Oh how I’ve missed you all! You might be wondering where I’ve been and what I’ve been cooking - and we will definitely get into that.
If you haven’t heard much from me on here lately it may be obvious, but in case it is not I felt I owed at least a little explanation. The many horrors of the world became too much for me to juggle on here while also putting on a happy face for my kid and sharing my silly little recipes. Processing grief and trauma can be immensely consuming and in my case I chose to focus inwards on caring for my immediate community, my family, and myself.
It is no secret that I have an intimate relationship with Israel (I’m quite literally married to an Israeli), and I consider Tel Aviv my home. But I have spent much of the months since October 7th gripped by the atrocities committed against innocent people, families that feel like family, and the devastation and indefensible killing that continues to threaten people in Gaza each and every day. I have never held my breath more in my life than in recent months. I cannot pretend to carry on as usual without addressing the need for a ceasefire and the safe return of the hostages because that is what I am thinking about from the moment I wake up in the morning and the last minutes before I drift off to sleep at night. I remind myself every day that we are safe and for that I feel so so lucky.
Feeling incapable of moving forward while so much suffering exists ongoingly is a minor existential crisis in the midst of much more pressing problems. And this newsletter is supposed to be something I use to provide more joy, to share creatively and with all of you in mind. I want so badly to continue writing about subjects that are close to my heart, to share recipes that are worth you trying out at home, and hopefully to share some incredibly important *new* projects that I have been working on in the absence of this newsletter. There is SO much more to say but I don’t want to wait any longer to share these things that are dear to my heart. So please stay with me on this journey. We will get through it together and I hope to make it worth it.
A few things I have been eating lately:
*and somehow I use the word “loaded” 3x!!
my version of a loaded baked potato bar (read: the best use of canned beans I know and a big cabbage salad…more on that for another day)
mini vegan banana muffins , so great for kids on a never ending break from school where every day feels like an eternity
a leftover pizza crouton loaded winter salad. Recipe in the forthcoming newsletter, I promise it is so fucking good and more special than it sounds!
sprinkle covered chocolate chip cookies
a pizza workshop with
;)heavily toasted everything bagel with cream cheese, hachiya persimmon, and za’atar
don’t know how to eat hachiya persimmons? do this. tahina date granola…another recipe I will share here soon!
loaded steak sandwiches with a quick and dirty chimichuri and a questionable amount of mayo. controversial take, but I like leftover steak the most
heavily toasted everything bagel with cream cheese and homemade strawberry/raspberry sumac jam
oysters for the grown ups to celebrate Loosha turning 3!
many, many challahs
tofu katsu sandos
parsley pesto pasta with feta
shakshuka
perfect chicken thighs with olives and fennel (based on this easy af recipe from Alison Roman) and bread to sop it all up
It has been a time of reflection and for that reason I have leaned heavily on foods that I find comforting. This also means bowls of cereal, those mini ice creams from TJ’s, and citrus loading on caracara oranges while they are peak here in LA.
I will pick up the pace around here so buckle up. love you and missed you so.
Sending my love to you and your sweet family and your friends in Israel 💙
This is lovely. Thank you.