Another lovely weekend is here. I’m feeling some big, organizational energy lately, so while my partner is at a golf tournament on Saturday, I’m going to (considerately) tear the house apart. I do 99% of my work at home, so I try to make the surrounding environment organized, tidy, and relaxed-feeling. In busy periods, this definitely gets away from me, so it’s time. We have a birthday celebration to go to on Sunday, and I’m hoping to test out an apple cinnamon loaf cake recipe at some point. Plus doggie walks, laundry, getting the groceries and all of that routine stuff.

My sleep has been rough recently. I’m not sure if it’s the changing seasons or the intense humidity we had this week, but I’ve just generally felt tired and burnt out. I’m still pretty diligent with my nighttime routines, supplements, exercise, getting sun in my eyes in the morning etc, so hopefully this is temporary. I’m hoping to catch up on some zzz’s over the weekend for sure. Send sleepy thoughts my way please 🥱

I hope that you’re well and having a great day so far! Here’s some things I’m reading and enjoying below. And also: an interview I did for the Olives For Dinner blog that you can read here. If you have a question for next week, let me know in the comments or via email!

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Should We All Be Meditating?
2. Antarctica the Woman
3. Will I just keep spending more and more money forever?
4. Outdoor Voices Founder Ty Haney Has Moved On. Mostly.
5. How Did Vanilla Become a Byword for Blandness?

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. This episode of The Conversation Weekly: How fine dining in Europe and the US came to exclude immigrant cuisine
2. And this episode of the Breaking Beauty Podcast: Skincare Guru May Lindstrom on her Cult-Favorite “Blue Cocoon” Balm, Saying No To Retail and The Power of Small Batch Beauty
3. Loving @ruhamasfood on Instagram SO much!
4. Friends got me this Erde candle by Lohn. I had been waiting to light it on a cool morning, and I’m telling you: it did not disappoint. “A lush forest at dusk.”
5. After working on this Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie, I don’t know if I’ll ever use banana in a smoothie again! Still shocked at how creamy and decadent the sweet potatoes are.

5 Questions:

1. Do you plan your meals for the week ahead or do you decide the day-of what you’ll be cooking?
   A little bit of both I guess? I always have recipes for the blog that I’m testing/working on, so those are a factor in our weekly plans. Aside from that, we’ll plan very generally–as in: Monday we’re having pasta, Tuesday we’re going to grill, Wednesday is tacos etc. I usually have a decent variety of produce, so from there we’re just going with a base plan and cooking based on mood/what I have stocked in the kitchen.
2. Your home coffee/espresso machine: is it worth the cost?
   We bought our Breville Barista Express in 2019. The price has gone up significantly since then, but it is possible that they changed some features with it–I’m not sure. At the time, I got it during a Black Friday Sale at Canadian Tire and had been saving up A LOT of Canadian Tire money that I applied toward the purchase (apologies to my non-Canadian readers who may not understand this haha–it’s like a rewards program). So with the amount of discounts I got, I would say that the machine is worth it! The coffee that we make is as good as any cafe (maybe better?) and has probably saved us money in the long run. If you stay on top of the cleaning schedule, you shouldn’t have any issues with it. I will say that the lattes that I make with it bring a lot of joy to my morning routine!
3. Since you don’t bake much, what’s your go-to after dinner treat?
   I love Hu Kitchen or Evolved chocolate. We usually have a one or two pints of vegan ice cream in the freezer too.
4. Favourite cookbook for Indian cuisine?
   There are a few! Plant Based India, all of Meera Sodha’s books (Fresh India is my fave), and Vegetarian India.
5. Favourite hiking/walking spot (other than Short Hills) with your dogs?
   We love walking nearby at Decew Falls and recently we went for a walk in Niagara On The Lake along the recreation trail, and it was lovely. There’s a few little side trails that take you closer to the Niagara River as well. We live near the Welland Canals Parkway trail, so we use that one a lot too.