Happy Saturday to you and welcome to another edition of my newsletter-ish feature! This continues to be one of my favourite parts of the work I do. Thanks for being here and always contributing such thoughtful comments! If you have a question for next week’s Saturday Sun, you can leave a comment here or email me.

I am thrilled for a weekend with absolutely nothing planned. We had a beautiful and mild sunshine-y morning this week that really got me excited for Spring. There’s a lot of trees on our property, so there’s always a lot of fallen branches to pick up. I threw on my gardening shoes that morning and picked them up with joy! Weeks of grey and dreary days will make you relish the most boring tasks haha. Perspective is everything.

I’m hoping to cook Nisha’s saag aloo this weekend and maybe work on some sort of bread project. Hope you’re keeping well! The usual assortment of links for you below ♥️

5 Things I’m reading:

1. Please Don’t Make Me Use Another QR Code Restaurant Menu
2. Are Greens Powders Actually Good for You?
3. Everyone’s a sellout now
4. Have We Reached the End of TikTok’s Infinite Scroll?
5. On my nightstand: Wellness by Nathan Hill

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Studying up on raised garden beds
2. Love watching Saúl on the Epicurious YouTube channel. Perfect mix of educational and entertaining.
3. Deep in a miniatures rabbit hole on Instagram
4. Just discovered this great podcast and have been going through the archives: Your Undivided Attention
5. Meditation: Be Kind to Yourself

5 Questions:

1. When a recipe says 1 cup of chopped herb, do you measure before or after the chop?
   This will depend on the language used in the recipe and what is typical of the recipe creator you’re working from! For my recipes, I will always do my best to specify ie “1 cup parsley leaves, chopped” (in that case you measure the leaves and then chop) or “1 cup chopped parsley” (chop the parsley before measuring in the cup). Hopefully that’s clear! If you ever have any doubt with my recipes, do not hesitate to leave a comment with a question or drop me an email.
2. What’s your favourite tempeh and what’s the best way to cook it?
   Tempeh is admittedly not my #1 favourite vegan protein option, but I try to enjoy it as much as I can because I know that folks are often looking for recipes with it. There’s an earthy flavour there that I sometimes love, but sometimes find unappealing. For my taste, it has to be heavily sauced and sliced quite thin or broken up into little pieces. Where I live, I usually buy Henry’s Tempeh and if I’m taking a trip over the border to the Buffalo area, I’ll grab Smiling Hara Hempeh. Some good starter tempeh recipes from my archives: Sticky Ginger Tempeh or Maple Mustard Tempeh.
3. How can I level up my homemade Americano in the same way as your almond butter hot chocolate is levelled up?
   I do a levelled up Americano coffee every morning lately, so this is a very timely question! In the blender, I combine: 1/2 teaspoon raw cacao powder, 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder or extract, a shake of cinnamon, a big splash of non-dairy creamer (I like Silk’s Half & Half or nutpods), 1/2-1 teaspoon raw cashew butter, 1/2 teaspoon coconut butter, a few drops of vanilla stevia (use any sweetener you like) and the hot americano (about 10 ounces). Blend this up and it gets so frothy, creamy, and delicious. I start craving it the night before haha.
4. Favourite quick and healthy dinner recommendation?
   This Spicy & Crispy Peanut Tofu with Green Beans is a winner! Most of the action happens on a baking sheet. The peanut sauce can be made up to a week in advance. Pair it all with a pot of rice and some chili crisp and you’re good to go!
5. What advice do you have for someone looking to start a food page/blog or even assist someone?
   The online content creation world has changed so much since I started! The things that worked for me 5-10 years ago would not be effective these days. If I was starting an online cooking project right now, I would start with either an Instagram or TikTok account. I would try to learn the ins and outs of succeeding on whichever platform I chose and hit the ground running essentially. Choosing just one platform to start with will help you figure out if you can be consistent or not. From there, if you’ve proven that you can find an audience that will keep up with you and return to your content over time (and you still enjoy doing it!), I’d start a Substack/website or other email list/webpage hybrid model to direct people to–just so that you’re not entirely dependent on some social media platform that ultimately you have no control over.