Issues

Who’s ready to go on summer vacay?! Well, even if you don’t have elaborate plans for summer you can escape into this next issue of EAT IT. The Travel Issue is a collection of content inspired by my travels. You know I travel well and eat all the vegan food I can, so I’ve created exciting recipes born out of the flavors and dishes I’ve sampled worldwide. There are recipes from Portugal, Bali, Greece, and Italy, a What I Ate In Vancouver vlog, and a recap of my son’s birthday where we went to The Gentle Barn Farm Sanctuary in California.

If you want to experience the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of places you’ve never been, dive into these recipes from my travels. I’ve recreated a simple and delightful dessert eaten in Portugal called bolo de bolacha. I’ve brought my fave thing to eat in Bali home just for you. The chef at the villa where I host Live With Purpose Bali was kind enough to share his recipe! It’s called nasi goreng, a traditional fried rice dish. I know you’ll be addicted! My recent trip to Greece was full of savory, spiced, bites and my 7 layer greek dip incorporates all of them. There’s also a greek lemon potato recipe that’s worth the extra bit of effort to make. I’m also sharing a special recipe created just for my recent trip to Italy. It’s a collab with Rose Lee from Cheap Lazy Vegan and this hybrid Asian-Italian dish, baked gochujang rigatoni, was what we made for the culinary experience we hosted.

I hope you’re enjoying the summer wherever you are in the world. It’s so damn hot here in California right now that I’m inside with the A/C on full blast attempting to work with a newborn baby by my side. This issue was inspired by that event actually because, as you may know, I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. So I cut carbs! I know, I can’t believe it either. I did it with some success… let’s be honest, I cheated. So now I can’t be bothered with hot girl summer and I suspect I’m too old for weird girl summer. That’s why I’ve opted for a Carb Girl Summer and I know you can get down with that too. You are hot for food after all!

This collection of recipes is carbs that still scream summer. Fresh and light pasta dishes using seasonal faves like zucchini, peas, and shallots. I even recreated spaghetti alla nerano—a life-changing pasta according to Stanley Tucci. There are two unique dips for picnics, and poolside snacking accompanied by homemade vegan naan… hello garlic butter! I made vegan ham & cheese croissants the easy way and I crave them constantly ever since I made ’em! I’m also giving you a couple of fruity sweet things to top it all off. The strawberry lemonade bars are beautiful and scrumptious and my key lime sheet cake is just the snack you need to make your #carbgirlsummer a success—both are perfect desserts for sharesies.

I feel like I’m supposed to say, “get outside and enjoy the sun” but with climate change coming in hot and heavy I advise just staying inside all season and cooking up stuff from EAT IT!

This summer is definitely one to savor given the trainwreck that was summer 2020! In fact, this whole EAT IT thing was concocted during quarantine so it feels kinda cool to be launching it a year later.  The Savor Summer issue is a beauty. I’m giving you boards galore, recipes made with pickles, and a new ice cream flav to add to your repertoire. Get those ice cream vessels in the freezer stat! You don’t want to wait around once you see this pineapple ginger snap ice cream.

When it comes to eating food off a big platter or board, it really is a vibe anytime, but I especially like to partake in board grazing during the summer. Envision presenting my Brooklyn deli board with beet lox and whitefish spread to your pod while hanging in the backyard with beers. Or sharing the sweet dessert board with banana cream pie dip and hazelnut s’more dip with your fam for game night.  I hope these boards bring joy to everyone you share them with… or don’t share if you want them all to yourself too!

Finally, my feature ingredient, pickles, will give you the gift of 3 interesting recipes—dill pickle dip, pickle cheddar biscuits, and dill pickle soup. Ya for real! Each issue of EAT IT will feature a unique or underused ingredient with a handful of recipes that utilize the featured ingredient. So why pickles? I don’t know. I just love them and I think they deserve more than being relegated to a condiment or sandwich topping. Pickles on a sandwich are pretty much essential, though! And the only kind I buy is Bubbies—in the big jar—in case you were wondering.