Welcome to the weekend. My partner is down and out with some kind of sickness/virus, so I’ve been making broths, juice, and tea like it’s my job. We are still chugging along with Sides-Giving, adding two new recipes this week: roasted carrot side dish with grapes and dukkah and lemony sautéed broccolini & green beans. All of my Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes are here! I keep posting about these options, but I feel like folks are probably planning their dinners the week before/week of the big day. Let me know in the comments if my suspicion is correct.

It’s supposed to be quite cold all weekend here, so the dogs and I will be hiding and trying our best to avoid getting sick. I hope that you’re taking care out there ♥️

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Want to Believe in Yourself? ‘Mattering’ Is Key.
2. The Great Food Instagram Vibe Shift
3. Why It’s Okay To Be Awkward
4. My Grandpa Never Spoke of the War. I Needed to See Where He Fought
5. Erewhon’s Secrets

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. BReD by Ed Tatton feels like a vegan baking book that was genetically engineered to be my favourite cookbook ever. The book builds on sourdough and traditional bread baking techniques, stretching to cinnamon buns, cakes, cookies, galettes, tarts, scones, buns, pizza, cheesecake, and pies. One of my favourites this year.
2. Stories of regeneration
3. Will definitely be watching The Curse this weekend.
4. Binging Hell’s Kitchen is one of my guilty pleasures, so this episode of the High Performance Podcast with Gordon Ramsay was extra enjoyable for me.
5. I’ve been juicing every day this month and I gotta say, I have found it to be energizing and just so enjoyable. Lots of folks ask me about my juicer, and I’m still rocking with the Nama J2. It’s the best one I’ve used (had Breville and Omega ones in the past) because you can load it up and walk away. The produce is fed into the juicing component, getting diced down and pressed as it goes. If you’re in the market for a juicer, they are giving me a mega discount code for Black Friday Weekend that I will post here 😉

5 Questions:

1. Do you ever get tired of the similar (soft) texture of beans/tofu/grains?
   Yes! So tired! Add pasta to this list too. When I dine out, I always order a crispy fried thing if I can because so much of what we eat at home is soft haha. For a crunchy, protein-rich addition to salads and bowls, I can’t recommend my crispy baked tofu bits recipe enough. I came up with it because of soft foods fatigue mostly. I also go hard for well-seasoned crispy chickpeas made in the air fryer to add a bit of crunch. Let me know if you’d like this recipe on here! I know not everyone has an air fryer, but this is truly a recipe that I make at least once a week.
2. Favourite cozy blankets? You always have the coziest looking couch!
   Most of the blankets on our couch (heavily utilized by the doggies) are fleece Pendleton ones from Costco, and I only buy them if they’re on clearance haha. I have this weighted blanket and I’m telling you: having it draped over me during my morning meditation is so calming. My partner’s father got it for me for Christmas last year and I enjoy it so much. For bed linens, we have all Boll & Branch and they are the softest sheets I’ve ever used.
3. Why are you juicing so much?
   Just for fun mostly! I enjoy the extra dose of hydration and it’s a fun way to increase fruit and veg variety in my diet. This is also a dreary time of year, so the colourful juices make me happy. I used to be very dogmatic about juicing–only green juices, zero to minimal fruit to reduce sugar, and only enjoyed at certain times of day. I am not like this anymore. I do it purely for pleasure, and I really do feel great. The root veg and citrus combinations are my favourite lately.
4. Can you freeze juices or make them in a bigger batch?
   Yes you can! If I’m making juice ahead of time to have in the fridge, I try to fill the juice right to the very top of a jar and then secure it with a lid. This is to minimize exposure to air, which can oxidize the juice (which weakens the flavour and colour). If the juice has lemon or lime, I avoid adding that in when I’m batching ahead, preferring to squeeze it in fresh by hand to “awaken” the flavours in the juice. I try to follow the same rule with freezing, but just adding a bit less to the jar because liquid expands when frozen.
5. Random, but can you link the YouTube playlists that you were watching/listening to that have a fake cozy scene and they play French café jazz?
   Yes I absolutely can. My favourite YouTube Ambiance channels are: Calmed By Nature, My Ambience, The Town of Ambience, Autumn Blaze, and Ambient ASMR.