Hello and welcome to another weekly catchup. There’s a lot going on this weekend and a ton of fall yard work to get done while the weather is nice. I’m hoping we can find some chill pockets of time for a board game or a coffee out. I’m testing a couple recipes for a non-blog project and trying some new things from a cookbook mentioned below.
Once again, I’m gonna have to keep it brief this week! It feels like we’re barely into fall and all the stores are stocking holiday stuff already (guilty of already buying cranberry ginger ale lol). I had a PR/gifting inquiry about advent calendars already!! Time to go be with the present moment I think. Take care, love you 🤍
5 Things I’m Reading:
- For Restaurants Cutting Their Carbon Footprint, Composting Food Scraps Is Just the Beginning via Eater
- Imagining a World Without Bias via Tricycle
- A Psychic and a Skeptic Walk Into a Vortex via The New York Times (gift link)
- How Scientists Started to Decode Birdsong via The New Yorker
- How Pamela Anderson rediscovered herself in the kitchen via The Washington Post
5 Things I’m Enjoying:
- I Love You by Pamela Anderson of course! I’m a huge fan of her career resurgence in general, the book is totally plant-based, and it’s photographed by my favorite food photographer of all time Ditte Isager. How could I not love it?!! Thank you to Hachette for sending me a copy 🤍
- This episode of Liz Moody’s podcast: 5 Things I Did To Stop Scrolling
- Steel cut porridge in general with the cold mornings lately. I’ve been making it in my Zojirushi rice cooker with just water as the cooking medium, a pinch of salt, thawed frozen cranberries and blueberries, homemade apple butter, ground flaxseed, almond butter, cinnamon, and a bit of maple syrup on top. I usually pour some cashew/soy milk on top as well.
- New Instagram follows that I love: @neverhomemaker, @youcandoitgardening & @thuydao__
- A little self promo! Contributed some tips for this Tasting Table article on using plant-based milk in sauces.
5 Questions:
- To last week’s question on substituting cashews in sauces/savory recipes: I can’t have nuts, seeds or dairy. Is there a decent replacement?
Oat milk and soy milk are your friends! Look for unsweetened varieties that are on the rich side. I like Elmhurst brand because of the simple ingredients. I also find that it tends to be on the richer side, which is essential for making savory sauces or creamy stews. For richer unsweetened soy milk, I like Edensoy. - Should I get an air fryer even if I have limited countertop space?
I was skeptical when I got mine honestly. I mostly went for it because I work in the recipe/home cooking space and wanted to see what the fuss was about. I now use it every day, sometimes twice a day. It’s so great for crispy Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower. I make some version of crispy tofu or tempeh every week. I’ve baked regular/sweet potatoes in it. Frozen fries/homemade fries are an actual dream come true in this appliance. It reheats pizza like a boss. I am typically only cooking for 2 and have a gas oven that is kind of on the fritz, so there are other factors at play! The air fryer functions like a compact convection oven, but heats up faster and generally cooks things faster because of the smaller cooking chamber. If there’s a task I can do in the air fryer instead, I’m doing it. Big fan and I do think it’s worthy of the counter space. - Blender recommendation?
I am in the process of shopping for a blender myself. My ancient Vitamix 5200 series is starting to have that hot/overworked smell every time I use it and I’m not a huge fan of the personal-sized Beast Blender that I also have (it’s so annoying to get it properly clean & powders/seeds/nut butter always get stuck on the ribbed sides). I’m leaning towards another Vitamix (probably a reconditioned 5200 series), but am open to alternatives. If folks want to weigh in on their blenders in the comments, that would be awesome. - Tips to enhance creativity?
Cultivate hobbies/interests outside of your typical creative niche! Just doing things that stimulate your brain in new ways can bring new life to your typical creative pursuits in my experience. I also find that being in nature and letting yourself get bored (without electronic devices) from time to time can help. - Any DIY suggestions for meatless sausage or breakfast patties?
If you want to avoid buying veggie sausages at the store (I cook with them maybe once every other week), I’d check out this Minimalist Baker recipe for breakfast patties. I trust their recipes completely. And for other vegan “meat” explorations, I’d see if you can source Isa Chandra’s Fake Meat cookbook that came out last year. Isa’s earlier books basically taught me how to cook vegan food and her recipes have never led me astray. I know that vegan meat isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (not really mine for the most part!), but I do recognize their place and function in the plant-based movement/people’s everyday lives.
5 Seasonal Recipes:
- Vegan Butternut Galette with Apples, Shallots & Black Pepper Crust
- Creamy Vegan Truffle Mac with Crunchy Kale Topping
- Crispy Tofu in the Air Fryer
- Spice-Roasted Cauliflower in Coconut Tomato Sauce with Lentils
- Creamy Vegan Mushroom Stew with Farro & Kale
I’m in the minority but I had a BlendTec blender and then was gifted a Vitamix (!). My BlendTec died after 10 years and I miss it every day. It worked just as well as my Vitamix for everything I made and I love the dull blades so you can really scrape everything out of the blender. I also LOVED my mini twister jar. My Vitamix is still working but I miss the BlendTec so much I may replace it.
I LOVE so many of your recipes! Your ginger sweet potato coconut milk stew with lentils and kale is on a regular rotation in fall/winter. It’s my absolute fave and if I can find mustard greens I swap it for kale and it’s even better!
I blew up my old Vitamix recently and got the Ascent 5200 series and absolutely love it! I use the smoothie setting for blended soups and they come out perfect!
Your spice-roasted cauliflower in coconut tomato sauce with lentils is the best dish I’ve made this fall! I used some leftover marinara instead of canned tomatoes and also a barrier reef seasoning from Savory Spice in Boulder, CO, for some of the herbs. Don’t skimp on the fenugreek, people! This recipe would work with other roasted veggies too. Love it! Thank you so much for my new favorite dish!
My 5200 (which I’ve had since 2012!!) finally pooped out too, motor was not working as well for a while and then finally started to have the burning oil smell. We ended up going with a Kitchenaid for budget reasons, I’m curious to see how it holds up/performs in comparison.
I also have a Vitamix 5200 series … older but still going. I have been eyeing a HSB from Luvelle: https://www.luvele.com/collections/blenders/products/luvele-vibe-blender-system. I want my next blender to not be plastic. I don’t care what they say about the safety of BPA plastics. I don’t think putting hot liquid in any kind of plastic is a good idea.
Love Saturday Sun! I had to replace my 14 year old Vitamix about a year ago. I decided to go with the Vitamix E310 (new, not refurbished). It’s less expensive than the refurbished 5200 but comes with the same 5 year warranty. I was worried it might not be as powerful as my previous model, but it’s great. I really don’t notice a difference in its blending ability even though it doesn’t have the super high power mode. I tried a model with the taller blender jug and found it very frustrating to try to get everything out – regular utensils don’t reach the bottom without sticking your hand way down in there. Plus I love that it fits on my counter under my cabinets.
Re: blenders. We’ve had our Blendtec for ~15 years and we use it every day. It still functions perfectly. Highly recommend!