Date, Cheddar and White Bean Salad

& a return to myself

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

For the past couple weeks, every hour of every single day has been occupied with a task that needs to get done. With so much going on, you’d think I would be overwhelmed and stressed out — but no! I actually feel very fulfilled and more like myself than I have in a long time.

I’m sure part of that feeling comes from our current break on fertility treatments due to additional testing. I forgot how nice it is not to have to go to a doctor’s office every few days and to just be in a regular routine. And I’ve been luck that my regular routine has been filled with a lot of creative projects.

Oh, and it’s definitely not hurting that I planned a spontaneous trip to London next week! I can’t even believe we will be going so soon. I also can’t believe how many food recommendations I’ve been getting! When I lived there in 2012, I was certainly not eating well. London still had that reputation of having bad food, although it probably didn’t help that I was on a strict college budget. I survived mainly on Pret a Manger and Nandos, so I can’t wait to check out the food scene now and show Grant around my favorite city!

This is also sad to say, but I think because I’ve been so busy, I’ve been spending less time scrolling, which is also helping my mental state. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a lot content online, but I also get really disheartened at some of the things I see on TikTok, especially when I open the comment section. I increasingly get worried at how emboldened people feel to say the most hurtful things. I think I’m extra sensitive to it because I know what it’s like to get feedback from a lot of strangers, so it pains me even more when I see a regular person getting completely insulted in the comments. It just worries me that people seem to be missing an empathy chip, or something. Sometimes I feel like it’s better if I just don’t look, although I wish there was an easy way to solve this problem.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

I know I am verrrry late to the game on this, but I’ve just discovered the delight of adding the Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla Paste to your matcha latte. I think I saw this on TikTok, but basically, you just whisk about 1 tsp of the paste into your matcha, and then make your latte as usual (I like to add oat milk). The paste adds a subtle vanilla flavor and the teeniest touch of sweetness, and I’m obsessed.

Grant and I — along with the rest of the internet — have been LOVING Nobody Wants This on Netflix. I love watching a feel-good rom com versus something high action and stressful, and I have laughed out loud so many times watching this show. Is it a perfect portrayal of Judaism? No, but it’s over the top and silly and fun, and I wish Adam Brody was my rabbi. Or my husband. Or my lover.

I don’t own much super bright clothing, but I do find myself liking the color red. I found this cute red cardigan on Zara, and I was pleased to see that it was 100% wool! I’m typically a small/medium, and I sized up to a large on this one for a looser fit. Will definitely be taking this one with me to London.

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Supplements

• KALEMEMAYBE25 gets you 25% off your first order with Ritual!

• Use my link to get up to 45% off Grüns gummy vitamins!

Food

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RECIPE!

Over the weekend, Grant and I finally made it over to Queen St., a restaurant in Eagle Rock owned by the same people as Found Oyster. We ordered some tartare, crudo, their famed tuna frites, and a side salad that ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the meal!

Simply called the Queen St. Salad, this delicious dish is filled with dates, cheddar, almonds, celery, and herbs. It was so fresh and light, and I knew immediately I wanted to recreate it.

As I was developing this recipe, I noticed that Queen St actually has the exact recipe of their salad posted online! Rather than just make a dupe that no one really needs, I decided to modify the recipe a bit to make it more of my own. I wanted to make it a full-meal salad rather than a side salad, so I added some white beans for protein and homemade sourdough croutons for a little heartiness. I also included some shallots because I figured they would go well in this type of dish.

Their signature vinaigrette is actually made with sherry vinegar, but I was having a hard time finding some, so I went with a champagne vinaigrette, although you can use white wine vinegar here as well. Their dressing is also a tad heavy on the oil, so I cut down on that a little bit as and added a touch more lemon.

Date, Cheddar and White Bean Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

Salad

• 2 heads little gem lettuce

• 1 cup torn sourdough bread (about 1-inch pieces)

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 1 (15.5 oz) can white beans (I used cannellini), rinsed and drained

• 2 stalks celery, cut on a bias 1/4 inch thick

• 1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots

• 1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds

• 4 Medjool dates, pit removed and thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup grated aged white cheddar

• Small handful of parsley leaves

• 1/4 torn basil leaves

• Salt & pepper

Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp Champagne vinegar

• 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• 1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped

• Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Start by preparing the sourdough croutons. Preheat oven to 375 F, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Add torn bread and toss with 1 tsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden and crispy, flipping halfway through.

2. Prepare dressing by adding ingredients to a small bowl or jar and whisking together until smooth.

3. Add salad ingredients to a large bowl (setting aside a little bit of cheddar to use at the end), and add the dressing along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss until combined.

4. Once the salad is tossed, top with the remaining grated cheddar cheese, and serve!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for another 30-minute budget meal! This one is a one-pot, spanakopita-inspired orzo with the most delicious and tender lemon meatballs!

Just a reminder that anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!