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Food People, Parent Picks: we ask our favorite chefs, food writers, and industry insiders who we interview in our Order Up! Series to share the products, books, and bites they can’t live without.
Earlier this week we sat down with Shannon Sarna — cookbook author, founding editor of The Nosher, and mom of three — for a conversation about learning to cook at sixteen, raising Jewish kids across a blended heritage, and why she’d tell an intimidated parent to start with pita instead of challah. She’s the author of two cookbooks: Modern Jewish Comfort Food [Bookshop, Amazon] and Modern Jewish Baker [Bookshop, Amazon]. If you haven’t read her interview yet, check it out right here.
Today, Shannon is sharing her favorite picks. From the $5 Amazon gadgets that keep her kids busy to the Trader Joe’s shortcut she doesn’t apologize for, she shares the specific tools, snacks, and staples that make a busy three-kid kitchen actually run.
Three pantry staples you always have on hand?
Chili oil. Chickpeas or white beans, something you can throw into pasta or a salad for quick protein. And good salt. Maldon Sea Salt.
A cookbook you turn to for inspiration?
Jenny Rosenstrach’s The Weekday Vegetarians [Bookshop, Amazon]. I go back to that one a lot.
And Danielle Oron’s Modern Israeli Cooking [Bookshop, Amazon]. I worked with her at The Nosher, and her shawarma spice mix is still what I use. She’s a mom too, and the recipes are relatable and weeknight-friendly.
A messy-but-fun baking activity with a kid on the weekend?
You can never go wrong starting with a box of brownie mix and letting them add whatever they want. You barely did any work. You emptied a box.
If you want a little more, decorating sugar cookies. I put out a plastic tablecloth, a selection of sprinkles, and frosting in different colored tubes. Buy the sugar cookie dough or make it from scratch, and let them cut out shapes. Mine will sit and decorate for an hour or two. Is it messy? Yes. You put it down and vacuum after. Maybe you eat them, maybe you don’t. They had a good time.
A favorite kitchen tool?
Honestly, for me it’s a digital scale. I can’t live without it, though most people don’t need one.
A fun one to have with kids around is a waffle fry cutter. I make sweet potato fries with it all the time. You can crinkle-cut carrots or other veggies for dipping.
The other great one is a homemade uncrustable maker. My kids love uncrustables, and I try to stay away from high-fructose corn syrup day to day, so we make our own with whatever filling they want. You’ll use it over and over.
A snack that saves the day when the kids are getting hangry?
Cucumbers and ranch, and cheese sticks. My mother-in-law started buying these fancy cheddar ones, and now those are the only ones they want. But they’re expensive!
Trader Joe’s oat bites are a hit. And I’m not above throwing a bag of chips at them! Mostly they love a dip, which is a great way to get a kid to eat a vegetable.
A store-bought shortcut you don’t apologize for?
Veggie fried rice from the Trader Joe’s frozen section. You can doctor it up, add cauliflower rice, spinach, tofu, chicken, or salmon, and it becomes the base of the meal. Any supermarket veggie fried rice works.
A kitchen splurge that earned its place?
Honestly I’m not a gadget person. I don’t even have an air fryer. My big one is a good toaster oven. I’ll cook anything in it, and the kids can toast or warm something up themselves. No regrets.
A dinner all three kids will eat, no negotiations?
Homemade pizza. After working for Dan Richer I started making it with a recipe he geared toward home, and they loved it. And homemade mac and cheese.
Comfort food — what you make when someone’s had a hard day or is sick?
For me it’s butter noodles, or noodles with cottage cheese. Those were my comfort foods growing up. When someone’s not feeling well, it’s time to make a pot of soup. Chicken soup, for sure.
