Welcome to the weekend! I’m zipping in and out today because I know a lot of you are in the mostly unplugged/offline holiday zone. Lots of cozy activities this weekend and as much relaxation time as possible for us. I hope the same for you! Take care and catch ya back here soon :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. The Comedian Dismantling the Alpha-Male Persona via The Atlantic (non-paywalled)
2. Doubling down on love via Human Stuff on Substack
3. The Trad Movement Is Sputtering. Here’s What Comes Next. via GQ (non-paywalled)
4. How urban farms can make cities more livable and help feed America via Grist
5. AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet — And Thanksgiving Dinner via Bloomberg (non-paywalled)

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. The REAL Miyoko’s butter! (For some background on why this is of significance, check out this article and this recent update)
2. Podcasts this week: Ina Garten on Good Hang with Amy Poehler and Mo Brings Plenty on I’m Fine
3. I am so close to using this Health Hut Green Leaves room spray like perfume: “Fresh top notes of green leaves and pine needle awaken the air with a crisp, resinous clarity. At the heart, fir balsam, galbanum, and guaiac wood create a verdant, aromatic depth. Anchoring the scent: smoky cedar, earthy patchouli, and a whisper of charred wood”
4. Martha’s little digs in this video from the Stissing House Pie Fest really got me.
5. We saw Dijon play in Toronto this week and it was a pretty transcendent experience! Still thinking about it.

5 Questions:

1. Do you have any recommendations for a better egg replacement?
   I mostly recommend checking out Katarina Cermelj’s The Elements of Baking. It teaches you how to sub for eggs in almost any baking recipe without using things like flax seeds, starches etc. Most of the time you just need to adjust the amount of flour, liquid, and leavening in your recipe.
2. How to make non-coconut based whipped cream that tastes good?
   Coconut has such a distinct flavor and it definitely isn’t appropriate for every dessert. I personally just love to make a batch of cashew cream (with some maple syrup and vanilla) and serve dollops of that on top of pies/fruit/crumbles. I’ve also seen folks make a whipped topping out of aquafaba (the leftover liquid in canned chickpeas), which is super interesting to me.
3. What is your go-to food you make when stressed/exhausted?
   If I actually want to cook (sometimes this helps me feel a bit more centered/generally better), I quickly sauté some chopped greens or whatever easy veg I have on hand in olive oil, add jarred marinara sauce, cook some pasta, and eat that with nutritonal yeast and chili flakes (preferably in my pajamas watching my fave comfort show). I’ve also been really good about freezing pasta bakes, lasagna, lentil shepherd’s pie, rice and beans, soup etc in my Souper Cubes the past few months. They’ve definitely saved me a few times! If I’m too tired to cook or there’s just too much going on, we order takeaway without an ounce of guilt. Sometimes that’s the way it goes!
4. Where do you get your inspiration?
   Mostly just the season and season-specific kinda stuff like holiday recipes right now or BBQ recipes in the summer. Sometimes I’ll have a chat with Foodie Digital about recipes that would make sense in the overall collection on my site, and we’ll come up with some things from a recipe searcher’s point of view. And sometimes folks just request something and I go from there! I used to really overthink the whole thing and now I just let it flow and be easy if I can.
5. When I bake cookies, they fall flat. What is the trick to make cookies more “puffy”?
   Lots of possibilities barring the obvious ones of baking at altitude and not sufficiently resting a cookie dough that calls for resting! Do you have an oven thermometer to get a true read on the temperature? The oven could be running too cold, which makes the cookies spread too much before actually cooking. It’s possible that you’re over-mixing the butter/fat and sugar–this can lead to flat and kind of “greasy” cookies. Do you weigh your ingredients or use measuring cups? If you’re using cups and possibly under-scooping your flour, that could lead to extra spread out cookies. A lot of these potential issues can be resolved by 1) using an oven thermometer to ensure the correct temperature and 2) baking with a scale and only using recipes with weight measures.
   

5 Seasonal Recipes:

1. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Olive & Chickpea “Dressing”
2. Sticky Marmalade Tofu
3. 40-Minute Lemony Red Lentil Soup
4. Creamy Coconut Couscous with Golden Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas
5. Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Caper Raisin Relish