I’m in disbelief that its the last weekend of July. This summer is going by so fast! Truthfully I feel like I’ve spent a lot of it doing some type of work–either in our yard or on some background items for this site. August brings a more relaxed social calendar and hopefully some quieter moments for us. Although the pressure to start building Fall and back-to-school-related content in the middle of the month is definitely there. I must say: I do love the return to cozier main dishes and soups. I have lots of good ones in store for you :)

But for now, it’s all fresh fruit and cold salads to get us through this heat wave (and a fun skillet meal coming your way next week)! We have a retirement party for my partner’s mom this weekend and we might take a visit to the Rock Garden in Hamilton to see the lotuses in bloom. Also it’s the Belgian Grand Prix, which is one of my favourite races of the year! I’m going to try to finalize my vegan coconut yogurt, homemade vegan mayo, and vegan ricotta recipes. Good times ahead 😊

I hope that you’re keeping well and staying cool! As always, if you have a question you’d like me to answer next week, feel free to leave a comment here or email me.

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. ‘The Vegetarian Epicure’ Extolled the Joy of Vegetables
2. What to Do with Climate Emotions
3. How to Practice Loving-Kindness
4. ‘We’re going to make things better’: Yukon First Nations adopt youth climate plan
5. Is Fruit Getting Sweeter?

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Unabashedly loving the new season of RHONY. Sometimes it’s nice to zone out and watch silly reality TV 🥰
2. Ivy Knight on Radio Cherry Bomb. I love her restaurant memes on Instagram: Allez Celine.
3. This episode of Maintenance Phase about Pilates
4. Capybaras are chill with everyone
5. In awe of this ceramic flute maker

5 Questions:

1. Do you have any local farm stands that you recommend visiting?
   In the Niagara region, we love Quiet Acres, Bry-Anne Farms, Devries Fruit Farm, The Red Barn, and Bizjak Farms. There are so many great ones if you’re driving around the country in Niagara-On-The-Lake or in the Vineland area.
2. Favourite vegan coffee creamer, homemade or store bought?
   We are loyal to the Silk Half & Half (oat and coconut-based)! It creams up coffee perfectly, doesn’t separate, isn’t sweetened at all, and overall it just functions on the level of cream (or at least how I remember cream in coffee). It’s the only one that comes close in my opinion. I hope that they never, ever stop making it haha. I have a homemade coconut creamer recipe in my cookbook that is lovely if you’re a fan of the coconut flavour with coffee.
3. Best catch-all recipe for CSA/market vegetables still hanging around a week later?
   I recommend my summer garden pasta! Or remixing my tomato orzo or creamy orzo recipes to accommodate whichever vegetables you have that might be complimentary. Alternatively, you can do what I find myself doing most often in this scenario: chop veg and toss with oil and spices, grill in a grill basket, serve in a grain bowl with rice or farro, some chickpeas or lentils, and drizzle a sauce that you love. Basil tahini, peanut sauce, and spicy almond dressing are all go-to’s for me.
4. What do you wish would change most in the food blogger space?
   I would love to see a simplification of a food blogger’s online presence (while also being paid for their work) become the norm. It’s nice seeing food writers and recipe creators see success on platforms like Substack–which as a whole kind of reminds me of how blogging used to be before social media strategies, the push for SEO, and the looming threat of AI. I love how straightforward it is and the overall lack of overstimulation there haha. I have been fortunate with the success of my blog over the years and am happy to keep going with my site and managing my email list, social media etc, but I can’t say that I haven’t been tempted by other publishing mediums/modes of creation the last couple years.
5. Favourite mocktails?
   I keep it pretty simple with Seedlip non-alc spirits (there are SO many more options these days though), some bitters, muddled or juiced seasonal fruit, a bit of seltzer sometimes, maybe some sparkling non-alc wine in the mix etc. If you’re looking for advanced inspiration, I definitely recommend checking out Olivia Noceda’s creations on her site and Instagram.