How is it the end of March already?! It feels like this year has been flying by, and yet, I find myself saying that every year. I didn’t get a chance to do a round up last month because #burnout, so I’m really looking forward to sharing some of the favorite things I did in the last two. In the last two months, if anything’s become apparent, it’s that my personal combat to burnout is making time to create.
February and March were filled with lots of communal dining experiences—or rather, cooking and eating with friends and loved ones—not hosted in my own home!



In February, I attended a Lunar New Year party hosted by my friend Gabby, where I whipped up two desserts featuring the Rooted Fare Lunar New Year collection of spreads. Using their classic black sesame crunch butter, I made a black sesame tiramisu that was a huge hit. I think about that black sesame cream all the time and think I’ll have to figure out an interesting way to incorporate it into another one of my food projects down the line. Rooted Fare also created a dragonfruit cashew butter spread. While it was a much subtler than the black sesame one, it made for great mini basque cheesecakes that I brought along with me as well.
Gabby, our host with the most, taught us how to make hand pulled noodles, also known as biang biang noodles—named for the sound they make as they are stretched and pulled against the surface of a table. The rest of the meal was potluck style, with each guest bringing a side dish to accompany the noodles.
Later in February, I made quite possibly the best bolognese I’ve ever made (recipe courtesy of The Burnt Butter Table) for a new-ish idea: a vinyl-listening supper club dreamed up by me and a few coworkers. Can I tell you how much I LOVED this recipe?! It’s certainly not a quick and easy sauce, but there’s something so luxurious about giving ourselves the gift time to slow simmer a sauce for hours.
The only change I made to the recipe: I’m not the biggest fan of rosemary, so I swapped the herb with sage instead, then paired the finished sauce with a thick pappardelle pasta. It was really nice to see some coworkers outside of the office for a change of pace and scenery.



In other news, I’m volunteering at the Este Garden again.
Fun fact about me: I once would’ve described myself as having whatever the opposite of a green thumb was (a necrotic black thumb of neglect???). On lack of watering alone, I’ve killed many a succulents in my lifetime. It wasn’t until I found myself unemployed that I began to volunteering at the Central Texas Food Bank farm, that I began to learn about how to take better care of plants. Not only did I begin my journey of growing food—something I’d been wanting to learn for a while now—but it ended up being something that gave my schedule a little structure, and was more than beneficial for my mental health.
When I went back to work, I wanted to continue my learning, so aside from starting my own container garden, I connected with the team at Este’s urban garden for more volunteer opportunities. I learn so much from Anamaria, their garden manager, every time I go, and we often to get to take home so many wonderful veggies, herbs, or flowers—whatever is available that day! Picture above is the broccoli bouquet I took home, and the pesto garden veggie pizza I made with.
If you’re interested in volunteer opportunities/learning more about growing food, I highly recommend checking out Este’s volunteer opportunities or the Central Texas Food Bank.



March was a month of of cooking again as well! While it wasn’t a ton of cooking at home for myself, I got to exercise my creative muscles (and consistency muscles) by working a few pop ups.
As most of you know, I revived Baked Beans, my bake sale box pop up, with a few spring-themed sweet treats. My favorite pastry was probably the match passionfruit white chocolate mini-cake with edible flowers for it’s flavor profile AND aesthetic. I really missed creating menus and getting to play in this way, so I will definitely be doing one again.
I know I said quarterly but… what if I did another Baked Beans in May for AAPI heritage month? Just a thought that I’m having….
Last but certainly not least, I got to cook with some of my favorite people over at Rogues Pierogi for their St. Patrick’s Day pop up in Dripping Springs a few weeks ago. I forgot how fun (and also chaotic) working on the line is… and I’m… strangely enough ready for another.
How was everyone else’s March? Are we ready for April? How are you making time and space for the creativity that brings you join?