November 17th, 2023

Hi friends,

In a week of fever dreams and couch recovery, I sustained myself on Great British Bake Off and luxurious cake decorating videos. Distracted by the meditative whirling dervishes of layered buttercream and pastry folds, I felt cocooned in the safety of the tent with Noel Fielding’s batting lashes. There is nothing more comforting than baking under pressure with people you’ve grown fond of and I hope to bring this energy, once healed, into my own future oven endeavors a little more fervently.

That is to say, the thing I miss most when sick is a full kitchen, cooking or baking up a storm and a few pointed innuendos to keep everyone on their toes. In the company of Bake Off, I can at least remember my favorite kitchen moments.

Thankfully on the mend and considering the best low-effort approach for my holiday frenzy. I’ll be leaning into a few plant-based favs and letting the potluck approach support a full kitchen, grateful for everything this year has brought.

Back in your inbox the week after next! Enjoy, and–

Stay hungry,Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Living for holiday desserts.

The dish >>

• CLC supports an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Here are a few resources to share at your holiday table.

  • On colonialism + greenwashing in occupied Palestine. (It’s Freezing in LA is a great eco resource in general.)

  • What you can do beyond reading the news about Gaza.

  • Support your Palestinian neighbors and buy from Palestine owned brands.

  • Find a community protest event near you.

  • And this even longer list of action you can take.

• Absolutely making multiple butter candles for friendsgiving.

• Cake too pretty to cut.

• Backyard conservation, more butterfly news please.

• For your thanksgiving table, might I recommend:

  • A plant-based charcuterie board to keep folks snack happy.

  • Bright, beet-root soup for a warm up.

  • Parsnip + sweet potato vegan mac and an easy vegan apple stuffing for a couple classics.

  • A lovely radicchio, fennel, and apple fall salad with tahini dressing.

  • For a different dessert, a parsnip + meyer lemon loaf cake or no-bake pumpkin pie fudge might do the trick!

  • And pair it all with a citrus, sage ginger toddy!

• My mom always saved butter wrappers, she’d love this baking hack.

• Ooh, will be cozying up with Julia szn 2.

 Vintage pie-spiration. 

An Internet Archive cookbook corner by Hawnuh Lee.

It's notably dessert season and we're taking a look at our ol' pal, Internet Archive, and pulling out a classic, 250 superb pies and pastries by Ruth Berolzheimer + Edna Gaul, published in 1950. This hefty sweet treat compendium is full of timeless baked good inspiration like caramel pie, vinegar pie(!), and cottage cheese pie. We could all use an after-dinner distraction, and these pies do not disappoint. Use your zoom in pinch and enjoy! If anything makes it onto your Thanksgiving table, let us know.

Always appreciate a method play-by-play.

The sign of a well loved recipe page.

Eyeing this persimmon meringue here...

A rectilinear pie, genius!

The only full color spread, look at those puffs, look at that topping.

Vinegar pie in the works y'all.

Nothing says dessert like miscellaneous.

Grateful for you all.

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