Saturday Sun 01.06.2024

Created by Laura Wright
A head-on shot shows a chihuahua whippet mix dog lounging on a pillow in the sun. She is looking right at the camera.

It’s the first Saturday Sun of 2024! I had a nice holiday break that was extremely low key. I slept in, hung out with family, cooked and baked, read lots, played board games, sat by the fire, and just overall enjoyed myself. I feel a bit out of tune after the first week back to normal work pace if I’m being honest, but I know that I’ll get there eventually! It feels like everything is taking me twice as long as it usually does haha.

I hope that you’ve been well and that you got a chance to rest up! We are going to my nephew’s birthday party this weekend and probably stepping out for a nice coffee at some point. They’re calling for a bit of snow and miserable weather on Sunday, so I’m making a snacks/grocery list as I work on this (all dressed Ruffles chips, Tamari almonds, green grapes, and Unreal Peanut Gems are my faves right now). I’m also definitely making my banana bread this weekend. I really want to change the wallpaper in our front entrance this winter, so I’ll be endlessly scrolling for wallpaper samples online too.

Happy new year to you! I have lots of great recipes coming this year that I can’t wait to share. And of course I always love catching up here. If you have questions for next week’s edition, don’t hesitate to leave it in the comments or email me directly. Thanks so much for being here!

5 Things I’m Reading:

  1. Power move: two Anishinaabeg farmers are decolonizing Toronto’s hydro fields
  2. The 7 Keys to Longevity
  3. It’s okay to suck when you try something new
  4. Why Keeping a Streak Boosts Your Motivation
  5. What to Do When You’re Super Cranky and Hate Everyone

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

  1. I treated myself to this Zojirushi rice cooker over the holidays and it is incredible! The most fragrant and tender brown rice of my life. It also has a GABA rice setting! And the timed steel cut porridge setting is so convenient. It’s a mega life upgrade if you love the whole grains as much as I do.
  2. Basket making process
  3. The comments of this post are fun to scroll through: Where Do You Live, By Naming a Food?
  4. Can’t wait to watch You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment.
  5. Mark got Wingspan as a Christmas gift this year and it’s a really fun game! I love that you can play it in a collaborative way (rather than strictly competitive).

5 Questions:

  1. Cozy homemade drinks you’ve been enjoying?
    I’ve been loving Dandy Blend lattes with some cacao whisked in for good measure lately. Also loving my Golden Serene Latte made café au lait-style with decaf coffee. Also just so much tea and hot chocolate.
  2. Who inspires you professionally?
    I really admire Sally from Sally’s Baking Recipes so much. Just her commitment to recipe testing, clarity in communication, descriptive blog writing, email marketing, beautiful photos and videos, building out a team to support her work/maintain such a large community, and also just how she’s maintained her voice and style over many years. I’m a big fan and I also personally learn a lot about baking from her recipes.
  3. What do you eat when you just don’t want to make a mess?
    I love this question as it’s a genuine hurdle for me at dinner sometimes. Despite the name of my site/book, I am a strict clean-as-you-go type of person. Messes do not hang around in my kitchen for long! Low mess dinners for me include anything made in the Instant pot because it usually only involves the pot insert, cutting board, knife, and wooden spoon. This vegan mushroom risotto is a fave. Sheet pan meals are another good strategy. I have a veggie sausage and veg one as well as a sweet potato broccoli rabe one with peanut sauce. A roasted veg puréed soup is another low mess option–especially if you use parchment paper to line the baking sheet. My butternut squash soup is a good example here. In general, I’m really hoping to expand my one pot meal repertoire this year! Sometimes the idea of hauling out all the gear and knowing that you’ll have to clean it all later can be discouraging. I really want to help folks move past this and streamline the process.
  4. Your baking sheets are so clean. How do you clean them again?
    I use a baking soda and water paste with a Scrub Daddy sponge (and elbow grease)! I feel like this combo gets rid of most of the grime in my life in general. It also keeps my stainless pots and pans sparkling.
  5. Favourite ingredients/components for building a well-balanced bowl?
    This is my current favourite combination: the golden garlic brown rice from this recipe, chickpeas crisped in the air fryer with za’atar, paprika, olive oil, salt, and pepper (400 degrees for 10-12 minutes–shake the basket a few times), a quick vinegar-y cabbage and carrot slaw with parsley, and creamy tahini sauce to finish (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cold water, sometimes a splash of Tamari and maple). I finish with chopped pickled red onions, chopped dill pickles, and toasted sunflower seeds. I’ll also add some roasted cauliflower/other vegetable if I feel like it. This combo is just really doing it for me lately! I’m trying to figure out how to streamline it so I can post a full recipe here. Stay tuned!
06/01/2024 (Last Updated 05/12/2024)

26 comments


  • Amy

    Hi Laura,

    Just wondering if your dogs are vegan as well and, if so, what do you feed them?

  • Ariel

    Ooh, yes, loving this roundup. Please share the bowl recipe/formula in a standalone post! I am here for air fryer tips as well! Prepping ingredients and building bowls is working for me lately too. Happy New Year! PS love the shoutout to Sally’s Baking Addiction. She is so good.

  • Rebecca Seaman

    Really enjoyed your issue this week. Thank you

    • Laura Wright

      It’s my pleasure! Have a good one :)
      -L

  • Hannah W

    SO happy to hear there are more one pot meal recipes coming our way. I am always looking for those because I’m a really slow cook— the fewer ingredients and less cleanup time, the better! Happy new year ☺️

    • Laura Wright

      2024 is the year of having more with LESS! :)
      -L

  • Brenda Nejedlo

    I loved reading the comments on the “Where do you live, by naming a food?”! What a great idea, and people’s responses are so clever! We love a good, and easy to learn, game of Cosmic Wimpout. It’s a game that you can actually have a conversation during!

    • Laura Wright

      Looking this game up now! Thanks Brenda :)
      -L

  • Eliza

    I love using the zojirushi for so many different kinds of grains and grain mixes, and I’m excited to see what you develop if/ when you start adding non-grains to the mix as well- I need inspiration!
    Have you written about how you picked an air fryer?

    • Laura Wright

      I’m excited to try non-grain things in it too! I picked out my air fryer based on the size and depth of the basket honestly. Mine is the Instant Pot Vortex, and I do like it, but it’s a little big on the counter.
      -L

  • Julea

    Happy New Year! That bowl meal sounds delicious – looking forward to a future recipe. Also, I would love to hear more about games you like playing (board games, card games, etc) :)

    • Laura Wright

      I usually share the board games we’re loving in my Saturday post! Loving Wingspan, Morels, and Mexican Train Dominoes the most lately!
      -L

  • Barbara

    I watched the Twin Experiment and it was eye opening. I eat small amount of beef and chicken and fish and it has given me motivation to cut back even more. I am interested in health of course, but I also want to contribute to the health of the planet. The beef methane thing really shocked me.
    Anyway, wanted to share my cozy hot drink. Not sure if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby…We use a half packet of their 100% ginger powder drink mix, hot water, juice of a whole Meyer Lemon (we have a tree and are committed to using them all) and a generous spoonful of good maple syrup. This has replaced the evening wine or cocktail as we have gotten older. We call it “The Hot Drink” lol.

    • Laura Wright

      I live across the boarder from the Buffalo Trader Joe’s location and always have a list going of what I want to grab on my next trip. Just added this ginger drink mix to it. Sounds so good with the meyer lemon. Thank you!
      -L

  • Heidi

    Love reading your SatSun each week and, love your banana bread – it is perfection! I have half a loaf in the freezer right now! Yeah!

    • Laura Wright

      I love that! Thanks so much.
      -L

  • Sarah

    Happy new year!
    Low mess dinners + dandy blend lattes are perfection!

    • Laura Wright

      Thanks so much Sarah, have a good one! :)
      -L

  • Hannah

    That bowl you wrote about in #5 sounds so good!!

    • Laura Wright

      Really hoping I can dial it in as a streamlined/not-too-involved recipe on here soon!
      -L

  • Gillian

    Happy new year!! I’m with you on the first week out of tune feeling :)
    That bowl sounds delicious! Will look forward to the recipe.

    • Laura Wright

      We’ll get there eventually! :)
      -L

  • Amy

    Happy new year!! I really needed the article about what to do when you are super cranky and hate everyone. I felt that way sometimes during holiday break. Remembering to breathe is one of my 2024 ins so hopefully that will help when the feeling arises. Getting up early and having time to myself has also helped. I also love the reminder that is ok to suck at something. The fear of sucking and what people will think is often what keeps me from trying something new. But I strive for the growth mindset and I know from experience that there is no better feeling than working on something and getting better and stronger. Also I love wingspan! My partner and I love to play Everdell. It isn’t collaborative (at least we haven’t play) but it is a gentle competition and it is fun to see what people build no matter who wins. It’s been our favorite two person game so wanted to share the recommendation. Glad that Saturday sun is back! Enjoy the weekend!

    • Laura Wright

      Hey Amy! We have been looking at Everdell, so your recommendation is super timely–thank you! And so glad that the reads were helpful for you this week :)
      -L

  • Beverly

    I watched “You are what you eat, twin experiment”. Really interesting and eye opening.

    • Laura Wright

      I’m watching it tonight finally, can’t wait! :)
      -L