Just as bone-warming but meatless is Kay Chun’s soy-braised vegetable jjim, a Korean vegetable stew. Inspired by kalbi jjim, Kay has replaced the beef short ribs with earthy cremini mushrooms, which add depth to the hearty potato, kabocha squash and radish braise, liberally seasoned with ginger and garlic. Serve it over rice for dinner one night, and if there’s any left, you can add canned tomatoes and Parmesan to transform it into a vibrant ragù the next.
I don’t know if they’re the same thing as intentions, but this is also a week for resolutions, often diet-related ones. If eating more climate-friendly meals is part of your plan, Hetty Lui McKinnon makes it easy with her honey-glazed mushrooms with udon. Made with mushrooms caramelized with honey butter, then tossed in a hot pan with udon noodles, cabbage and soy sauce, it’s a satisfying, multi-textured meal you can get on the table in 20 minutes.
On the pescatarian side, Ali Slagle’s hot-sauce shrimp is a 10-minute knockout of a recipe, with spicy Buffalo chicken vibes. Then there is Zainab Shah’s sheet-pan fish tikka with spinach, in which she coats fish cubes with a chile-and-ginger yogurt mix, then plops the seasoned fish on a bed of baby spinach, which softens while roasting. Either one would be lovely over some fluffy plain rice, or served with crusty bread for dunking.
Since I’m trying to wean myself from a cookie-based diet, I’m thinking of the fragrant yellow crumb of Samantha Seneviratne’s tender olive oil cake for dessert. She advises breaking out the good oil to allow the cake to become its richest, fruitiest self. It will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week, so my family can resolve to savor it, nibble by nibble, instead of devouring it in a single day. Does that count as a resolution, or an intention?
All of these recipes, plus many thousands more, are available when you subscribe. If cooking more is one of your intentions for 2024, a subscription to New York Times Cooking will help you get there. If you need any technical help, the brilliant people at cookingcare@nytimes.com are there for you. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi.
