Why Did I Do That?

My Bean Pop-Up in Review, Plus: Books and Strawberry Sumac Jam 🍓

Photo by Elvia Wilk

In the week leading up to my first pop-up at Frog Wine Bar, I asked myself this question many times. Why am I doing this!? My brain could not wrap itself around all the little details I was responsible for figuring out. I had never prepared food for more than 12 people, and now I was attempting to serve 40 portions of 4 menu items, plus a bean cake!

To set the scene, if you are unfamiliar with pop-ups, they are basically setting up a temporary restaurant. Frog Wine Bar offers its space, and I bring the food, plates, napkins, etc. People can order from my menu and pay through me and my team. It’s a lot to think about.

So why did I do this?

While I love exploring food through writing, most people experience it through eating. I wanted to share my love of beans in the most literal way — by feeding people.

Here was my mission statement:

Beans are often overlooked, seen as humble, basic, or just a side. But they’re a powerful tool in building a more sustainable, resilient food system. The future of food depends on us eating more of them. This pop-up is about shifting the narrative. An invitation to experience beans as complex, beautiful, delicious, and worthy of the center of the plate.

The Bean Strategy

My theory of change is that inspiring people to eat more beans will lead to them consuming less meat. Here are two ways to do it.

• Get people to see my bean dishes and recipes online, and hope they will make the recipes - semi-effective

• Serve delicious bean dishes and inspire people to enjoy them in new ways, so they’ll want to eat them more often - more promising

After days of shopping, prepping in a friend’s commercial kitchen, driving it all to Bed-Stuy, preparing dishes in the summer heat, and cleaning, it ended up being much harder and expensive than I thought.

I’d do many things differently if I were to do it again, but I loved the feeling of seeing people try new things and express curiosity about beans and plant-based eating.

If you want to try some dishes from my menu, I’ve included two recipes below.

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Gems of the Week ✨

• The Rockaway Film Festival screened the 1976 movie, Network, a satirical black comedy drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Paddy Chayefsky. Hilarious and scarily relevant to today’s media landscape.

• Why New Yorkers Voted For Public Grocery Stores: Explained

• Want to eat healthier? Add half a cup of this food to your daily diet. - You can guess what this is about…….

• The Light Eaters - An amazing book I am listening to about Plant Intelligence

• I say it every summer, but you should be making chia jam. Easy to make, not as sweet as regular jam, and endless possibilities. I use this base recipe, and the photo above is Strawberry Sumac jam.

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Call for Film Submissions 🎬

Are you a filmmaker or know one?
The Ceres Food Film Festival is now accepting submissions for films, both shorts and features, that explore food justice, climate change, culinary traditions, or the people behind our food.

Deadline: July 16, 2025
Submit now on FilmFreeway: https://lnkd.in/enEG3arq
Respond to this email with any questions!

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Black Lentil Tapenade 🖤

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked black lentils, cooled

• ½ cup pitted Kalamata or oil-cured black olives

• 2 tablespoons capers, drained

• 1 small garlic clove, I grated mine

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more if needed)

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Mix in a food processor and serve with warm pita, yogurt, and cucumbers or on toast.

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Dreamy Gigante Beans with Marinated Zucchini ☁️

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Gigante Beans

• 3 zucchini

• olive oil

• lemons

• parm

Instructions:

• Buy Gigante Beans from SIMPLi. These are my favorite beans, and you can find them at Whole Foods or directly from their website.

• I like to soak my beans for at least 4 hours. Then add the beans to a large pot filled with water, ensuring that at least 2 inches of water covers the beans. Add a few glugs of olive oil, a sliced onion, bay leaves, and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about an hour or until soft. Add salt once the beans start to soften.

• Thinly slice your zucchini with a knife or mandolin, add to a bowl with a couple of glugs of olive oil, a splash of champagne or white vinegar, and salt and pepper. Let it sit for at least an hour before eating.

• Plate the marinated zucchini, top with Gigante Beans, a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and flaky salt.