Cook the Book: What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

Caroline Chambers’ latest cookbook, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, releases this month to a hungry audience of loyal readers of her Substack newsletter of the same name. Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, now residing in Carmel, California, Chambers began writing her Substack to fulfill that ever-present plague of dinner time: what to make when you’re exhausted, mentally overwhelmed, or just not feeling it. The mother of three young boys, Chambers plots out her recipes in time increments ranging from “15-ish minutes” to “a little bit longer” meal plans that can take upwards of an hour. 

Committing to her concept and process, I decided to integrate her recipes into the brazen realities of my daily life. Amidst a toddler playing “hop little bunny” around my kitchen, quick sub-outs for missing ingredients, and the relentless laundry pile glaring from the corner, I put Chambers’ recipes to the test. And, yes, even those of us who love cooking experience a frequent lack of inspiration and motivation to put on our weeknight aprons. 

My family of three enjoys a wide flavor palate and I like to keep my meal planning centered around seasonal ingredients for diverse dinners that keep things interesting … and leave enough for lunch leftovers. This said, I gravitated towards three very different recipes from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Summer Soup, Crispy Miso Lime Tofu, and I Promise You Can Cook Mussels. 

Recipes reprinted and adapted with permission from What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photos © Eva Kolenko.

Selected Recipes from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

I Promise You Can Cook Mussels

The title of this recipe made me laugh. As someone who was once very intimidated by my own kitchen, this resonated deeply. While my cooking comfort levels have gone from timid to very familiar, I still find myself counting shellfish out of my weeknight meal plans because I assume they’re too intimidating, time-consuming, or unapproachable. But this week, I declared Wednesday would be mussel night. While my toddler napped, I stole away to our local seafood market and made a pit stop for a spelt rye loaf from our local bakery. I took the liberty of debearding the mussels myself since I’ve never handled this independently (an adventurous step you can have your fishmonger handle for you) and, even with this step, the entire meal took less than 40 minutes. The mussels absolutely sang in the white wine sauce, and my personal suggestion is to go heavy on the crème fraîche and the chives. I served this in a shareable dish for three, and watching my two year old slurp a mussel and sop up the sauce with her spelt rye might become a core memory for me.

Crispy Miso Lime Tofu

My husband is a bit of a tofu fanatic, but, if I’m perfectly honest with myself, I struggle to love tofu unless it’s coated in flavor. Chamber’s Miso Lime Tofu packs tangy, umami flavor into every bite, and her method for quick-drying tofu made this a 20-minute meal, tops. To complement the tofu, we served ours with a little yuzu juice, chili crisp, toasted black sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and cilantro. We stuck to the recipe’s suggestion to serve these as lettuce wraps, but, if you’re looking to repurpose leftovers, spoon the tofu into tortillas with a quick Asian-inspired slaw for an effortless lunch.

Summer Soup

This soup is a bounty of summer produce. With yellow squash, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, corn, couscous, and herbs, Chambers’ summer soup reminds me of my more profitable years of backyard gardening in North Carolina. If you’ve ever ventured into homesteading in the hot, humid South, it’s always a bit of a gamble until, suddenly, you’re completely overrun with squash and tomatoes. This soup captures the heart of that summer abundance, and provides a bright and warming bowl that pairs perfectly with those evenings when thunderstorms roll in. Not a gardener? A great excuse to raid your local farmers market, or, Chambers offers ways to keep this recipe approachable with frozen and canned options.

Get these recipes and more in What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

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