Welcome to another weekend! It’s my partner’s birthday on Sunday and we’ll be celebrating into the week since there’s a couple events on the books this weekend. July always flies by with all the gatherings. I really value my quiet/alone time, so the busy social calendar makes me appreciate those moments even more.

Remnants of hurricane Beryl had part of our backyard looking like a pond this week. I’ve never seen so much rain in my life! The dogs outright refused to go outside to do their business, which was admittedly kind of funny. Of course I’m hoping for the safety and comfort of everyone impacted by the storm.

I also had my family over for a little chill dinner during the week and did a final test on a summery muffin recipe. I can’t believe this, but it’s already time to look to Fall and to start planning holiday content. Content creation lives in the future! Roasting butternut squashes in 30 degree heat and just living the dream over here. I do love it though haha.

One last thing to share with you! I made some dijon and herb white bean burgers for a partnership with Maille. You can check out the video here and the recipe here. I so appreciate your support with partnerships like this!

Be well and keep taking care 🥰

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. ‘She Is the Icon of All That Is Joyful in the World’
2. This Ancient Technology Is Helping Millions Stay Cool
3. What Your Grocery Cart Says About You
4. Grocery Store Tourism Is Taking Off
5. TikTok is full of bad health “hacks.” Here’s how to navigate them.

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. A sweet cat selecting perfect flowers to bring to their human companion
2. Made a vegan version of this peach crisp (just subbed vegan butter) with a mix of stone fruits for the fam and it was a hit! Sally can do no wrong in this house.
3. Blooms from a 200-year-old lotus seed
4. Tiny pottery!!
5. Following @blackcattrails for some extra wholesome sweetness in my life.

5 Questions:

1. How do you get the most flavour out of whole spices?
   I love using whole spices whenever I can! I like to dry toast them in a skillet first and then grind them up in a coffee grinder as I need them. I have an ancient grinder that used to be my mom’s, and it still works great! You don’t need to spend a ton of money on one and it makes such a difference. I will say that I only use this grinder for spices. You can clean the machines by running raw rice grains through them and giving it a good wipe (using a q tip to get into all the crevices), but I find that the aroma is always there once you use it for cumin, chili etc.
2. What B12 supplement do you take? How do you ensure that you get enough calcium?
   I take MegaFood’s B12 right now and love it. My B12 levels have been great in recent blood tests. For calcium, I do eat a good amount of dark leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, beans, chickpeas, nuts, seeds, tahini, tofu, dried fruit, and calcium-fortified soy/almond milk. I also take supplements to help with calcium absorption–Vitamin D in the cold/dark months and Magnesium every night. My last bone density scan was a few years ago and all was good. I should probably get up to date on that though!
3. What inspired you to start developing recipes? What currently inspires you?
   When I started developing and posting recipes here in 2011 (!!!), I was just having fun with it mostly. It was a hobby that I maintained while working in restaurants. I was sharing what I was learning about plant-based cooking and playing around with food photography as a bonus. The recipes that I posted for the first 5 or so years were not always the most practical, I can admit this. I was just trying to be super creative and stand out a bit. Currently I’m inspired by efficiency, a love of vegetables + whole plant foods, and achieving maximum flavour with a bit less effort. More with less! The peak pandemic period absolutely crushed my will to cook anything involved if I can be honest. I’ve definitely moved on, but now I try to incorporate at least one of these three aspects in each recipe that I post: 1️⃣ 12-ish ingredients, not including oil, salt, pepper or water (12 seems to be a sweet spot for some reason lol), 2️⃣ 30 minute cook time, and 3️⃣ Uses 1-2 cooking vessels maximum (sauté pan, baking sheet, blender, soup pot, bowl etc). I really, really want to explore these themes further in an offline mode of recipe expression that folks could refer to in their kitchens 😉
4. How’s your sleep lately?
   Amazing. Walking outside every day as much as I can + lifting weights has made a huge difference. I don’t take sleep supplements anymore other than 200mg Magnesium Bis-Glycinate after dinner. If you’re new here: a couple summers ago, I was getting maybe 2 hours a night and was generally STRUGGLING. It felt like I was on another planet sometimes lol. So grateful that this phase is behind me now.
5. Do you use pickle juice for anything?
   Erin posted photos of this pickle-brined tofu a couple years ago and I don’t think I’ve ever stopped thinking about it. I’m really hoping the recipe will be in her upcoming cookbook, but I think in the meantime the idea itself would be pretty simple to play around with! I also love using pickle juice as the acidic component of vinaigrettes (especially for a coleslaw or potato salad). And if you imbibe, there’s always pickle margaritas!