Leftovers are the most powerful ingredient in your kitchen

A tale of tofu katsu, and a new way of thinking about the leftovers sitting in your fridge

A quick housekeeping note: Today’s newsletter is free to all; you will not be charged if you had a paid subscription when I went on hiatus in July. Paid subscriptions will remain OFF as I slowly regain a regular publishing cadence, and I will give you ample notice before I turn paid subscriptions back on again, likely around the beginning of 2025. Any questions, shoot me an email at gentlefoods@substack.com.

You know the saying “stop eating when you’re 80% full”? I need the version that’s like, “start cooking when you’re 70% hungry.” I often underestimate both my hunger and the amount of time it will take me to prepare a meal, which means I usually start to cook when I’m 110% hungry, which means I start to actually eat when I’m 150% hungry and then eat so fast I give myself a stomachache.

This pattern plays out often during the workweek: I look up from my desk and realize it’s already well past lunchtime. A minute later, twisting hunger hits me hard as I realize that my stomach has been insistently, diligently trying to bring this to my attention for the last hour. I fling open the fridge in a crazed panic looking for the easiest possible thing to shovel into my mouth.