The fall means a return to the habits and stress of late night meals. Caroline Chambers is here to help

NEW YORK (AP) — Most cookbooks are organized around ingredients — like pasta, chicken and vegetables. Or in a dish – mains, sides and desserts. But not Caroline Chambers’ latest production. Her book is divided by how long each recipe takes to cook.

“What You Can Cook When You Don’t Like To Cook” has sections for meals that are ready in 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes and an hour, with cutting tips, slow cooker instructions, swaps and ways to add to the dish each.

It was inspired by the daily grind: She found herself as a new mother, working full-time like her husband, facing the nightly problem of who to feed.

“I think everybody dreads the thought of putting dinner on the table every night for their family,” Chambers says from his home in Carmel Valley, California. “That’s why we text our friends like, ‘Hey, what are your kids up to lately?’ What’s the best thing you’ve cooked lately?’”

If you have an hour, Chambers shows how to make Salmon Crunch Bowls or Sheet Pan Sesame-Ginger Steak & Peppers. If all you have is about 15 minutes, there is a fish dish – any fish will do – with cherry tomatoes and saffron, or a skillet dish with pork, vegetables Brussels sprouts and peanut butter. Each one is a complete meal, so you don’t need to add a portion of vegetables from another part of the book.

Piggybacking off Chambers’ popular newsletter Substack, the cookbook comes out as summer melts into autumn, schools start again and the dreaded 9-to-5s are back in place.

“Suddenly, we have to go back to our ways. We don’t eat chicken mice in the pond anymore. We don’t eat hot dogs every night. We’re like, ‘Okay, back to reality. Let’s cook,’” he says.

Chambers is all about comfort and flexibility. Take her Thai-inspired Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs & Veggies – 45 minutes – which uses red curry paste and handmade meatballs. He encourages local chefs to pick up Italian meatballs from the store if time is running short.

“Can a Thai chef use oregano? The pass is difficult. Can they use thyme? No, they wouldn’t. But those flavors can still play nicely together, and it will make your night so much easier,” says Chambers. “A little oregano in meat is not going to be as amazing as you think it will be when mixed with coconut milk.”

His proteins include mussels, eggs, steak and scallops, and the flavors jump from North African harissa to Mexican fajitas, Asian bossam and Italian pesto. He thinks lentils are criminally underrated and refried beans are the perfect thing to tie into a “taco-dilla” — a cross between a taco and a quesadilla.

The 15-minute episode features several melt-in-the-mouth sandwiches, mostly rotisserie chicken and instant ramen — the cheap versions are good, throw in a flavor bag — where he adds tons of veggies. and things like coconut milk, sesame oil, peanut butter and soy. sauce.

“It doesn’t have to be fancy and it doesn’t have to be the coolest sea kelp noodles to taste good and still be nutritious,” he says. .

Chambers, a North Carolina transplant, has enjoyed a diverse career in food, opening her own catering company, Cucina Coronado, and becoming an accomplished recipe designer. Her first cookbook, “Just a Baby: A Cookbook for Newlyweds,” came out in 2017 after she married George, a former Navy SEAL. The couple now have three boys.

During this pandemic, Chambers provided a simple, smart feed on social media, perfect for readers who don’t know much at home. He founded the paid newsletter Substack, thinking he might make enough for a side hustle. Think again: He has attracted nearly 20,000 paid subscribers and is the No. 1 entry in Top Food & Drink Substacks.

“I developed a loyal audience by just showing up and giving them what they needed – so fast, so easy. Everyone was sick and tired of cooking,” he says.

Chambers editor – Amanda Englander, editorial director at Union Square & Co. – he says: “His audience has proven to be really loyal and engaged. I think it’s because he’s a real person but also because his makeup is also true to who we all are. in the kitchen.”

(The day she met him, Englander was letting shrimp defrost to make Chambers’ shrimp orzo skillet).

Ten of Chambers’ recipes from the magazine found their way into the cookbook, including one of her most popular dishes, Hella Green Pasta, which uses kale and cooked garlic, and Parmesan in sauce.

“My kids don’t touch green vegetables, but they absolutely destroy Hella Green Pasta,” she says. “It has this crazy delicious sauce. There’s olive oil, there’s tons of Parmesan. And it’s like pesto – pesto’s cooler cousin.”

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Mark Kennedy is here http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits