On Salt, Seasoning, and Staying Sane
Plus a Paris shop I love and a few favorite cookbooks 📚
Hi there,
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while—it’s been sitting in my drafts folder, waiting for the right moment. Talking about salts and Paris feels very trivial in this dumpster fire that’s the United States right now.
But I’ve made a decision: I’ll keep up with the news without letting it consume me. The only way to do that is by continuing to live—by finding joy where we can, by making our own lives and those of the people around us a little lighter, brighter, and better. That feels like a much better use of my time.
So, let’s talk about salt.
Back in 2022, when we hosted Nicole Berrie’s Bonberi Mart summer pop-up at our shop in Sag Harbor, they sold Jennifer Fisher’s salts (I had only known her for her jewelry and had no idea how committed she was to clean foods. I think her food hauls and recommendations are worth following).
Fast forward to 2024, and I kept reading about microplastics and lead in salt (can we escape microplastics anywhere?). That sent me down a rabbit hole of looking for clean alternatives, and I found some pretty delicious options. Below are the ones I personally use—these are straight from my kitchen as you can see from my amateur photographs. And since we’re talking about seasoning, I’m also sharing what I picked up in Paris a little over a year ago when I attended Maison et Objet (luckily, I took a few photos of the shop and a video of me sniffing some good stuff haha), plus a few cookbooks I’ve been loving. One of them even includes a recipe from Stanley Tucci’s book The Tucci Cookbook * that has become a family favorite, which I’m also sharing today.
I hope this serves as a welcome—and useful—distraction. Beyond these everyday things, I have to say, I’m so grateful for Substack. Reading other people’s writing and creative work has helped me stay sane and hopeful. In addition to this newsletter every Thursday, I’ll be writing notes and other random posts just like the old days of Twitter and Facebook when those places were not as nefarious. It’ll be open to everyone—so check in often.
Sending love,
Patricia
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PS2: I am hard at work interviewing guests for my upcoming podcast, and planning our in-person salons. I’m very excited to share soon!
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SALT
According to Vera Salt and The National Geographic, 90% of table salt is contaminated with microplastics due to the pollution of our oceans, and Himalayan salts often have heavy metals and other contaminants. Vera Salt does Third Party Laboratory Results for Microplastics, Heavy Metals, and Mineral Analysis and shares the results on her website.
I have the Flake Pure Natural Spring Salt - it’s delicious and the flakes are a good size, so if you want them in a grinder, they offer that as well.
I also bought a bunch of Icelandic salts and they have a great story. They * make artisan flake sea salt in the Westfjords of Iceland, using s a two centuries old method. Located in Reykjanes, a region with some of the cleanest seawater where whales, seals and birds thrive, they use water from their active geysers to pre-heat, boil and dry process the salt.
I use the Birch Smoked Salt on my hard boiled eggs in the morning and on pretty much everything else - the smoky smell is absolutely delicious. I love the Arctic Thyme Salt on meats and chicken, and I use the Seaweed Salt often, especially on fish – but honestly, they are great on pretty much everything, and they a few more options for you to explore. I’m curious about the Lava Salt and may order soon.
Saltwerk says that they use Geothermal energy only, and that their whole process leaves zero carbon footprints and CO2 and CH4 emissions. Check their production process here, it’s beautiful and fascinating. I plan to visit them when I finally make it to Iceland – sooner rather than later, I hope. If you go, contact them to take a tour.
SEASON
Tucked in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the incredibly charming Place de Furstemberg, La Compagnie Française des Poivres et des Epices is a dream.
I spent so much time there, looking, (sniffing), and dreaming about what I would cook with each jar. I went for safe options, but I will be back there for more adventurous spices next time I visit. Their tins are beautiful and have an internal lid to keep things fresh and dry.
Their salt selection is amazing though I don’t have the same type of information on how exactly they are made like the the ones I just mentioned above.
Here are the ones I got:
Fleur de Sel Épicée, which I love for roasted meats and grilled fish.
Sel Havsno which comes from Norway and, according to the company, it has a high protein content - a huge bonus for middle aged women like me, whose pursuit of protein sources is becoming a full time job. But I digress. I love this salt with my veggies and potatoes.
Mélange Pour Salades & Vinaigrettes which I mix with olive oil and vinegar. I do think it’s a little sweet, so I think I’ll look for different blends next time I’m at their shop - I prefer it a little more on the savory side.
Mélange Pour Poulet Roti: I also use this with my eggs, and it’s delicious. You can use it to roast chicken, it has a nice turmeric base and it’s very savory and fragrant. The photo on their website is red, but mine is more yellow.
A quick look at the inside of the shop:
READ + COOK
Mary McCartney Feeding Creativity is a cookbook with benefits. In it, Mary (who is a photographer), features her friends’ favorite recipes – all vegetarian – but also photographs them in their habitat. And if you are Mary McCartney, these friends are Cindy Sherman, Cate Blanchet, Elvis Costello, Steve Buscemi and a litany of soulful talented artists and creatives – including of course her father Paul McCartney. It’s a beautiful book through and through and the recipes are great too. My favorite photograph is of artist Rose Wylie’s art studio. A spectacular case of patina and an art piece on itself.
My friend Tina and her husband Gary were visiting from NYC last year, and I decided to make Stanley Tucci’s Linguine with Caper and Olives for dinner (it’s a Pasta Puttanesca recipe sans anchovies). I was busy during the day, so I pre-made the sauce—and that turned out to be a great decision. By the time I dropped the pasta into the water, the sauce had been marinating for hours, and that made it extra tasty. The dish quickly became a family favorite - a triumph in a household of picky eaters.
Tina and Gary approved it, too. I wish I had a photo of the evening to share, but we were too busy eating! Here is a photo of the book’s recipe page instead:
OK, hope this was helpful. More next week!
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