OUT-OF-SEASON FRUIT

lensed by.... out-of-season fruit....(a reintroduction!) (a chili recipe!)

Some new faces and names are popping up in my little corner of the internet, so I wanted to re-introduce myself, and share a bit about the origin of this newsletter and what I’m all about. Welcome!

I’m Madi. I’m 29 and currently living and studying in London. I’ve lived in NYC for the past decade. In September, I quit my big-girl corporate job, sublet my Brooklyn apartment, enrolled in a Master’s program (yikes!), and hopped across the pond, to answer some capital-q Questions on what I want and don’t want. It seems they’re only multiplying with every passing month—help? But that’s not why we’re here. The origin story!

me! with a perfect bite of creme brulee!

I come from a family of live-to-eaters, but it was during the latter half of my time in New York that cooking and dining became the things I knew could reliably keep the pep in my step, so to speak, amidst the confusion of being a twenty-something with (again) a lot of Questions. In the summer of 2022, I started writing about it.

In dire need of inspiration and a project, I signed up for my neighborhood’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). CSAs connect communities with local farms: members pay in advance of the growing season—sharing both the risks and the bounty with farmers—and receive 22 weeks of farm-fresh produce in return. Cooking had become deeply therapeutic and fulfilling for me (especially during the pandemic), so I was excited to take on the challenge of finding new and creative ways to use the pounds of fresh produce I received biweekly. Hoping to stay accountable in my mission to minimize waste (and, feeling lucky to be surrounded by wonderful cooks and food-lovers), I started sending out really ugly, Gmail-formatted newsletters to 15 of my people, detailing the produce hauls, the methods and recipes I’d tried, and how I was feeling about it all.

Given how I was heading into that summer (aimless) (blah) (bored) (heartbroken) (moving up the ladder in a field that didn’t feel like mine), it was no surprise that the CSA brought much-needed fun and creative expression. I was simply cooking so much.

I invited friends to my roof to drink cold wine and eat pasta loaded with coins of fresh zucchini; I plucked tomatoes and plums from the overstuffed crisper drawer that I’m sure drove my roommate crazy, stewed them into jams, and filled lots of jars. I developed an even deeper love affair with the reds and greens and purples of edible, beautiful summer.

But as I wrote about how the season was unfolding, something powerful also emerged: a deeper understanding of how my emotions were fueling my time in the kitchen. Spending so much time in there, I could gently examine how my cravings would shift—with the weather, with the month, with the text I’d received or the Instagram photo I’d accidentally clicked into—and then bring all of that into my meals. Putting away my devices and resolving to make a perfect-something-for-that-moment…it was healing, and it was so giving.

Through the weeks I was reminded, over and over, how much of a privilege it is to be able to take real time to care for myself in that way. And while I shared some of my bounty, from cooking mostly my own meals, I came to internalize that no, it wasn’t silly, or a waste of time, to spend a long afternoon making a gorgeous meal for only myself, something that had felt really frowned upon, and ever only framed in terms of “efficiency” and “nutrition.” In fact, what a gift. To be able to meet the moment, and use my two hands to create something nourishing for both body and spirit. It’s an ethos that has stuck with me.

After the CSA ended, I decided to keep writing about food and feelings: I moved over to Substack at the start of 2023, and have been developing out-of-season fruit ever since. I kept the newsletter private until late last year (it’s scary being vulnerable online?), but I’m here now, and I’m confident in what I have to say, and that’s growth, baby!

While out-of-season fruit remains an evolving creative space, above all else, it is my place to muse on food, home, and being young, untethered, and perpetually hungry. A place for processing when I feel like one of those shiny gems from July—and, perhaps even more so, one of those cartons of dusty January blueberries that cost too much and taste of nothing.

2022; 26, on my roof in prospect heights, obsessing over zucchini

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The Archive

I’m so happy you’ve found your way here! Like with the original CSA emails, I still send out a monthly round-up of all the recipes, restaurants, movies, books, etc., I’ve been enjoying. Here’s an index of all 24 of them. Otherwise, here are a few of my favorite longer-form pieces.

My silly little love letter to Prospect Park, a portion of which was featured in the New York Times Metropolitan Diaries.

my happy place, my sad place

A Grubstreet-inspired Food Diary for the weekend of my 28th birthday (naked K-spa tubs, dancing, Los Angeles!).

another food diary

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD: the culinary worlds inside my very favorite movies.

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD

MANGER à PARIS. Paris with your gal.

manger à paris

A note to myself on leaving New York.

you’re leaving new york

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Finally, in honor of looking back on the origins of OOSF, I’m sharing two super easy sort-of seasonal recipes that have “met the moment” recently and brought me some much-needed life and color.

Winter is tough, and there are only so many weeks we can get excited by roasting hard vegetables and cracking open cans of tomatoes and beans. I’m not at the end of my rope just yet (stay tuned for when the moment hits). So, here are two bites in my rotation, doing the difficult job of keeping me going through this wet, grey English winter.

Simple Roast Veg with Tahini-Honey and Mint

sticky and sweet

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 pounds mix of medium carrots and parsnips, scrubbed and halved or quartered depending on size (would be great with sweet potatoes)

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 2 tablespoons of honey

• Olive oil

• A bunch of fresh mint

• Kosher salt, flakey salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.

• Scrub and dry veggies. Chop a bunch of fresh mint and set aside.

• In a large bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, and a few cranks of black pepper (some red pepper flakes would be nice too). Add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat.

• Transfer veggies to a rimmed baking sheet, and arrange in a flat, even layer and roast for 35 minutes, flipping halfway through. Use two sheets if need be, you don’t want to crowd the veggies!

• While they roast, in another large bowl, combine tahini, honey, and a splash or two of warm water. Stir.

• Drizzle a few big spoons of sauce all over the sheet pan of ready roast veg, and thoroughly toss to glaze and coat. Transfer to a plate, and cover with a ton of chopped mint and flaky sea salt. Set aside the rest of the sauce (if there’s any left!) for peanut butter toast, yogurt, etc. etc.

Would be nice served on top of yogurt! Would be delish topped with toasted almonds or pistachios! Lime would stir really well in the tahini-honey sauce, too! Would pair well with a pan-seared fillet of salmon! We love rainbow veg in winter!

Other Root Veg Recipes to Consider

• Roasted Vegetables With Creamy Coconut Dressing by Yewande Komolafe

• Carrot Ginger Soup by Love and Lemons

• Parsnip Dahl by Riverford Farmers

• Warm Roasted Carrot and Barley Salad by Hetty Liu McKinnon

• Parmesan and Black Pepper Roasted Parsnips by Yotam Ottolenghi

• Cold Carrot Cake by Alison Roman

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Big-Bean Beer Chilllllllli

got lazy with my chive chopping, oops

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork or beef (I went pork)

• 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper; both cored, seeded, diced

• 1 big shallot, diced

• 2 fat cloves garlic, minced

• 1 can butter beans, the biggest and fattest ones you can find! Mine are these.

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 tube tomato paste

• 1 chicken or beef bouillon cube

• 1 can of any lager

• Olive oil

• Kosher salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cocoa powder

• For serving: lime, cheddar, yogurt, tortilla chips, avocado, hot sauce, chives, cornbread?

Instructions

• In a big Dutch oven or soup pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, then add garlic and shallot, as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir until very fragrant, just a minute or two.

• Add 1 tsp each cumin, smoked red paprika, chili powder, and cocoa powder. Stir.

• Squeeze in a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, and stir into the alliums until brick red.

• Crumble in ground meat, and let sit for a few minutes to get some nice bits of sear. Stir occasionally for 5 or so minutes.

• I’m not someone who hates bell pepper, so here is where I add in my diced peppers. Color! In Winter!

• Add both the can of beer, and the can of diced tomatoes. Stir. Fill the empty tomato can with water, pour into pot, and repeat once or twice, depending on how much you’re aiming for. Crumble in one bouillon cube, and give a nice stir!

• Bring chili to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover half of the pot, and let all the flavors come together for as long as you can wait—an hour is great! Taste, and season as you see fit. About half-way through cooking, add the can of beans.

• When ready to serve, take off the heat, and stir in the juice from 1 plump lime.

Would be fabulous with crumbled tortilla chips, chives, yogurt or sour cream, avocado, hot sauce, cornbread, on top of brown rice, scooped onto Fritos, whatever the heck you want!

Other Pantry Recipes to Consider

• Halftime Chili by Bon Appetit

• Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens by Alexa Weibel (gift link)

• Big Time Jalapeno Lime Black Bean Texas Chili by Halfbaked Harvest

• Chicken Adobo by Vanjo Merano

• My favorite Slow Cooker Chipotle-Honey Chicken Tacos by Sarah DiGregorio

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Thanks, and see you at the end of the month for my review of February, the worst month of the year :’) !