Sorry that I missed you last week! I was feeling worn down and like I was coming down with something. I’m doing so much better now and am happy to be sharing this weekend catchup. On the week of my birthday, we headed out for a nice afternoon tea, had my family over for pizza and coconut cupcakes, took in a Raptors game with friends, and enjoyed some tasty vegan Mexican food at Rosa Linda (had an excellent mocktail there called Jardín de Rosas). It was a great time and I felt very celebrated.

This weekend is a return to cold and a rain/snow mix here, which I’m totally fine with. Perfect for getting a jump on Spring cleaning/clear out and just chilling. I’m thinking about making this Braised Cabbage with Red Lentil Dahl and some brown basmati rice one night. We also just got a new expansion pack for one of our favourite boardgames, so I’m hoping that we’ll get a chance to try that out.

In terms of work things, I’m testing a “chocolate fiber fantasy” smoothie. The working title is kind of goofy, but it really is so delicious. I’m also exploring recipes that align with the seasonal abundance of late Spring and Summer. Expect lots of stand alone veggie dishes and salads with a touch more simplicity! On a call with Foodie Digital recently, we called it “farmer’s market cooking” and it got me so excited.

Anyway! The usual selection of links and questions below. I hope that you’re keeping well and getting some relaxation time this weekend 🤍

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Uncovering the higher truth ofJay Shetty
2. Brain Cancer Was Supposed to Kill Me. Instead, It Gave Me a Second Life.
3. The City That Bottles Roses and Rain
4. This Is What Your Brain Does When You’re Not Doing Anything
5. A dog ran a mile to her doggy day care for help after a car crash

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. A Day With a Dishwasher at a Top NYC Restaurant
2. Just really vibing with Jules Acree’s takes on simple living, productivity, and organization
3. Siete sent me all of their vegan and gluten/grain-free cookies and every single one is a hit. Perfect with a cup of tea! The Mexican wedding ones remain my top choice–so cinnamon-y and I love the bits of pecan.
4. Speaking of tea, Mark got me some mini tins from Fortnum & Mason for my birthday and they’re all delightful.
5. Saw Dune: Part 2 this week (loved it, we’re big Denis Villeneuve fans), and now I want to do this with my dogs, hehe.

5 Questions:

1. Any recommendations for someone starting a food blog?
   I would start it as a hobby/side gig on a platform like Instagram, TikTok or Substack (or other email based method) first. Or even a combination of one email-based platform and one social media account. If you can be consistent with those, continue to love doing it, and you’re able to build an audience, maybe from there you can build a website and go full out? Some folks do great with an email list/Substack as their primary thing (like Department of Salad)! There’s so many cool ways to succeed with recipe content these days, so I think you just have to find the right method to get your point of view out there.
2. What’s your morning and evening routine?
   Morning routine right now is: wake up, take care of the doggies, drink coffee (a misto with unsweetened Milkadamia and vanilla stevia these days) and write in my journal. Evening routine is: skincare, drink Sleepytime tea, 10-minute meditation/yoga nidra, and read.
3. Garden plans for 2024?
   We have a large, wild (and honestly kind of ugly) area filled with invasive pachysandra, periwinkle and lily of the valley that we really want to get under control. It needs dirt to level everything out and a re-jigging of the rock border currently. Once that gets done, we’re going to try the “smothering” method with cardboard and mulch so that we can hopefully re-plant it next year. We want to see how that project goes before we plan anything else! Sometimes I get overly ambitious with the yard and my body can’t catch up haha.
4. After using a portion of an onion, how do you store the leftover onion?
   I’ll clean the outer papery skin of the onion and just plop it into an old Bonne Maman jar (we have tons of these because my parents were really into the jam at one point). I cook with onions every other night or so, so it’s no problem to use the leftover up quickly. Sometimes if it’s a red onion, I’ll make quick pickled red onions with the rest.
5. Any new kitchen gadgets/hacks that you’re into recently?
   The very kind people at Souper Cubes sent me most of their lineup and I have been loving it all! I’ll freeze portions of vegetable stock, lentils and beans, and leftover soup in them. You can even steam/boil a bunch of greens, press the liquid out and form them into the cubes for a little green smoothie square to add to your blender along with the banana, milk etc. I also like the cookie portion ones for energy ball-type mixtures and homemade nut butter cups.