Closed Loop Cooking Weekly Newsletter 5.28.21

May 28th, 2021Hi friends,Summer scents. I’m waiting patiently to pick up my first CSA box of the season next week, already calling to mind the waft of ripe peppers and sweet notes of jewel-tone berries. The beauty of a CSA is never knowing what you’ll find in your share from week to week. A refreshing challenge to see just how many ways I can make eggplant palatable and what else I can hide zucchini in. (Please though, send recs.) While we’re eating with the natural cycle of the soil this summer I’ll be working on my improvisational cooking skills. And you should too!Warm weather recipes, especially, are really just suggestions. Given the plethora of produce, I usually follow a what looks good approach to dinner, adding in as many colors as I can and tasting as I go. It’s the perfect time to test flavor combinations or see how best you like your leafy greens (carrot tops included.) I’m already picturing the endless variations of fruit salsa I’ll be conjuring up the moment I get home from the farmer’s market.Coming out the other side of this pandemic, I feel hopeful for a moment. Appreciative of the chance to share in a meal with friends again. What better way to honor this shift than to enjoy every last improvised bite this summer, regardless of recipe.What produce item are you most looking forward to this season?? #closedloopcookingStay hungry,Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Basket case. // @hawnuhlee

To-do’s and how-to'sBrushing up on our yes, and skills and re-reading CLC tips for an improvisational kitchen to prepare for our mystery CSA deliveries. 

This week’s required reading Beautifully done comic on How to Get Rid of Throwaway Culture. We have incredible power as consumers to make companies accountable for the lifecycle of their products. Reduce, reuse, on repeat. Let’s cultivate a circular economy y’all.Challah on delivery. Bringing the braided, yeasted bread to the mainstream reframes what it means to eat as an Ashkenazi Jew in America. Really appreciate what it means to make this traditional loaf a part of more people’s dinner.My first foray into food + illustration, Eric Carl passed on this week. Author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carl inspired countless kids to look at every meal as magic.The commodification of otherness. This poignant narrative on ethnicity as performance in food writing illustrates the blatant pigeonholing BIPOC culinary creatives face. Must read.

Here’s what’s for dinnerPasta is THE best vehicle for an improvisational approach to dining. Mickey’s latest summertime ravioli primavera is a GORGEOUS noodle dish made with a use-it-up *asparagus stalk pesto* and a delectable mushroom mince all wrapped in a perfect dough pocket. But if you’re eyeing the produce stand for what’s hot, feel free to top with or sub in other veggie variations, like a carrot top + kale pesto alternative. And thankfully, homemade pasta is supposed to look rustic, so all in with the irregular noodles!

We’re cooking withLet’s be real, I’m planting an herb garden this summer just so I can make use of this lovely desert dust stoneware planter set. The chives are an added bonus.Bringing more of the outside in with this STUNNING linen floral throw pillow cover. These colors just about knocked me over. Get on my couch!Packing this vibrant handwoven lemon + moss bolga fan with me for any upcoming outdoor ventures and then displaying on the bookcase as the objet d’art it really is.

AttendGet ready for this incredible mentorship program from Sierra Seeds and founder Rowen White. Seed Seva looks like a beautifully layered approach to seed stewardship, including cultural context and guiding principles of indigenous ecology. So much to learn here.      

Listening inFelt held by this intimate episode of The Cut, Cooking Without My Mother. Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast acclaim recounts her favorite Korean dishes inspired by her late mother and what it means to eat them after her passing. <3     

Can't stop staringI will live and die by these glorious mango croissants. A literal embodiment of golden rule perfection, this perfect pastry + tart fruit spiral is sparking a new religion.Go watch High on the Hog over on Netflix! A stunning portrayal of how African cuisine has shaped so many American foodways. Brilliant docu-series, excited to see more elevated Black narratives across platforms like this.

Make changeFor anyone hiring, check out this guide on how-to write a more equitable job post. It’s time to build a more equitable work place, starting with more intention behind who and how we hire. Hot tip? The best equal opportunity statements accurately reflect the culture and actions of the organization hiring. 

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