Chili Lime Edamame Dip

Hi. Hello. Remember me?

Some of you have been subscribed to this Substack since a version of this newsletter existed years ago, back when I was still a food stylist writing about what I was cooking at home and my favorite things. Some of you found me through Olivia’s and have never actually gotten an email from me before. Either way — welcome, and also, sorry for the radio silence. Life happened. Specifically, two small boys and an ENTIRE business happened!

Olivia’s Unlocked is exactly what it sounds like: I’m slowly going to leak the recipes behind some of the dishes you guys are obsessed with at The Shop. The ones people beg us for. The recipes you’ve asked me to divulge via DMs.

“Won’t that hurt business?” Honestly, I’m not remotely worried because, I know you. I am you! You are busy, tired, and would rather hand someone $24 than dirty a cutting board on a Tuesday. BUT, one day you might get ambitious and make some of these recipes. That’s what we’re here for. I have always said that above all I am a champion of home cooking and empowering people to make more of their own food.

That part — the actual recipes — is going behind a paywall. Not because I’m precious about it, but because these good recipes with actual ratios and testing behind them took me REAL time and REAL work. Good work deserves compensation.

The free part is a different animal. It’s not recipes. I don’t have the bandwidth to write you a fully tested, precisely measured recipe for a school night when I’m also refereeing a fight over who gets the blue cup. What you’re getting instead is the real, unfiltered play-by-play of what’s actually happening in my kitchen at home — my husband, my two feral little boys, and whatever I can throw together with the least amount of suffering involved. Think of it as recipe- adjacent. A vibe. A rough sketch you can run with.

So let’s start there….

This is a very specific kind of night — you’re either eating alone because your spouse is working late, or it’s too hot to even think about turning on a stove — where I make the same thing every single time: a Tuna & Artichoke Salad that has no business being as good as it is.

Here’s the rough shape of it:

1. One of my Duralex Glass Prep Bowls (love love love for making one salad for myself)

2. Drain a can of tuna packed in olive oil, dump it in.

3. Rough chop half a can of artichoke hearts (Trader Joe’s ones, specifically for me— I have opinions).

4. A few olives, if I have them lying around. I like Castelvetrano

5. Microplane half a lemon straight over the top.

6. A heaping tablespoon of Hellman’s. Don’t @ me about which mayo, this is the one.

7. Chopped herbs (basil) from the garden, if they’re not already dead from neglect.

8. A few grinds of black pepper.

9. Stir it with a fork. That’s it. You’re done. You did it.

I eat it with pita chips or pretzel thins, standing up, over the sink, like a raccoon. It’s salty, briny, has about four different textures going on, and has around 25 grams of protein in it — which I only know because I’m that stereotypical mid thirties mom counting her protein intake. Turns out there’s 0.2 grams of protein in a dirty martini if you were wondering. Slightly more if you opt for blue cheese stuffed olives.

That’s the free tier. A little chaos, a little inspiration, zero pressure to follow it exactly.

Okay. This one feels like a mistake to give away, and I want that on the record before I do it. But I can’t gatekeep anymore.

This is THE DIP. You know the one. We make a fresh batch every single day the shop is open, and it is gone — usually by 1pm. It’s dead simple, borderline unfair how good it is, dangerously snackable, and also, somehow, actually healthy.

At the shop we suggest you buy it with our fresh-fried tortilla chips, but I will also tell you it makes an incredible base for a vegetarian sandwich — just slather it on good bread with some crunchy vegetables and you’re set.