Hey there! Checking in for the weekend with another roundup of things to read and some questions answered. I’m working most of the weekend, which is kind of boring of me to share honestly! But life is just like that sometimes, you know? It’s such a busy time of year for food content creators and I really need to get going/caught up on some things.

Truly I feel like I have maxed out my own personal creativity on holiday/celebratory foods over the years. Have you seen my 60+ vegan holiday recipes roundup? It’s pretty thorough! The thought of remixing yet another pot pie or festive side salad again this year hasn’t excited me that much. As I’ve shared here before, my struggle with weeknight dinner has been ongoing for about two years now. All I personally want to make is a tasty and nourishing dinner that brings a sense of ease. So I think that might be my focus for this season. In between the feasting, we all need regular dinner sustenance, right?

I hope that you’re keeping well and taking care lately! Catch you back here soon.

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Do Not Ask Claire Saffitz for Baking Hacks
2. True Grit: The Cows Who Swam Through a Hurricane
3. The Edible Arrangement Endures
4. Napping for Longevity
5. What happens if we ever detect a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence?

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Cranberry harvest time photos in Burnaby, B.C.
2. Loved this interview with integrative gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan on the All Sorts Podcast
3. Just the ☁️softness☁️ of this apartment
4. I love Haumana Bars and bring one with me everywhere. They’re made in Canada, minimally packaged, made by the nicest folks, and they have great ingredients. I have a 20% discount code for them! It is: thefirstmess
5. This Mikkeller Yuzu Sour is the best non-alcoholic beer I’ve tried. The refreshment level is into the stratosphere.

5 Questions:

1. Where are you finding inspiration lately?
   I’m finding recipe inspiration in my busyness and lack of energy for cooking these days, which I know sounds so weird! I cook and work on recipes all day and when we get to dinner, I’m pretty burnt out on the idea of doing it all again. Right now, piecing together a lower amount of effort, a solid rotation of pantry essentials, and minimal tools/dishes is my sweet spot. It’s helping me think about cooking in a very different way.
2. What’s your favourite non-coffee cold weather drink to make?
   I enjoy my tea lattes so much! I’ll steep 2-3 teaspoons of some rooibos masala chai, chamomile or earl grey (so many different types of teas work) in 6 oz boiling water. From there I’ll sweeten the tea if I want, and then top it with 6 oz of warm frothed non-dairy milk. Heaven!
3. What is your nighttime, wind down routine?
   I try to put my phone away by 8pm! I’ll get into my comfy clothes, make a cup of tea (love this one lately), and wash my face. I usually read while we have a basketball game on in the background. I do a quick evening journal session and I’ll let the dogs out one more time too. When I notice that I’m yawning a bit more, I take my nighttime supplements and go to bed! I start my sleeping with 4-7-8 breathing, and hopefully I drift off from there :)
4. Why did you switch from gluten-free to non gluten-free cooking?
   When I started my blog 10+ years ago, I was really influenced by all the negative and at times sensational press coming out about gluten–that it causes brain fog, bloating etc (of course it can if you are allergic to it). I justified my choice to post mostly gluten-free content here by telling myself that the recipes would be more applicable to a wider group of people, and that may be true in some ways! But I’m not personally sensitive to gluten and once I got over some of the diet culture-y influence of press/social media, I started including it here more consistently. I still post plenty of gluten-free recipes though!
5. Air fryer recommendations?
   I have an Instant Pot Vortex that’s a few years old and I like it! The container/cooking surface area is nice and big. But also, the appliance in general is pretty large, so that can be a pain for some folks. If I was buying one today, I’d probably look to their Instant Vortex Plus Instead because it seems much easier to clean and I just like the tray setup better.