Closed Loop Cooking Weekly Newsletter 6.9.23

CLC Weekly 🥒 Necessary summer favs + (secret) ticket drop!

June 09, 2023

June 9th, 2023

Hi friends,

So much appreciation for the studio support. If you missed it, we launched the partner brand to CLC–Closed Loop Studio last week and I’m elated to be doing more creative work for planetary people. And as much as agency work comes in waves, so too am I turning to the palette of changing seasons (albeit a bit of a distraction from the latest climate news.) With summer dishes on my mind, I’m planning my next dinner with an abundance of greens, bright acids, and nature’s candy all in mind. And y’all lucky folks are the first to hear it!

The menu will be announced this weekend but you can officially grab a ticket here to save your spot at the next Closed Loop Cooking dinner. All vegan, all low waste, and all of my culinary heart. Gratefully, these events continue to sell out, so I’d recommend snagging one for 6/24 ahead of time. <3 (Here’s a previous menu to chew on.)

For myself, summer has officially arrived with a plethora of pickling parties and still warm potato salad. I’m eyeing opportunities for mustard on side dishes, tofu pups, and dressings all while enjoying neighborhood fruit trees and friend’s herb gardens. Joyfully reveling in the seasonal peaks, taking time to capture every smell, taste, and sound.

Excited to share more summer favorites from a few foodie friends below. Keep scrolling for seasonal inspo and all the reason you need to put on your own dinner party this month.

Stay hungry,Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Scrap Supper matzo prep // photo from @skyemcneill

The dish >>

Surreal summer treats

Intro by Maia Welbel

Around the time temperatures exceed 65, golden forsythia shrubs bloom, and baby bunnies start hopping around the shores of Lake Michigan, I famously take on a new personality. As a lifelong Summer Person living in a city where approximately 70 percent of the year requires insulated footwear, I’ve accepted that my soul reaches its highest power when it’s hot out. Slipping on sandals, plinking a few ice cubes into my water bottle, and heading out the door with a tote bag in one hand and a ripe nectarine in the other — heaven!We wanted to talk about snacks that signify apex summer, so we asked some foodie friends about their favorites. Let us know what you’re bringing to picnics and park hangs this year by hitting reply. Stay cool 🥒!

Regenerative ag enthusiast, strategist, and brand founder, Ash Ganapathiraju is a sucker for a good homemade lemonade: Where I grew up (Hyderabad, India), summers were so hot that we did summer hours – school started early and let out before the peak heat of the day. My mum would make us fresh squeezed lemonade and package it in old glass ketchup bottles. These days I love using fresh fruit like watermelon and strawberries especially when they’re on their last legs, or fresh mint and fresh squeezed lemons.

Photographer, midwest explorer, and expert hostess, Mandy Lancia’s go-to summer sweet treat is a mangonada: It’s sweet, tangy, spicy, but most of all, refreshing! I love making it at home or grabbing one from a Mexican ice cream shop while I’m out and about.

Writer, coffee shop aficionado, and kitchen experimenter, Eunice Bae loves sweet corn: I normally only associate summer with fresh fruit (like peaches!), and picnics in the park or beach, but sweet corn on the cob is the highlight of summer. It’s the perfect addition to a barbecue, or cut off the cob into a salad with other seasonal produce. It’s so versatile, and I look forward to it every summer.

Cookbook author, educator, and professionally nimble chef, Ronna Welsh makes her own lemon syrup: It's basically a simple syrup made with lemon juice instead of water (1 part fresh lemon juice to 1 part sugar). You can store Lemon Syrup in the refrigerator for a couple weeks or in the freezer all summer long. Having lemon syrup on hand is a clever shortcut to lemonade (just add water), lemon seltzer (seltzer), Lemon Gimlet (gin), or a lemon popsicle (water and a stick!).

Educator, artist, and butter mochi queen, Daphne Kauahi'ilani Jenkins delights in shave ice with adzuki beans and haupia (Hawaiian coconut pudding): I love this satisfying summer treat because it’s cool, sweet and full of texture!

And recipe developer, blogger, and lover of all things briny, Becca Jacobs makes a mean pulled mushroom slider: I love making these in the summer as a hearty meat-alternative for my vegetarian and non-veggie friends. It has all the classic summer BBQ flavors in the neat little package that is a slider bun. Plus, it slots in perfectly with any of the classic backyard BBQ slides like slaw and potato salad.

Thank you foodie fam! We love a seasonal celebration together at our virtual table. <3

I will be enjoying this strawberry fashion show post dinner. 🍓

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Have an idea we should feature in the newsletter? Want to work with us? Drop a line at [email protected]. We can’t wait to see what y’all cook up next! #closedloopcooking