Around the Table with Rebecca Firkser

On the magic of small kitchens, her love of soup all year round, and her go-to easy dinners

Welcome to this week’s Around the Table interview—grab a seat and join us. Our hope with this interview is to open up a tiny little window into someone else’s kitchen. We want to see the way food shapes who they are and how they move around the world. We want to learn about their favorite recipe, and why it means so much. We want to read about their favorite memory in the kitchen. If they’re parents, we want to hear how they feed their family and what sorts of memories they’re making present day with their little ones.

Most of all, we want to be reminded that no matter where we are in the world, what our beliefs are, or where we’re going, there’s something magical about the way food can bring us together. The way it can heal us. The way it says, “I love you.” The way a warm bowl of soup can sometimes say more than a hug.

If that sounds good to you, keep reading. We think you’ll like what you find. And remember to check back every other Wednesday for a new one.

A little bit about Rebecca

Hi, friends! Katie here. When I stumbled upon Rebecca’s lovely Substack Nickel & Dine, I was immediately drawn in. Budget-friendly meals that didn’t skimp on flavor or ingredients? Sign. Me. Up! It’s something Meredith and I talk about often—how exactly can we go about planning delicious food for our family while making sure we don’t bust the budget each week? Well, Rebecca has lots of ideas, and as I found myself going deeper and deeper into her archives, I felt anything but limited. In fact, I was excited and inspired, and so I decided to ask her if she’d up for our Around the Table interview. Lucky for us, she was game! -Katie

What’s your story? Give us three sentences that help our readers understand a little bit of what makes you you.

I’m Rebecca, a writer and cook. I’ve been working in various areas of food media for the past decade. I’m originally from Northern New Jersey, so I dearly love Taylor Ham and Jersey-style Sloppy Joes—if you know you know; if you don’t know, you’ve got to look them up! Right now I live in Brooklyn with my fiancé Ben (and far too many cookbooks).

We love cookbooks! What are your top three favorites? No context!

This is really hard!! I could name 50 favorites. I’m going to go off book and name four, with context.

When I need a few-ingredient meal in a pinch: “Make More With Less” by Kitty Coles

When I need a refresh on a cooking technique: “Salt Fat Acid Heat“ by Samin Nosrat and “Start Here“ by Sohla El-Waylly

When I’m craving baking inspiration: “More Than Cake” by Natasha Pickowicz

Bring us into your kitchen

Describe your kitchen for us. Tell us your favorite part about it.

My kitchen is unfortunately quite small and windowless. But to stay on budget when finding an apartment I basically had to choose between more space/light and a dishwasher, and chose the latter. I had to bring in two extra shelving units to fit all my equipment, as well as an island for a proper work surface (and...more storage). It can get frustrating as ~85% of my current job takes place in this very kitchen—but it’d be worse if I had to hand wash everything!

My kitchen truly proves that good food can come from small spaces. (Katie: Yes! I’ve been in and out of small Spanish kitchens for the past 10+ years and couldn’t agree more.) I’ve developed and tested countless recipes here, so I suppose that’s my favorite part.

What’s your favorite kitchen utensil or tool?

This is like choosing a favorite child (I obviously do not have children)! I guess I’d have to say a Dutch oven, because it can basically be everything from a skillet to a baking dish. I know I was just saying how little space I have in my kitchen, but I’ve somehow managed to fit five of them in here! I admit I am sometimes my own worst enemy. (Katie: Impressive!)

What’s your favorite way to cook?

When I’m cooking for myself and not for work, I love to lean into my cravings. I’ll try to pair this with making use of what I already have, and usually it’s not too tricky. I also really hate doing dishes (not everything is dishwasher-safe!), so I try to limit how many bowls/pans I dirty in one sitting.

How do you organize your favorite recipes?

Honestly, this is something I’m always working on! I have a lot of hits saved in folders on Instagram and my email inbox from newsletters. And when I make something great from a cookbook I’ll sticky note the page so I know to come back.

We love recipes here. Will you share one that means something to you? (And if you’re up for it, can you tell us why it’s so important?)

I moved into an apartment for my last year of college, and though I’d been cooking since I was a kid, that was really the first time I was responsible for all of my meals, every day. This lentil recipe from Canal House was one of the first recipes I made, and then made over and over. It’s affordable, hearty, and so, so good. It’s one of those recipes that just feels timeless. My mom and I can’t remember if I sent the recipe to her, or if she sent it to me, but we both still make it often, and always text each other whenever one of us has a pot of lentils on the stove! (Katie: How sweet! I love this.)

Cooking:

Why is cooking important to you? And when did you realize that?

Cooking is important to me because I love to eat, and I love to make people happy. I was probably like 11 or 12 when I realized how powerful/self-sufficient I felt in being able to follow a recipe and make my own food; and how delighted anyone was when I shared with them something that I made.

What’s your favorite food-related memory from when you were growing up?

One year on a family trip to Northern Vermont we came across a cafe called Rainbow Sweets. (Katie: Sorry, but that’s just the best name ever.) It was just a little spot off the highway, but the food was phenomenal. The owner would toss the flatware on the table and say to me or my sibling, “Set the table!” I don’t remember many specifics of the savory food, but the caramel-glazed cream puffs are etched in my mind forever. (The owner called them “Johnny Depps on a plate” which hasn’t aged too well, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as a preteen.) Sadly, Rainbow Sweets is no longer open, but I’d absolutely love to get my hands on their cream puff recipe.

What’s your go-to breakfast? And when you’re feeling fancy/have more time?

Yogurt with muesli or a hot-and-fast omelet with dark rye toast! I absolutely love to make pancakes when I have a slower morning. I like them slathered with yogurt and jam. I just love the ritual of making them. I have a hard time slowing down intentionally, and pancake morning really reminds me of how good that can feel. I tend to flip flop between clarified butter-fried version like Chez Ma Tante’s and my more hearty whole-wheat banana pancakes.

What’s your go-to meal when you don’t have time to cook?

Since my breakfasts take 5 minutes and lunch is often recipe-testing leftovers, dinner is typically the meal I run out of time for. I’ll either do rice with boiled eggs or a can of tuna or salmon sprinkled with furikake; or canned white beans tossed in a quick Dijon mustard vinaigrette dumped over sourdough toast or arugula. Both of these take less than 15 minutes! I also like to make extra-large batches of soups/stews and freeze them in pint containers to reheat on the nights when I truly have no time or motivation to cook.

Okay, we must know: What are some of your go-to soups/stews? Feel free to link to some of the wonderful recipes on your Substack.

I have these on a pretty heavy rotation in the wintery months: Vinegar Chicken Soup, Sausage and Tiny Pasta Soup (I often swap out the sausage for lentils); and Garlicky Stracciatella Broth (that one I don’t make in advance since it takes truly two minutes, but I do keep chicken broth in the freezer!) And no one said you can’t make soup in the summer! I love sipping on cold tomato soup.

You’re hosting dinner this weekend for a group of good friends. What’s on the menu?

A pot of beans, a big salad, and the caramelized onion-anchovy galette from my book! (Shameless plug: It’s available for preorder now!) (Katie: Congrats!)

Family:

Does anyone else in your family enjoy cooking like you do? Is that where you got it from?

My mom made dinner basically every night when I was a kid, and was my first baking teacher—I definitely inherited my respect for home-cooked food from her.

Oh, that’s so lovely. Does she have a dish she used to make that you can still close your eyes and see/taste?

Honestly, not from when I was little, but in the past few years she's started making this cake that I am genuinely obsessed with. Even though I want a slice of it every day, I've never made it myself. That's the one I always ask my mom to make for me.

Are there any food traditions you’re establishing now with your own family?

I basically introduced my partner to the fact that dinner doesn’t have to be “meat, veg, starch”—in fact, I typically prefer to cook vegetarian when it’s not something for work. We’re a family of two right now, but I do think even if that number grows, this type of eating will remain.

Just for fun:

What are you loving reading/ listening to / watching right now?

I’m (late to) reading “Wellness,” but I love it. It’s a thick book that I like to curl up with for at least an hour at a time. I don’t get to do that as often as I’d like, but the book isn’t so dense that I forget what’s happening if it’s been a few days/weeks since I last got into it.

I love TV—I used to be embarrassed by that, but now I proudly own it. I just finished “Veep“ and am halfway through “Somebody Somewhere.“ And of course I’m watching “Severance“ every week as it airs (Katie: OMG the final scene in the finale altered my BRAIN!), it’s so weird and very good. Since I watch right when it comes out, I love that I can’t look up spoilers. (I look up spoilers for everything I watch, and sometimes even for novels too, I truly cannot help myself.)

Where else can we find you on the internet?

My newsletter Nickel & Dine, where I publish budget-friendly recipes; and Instagram!

What’s something sparking joy for you at the moment? (Can be anything—a new moisturizer, a book, a conversation with a friend, etc.!)

There’s a hint of spring in the air in Brooklyn, and I won’t stop myself from grinning when I sense it. I am SO ready for warmer weather. (Meredith: Same here!)

Where would you like to take a trip to next?

I’m going to Portugal in April! If anyone has recommendations, send them my way!