The Dinner Plan

Postpartum meal prep is all over the internet in the US, but in Taiwan, 65% of new moms check into a full-service postpartum hotel to recover after giving birth. When Clarissa Wei, author of Sitting the Month, had her first baby, she wanted to learn more about the postpartum meals she was offered there. “What I didn't expect,” she says, “was that I would be given these herbal broths and soups. But no one would tell me what was in it or what it was for.” Clarissa, who also wrote the acclaimed cookbook Made in Taiwan, shares this experience in her new cookbook of postpartum recipes, and she cooked right from the book when her second child was born. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, she talks us through the tradition in Chinese medicine of gradually introducing more and more warming foods into a new mom's diet, describes the easiest way to prepare traditional postpartum foods for yourself or a friend, and shares all the advice she’d give a friend who was anticipating having a baby.

Get show notes + the recipes for Clarissa’s Scallion Oil Noodles and Pork and Shiitake Mushroom Congee at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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In A Cozy Kitchen Cookbook, Adrianna Adarme zeroes in on the right recipe for every mood: There are easy dinners for the midweek slump, quick family dinners for the nights you’re low on time, and pajamas-recommended weekend recipes that can simmer in the oven while you relax on the couch. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Adrianna walks us through a full meal plan for the week, including a big-batch dinner you can make on Sunday and freeze for Thursday, and quick dinner ideas for Monday when you need things to be easy. She shares her thoughts on which viral recipes that are actually worth cooking, and offers advice on stocking the freezer for lunchboxes and easy dinners for her toddler. Before you do any meal prep this weekend, listen in.

Get the recipes at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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In this episode of The Dinner Plan, cookbook author Nora Singley shares the story behind Martha Stewart's famous one-pot pasta, a pasta recipe that's been riffed on so many times you probably don't even remember the first time you saw it. Nora's new book dives deep on the method, and here, she shares the many reasons why it can actually be better to skip the separate pot of boiling water when you're making weeknight dinners. She walks us through her finely-tuned version of the popular cooking method, and explains why it works so well for carbonara, cacio e pepe, and even lasagna. Nora also shares her most-loved pantry staples, her go-to easy dinner, and the wildest story of a cooking disaster we’ve had on the show yet.

Get Nora’s recipe for Creamed Spinach and Minty Trenne (Plus Rotisserie Chicken) on The DinnerPlan.Substack.com

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Lotus Professional Series: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off at Lotuscooking.com
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Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

Find Nora’s book, One-Pot Pasta, wherever you buy cookbooks.
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“A lot of my books have been very much about reflecting traditional Chinese cooking and trying to just report accurately on what I find in China,” Fuchsia Dunlop says in this episode of The Dinner Plan podcast. For her new cookbook, Five Tastes, the author of Land of Fish and Rice, The Food of Sichuan, and Every Grain of Rice, among other Chinese cookbooks, found herself reflecting on the flavor combinations she learned in culinary school in Sichuan but applying those templates to dishes and ingredients that are more common in the UK. The result: a more personal book that reflects what Fuchsia's been cooking at home lately. Fuchsia shares her go-to quick and easy dinner ideas for nights when she hasn't been shopping, and helps us think through a dinner party menu for less stressful hosting.

Get Fuchsia’s recipes on TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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Jeanine Donofrio of Love and Lemons was in a cooking rut. Rushing through busy weeknight dinners made cooking so much less enjoyable, and she missed the days when she had time to linger in the kitchen. Her dinners felt boring, too. With small kids underfoot, “If I took 20 minutes longer to do something, everyone would kind of be off the rocker. And it’s just not enjoyable to cook that way," Jeanine says. In this episode, Jeanine explains how she found her way to easy dinners that are still super-flavorful. These simple recipes (and flexible flavor-boosters) are featured in her new book, Love and Lemons: Pop of Flavor. If you're overwhelmed with meal prep and not excited about the dinners you cook, this episode is for you.

Get Jeanine's recipe for BBQ tofu bowls with apple ranch slaw at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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