RPL at Home (March 2023)

Welcome to the first edition of RPL at home, where I share what I’m up to when I’m not in the kitchen or in front of the camera.

Each month, I’ll share snippets of what I’m working on, habits I’m developing, things that make me happy, podcasts/books/TV shows I’m enjoying, and more. Think stream-of-consciousness blabbering meets life updates by filling out a semi-curated list of recommendations.

This month’s edition
1. What I see, hear and read
2. What am I doing (in life)
3. What am I working on (bj)
4. Recipes you may miss
5. What am I eating?
6. What brings me joy

What I see, hear and read

I see

The show I was most excited about tuning in to was The Last of Us. I’m not usually into dystopian sci-fi, and I must admit that I’m a real kid who wears noise-cancelling headphones during scenes with scary sounds (I know, I know), but…I’m hooked. Great acting and the relationship between Eli and Joel.

Pedro Pascal (Joel) is that moment. And Bella Ramsay (Ellie) is a proud vegetarian!

to read

Kim Michelle Richardson’s book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I went all over the suburbs and recently joined a neighborhood book club! And this was our first book. It weaves together two subjects I knew nothing about (the rural librarian on horseback during the Great Depression) and the rare blue-skinned people of Kentucky, but I really enjoyed it. It was beautifully written and hard to put down.

A few small pieces I enjoyed this month
He taught Americans how to cook Indian food
The Fleishman is in trouble effect
100 tips from over 100 people for a better life

listening

This recent episode of NPR Throline Tells the story of an Indian American man who argued in 1923 that he should be considered white and thus eligible to become a US citizen. The episode covers the creation of race and the myth of whiteness, and for me, it brought back painful memories of my childhood where I wished I was white so I wouldn’t feel other. But it made me proud because I don’t feel that way anymore. I love when a podcast can teach you important things, give you a good cry, And Create one personal epiphany at a time.

what am i doing (in life)

“Becoming a Reader”

In first grade, we had a reading marathon. For each book you read, the teacher will paste a paper star with your name on the wall, starting at the bottom of the wall and working his way up. I read so many books that my stars started shooting up the ceiling (my poor classmates had no chance with this idiot). So I’ve always considered myself a “reader”.

But to be honest, I have put reading on the back burner since I started my business. Although I read 10 books last year (not bad), I read them all while on vacation because my regular life was “too busy.”

Recently though, I’ve started doing a few things that have helped make reading a habit I look forward to:

join a book club (see above)

cut out Read 10 minutes every night (It usually lingers after I get into it)

So I put my current book on the dining table I read while eating lunch Instead of the usual doomsday scrolling

Treat yourself to one of our awesome new books Local bookstore Every time I finish a book

Allow yourself Read what I want Instead of forcing yourself to read the latest self-improvement or productivity book.

And it’s working. I have read four books in the last three weeks. That’s four gold stars for 35-year-old Nisha.

what am i doing (bj)

One of my favorite YouTube videos we released recently was for my Thai Green Curry recipe. The video is fun and playful, and you get to see my parents (and Max!) in a delightfully fun taste test.

In terms of recipe development, I want to share more sweets this year (not a lot, just a little). I recently realized that I have only published 6 dessert recipes in the last 2 years. To be fair, one of them was my absolute best vegan brownie (recently voted best vegan brownie by 47 taste testers!) and I don’t think I can top that recipe, but we all need a little more sweetness. In life.

Are there any dessert recipes you’d like to see? Leave your requests in the comments!

And here’s a sneak peek of the recipes I’ve been working on! If you want to be notified when new recipes hit the blog, subscribe to my newsletter!

what am i eating

During the week, we mostly eat leftovers from recipe testing and “bowl style dinners” using building blocks (and the occasional Asian takeout or pizza). One of my favorite things to make for those bowl-style dinners is vegan zatziki.

Tzatziki only takes 10 minutes to make and is versatile. For lunch last week, I spread it on bread from our local bakery (first, I toasted the bread under the broiler, then brushed it with a chopped garlic clove and a drizzle of olive oil, my go-to method for toasting bread). Then I piled it with pan-fried tofu slabs, arugula and pickled carrots dressed with Brightland olive oil and champagne vinegar. :::::Chef’s Kiss::::

For dinner, a recent favorite is crunchy chickpeas or white beans and tzatziki paired with cukes, cherry or heirloom tomatoes, capers, Kalamata olives (no olives for Max), drizzled with olive oil and vinegar + tzatziki. Toasted pita wedges (or cooked farro) + pickled onions.

what brings me joy

Bi-monthly “Good Hour”: A technical happy hour involves adult drinks and usually a bar, but I co-opted the term for something very different.

A few times a month, I’ll finish work earlier than usual and make hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Max pours himself a glass of wine and, at my request, lights an obscene amount of candles in the living room and turns on the “Relaxing Jazz” station on Spotify.

Then we hang out on the couch until dinner time. We chat for a while, sometimes about work, but usually about non-work, and then we look at each other silently as if we’re deeply in love but also in a cult.

Just kidding, we read our respective books while I occasionally sip a few sips of his wine (but not too much because I discovered last year that drinking wine hurts my stomach and getting old is a real party pooper).

It may not be a traditional happy hour in any sense of the word, but it’s an hour or two where I feel very happy. And self-righteous because I’m collecting more gold stars for every book I run through.

Hope you all enjoyed this first edition of RPL at home! You may have noticed that I’ve been sharing mini life updates in our newsletter lately, but the long-form blog format feels easier and more natural, and I’m already excited for the April edition.

Please let me know what you’d like to see in next month’s edition (and if you have a more clever title than “RPL at Home”)!