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!

My gut instinct is to tell you that I’ve been in a rut, but I don’t feel like that’s fully accurate.

I have been in a bit of a cooking rut, and probably a reading rut and fashion rut, too. But I say that while also feeling very calm and at peace, and I wonder if a rut is really a rut if it doesn’t bother you.

The air quality in LA the pats week was poor, and now it’s raining (much needed, yay), but that means I’ve been inside a lot, and I tend to go stir crazy when I’m cooped up. You’d think that would encourage me to get in the kitchen and get creative, but I’m just mentally over winter cooking. I was hoping to go to the farmer’s market, which always inspires me, but alas, I had to skip due to the bad air.

However, I did decide that I want to get better at baking. I’m much more of a cook than a baker, but it’s a skill I’d like to sharpen. If you have any cookbook recommendations on where I can learn the basics and the science behind baking, please let me know!

I mentioned last week that I wanted to try Justine Snacks’ Twice-Baked Miso Maple Japanese Sweet Potato, so I went ahead and made it, and it was so good, I’ve already eaten it twice this week. Maybe I’ll even make it again today. The creaminess…the sweet…the savory. Bury me in this potato.

Look, the Our Place Always Pan has both and haters, but I’ve been using it for years as my non-stick pan, and I like it. It’s always held up for me — the key is never to go above medium heat — but I also think it’s important to have other pans in your repertoire (I love my All Clad Stainless Steel and my Lodge Cast Iron). If you’re into pretty colors and don’t mind paying extra for an aesthetically-pleasing piece of cookware, then Our Place can be for you! And this new collaboration with Brigette Romanek is gorgeous. They sent me the Cooking Duo, and I love the espresso color, the cream interior, and the gold knobs.

I love Kerrygold butter, but I think their cheeses are slept on. I LOVE their Reserve Cheddar, and it tastes especially good with the Patagonia Provisions Rosemary Garlic Crackers. This is actually the cheese I used in the pasta recipe below, and it’s one of my faves for cooking and/or snacking.

I filmed this recipe and had immediate plans to shelve the video, never letting it see the light of day. Don’t get me wrong, it was crazy delicious, but it was so brown and ugly (or at least I thought), that I figured no one would be interested. Boy, was I wrong. My messages blew up with “Recipe!” which is sometimes alarming but also exciting.

So here I am, putting aside my ego, ignoring the lack of color, and shouting, “Justice for brown food!”

Think of this dish as a little bit mac and cheese, a little bit French onion, but not quite one or the other. It uses two whole red onions, which is my favorite part. Truthfully, I was craving onions, so the pasta was basically just a vessel for me to eat the onions.

This is another one-pot pasta that’s cooked in bone broth, which means it has a little bit of protein and lots of starchiness that adds to the silkiness of the sauce. If bone broth isn’t your thing, you could also use vegetable broth, chicken broth, or beef broth! But don’t skip the broth and use water, because the broth adds flavor.

This is definitely a decadent, creamy and cheesy pasta dish, but it’s incredibly comforting, and if you’re an onion lover, you’ve come to the right place.

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 medium red onions, diced

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• Pinch of crushed red pepper

• 8 oz pasta (I used Flour & Water Macaroni)

• 17 oz beef bone broth (I used Kettle and Fire)

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup shredded white sharp cheddar cheese

1. Heat up the butter in a medium skillet on medium heat. Add the diced onions, thyme, and a pinch of salt, and sauté for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and cooked down.

2. Add the garlic and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Mix together and cook for a minute or two until garlic is fragrant. Add the macaroni and bone broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your pasta, until pasta is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add a splash of water if you find that your pasta is cooking too fast or slightly lower the heat.

3. On medium-low heat, mix in the heavy cream, shredded cheddar, and a pinch of salt, and mix until everything is evenly incorporated and cheese gets fully melted. Simmer on low for an additional few minutes until sauce thickens up, but is still silky and creamy. Pasta will thicken up as it cools, so it’s okay if the sauce is a little loose. Serve warm topped with black pepper!

Last week, paid subscribers received this hearty soup recipe as part of my 30-minute budget meal series! It uses the eggs and lemon to create a creamy broth, and then you add in your favorite tortellini, some kale, and chickpeas! Such a good one.

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!