I Made 14 Dishes Last Night

and here are the five you should try.

edible garnishes and table decoration from a shared garden

Last night I hosted another Astro Dinner in collaboration with Astrologer Catherine McQ, with the theme of: The Elements.

Inspired by Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, I created a menu that allowed me to share some of the stories behind ingredients I love and get people to try new things.

Before the dinner, I shared a bit about my food philosophy when hosting:

• I try to stay away from themed dinners. I don’t believe a meal has to fit into one cuisine type, as the future of a sustainable food system means we have to incorporate ingredients beyond their traditional uses. Like trying seaweed in more than just sushi or black beans in more than just Mexican food.

• Family Style Always. This is my favorite way to eat. More community and more tastes of everything

• Plant-based dinners can change our ideas about needing to have animal protein as the center of the plate.

me and my roll cake

Here is my menu.

I had the most fun making an interpretation of Chica Morada, a Peruvian drink known as Nature’s Gatorade, by simmering purple corn, pineapple, apple, and spices. I am very much still a novice tortilla maker trying to get that elusive puff, but I did talk to the guests about GMO corn and the battle to prevent US-grown corn from being exported to Mexico (written about here). We tasted the difference between grocery store tortillas and freshly made ones with Masienda Blue Corn Masa Harina.

Of all the dishes I made, here are the 5 I recommend you try.

Roasted Cauliflower Bean Spread

Roast a head of cauliflower broken into pieces and wrap a head of garlic with the top chopped off in the oven at 400°F for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through. Let cool, then blend cauliflower with the roasted garlic, a can of drained white beans, 1/2 squeezed lemon, 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1/4 cup tahini, and then a splash of water. Blend until creamy and keep adding splashes of water until you get the desired consistency.

Twice Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey

I used Hot Honey for this instead of a chili. Definite crowd pleaser.

Cold Korean Zucchini Salad

People were raving about this one!

Silken Tofu Mousse

Always WOWS people. Follow this recipe, blend for longer than you think, like 3 minutes, and be sure to refrigerate for at least an hour for the best consistency.

Mole Negro (Advanced) - The first dish I knew I wanted to make for the dinner was Mole. Though I’d never made mole before, I felt confident that even though I knew it was time and labor-intensive, it was nothing I couldn’t handle. Reading through some initial mole recipes, I realized I was quite wrong as the steps went on and on and involved many tools I didn’t have, like a kitchen torch. I finally found this recipe that wasn’t too much of a cheat but used the broiler to char the vegetables while still frying the bread, tortillas, dried fruit, and spices. I did need to source the specific dried chiles and Mexican chocolate, but the end result was definitely worth it. Pro tip. Wear a mask when broiling the chiles, I could barely breathe!

I served this mole with Ayocote Morado beans from Rancho Gordo.

Happy Cooking ❤️

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Gems of the Week ✨

• I saw an incredible film last week at the Rockaway Cinema about Wildwood in 1994. Trust me, you need to see it. The link is here.

• Marissa Lippert
  talking about Summery Beans

• This Model Is Breaking the Chocolate Industry's 'Colonial Mindset' - A Teen Vogue Feature on the brand Zacao.

• Maintenance Phase - MAHA’s First 90 days. Had a real giggle hearing airhorns over an RFK speech

• A new Know Your Food episode is out! Listen to Rick from Ronnybrook Farms talk about the realities of running a small-scale dairy today, including the pressures of consolidation, the hidden costs of distribution, and the key differences between small, family-run operations and large-scale organic dairy..