Zucchini cookies, tomatillo beans

Hi hi and happy weekend! I’m a little under the weather this week, which feels like a sign of how painfully fragile I am. Like a summer cold?? What am I, twelve??

To be honest it’s probably because I spent the last week traipsing around LA and Disneyland with no hand sanitizer and for that, I deserve this. Let’s dive into the week in this beautiful newsletter where I promise I’m not contagious:

Schools are quickly getting back in session, and many members of our community are teachers (and some of them first time teachers!!).

I can’t claim this idea, deb perelman has been doing it for years, but I wanted to share a list of teacher’s wishlists in case you’d like to jump in and help clear some. Any small donation helps, and I’ll be going through and clearing out some art supplies later today. You can find our list of 50 teachers here.

While I don’t love how Amazon has a monopoly on safe and secure donations, I’ll be looking into an alternative route and hopefully we can do a Christmas teacher restock, too. Thank you for being some of the most generous people I know <3

During my partnership with ThredUp (this newsletter is not sponsored btw), I stumbled upon this zip-up denim jacket from Uniqlo and was thrilled to see they still have it in other colorways. I used it every night in LA when the temperature dipped into chillier territory, and will probably be using it religiously when September hits.

And Dieux came out with a retinal, which after using retinoids for the larger part of my skincare career, I’m thrilled. And no, I fear I’m too scared to work up to a tretinoin. I’m baby!

A seared watermelon and raw corn tabbouleh from Pierce Abernathy’s book Every Leaf, Every Steam. Grilling or searing watermelon doesn’t make it less sweet, just a different kind of sweet. I loved it.

Jarred tomatoes because homesteading is fun in a climate-change-is-real-and-so-is-separation-of-church-and-state kind of way.

Sweet pickled tomato peels - recipe coming soon!

And Kale Tahini Pasta, which while a fan-favorite on the blog, sadly did not earn her slot in my next cookbook. There were too many great pasta dishes in the fall section, one had to fall to the wayside. (Which is fine because the recipe is still up here!).

The end of August is Big Zucchini Season. I felt like it was the time to revisit a classic:

Sticky Oaty Zucchini Cookies - I took the current recipe and I made them huge. Stay tuned for that video this week!

And this week on Supper Club - Tomatillo Beans! This is a riff on ceviche, with a few new pivots to make it a little easier and more accessible. For everyone asking for supremely cold meals (that are great to eat with chips), this one is my preferred option.

I’m also hosting a Supper Club cooking livestream tonight - gentle reminder for everyone who signed up! Can’t wait to cook with you!

My macabre obsession with The Markles - I need a "American Love Story”-style series on them STAT. (No more documentaries allowed!!).

Until next week, happy cooking, happy eating, happy summer,

Xoxo,

Justine