’ll check Pinterest to pick the best looking version of the recipe. I also like to pin things to try some time in the future because they look so good. I only try out about 1% of everything I pin for future reference, but it’s all about the inspiration.
Main: YouTube. There is a ton of amazing food content on YouTube. Some channels I like: Binging with Babish, James Hoffmann, Adam Ragusea.
Staple ingredients to always keep on hand?
Mei Li: Cinnamon, Steel Cut Oats, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chips, Garlic Powder. The first four can go together to make a killer last minute meal/snack/dessert. The GP is good for everything else.
Main: Eggs, onions, cheese, hot sauce. These are all the ingredients for my favorite way to make eggs. I prefer to make a cheese and onion omelette but if I have some nice bread on hand, I will make a sandwich instead to mix things up.
Favorite grocery store?
Main: MARKET BASKET. I love MB, they have amazing quality products for the lowest prices. I know this sounds like an ad but it's not, I just love Market Basket and not having access to one is the worst part of living outside Massachusetts.
Favorite cookbook from your collection?
Mei Li: 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen by Sarah Kieffer is a top tier cookie book in my opinion. All of the recipes I’ve made so far have been winners and the instructions are really clear. I tend to use Pinterest to find new recipes, but now if I need a cookie I turn to this book.
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Happy Cooking!