Toast and Tiny Revolutions
SURPRISE!!! Also recipes and self care for this winter.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT - I am pregnant and due in June! That’s right, I have been scuttling a secret babe around the country with me the entire book tour. It certainly made the entire experience a TRIP. I had the unfortunate experience of being incredibly sick the entire time, and telling more strangers on planes before friends. If you are using the puke bags nonstop it’s a objective kindness to let everyone around you that you don’t have a new form of the plague. But we’ve hit our stride in eating and feeling great now. One surprising thing is that I have lost the sweet tooth I have cultivated over years of baking and find myself craving more and more of my favorite - S-A-L-T and lots of savory. Which means, lots of yummy recipes coming your way in the next few weeks. The theme is green green green. Is there a better color? “Verde que te quiero verde”, as Federico Garcia Lorca famously said. Recipe for Green Tomato Ricotta Toast found at the bottom of the post for paid subscribers.
Overall, being pregnant has really re-centered the idea of “Self Care”. A term that has been co-opted by capitalism in the last few years as a way to get you to buy more stuff in the name of wellness. But I think self care is doing what makes you feel good. For me that means occasional yoga (because I’m exhausted often), extra long walks where I ignore my inbox, reading more for pleasure, lighting the good candles every evening just to bask in the soft glow, finding matching sweat sets on sale, finger-painting with my eyes closed with a limited color palette just to focus on my senses, following impulses you may have talked yourself out of for years (got my nose pierced!), waking up an hour early to move to the couch for a half slumber dog pile with my puppies, picnics with friends and writing small poems down in textured journals. These practices are no small things, especially for those of us who make our daily lives about creating memories and joy for others. I am almost always last on my list. They are the tenderest things. Tiny Revolutions. What does your self care look like?
My other obsession this time of year is slow roasting fruit into compotes for spooning over yogurt with granola in the mornings, topping quick one layer cakes for dinner party gatherings or gussing up ice cream for late night dessert. Let it be known I will never be tired of ice cream.
Current favorite is roasting strawberries and rhubarb with a touch of graza olive oil, sugar to taste, squeeze of half a lemon, and a dollop of vanilla bean paste. I bake on a covered sheet tray at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, till soft but still textured. This can be applied to most fruits you find at the market right now, adding a little more time to the bake to get that nice saucy soft texture. I find the addition of olive oil makes the resulting compote extra silky and really carried the flavor helping it harmonize with whatever you add this too. BONUS - it will warm your cold house and fill it with enchanting aroma.
You can find more of my pantry favorites, kitchen essentials and workwear recommendations here. I put this together because I get asked all the time what my favorite things are, and your girl loves lists. Some of these links do give me affiliate credit, still I only recommend them because I use them daily and truly love them. Need more recipes? Check out the recent publications below where a couple of my favorites from Bread and Roses have recently been shared. Wanna buy the book and get ALL THE RECIPES? I offer personalized messages and bonus swag with every order through my website.
Recent Publications: Splendid Table shares recipes for rye apple onion focaccia from Bread and Roses. Find an interview I did at Pale Blue Tart on how amazing OATS are and a recipe for my Oat Spice Crumble Biscuit Rolls.
Obsessed with: Big Bud Press just reissued their most popular jumpsuit ever! And you know your girl had to snag one. if you haven’t jumped (pun intended) on the jumpsuit fashion train, please let this be the epic one you do it with. Jumpsuits are the all in one and DONE clothing, I live for because they make it so easy (and fast) to get ready in the morning. If you’re like “oh but then I’m naked in the bathroom” listen all you have to do is wear a cute cami or any underneath. It’s winter, so make it a waffle thermal and keep it cozy. I got this 5 days ago and have already worn it twice. In fact I’m going to wear it tomorrow too.
Inspired By: Food made into clothes. Food is already so aesthetically pleasing, and there has been a big uptick in fabricating it into wearable goods. Mostly I am seeing this in the art space but damn if I wouldn’t buy it all! Pasta purse. Wheat headdress. Allium sneakers. Literally all of them.
Streaming: Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV. If you haven’t watched it’s a MUST. I love the science approach to food, but also because of it’s placement in the 1950s/1960s it’s general message of believing you are capable of more and going for it. It’s a great example of wonderful food styling, competing story telling and great acting. I wish it wasn’t a limited series. Have a little crush on the food stylist Courtney McBroom, whose helped write several amazing cook books including Divine Your Dinner based on Tarot and runs a series called Ruined Table. Also maybe we should all be wearing lab coats in the kitchen? I’m here for the full coverage, bye bye aprons.
Crushing: Justin’s Creamy Peanut Butter. I can eat this with everything, any time of day. Honestly all their offerings are so delicious but my favorite thing may be it’s one of the few all natural peanut butters that is emulsified enough not to split from sitting. There are also lots of almond butters to chose from if that’s your kink.
Just for Fun: Polar bears take over a weather station in a stunning fever dream.
Green Tomato Ricotta Toast
It’s not tomato season but if you are not in deep winter, there should be green tomato near you. Unripe tomatoes have the fun snap and exploding quality of grapes and compliment the texture of ricotta. If you have a lazy afternoon making ricotta at home is one of the simplest cheese crafting projects you can undertake. The process takes less than 20 minutes. Simply heating up milk slowly and splitting it with lemon juice or vinegar till you get pleasant curds. Strain for thicker texture or just buy it, because some days call for that. This toast is one of my go to lunch time snacks but would make a great savory breakfast as well. No tomatoes? Swap for roasted Delicata squash, sautéed rapini, stewed beans or go for a sweet with slices of ripe mangos, macerated blueberries. The secret is the ricotta mix, goes with nearly everything. My go to snack these days.
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