Hi friends,

A cheerful tofurkey day to you and yours! I hope you explored some CLC recipe recs and / or are taking time to rest and recoup. I’m doing the same, just adding in an aliens-in-the ocean deep dive while I stir the cranberries. What is time? 

Also, in my buy less era (call it self employment) I’m encouraging us all to divest of unnecessary Amazon Black Friday purchases tomorrow and put money towards our independent shops. Not only a means to cultivate community, every local dollar is a vote for circularity. I too am in the grips of ultra convenience and re-learning what it means to hunt and gather in 2024. More satisfying and more mental energy, moving towards sustainable practice will feel uncomfortable at times. 

It’s an imperfect practice and every effort is a much needed push towards sustainable action. We’re redefining what collective effort can look like. After all, there’s a good chance our alien underlords are getting along just fine without Prime. There’s hope for us yet.

I’m grateful for every single one of you who shows up in this space. With a few new faces I’m sharing some personal facts from an upcoming interview below. Scroll on and of course–

Stay hungry,
Hawnuh Lee | Founder, Closed Loop Cooking

Pecan date cardamom bark.

• CLC will always advocate for Landback and Indigenous resilience.

• And a reminder to revisit notes on Indigenous foodways this holiday.

• Vegans on TG, can anyone relate?

• In between bites of leftover miso mushroom + kale lasagna you can find me sipping this fall apple chai and enjoying pecan date cardamom bark into the long weekend.

• Leaning into underconsumption and watching the Buy Now documentary this weekend.

• CA is phasing out single use produce bags in 2025! You too can ditch the single use shrink, here’s how.

• I am closely following competitive tablescaping.

• The vibe of this pumpkin pie, wow.

Fall apple chai cider.

A Hawnuh Lee hello 👋

In the spirit of share, I’d like to properly introduce myself and offer a sneak preview of an upcoming interview with Bold Journey. Today, I’m grateful for this collective space and our push to build trust + community here. Not one for the spotlight, I hope we can find connection and inspiration in this long weekend and a sincere thank you for continuing to show up and support.

Photo by Skye McNeil <3

Who am I and what’s all the buzz about?

Hi hi! I’m Hawnuh Lee Cook. (Fitting, right?) I’m a designer and self taught chef running Closed Loop Cooking–sharing plant-based, low waste recipes and resources. I also run Closed Loop Studio–focused on design and strategy for people and planet first brands. I put on community centric pop-up events and classes in Portland, OR under my local brand, Tzimmy. I’m on a mission to make sustainability accessible and elevated through good mood food and design.

I send out a weekly Closed Loop Cooking newsletter that highlights hot foodie finds, the best low waste tips, and creative food minded folks doing the work so that you can take action with intention. It’s a wonderful community and I’m appreciative of finding solidarity in an online space. I’m just about to launch an exciting subscription addition to the newsletter where you can find even more accountability in your eco efforts. More recipes, meal plans, and community gathering. Can’t wait! (Stay tuned readers!)

I recently took the plunge and left a dream job at Nike to focus on work that moves the needle. As cool as it was to create custom kicks for Lebron himself, it’s cooler to make sure you’re appropriately compensated for your time and effort. Especially when we consider our environmental impact through mass consumerism–there is so much work that needs to be done to reduce our carbon footprint. I’m betting on my ability to bring about change through mindful practice and encourage y’all to join in.

Three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey?

Most importantly, an ability and desire to learn. I may not know how to do everything but in any situation I can rely on my capacity to figure things out. Learning and iterating is a superpower and understanding how you learn best will help you adapt to almost any situation. McGyver would be proud.

Hyper-empathy. It’s only been in recent years I’ve understood my own neurodivergence and the ways I’ve unconsciously used it to navigate social settings. Growing up, I was constantly told I’m overly sensitive but I’m proud to know this sensitivity has been a powerful guiding force in my life. I’ve learned to set better boundaries around empathy as an adult and know it’s a vital factor in any success I’ve found so far.

Finding the funny. Just a reminder that none of us get out of here alive–there is a constant deluge of trauma and terror happening all around the world and I chose to live in moments of levity. Dog farts and questioning if lasagna is technically cake and laughing at the insanity of it all, with people who can commiserate, is what makes any of this worth living.

Where do you get my resilience from?

I’ve failed consistently. I’ve wanted to drop out of something at every stage in life but credit my stick-to-it-ness to my mom. Quitting was never an option. (In some cases to a detriment.) My sisters and I found consistency as a means to an end. If we weren’t allowed to disengage from an activity, a community, a situation, we learned to adapt, endure, and improve. Resiliency became second nature and a necessary tool for survival. It’s something I’ve carried into adulthood–an unconscious skill I find gratitude in, even as I unlearn some of these maladaptive tendencies. I am reminded in every transitional moment that I am capable of hard things. 

What is the number one obstacle I am currently facing and what am I doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Imposter syndrome and building an ethical, lucrative business under capitalism. I’m working on my inner financial dialogue–rewiring my brain to act from a place of security, not scarcity and reminding myself that I can create stability for myself. Corporate safety is just as much an illusion, layoffs can happen at any time, and I am capable of building a foundation for myself, just as much as any other entrepreneur who’s made the jump. If this election cycle has taught us anything, you don’t need any credentials to get the job! I say, laugh / crying.

In building an environmentally forward brand I’m integrating values from the bottom up. Working in my design / strategy practice with femme + NB identifying impact founders to create longevity. Choosing who I give time to and setting a precedent for how I want to work. In my food endeavors, connecting everything back to planet, sourcing locally, trying and failing and improvising and pushing so that I can share everything I know.

It’s with the big picture in mind. We’re all working and most often, just surviving, to move things forward. But it’s with a better future in mind that we shift towards sustainable practices to thrive. That’s revolutionary, that’s worth the effort.

A few books to recommend for mindset work:

We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest

Keep an eye out for the upcoming feature and follow Bold Journey for more incredible inspiration. Holding gratitude for today and for everyone reading. <3

And the most satisfying pie cupcake.

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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