Hello out there and welcome to the weekend. We are in the fall garden cleanup zone. Sunday is looking rainy and moody, so hopefully we can get it all squared away in one day. I had a couple of moles removed from a high movement area of my body earlier in the week, so I’m doing physical work slowly and mindfully while I heal up. A reminder that I should perhaps approach work this way more often.

I’m admittedly thinking about A.I. a lot lately. Its environmental impact/resource draining, the cost or possible(?) benefits as it relates to human output, wondering what the threshold of busyness is for the average person to come to rely on it so much, and whether searching the web will become a relic of the past in the next few years.

One trait that I really admire in someone is curiosity. To keep asking questions and to find yourself in the groove of relentless recon pursuing a subject that you love is such a thrill! And connecting with others over all of that? SWEET AND SUBLIME. With tools like chatGPT, so often it feels like the answer is given and the journey simply… ends. Now more than ever I’m motivated to keep sharing creativity from a place of lived human experience. I’m also investigating this idea of getting out my highly defined, food-centric lane a bit (this weekly post helps). I wonder how all of you out there feel about this–and not just in relation to the food/recipe space. Feel free to share in the comments or shoot me an email if you like.

Take care out there :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. A Famine of Needs via Michael Ventura’s UNDERSTANDING UNDERSTANDING on Substack
2. There Is Life After the iPhone via The Atlantic (non-paywall)
3. Why I Had to Kill Family Dinner via The New York Times (gift link)
4. Yung Pueblo: How to Love Better via Soul Boom Dispatch on Substack
5. D’Angelo’s Genius Was Pure, and Rare via The New Yorker

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Absolutely struck by the death of one of my all-time favorite artists D’Angelo this week. All three of his albums are about as good as it gets for me personally. We’ve been playing them over and over around here, reveling in the potently magnetic, spiritual, and fully embodied nature of it all. If you feel like having a little cry, watch his memorial performance of Prince’s Sometimes It Snows In April.
2. Having fun with the Perfectly Imperfect site/app. It’s a universe of recommendations and interviews that’s interactive and entertaining. It reminds me of how the internet used to be a million years ago when I was a teenager.
3. Snack files: the new Miss Vickies Spicy Pepperoncini & Focaccia chips are NUTS. Unfortunately the bags are not lasting long here. I’m 99% sure these are only available in Canada for the time being.
4. We saw BADBADNOTGOOD locally this week and it sent me into space, so good. I love all of their work, but the New Heart Designs single with Turnstile is certified platinum in our 2-person household lol.
5. Excited to dig into Joanne Molinaro’s The Korean Vegan Homemade, which just arrived this week.

5 Questions:

1. I notice that in a lot of your photos you are cooking in a large enamel dutch oven. How do you deal with foods sticking like crazy to the bottom when cooking? In your Italian Wedding Soup recipe, for example, you call for browning the meatballs, but when I try to do anything like this on enamel cookware, it sticks so badly. I feel like I’m using enough oil, but maybe I’m not. I’d like to get away from using nonstick cookware so much. Any tips?
   Are you sufficiently heating your pot before pouring in the oil? I always recommend heating the pot on the flame for a good minute or two before pouring in the oil and swirling it around. Something about the hot surface contacting the oil that gives it more nonstick-like properties. This is true of stainless pans as well! The surface of enamel coated cookware appears smooth, but there is a lot of texture on the microscopic level. If the pan is sufficiently hot, then the oil can get hot and fluid immediately upon hitting the pan. From there, it’s better able to sink into all those nooks and crannies, which prevents your food from sticking. The oil should flow like ripples on a lake as soon as it hits the pan.
2. Best way to use celeriac?
   First, I recommend checking out the site’s ingredient tag for celeriac/celery root right here. Mostly I just love to roast it like potatoes (with other root veg) or slice it into paper thin matchsticks for salads. If you’re a fan of puréed soups, celeriac is wonderfully creamy in that setup. For a rough recipe guide, check out my Vegan Butternut Squash Soup–just replace the squash with celeriac and leave out the pecans. I’m also working on a “celery celebration” salad recipe of sorts that features this vegetable, so hang tight!
3. Where to start with gardening for someone who has a hard time keeping a house plant?
   Growing things in well-draining, appropriately-sized pots is a good place to start. You can place them on your porch or deck so that they’re close to the house and in your line of sight often. Whether you want to experiment with flowers or vegetables/herbs, just be mindful of how much space they’ll need (after a bit of Googling) and start with a few specimens in pots. It’s not a huge commitment and they are easy to stay on top of!
4. Something you used to believe in the food space but don’t anymore?
   That every meal has to have a nutritionally virtuous component/a functional purpose pertaining to the physical body. Pleasure and connection over a meal are vital sources of nourishment on their own.
5. Top Instagram accounts you check every day?
   Tiki and his siblings, like clockwork. There’s something about this dog that just calms my waters.
   

5 Seasonal Recipes:

1. Winter Vegetable Chowder with Mustard, Lemon & Crispy Cabbage
2. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Smoky Almond Bits
3. Vegan Barley Risotto with Roasted Carrots
4. Creamy Vegan Pasta with Mushrooms & Miso
5. Shredded Fall Greens with Sherry Thyme Vinaigrette & Hazelnuts