Hello and welcome to our weekend catch up. I am zipping in and out as I put this together on Friday, trying to get all my work done in time to watch the winter Olympics opening ceremony. Human achievement, inspiration, cooperation, and respect on full display for two weeks sounds pretty great right now. I’m embarrassed to admit this as a Canadian, but this is pretty much the only time I ever watch hockey.

Take care out there and see you next time :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. The Problem With Using AI in Your Personal Life via The Atlantic (non-paywalled)
2. The Power of We via Jon Kabat-Zinn for Lion’s Roar
3. Freedom With a Side of Guilt: How Food Delivery Is Reshaping Mealtime via The New York Times (gift link)
4. How a Climate Doomsayer Became an Unexpected Optimist via Mother Jones
5. Why we’re addicted to fixing ourselves via The Broad Place on Substack

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Oomé smoked tofu! Specifically the maple soy one on a vegan BLT.
2. I have been slowly breaking up with Amazon. It’s my goal to be totally done with it by the end of this month. I don’t shop with them, don’t use their web services/Audible/Kindle etc. But I do still watch some TV shows on Prime. Once I figure out how to get all my Bravo faves elsewhere and I remove all the old affiliate links from my recipes, I’m done with them for good!
3. The way I teared up reading through these. Stories of kindness/people coming together to make the world less sh*tty is a real gift lately.
4. I will develop myself in a positive manner!
5. My Dog Tintin’s Trans-Atlantic Voyage on the Queen Mary 2

5 Questions:

1. The whole wheat bread and bran muffins… are these the two recipes that have taken you the longest to test? And if not, what was?
   The bran muffins definitely were! I kept trying to make them this whole other indulgent thing–double chocolate bran, mixed berry bran, bran streusel coffee cake, you name it! Once I embraced the idea of an old school, classic bran muffin, it came together A LOT faster. Usually when I don’t embrace the recipe/ingredient as it is (and try to turn it into something else), it takes a lot longer to work out.
2. Are you watching the Superbowl/making anything special?
   I will definitely be watching Bad Bunny! I think we might be making pizza, Caesar salad, and I’ve had a real craving for cowboy caviar lately, so I’ll probably also make a batch of that to scoop with chips (and then eat the leftovers for lunch/snacks all week).
3. What other bakes are you working on?
   Not really a bake, but sweets-adjacent: puffy and thick vegan whole wheat pancakes. Also: peanut butter cookies, a “back pocket” chocolate chip recipe (no room temp vegan butter or resting time + minimal ingredients), blondies, lemon loaf, corn muffins, tomato galette this summer, cake-y coconut cookies with icing, persimmon tea cake, and beet brownies. Some of these will be GF!
4. With the length of time in your new whole wheat bread recipe, why not try sourdough?
   When I was breaking down this new recipe on Instagram, I mentioned that I’m too intimidated by sourdough making and haven’t tried it. Yes, the recipe takes time, but it is 95% inactive time. Also, I think using dry packaged yeast in a bread recipe is a bit more beginner-friendly. Lastly, up until now, all of the bread recipes on here have been no-knead, so I just want to keep the party going!
5. Do your dogs share a bed with you?
   Mickie does! Cleo likes her own space in a dog bed right beside. On my non-gym mornings, Mickie will will pop out of her little bed around 5-6 (yes, a small dog bed on top of the human bed) and tuck herself right up next to me under the covers. I love it and apparently it might be good for my gut microbiome?

5 Seasonal Recipes (Game Day Edition 🏈):

1. Sticky and Crispy Sesame Cauliflower
2. Vegan Seven Layer Dip with Buffalo Refried Beans
3. Vegan Jalapeño Popper Dip
4. Sticky Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce
5. Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza with Roasted Onion Cream