Closed Loop Cooking Weekly Newsletter 3.3.23

CLC Weekly 🥄 How to ask for help?

March 03, 2023

March 3rd, 2023Hi friends,

Writing to you from the other side of a successful Scrap Supper! The deepest appreciation for everyone who showed up to the re-launch of my favorite event. A full table, clean plates, and slow moments together reminded me why these pop-ups are a critical space for cultivating food and community. 

Menus are my love language. So a look at the Jewish inspired, regenerative seaweed focused dishes:

  • sourdough discard + dulse crackers with miso + maror kombu dashi

  • fried rice latkes with roasted fennel stalk + mushrooms topped with apple furikake 

  • baked cabbage + quick pickled kelp slaw with spiced chickpea harissa schmear 

  • winter squash shlishkes in wakame pesto

  • with sweet + salted sourdough chocolate babka + kombu flakes, served with tahini nice cream

  • a spiked or n/a version of salty orange ginger dulse fizz + rosemary rim to pair

Let me tell y’all, it was *chef’s kiss,* using all 10 fingers. And if you’re asking why you haven’t had a shlishke yet, really, any potato dumpling will do. But come over, I’ve got leftovers.

Despite a well received (and deliciously niche) menu for this sold out event, I realized I missed a crucial step in making this dinner everything it can be. Well aware my toxic trait is hyper-independent perfectionism (only me?), I opted to prep courses for 30 people alone. Snow-pocalypse aside, it was a monumental task and the flip opposite of why I cook in the first place. Food is togetherness. Sharing in those tasks is an act of community, shared understanding, and a chance to learn.

So dear readers, Scrap Supper will be a regular event moving forward. I’m taking a chance here and putting out the ask ahead of time–I need prep help! If you’re at all interested in what CLC stands for and believe in this community we’re building (and are Portland adjacent) I’d love to have you. There will be recipe fails, fun times had, and lots of good eats. Send me a message if it’s something you’d like to collaborate on.

And of course–

Stay hungry,Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Self care cookies with Jasmine Cho. // @hawnuhlee

The dish >>

Foodie thoughts with sustainable brand storyteller, Rachelle Hacmac 

This week we’re chatting with longtime friend of CLC and marketer extraordinaire, Rachelle Hacmac! Rachelle is one of the creators of Winter Waters, an Oregon-based regenerative seafare series that celebrates local sea veggies. A passionate seaweed advocate, she works to raise awareness of farmed ocean vegetables as a superfood culinary ingredient, and to champion regenerative food systems on the Oregon coast. Below, she talks about social media as storytelling, the myriad wonders of seaweed, and the making of a regenerative dining experience.

Rachelle in her happy place–foraging for sea snacks.

What do you do as a brand marketer? 

Whenever people ask me what I do for work, it’s difficult for me to describe. I usually respond with “marketing things for food brands.” I do traditional public relations (magazines and newspapers) as well as influencer marketing (pitching to influencers on various platforms on behalf of my client). I do photography and food styling, recipe development, and advising on menus. I help develop the brand’s voice, write social media content, blogs, and newsletter. I even make websites, with the help of Squarespace and a freelance web developer. I also do event production! Being a one-woman show means I need to be good at everything under the marketing umbrella (or at least know someone to contract the work to).  

Tell me a little bit about the companies you work with.

The client I’m working with the most these days is Blue Evolution, a seaweed company that regeneratively farms kelp and sea lettuce in Kodiak, Alaska and Baja California. I love working with Blue Evolution because the company’s goal (and entire purpose) is to help heal our oceans and create a nutritious food source from the sea. 

You've got to be a master storyteller to do the kind of work you do — can you share any insight about your approach?

My background is in visual journalism, which is all about storytelling. I always thought it was amazing how some newspaper or magazine photographers could evoke emotion and tell a complex story in a single image. 

I don’t think of myself as a writer at all, but I suppose I am. I write social media content for five clients which all have vastly different voices. Social media is storytelling, much like the caption attached to a newspaper photograph. I spend a lot of time researching and becoming an expert in the field of my client so I actually know what the heck I’m talking about. With multiple clients, it’s tricky to shift voices swiftly, which is why I try to get “into the mood” with the voice of a client, then write a whole month’s worth of content. This is usually best done at night, for some reason. Writing while in bed is even better. 

We love that you're passionate about regenerative seaweed. What exactly does that mean and how did you get into it?

Regenerative is one step further than sustainable. Rather then just sustaining something, it’s an improvement on the system. How is seaweed a regenerative crop? It has virtually zero inputs. It doesn’t require any freshwater or arable land. All it needs is sunshine and ocean water! Like all plants, seaweed participates in photosynthesis. It absorbs carbonic acid and excess nutrients from the surrounding water, resulting in oxygenated water. Think of it like a filter! The water surrounding Blue Evolution’s kelp farms is fresh and healthy for ocean creatures. 

I started working with Blue Evolution in 2017, as a referral from a friend. I started out simply managing socials, but my role has grown a lot since then. Through Blue Evolution’s sponsorship, I recently put on a regenerative seafare series called Winter Waters. I partnered with Alanna Kieffer of Oregon Seaweed, Kristen Penner of Blue Siren Shellfish, and the Oregon Coast Visitors Association. We teamed up to create a month-long dining series focused on regenerative and sustainable seafood, with a focus on seaweeds. The series earned over 20 chef partners and MANY happy seaweed-eating people! We raised over $3.5k for our beneficiary, the Oregon Kelp Alliance, a nonprofit working to protect Oregon’s bull kelp forests. 

Any favorite products and/or recipes you'd like to share?

Blue Evolution is JUST about to launch a shop page which will allow folks to order its seaweed for home delivery, which means they’ll be able to integrate it into some recipes. I’ve developed a lot of recipes for Blue Evolution in the past 5 years, but my favorite is this Kelp-Infused Vegan Ranch. It’s east to make, and I typically double or triple the amount of kelp and dill (because I LOVE the extra umami).

Current favorite snack food?

My always favorite snack food is Fritos!

What's the last fancy pantry item you bought? Was it a success?

It wasn’t fancy back then, but tinned oysters. I grew up eating these (a habit developed by my dad — my mom wouldn’t touch them). Now I buy all sorts of tinned fish as well as tinned dolmas and specialty European goodies. There’s something special and nostalgic about peeling open a tin to reveal a delicious, oily snack. 

Last kitchen catastrophe?

I recently dropped a whole bottle of chlorophyll from the pantry while digging for something (probably tinned oysters). The glass bottle shattered and dark green splatted across the kitchen, my body, and the ceiling. I was so shocked that I just laughed out loud! 30 minutes later, I had mostly cleaned every crevice of the green stain, but I have one dress that still bears a splattering of green as a reminder of this kitchen catastrophe. 

What is something that brought you joy this week?

I’m flew to Hawaii to spend time with my family and decompress after a busy 6 weeks of Winter Waters event planning and activation. I’m currently writing from the Lanai, in the chlorophyll-stained dress, overlooking the ocean.

Looking forward to virtual chai + chillas with Ojaswe 3/4.

Newsletter read winding all with way down with a wintery citrus sage ginger toddy.

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