Welcome to The Weekly Recap! A lite Sunday read about my life and food. This email is free and if you are not currently receiving them in your inbox, click that subscribe button below.
The Kitchen Club recipes are available to paying subscribers. Last week we made Sausage, Fennel + Kale Polenta and this week we are making meatballs. Join the club to get recipes every Wednesday!
When I worked as a nanny, one thing I taught every kid was that everything has a home. After school when the shoes would be thrown around the entryway and the toys/paper/junk were a mess we would do a sweep of the house and I would ask “where do the shoes live?” “where do the crayons live?” etc. This worked on most kids and it helped reduce clutter. I hate clutter. I hate when things are messy and today I still run around saying everything has a home. To take it one step further, if it doesn’t have a home in your home, it’s time to find it a new home.
I take after my grandmother in this. She is always cleaning or organizing and her home always looks tidy. While I am normal and have a junk drawer and a closet where we keep shoving things, I’m not sure she does.
Along with being tidy, I am a freak about things being clean. When was the last time you wiped under the lip of your kitchen counters? Or vacuumed your fridge coils? These tasks bring me great joy. Not because any guests will check my fridge coils but because I know they are spotless 😇.
So Marco and I started a new journey inspired by my grandmother. We are going through each room and deep cleaning them floor to ceiling. Removing everything from the shelves and wiping them down, wiping the doors, windowsills, every corner is getting cleaned. This three-day weekend we did the guestroom, den, bathrooms, and my office…just in time for my desk to finally be delivered!
After a few months of working at my wonderful Costco folding table, I have a real desk! With drawers and cord hiding spaces. I am Devil Wears Prada Meryl Streep-ing it for real and it feels good. It especially feels good to be in a super clean office.
When the desk was delivered I was testing a classic meatball recipe (going out this Wednesday in The Kitchen Club) and the delivery guys were incredibly nice and complimentary about the smell. The meatballs coincidentally finished cooking right when they had arrived and I decided to pack up two meatballs and sauce for each of them. When we went outside, they did a taste test for me and I found out I was their last delivery of the day and that they were both starving. It made my day to share with them and reminded me how much I love feeding people.
If you are not a Kitchen Club member, become an annual or monthly subscriber this weekend to make meatballs with us on Wednesday 🍝
Wing It Recipe
At the beginning of October, I spend a ridiculous amount of money on heirloom pumpkins that I stick googly eyes on and scatter throughout the front yard. These and a moss wreath are the only real Halloween decorations I look forward to every year. The first year Marco almost divorced me over how much the pumpkins cost. So to get our money’s worth I started roasting, pureeing, and freezing the puree to use all year long. The pumpkins that don’t get roasted get smashed and turned into deer food in the back. Everyone is happy.
To use up the last of last year’s puree I made Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta this week. A dish that takes 15 minutes and you can completely eyeball. As always, the better the pumpkin the better the pasta. I had 2 cups of autumn buckskin puree to use (my fav) and it was delicious!
Here is more on making pumpkin puree at home. Below is my recipe for Pumpkin Spinach + Cheese Lasagna that uses the same sauce as this pasta. Enjoy!
Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta
2T Butter
2-3 Shallots, sliced
2T Finely chopped fresh sage
2C Pumpkin puree
3/4C Grated parmesan
Add butter to a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft.
Add the sage and stir into the butter and shallots for a minute or two until fragrant.
Add pumpkin puree and reduce heat to low. Let it get up to a light simmer and hold it there for a few minutes. Let’s say 5 minutes.
Sprinkle in the grated parmesan working in a few batches and stirring vigorously to melt and incorporate it.
Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cooked pasta!
*More precise instructions can be found in the Lasagna recipe below, but you don’t need them!
People To Follow
Today’s person to follow is not one you want to miss! We have Sara from ENUF Period. She’s a badass hairstylist who launched a new CBD product for menstrual support. She’s the best and she has given us a 20% off code. Check it out below!
Hey there! I’m Sara Tess, born and raised in Los Angeles. Before diving in I want to note that I’ve spent the last year actually getting pretty damn good at cooking thanks to Marcella here, because my god the recipes she puts out has made my fridge look a lot more enticing! A little bit about myself… I’m obsessed with yoga, baths, honey mustard, and my new beloved kitten Gus. I am ALSO the founder of ENUF Period, a CBD infused menstrual support body care line that gives back to period poverty and cannabis injustice.
Cannabis has been such a support in my life when it comes to anxiety, grounding myself, getting to my creative side as well as helping with my menstrual pain and discomfort over the years. It only really felt natural to pivot into this space and dive deep into something that’s had a huge impact on my day today. And I say pivot I mean that because I’ve spent the last decade being a Hairstylist in the film and television industry. So ya, a big pivot in careers feels pretty accurate.
This new chapter has been nothing short of an exhausting yet exhilarating blur. When people say owning a small business isn’t easy, they really mean it. Challenging, exciting, rewarding, and so fulfilling. The messages we get weekly about how our Cycle Support Balm has helped so many transition to a more natural pain relief, as well as helping comfort with the monthly pain some of us go through, has given me a whole lot of joy. Anyways that’s a little about what’s going on in my world currently! So for the menstruating readers here that want a little extra support with cramps, lower back pain, sore boobs, I’ve gotcha covered!
Enjoy 20% off with code ENUF
Following along on Instagram @enufperiod and check us out online at enufperiod.com to see what we are up to next! Bye friends!
Stuff to Read
I Tried 30 Mustards This Summer. These Were the Best. (Did you know I am obsessed with mustard?)
The ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Are Back. Have you heard of this place called Noma?
The Truth Behind My Grandma's (Not-So-Secret) Corn Casserole My grandma makes this too but it is an Easter dish in our family.
Inside Substack, where authors are suddenly making serious money in the newsletter game 😉🤞🏼
Recipe Inspo
Grainy Mustard *Let’s all make mustard!!!
Listen To This
This interview with Marcia Chatelain about black America and McDonalds was an incredibly interesting and educational listen. It was a great reminder of how lucky I am to have access to fresh food, the means to store it, and the ability to cook for my family daily.
Thing Everybody Needs
This isn’t a thing but a cookie. I bought a box of chocolate wafer cookies to test a recipe this week. Who the hell knew chocolate wafer cookies were so damn good and didn’t tell me?!? I ate half the box and had to go back and get another for the recipe! I’m obsessed with them. They taste like extra crunchy Oreos minus filling. AKA the best cookies ever. I did a deep dive into them and there use to be a ginger wafer AND sugar wafers 🤤.
Animal Cuteness
SpoooOoOoOOOky house season
While Marco was gone this weekend I did a LOT of Thanksgiving recipe testing. I’m talking mashed potatoes, stuffing, butternut squash galore….
What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? The dish you must have every year?
Leave a comment below and let me know. I’m thinking of trying some new things this year! See you next week, M.