Well hello! Long time, no chat. We went away to a cabin up north for a bit (it had a beautiful kitchen–check out the photo below) and then I came down with the flu pretty bad, so was out of commission for a while there. The flu going around this winter is an absolute doozy. I do not recommend it!! Due to all of that, I hadn’t been to the gym for two weeks and let me tell you, my return was haaard! Quads and hammies have been screaming all week haha. But it’s worth it and we all gotta start somewhere. It’s nice to get back into a routine.

Our older dog Cleo went in for a tooth cleaning and fatty mass removal this week. While she was there, our vet discovered that she would need a few teeth removed as well. She’s been recovering really well and is in great spirits. She looks so cute in her little compression onesy that keeps her from messing with the stitches 🥹. Mickie is being a very supportive sibling by giving Cleo her space hehe.

Cleo and I also celebrated our birthdays this week! I turned 40 and she turned 12. We kept things pretty low key because of Cleo’s situation, but it was nice. We might do some belated celebrating once our little buddy is all healed up.

Below I have the usual links and things to check out. If you have questions for next week’s edition, feel free to leave them in a comment or drop me an email. Also wanted to thank folks for the reviews and comments on my Morning Glory Loaf! I love the enthusiasm and I’ll finally be back with a new recipe next week. Take care out there!

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. The True Costs of Being on YouTube via Food Processing by Carla Lalli Music on Substack
2. How 12 Americans See Life After Watching a Lot of TikTok via The New York Times (gift link)
3. How do you make a salad in a trade war? Start with a vertical farm via The Logic
4. The Benefit of Doing Things You’re Bad At via The Atlantic
5. Is AI a better cook than me? via NeighborFood on Substack

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. The new season of The White Lotus! I love how Rick had “Gary” figured out from the jump in the last episode.
2. Speaking of Rick and The White Lotus, Walton Goggins has a gorgeous home, wow! Love how he shouts out every trades person that worked on it too.
3. Podcasts: The Mindful Body on The Rich Roll Podcast & Is ignorance truly bliss? on Vox’s The Gray Area
4. My Tricycle Magazine subscription! A few months ago, I thought I just signed up for unlimited access to the site/back issues of the digital magazine, but then a paper copy came in the mail. It’s a wonderful publication and I’m definitely savoring it more in physical form. No screen, no problem :)
5. Spending lots of spare moments with my West Coast Seeds catalogue these days. And also going through my existing collection. I’m hoping to start some seeds this weekend (in my dining room naturally!).

5 Questions:

1. Do you have any advice about which of your mains and soups are best for freezing and quickly reheating?
   🖤 Soups: pretty much any of my vegan soups will freeze well. However I do not recommend freezing soups with overly starchy elements like pasta, potatoes, or barley because they soak up all the liquid upon thawing and become a thick starchy mess sometimes. Also, for any soup calling for fresh herbs or greens added near the end: if you’re planning to freeze, don’t add these components. Skip them entirely or stir them upon thawing and reheating if you can!
   🖤 Burgers, Patties & More: these are so handy to have on hand in the freezer. Check out my Vegan Black Bean Burgers, Tempeh Burgers with Millet & Rice, Sweet Potato Cake Patties, Lemony Oregano Vegan Meatballs & Spicy Vegan Buffalo Meatloaf Minis.
   🖤 Bakes, Skillets & Casseroles: there’s a handful of these from the blog that freeze nicely! Simply thaw and reheat in the oven or on the stove top with a splash of water in the case of the barley risotto. Vegan Skillet Lasagna, French Onion Shepherd’s Pie, One-Pot Rice & Veggies with Chickpeas (skip the tahini), Vegan Barley Risotto with Roasted Carrots.
   🖤 Sauces and Bases: a few suggestions that only require some boiled pasta or roasted veg to round out the meal. Spice-Roasted Cauliflower with Coconut Tomato Sauce–freeze the coconut tomato and lentil base & do the roasted cauliflower step after thawing and reheating. Vegan Truffle Mac–make and freeze the sauce, and then cook up pasta fresh to serve. 30-Minute Lentil Bolognese–make and freeze the sauce, and cook up pasta when ready to serve. Vegan “Butter Chickpeas”–thaw and reheat and serve with rice or flatbread.
2. What are you growing in your garden this year?
   We are building raised cedar beds for vegetables and herbs this year, which is very exciting. I’ll do tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, Honeynut squash (if I can get my hands on some seeds), carrots, beets, Romano beans and french beans, Buttercrunch and leaf lettuce, Lacinato kale, radicchio (trying to find radicchio rosa seeds locally right now), jalapeños, poblanos, radishes, all the herbs, and more! On the flower front, I want to do a bunch of cosmos, inspired by my friend Jessica Murnane, nasturtiums, sweet peas, and a bunch more. I tend to be more spontaneous with flowers and perennials honestly! I also just plant what my mom tells me to on that front haha.
3. Favorite sandwich lately?
   I’ve been doing a smashed dill pickle chickpea salad sandwich with finely chopped pickles, onion, celery/fennel, fresh dill, and vegan mayo. It’s kind of in the style of a typical tuna or chicken salad sandwich. I spread that chickpea mixture on sourdough bread and top with leaf lettuce and some spicy dill pickle chips if I have them on hand (I usually do lol). If you want the recipe for this, let me know and I’ll find a way to share it :)
4. Are you using less oil than when you started eating vegan? Love your recipes but no oil for me.
   I would say that I’m using about the same amount as when I started, always olive or avocado oil these days for cooking and typically sunflower for baking. I know that lots of folks that subscribe here follow whole food plant based diets with minimal to zero oil because there are always lots of questions on how to make recipes (specifically baking recipes) oil-free. I do not foresee my use of oil changing anytime soon though. If you enjoy my recipes, I recommend checking out some of the oil-free cooking techniques on Forks Over Knives (either the website or their lovely magazine/books) and applying those methods to my recipes when you can.
5. How do you set up your camera/phone (?) to film from above and behind while cooking?
   I ordered this iPhone tripod from Amazon a couple years ago and just set it up so that it’s behind me while I cook at either the stove or the counter beside (good example here). I usually set the iPhone camera mode to “cinematic” and make sure that the focus is locked properly on what I’m trying to capture. I have to add that one of my goals this year is to not shop from Amazon at all, so if you’re like me and you have the opportunity to source a similar phone tripod elsewhere, I say go for it!

5 Seasonal Recipes:

1. Crispy and Crunchy Baked Tofu Bits
2. Lemony Lentil Vegetable Soup with Rosemary & Fennel
3. Creamy Coconut Couscous with Golden Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas
4. Sheet Pan Salad with Zippy Shallot Herb Dressing
5. Spicy Maple Tofu Bowls with Golden Garlic Rice & Broccolini