July Life
The Perfect Fork + Spoon, BOOBS, Grain-free Boules, and more!
This week’s newsletter has a mega Freak My Week and a Grain-Free Boule recipe from the The Kitchen Commune by Chay Wike
Hello!
I’m a little late this month, so I’m combining this month’s freebie cookbook recipe and the paid subscriber roundup newsletter into one. Last week, it felt weird to send something out after Saturday’s news/events. And the weekend before, I was traveling for a friend’s memorial and writing simply slipped my mind.
Making this combo available for all subscribers (no paywall) – because I think we all could use some nice / fun / pretty links that aren’t scary to click on.
It’s a long one, so let’s get to it.
Talk to you in August!
Love,
Jessica
The Things That Freaked My Week
Some things I’m currently into…
251 Words You Can Spell With A Calculator
For those who only know BOOBS.
Books I Want and/or are on Reserve At The Library
More, Please: On Food, Fat, Bingeing, Longing, and the Lust for “Enough” by Emma Specter
The Widow’s Guide To Dead Bastards by Jessica Waite
Life In The Garden by Bunny Williams
The Love Of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes
The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi PhD (Dr. Mosconi has done the first research study documenting how women’s brains change during menopause and how life-altering the changes can be. All five copies of this book are checked out at my library, which makes me so happy that women are getting this support).
Zaalouk With Tahini by Yotam Ottolenghi via NYT Cooking
I’m making this.
Mira Cutlery Enamel Set
I cannot even express how perfect these are.
Thanks for the link, Melissa.
Date Better
Charleston’s beloved Sightsee (coffee + retail shop) just moved to a new location a block away from me (so excited). At the opening yesterday, I snagged a box of these Peanut Butter Crunch Date Better – the packaging is so cute. It’s always fun to find non-belly-aching vegan treats in the wild.
The Inextricable Link Between Gardening and Happiness via House & Garden
Looked up so many things mentioned in this piece (written by garden design guru,
Dr. Miracle Podcast
For the past month, I have exclusively listened to Bravo recap and/or Karen Read trial podcasts. I needed something new, and I found this one last night.
Feely Cards
Nōn Wels has created a special deck of cards with illustrator Ess Crossley (coming out in September). The deck is “48 cards that empower us to engage more meaningfully with the powers of empathy, vulnerability, and emotional curiosity.” So excited for these. You can preorder here.
Food For Climate Change League
Last week, I attended a panel hosted by The Planetary Health collective (check them out) and heard about the cool work Food For Climate Change League is doing. They have some pretty amazing free resources and guides on their site (I just downloaded How To Talk About Food & Climate).
Grain-Free Boule from the The Kitchen Commune by Chay Wike
To celebrate the launch of The Kitchen Commune, A Maker’s Post (a very cool home and plant store on Sullivan’s Island in Charleston) gifted me a copy of the book. As soon as I started flipping through the pages, this Grain-free Boule immediately caught my eye.
Last summer, I started baking bread. Something I never thought I’d want / could do. What seemed like a daunting task has turned out to be incredibly meditative. But my favorite part of bread-baking is that it breaks up the sometimes-monotony of the day – you never know exactly how a loaf will turn out – and that’s the fun of it.
I’ve relied on my sourdough starter and combinations of whole wheat, bread flour, rye, and spelt. And until I saw Chay’s recipe, I never considered baking bread with all almond flour and dry yeast. I’m so excited to taste this texture!
While The Kitchen Commune isn’t totally plant-based, Chay’s recipes are veggie-forward, simple, and really thoughtful. She has suffered from multiple autoimmune conditions and digestive issues and creates recipes with a lot of intention – making sure they make her feel good and also taste good for everyone else.
Thanks to A Maker’s Post for turning me onto Chay’s work! Can’t wait to cook from this book.
Grain-Free Boule
Makes 1 boule
1 cup (130 grams) arrowroot flour, plus 3 tablespoons more for dusting
2 cups (250 grams) superfine blanched almond flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher sea salt
1 cup (240 grams) room-temperature water
2 teaspoons gluten-free active dry yeast (such as Fleischmann’s)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup (25 grams) whole psyllium husk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it with about a tablespoon of the arrowroot flour.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, 1 cup arrowroot flour, and salt, and whisk together very well, making sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
In a 2-cup or larger liquid measuring cup, whisk the water and yeast together, then add the maple syrup and whisk. Add the psyllium husk and vinegar and whisk again. Set this aside to gel for about 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened to the consistency of thick apple sauce, whisking occasionally.
Add the thickened wet mixture to the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape all of it out of the measuring cup with a rubber spatula. Fold the batter together. It will be dry at first, but continue folding, mixing, and scraping down the sides of the bowl with the spatula. It will come together and eventually the dough will ball up. This may take a few minutes, and you might even break a sweat.
Lightly dust a cutting board or work surface with another tablespoon of the arrowroot flour and turn the dough out onto it. Gently flatten the dough into a roughly 8-inch disk and then fold the edges up and over the center of the dough, working with your palms (as opposed to your fingers) to fold about a quarter of the dough into the center at a time and rotating the dough as you go, like wrapping a package. Once you have completed folding in all four sides, flip the dough so it’s seam side down and shape into a tight round ball by tucking any unrounded sections underneath.
Transfer the dough ball to the floured parchment paper. Dust the top of the loaf with the remaining arrowroot flour and score a 2-inch X, about ¼-inch deep, onto the center of the top of the loaf, using a small sharp knife. This will allow for even expansion and help prevent tears.
Bake the bread for 60 minutes at 350°F, then lower the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 20 minutes. The bread will be golden brown and will sound hollow when you (carefully!) thump the bottom.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for a minimum of 6 hours (or, preferably, overnight), covered with a dish towel.
Store at room temperature wrapped tightly in parchment paper. You can also slice the entire loaf and freeze it in a large ziplock bag with small pieces of parchment between the slices, and just toast it from frozen as needed.
And some books by me:
One Part Plant: A Guide to Eating Real One Meal At a Time
Know Your Endo: An Empowering Guide To Health + Hope With Endometriosis
I receive small affiliate commissions if you click / purchase some of the book links above.