#closedloopcooking

GROW YOUR OWN

Yes, even those windowsill herbs are an act of resilience. Learning where your food comes from and how to sustain yourself is a powerful act of persistence. We’ve learned so much from our farmer features, namely, that you don’t have to have a special background to grow your own food. Anyone can learn how to commune with nature, we’re not separate from it.

As summer rolls into an autumnal quiet, I’m starting a few indoor growing projects. I’m hopeful and understand this is the best way to learn, even if it doesn’t go perfectly.

I come back to this quote from our friends at @smarterbynature often. “To me that component is so important because the process of growing food and the value of food is undermined in our society. People are used to getting things fast. When you purchase something at the supermarket you have no idea how long it took to make it or how it got there. When people start learning about growing food, they start appreciating the time and work that it takes, so that creates a higher value in their minds, and then they begin to treat themselves with that same value when they eat that food, and they take pride in it.”

When we value the things we eat, we better understand the value of ourselves. Let’s take time in these colder months to explore how these systems work. We’ve got a lot to learn!

V E G A N  H A M A N T A S C H E N

Our favorite triangle cookie is back in season for Jewish Halloween! To celebrate Purim this year, @mwelbel whipped up a plant-based based sweet treat with a tahini twist. I am ALL about the hamantaschen y’all and this version pairs perfectly with all my choice fillings. (But chocolate + tahini will always win in my book.)

Purim has always been a favorite holiday. Who doesn’t love a reason to get dressed up in costume and fiend on sugary sweets in the midst of winter? I remember making these delectable treats every year with the older ladies in the synagogue kitchen, pinching my squished ends to match their perfect triangles, a mess of poppy seed filling around the opening, but delicious nonetheless.

You’ll love this celebratory recipe. Drop off a few for a friend or break off a corner to enjoy on your own this Friday. And get festive shaking a noisy grogger.

What’s your fav filling for hamantaschen??

V E G A N  M A T Z O  B A L L  S O U P 🥣

Passover begins this weekend and we’ve been preparing with a mountain of matzo and of course, a #plantbased soup dumpling. This post-seder priority is of utmost important, namely because, we’re hungry. You don’t need to be Jewish to love a hearty matzo ball soup though–this recipe is dinner ready every day of the year. It just so happens to make a week without unleavened bread that much more enjoyable.

We’re using homemade matzo for this recipe. An easy, rustic approach to a traditional staple. For years I thought the stale box stuff was crucial to my cultural upbringing. But no more folx! We deserve a lightly salted, crispy, fresh cracker already! And hot tip - making your own matzo meal is as simple as blitzing up a couple crackers in your food processor. That easy.

Our secret binding ingredient? Aquafaba. The leftover chickpea liquid is a magic, multifaceted brine that works well in matzo balls, stir fries, baking, and stock. You can totally DIY your chickpeas too for an even better brine. What can’t aquafaba do?

We bring it all together with an umami tomato broth (I know, I know, for Peseach??) But trust me on this, it is DELICIOUS. With loads of veggies to lighten up the matzo balls, this soup is well balanced and the perfect way to usher in the spring season. Here’s to new traditions and soup transitions.

Chag Sameach!

What’s new traditions are on your seder plate this year?? #closedloopcooking

https://closedloopcooking.com/vegan-matzo-ball-soup/

P M  R I T U A L S 🌙

In the ongoing midst of this pande-monium, I’m looking for stability in my daily routine. Motions to keep me grounded, sustained in my work life, and in balance with my omnipresent friend, anxiety. Hello, darkness. With this, I’m realizing more and more my evening rituals are vital in maintaining sanity throughout the day. Good sleep matters people! As much as I AM definitely still watching Netflix, we gotta shut those screens and catch some zzz’s. (Daylight savings, I’m looking at you.)

I’m eternally grateful for these hot tips from our resident snooze expert (in the BEST way) @thtwhtkatiesaid <3

Clean up your sleep hygiene

- Your bed (and really your whole bedroom) should be used exclusively for sleep and, if you don’t have a loft bed, getting down. It’s super important that your brain and body know that when you go to bed, you’re going to sleep. If you use your bed for work or hobbies or watching all of Lesbian TikTok’s bread baking videos, your body won’t be able to wind down in your room when you actually want to rest.

- If you’re tossing and turning for 20-30 minutes, get out of bed and do a chill activity. I have a yoga mat and sleeping bag right next to my bed that I meditate on before going to sleep and I will get up and lie there when I can’t sleep. I will do breathing exercises or if I’m really anxious I’ll do ab exercises. I know some folx will read until they can fall back asleep.

Chill out with the screens

- I now have blue light protection in my prescription glasses but you best believe I was that dork that wore those super nerdy blue light glasses before bedtime. You can absolutely use Night Shift on your phone or a similar app (f.lux is great for computers) but the best thing is to put your electronics away entirely at least 30 minutes before bed. Blue light affects your melatonin levels and also phones are stimulants and it’s super easy to get swept up in doom (or thirst, tbh) scrolling for hours.

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Finding these small but important rituals cultivate better rest and help us find balance. You should go check out Kaitlyn’s full article with ALL the hot, sleepy tips >> https://closedloopcooking.com/living/finding-your-favorite-nighttime-ritual/

What’s one of your PM rituals?? #closedloopcooking

P U R P L E  C A B B A G E  S T E A K S <3

You heard me right. Dinner is served! There is a plethora of bounty in these cold weather months if you know where to look and can appreciate your body weight in brassica. Purple cabbage steaks are the unexpected delight you didn’t know your winter menu planning was missing. @micks_magic and I combined forces for this delectable spread–grilled cabbage slices with a tangy herb scraps chimichurri and a savory chickpea crumble.

I’m straight swooning over here. You can make the most of your cabbage by saving the odds, ends, cores, and outer leaves for a DIY kraut and make your chimichurri and chickpeas ahead of time for an easy weeknight meal.

I lovelovelove this scrappy green sauce on just about anything. The oil + vinegar extend the life of those leftover ends + stems so you can enjoy them well into next week. And try not eating this chickpea crumble with a spoon.

This meal is fancy enough to impress your SO or a quick cut-up for a solo bite. A go-to seasonal dish to keep in your back pocket.

Digging into more plant-forward food that celebrates vegetables and makes the most of our pantry staples! And while I will ALWAYS love a sauerkraut, the more innovative ways we can cook up a cabbage, the more ways we can make #plantbased eating accessible.

What do you top your cabbage steaks with?? #closedloopcooking

Small moments

A reminder that every slight shift you make in your day to day, whether it’s repurposing takeout containers to making your own plant-based milk, makes a difference. It’s easy to feel discouraged in these moments, to get sucked into a social media vortex and loose sight of the small accomplishments you’re making. So here’s the reminder to put your phone down and appreciate how your mindful moments add up.

Reducing our environmental impact means reducing our personal footprint. The overwhelm of trying to go entirely #zerowaste can be anxiety inducing and lead to paralysis. Take it one step at a time, try one new habit and build consistency with it before you take on anything else. You don’t need expensive containers or products to live a low impact lifestyle. You can meet yourself where you are, with kindness and patience.

Let’s commit to starting one new sustainable habit this week. Monumental change is compounding y’all. What we do today will build the foundation for years to come. One small moment at a time. So, what is the best way you can make a difference in your own home, starting today? (Hint: maybe it’s saving all your lemon peels to candy them...?)

ENVIRONMENTALISTS FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER. Everyone for Black Lives Matter. Every single day. Inspired by @greengirlleah ‘s thoughtful words on the intersection of environmentalism and social justice. One does not exist without the other. People for the planet, people for people. So much of our work around sustainability is siloed across communities. As white allies we have to actively do the work to lift up, empower, and showcase the work being done in Black communities, around the world. We have an obligation to put marginalized communities ahead of our own, as theirs are more often than not the individuals most impacted by food insecurity, injustice, and accessibility issues.

FOOD IS POLITICAL. It is the universal language across all cultures and a tool of the opressor. Access to healthy, plant-based eating is a luxury, a commoditized privilege of predominately white communities. Access to healthy, plant-based eating should be a human right of EVERY community. We must actively ban together to support equitable ingredients, wherever we live. This means empowering Black farmers to take back land and provide opportunity to grow their own food and share with Black families. This means recurring donations to your local food pantry (instead of one time donations.) This means inviting someone new to your table to create conversation and cultivate love. This is VITAL. We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

Closed Loop Cooking will continue to put out content here, on the website, and in our weekly newsletter collaborating with and highlighting the incredible work of BIPOC folx. The work that enables us all to have a future on this planet. We see you. We hear you. We love you.

C A N  Y O U  D I Y  F E R T I L I Z E R ?

You betcha you can repurpose many of your kitchen scraps into nutrient dense plant food. But not all leftovers all created equal. Resident expert plant mom Kaitlyn breaks down just what’s right for your DIY fertilizer in her latest piece, live over on closedloopcooking.com.

Her top recs include: - compost or compost tea (not to be sipped y’all)

- worm castings (just a fancy word for worm poop)

- aquarium water (DM me pics of your tanks tho)

You can get experimental with coffee grounds, banana peels, starch water, and eggshells, but make sure you test what’s best for your plant. Soil is a complex organism and what works for one plant may be too acidic for another. As lovely as it would be to upcycle all our leftovers to our houseplants and watch our living room turn into a jungle, it would probably result in more pests and yellow leaves.

Instead we’re doubling down on getting Kaitlyn her own apartment sized worm bin. Because apparently, there are infinite uses for worm castings.

Check out the full article to learn more about the do’s and don’ts of homemade fertilizer! https://closedloopcooking.com/living/lets-talk-homemade-fertilizer/