Making Things Easier

Crispy cauliflower and chickpeas with an easy tahini dressing, my go-to flank steak, pasta with bacon and peas, and Cala inspired black bean sopes

Hi! Okay, a couple of things to talk about—hopefully all in the name of making things easier for you : ).

We had a lot of family in town last week and it included many 8-22 person dinners (along with a 44 person passover seder, but that’s a different story). This is just a quick note to say that big dinner gatherings don’t have to be complicated or stressful. Here are some of the things I made for the crew: grilled chicken thighs marinated in Japanese barbecue sauce along with a big pot of rice and a cabbage, cucumber and apple salad dressed in the best miso sesame vinagrette. Another night I made flank steaks (recipe below) with roasted potatoes and steamed broccolini. Another night there was pan fried flounder with the cauliflower chickpea sheet pan below. There were also, of course, pizzas ordered in and some dinners out and lots of lunchtime quesadillas, but maybe this will help if you find yourself with a crowded table and no game plan.

Okay, next up—at the suggestion of my lovely sister-in-law, Lexi, I’m making a few changes so it’s easier to see what’s in each newsletter. From now on, the subtitle will always list the four recipes, and the first picture will be a gallery like below, so if you’re just scrolling through substack, you’re able to see the recipes for the week straight away (and hopefully you’ll want to click through!). Lastly, I’m including pictures of each recipe in the PDF itself, so if you’re one to print them out or pass them along, you’ll have the picture there as well. I’m also trying to work out how to add a directory somewhere so you can see all of the recipes I’ve posted since January in one place and refer back more easily.

Last thing before we get to the food. I love writing and cooking, but I also love doing in person events and one-on-one coaching. If you’re in need of a more personalized meal plan, or don’t know how to navigate a new dietary restriction or diagnosis, or just feel kind of stuck, feel free to reach out. Additionally if you’re looking for a fresh party idea or a way to gather some friends, cooking get togethers are always so fun, whether it’s a ‘how to feel great in your 40s’ dinner, or a kids cooking competition birthday party.

Okay, I’m done now, let’s eat.

Sheet Pan: Cauliflower with Crispy Chickpeas, Red Onion and Tahini Nutritional Yeast Dressing

This is one of those endlessly adaptable sheet pan meals. The combo of the cauliflower, crispy chickpeas, sweet onion and assertive, creamy (vegan) dressing is super satisfying, but that said you could add spices (cumin or smoked paprika would be great) to the veggies before roasting, you could add cubed halloumi to bulk it out even more, you could shower the whole thing with herbs, or pumpkin or sunflower seeds after, it would all be great.