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 cultivating, things bringing me joy, podcasts/books/TV shows I’m enjoying, and more. Think of it as stream-of-consciousness blabbering meets a semi-curated list of recommendations meets life update.
This month’s edition
1. What I’m watching, listening to, and reading
2. What I’m working on (in life)
3. What I’m working on (in the biz)
4. Recipes you might have missed
5. What I’m eating
6. What’s bringing me joy
What I’m watching, listening to, and reading
Watching
The show I’ve been most excited about tuning into is The Last of Us. I don’t typically gravitate towards dystopian sci-fi, and I must admit I’m an actual baby who wears noise-canceling headphones during the scenes with scary sounds (I know, I know), but…I’ve been hooked by the magnificent acting and the relationship between Ellie and Joel.
Pedro Pascal (Joel) is having a moment. And Bella Ramsey (Ellie) is a proud vegan!
Reading
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. I went full suburban and recently joined a neighborhood book club! And this was our first book. It weaves together two topics I knew nothing about (horse-riding rural librarians during the Great Depression) and the rare blue-skinned people of Kentucky, but I really enjoyed it. It’s written beautifully and hard to put down.
A few shorter pieces I enjoyed this month
He taught Americans how to cook Indian food
The Fleishman is in Trouble Effect
100 centenarians’ 100 tips for a life well lived
Listening
This recent episode from NPR’s Throughline tells the story of an Indian American man who argued in 1923 that he should be considered white and thus eligible to become a U.S. citizen. The episode covers the creation of race and the myth of whiteness, and for me, it brought up painful memories of my childhood where I wished I was white so I would not feel Othered. But it also made me proud because I no longer feel that way. I love when a podcast can teach you important stuff, prompt a good cry, and spawn a personal epiphany all at once.
What I’m working on (in life)
Becoming “a reader”
Back in first grade, we had a reading marathon. For every book you read, the teacher would paste a paper star on the wall with your name on it, starting at the bottom of the wall and working her way up. I read so many books that my stars started to creep up the ceiling (my poor classmates had no chance with this nerd). So I’ve always considered myself “a reader.”
But truth be told, I’ve put reading on the back burner since I started my business. While I did read 10 books last year (not bad), I read them all while on vacation because my regular life was “too busy.”
Recently though, I started doing a few things that have helped reading become a habit I look forward to:
- Joining a book club (see above)
- Carving out 10 minutes to read each night (it usually extends longer once I get into it) and 10 minutes to read each morning with a frothy matcha latte.
- Leaving my current book on the dining table so I read while I eat lunch instead of the usual doomsday scrolling
- Treating myself to a new book at our awesome local bookstore each time I finish a book
- Allowing myself to read whatever I want instead of forcing myself to read the latest self-improvement or productivity book.
And it’s working! I’ve read four books in the last three weeks. That’s four gold stars for adult Nisha.
What I’m working on (in the biz)
One of my favorite YouTube videos we published 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 funny taste test.
On the recipe development side, I want to share more desserts this year (not a lot, just a little). I recently realized that I had published only 6 dessert recipes in the last 2 years. To be fair, one of them was my absolute best vegan brownies (recently picked by a group of 47 taste testers as the best vegan brownie!) and I don’t think I can top that recipe, but we all need a little more sweetness in our lives.
Have any dessert recipes you’d like to see? Leave your requests in the comments!
And here’s a sneak peek of recipes I’m working on! If you want to get notified when new recipes hit the blog, subscribe to my newsletter!
Recipes you might have missed
- Tofu Stir Fry. A Chinese restaurant-style stir fry with crispy-chewy tofu and a deeply savory sauce.
- Chickpea Curry. Big bold Indian flavors in an approachable weeknight dinner package.
- Creamy Coconut Rice with Five Spice Tofu. Creamy rice and five spice tofu crumbles meet nutrient-rich vegetables and crunchy peanuts.
- Beet Hummus. The most gorgeous dip you’ll ever make. Also nutrient-dense and so versatile.
- Thai Green Curry. My favorite takeout dish made at home! Easy but gourmet.
What I’m eating
During the week, we mostly eat leftovers from recipe testing and “bowl style dinners” using building blocks (and occasionally some sort of Asian takeout or pizza). One of my favorite things for those bowl-style dinners is vegan Tzatziki.
The tzatziki takes just 10 minutes to make and is so versatile. Last week for lunch, I spread it on bread from our local bakery (first, I toasted the bread underneath the broiler, then smeared with a cut garlic clove and drizzle of olive oil, my go-to method for toasting bread). Then I piled it with pan-fried tofu slabs, arugula dressed with Brightland olive oil & champagne vinegar, and pickled carrots. :::::chef’s kiss:::::
For dinner, a recent favorite has been to pair the tzatziki with crunchy roasted chickpeas or white beans and a simplified Greek salad with cukes, cherry or heirloom tomatoes, capers, kalamata olives (no olives for Max), drizzled with olive oil & vinegar + toasted pita wedges (or cooked farro) + pickled onions.
What’s bringing me joy
Bi-monthly “happy hours”: A technical happy hour involves adult beverages and usually a bar, but I’ve co-opted the term for something very different.
A couple times a month, I’ll end work earlier than usual and make hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Max pours himself a glass of wine and, upon 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 bit, sometimes about work, but usually about non-work stuff, and then we stare at each other silently like we’re deeply in love but also like we’re in a cult.
Just kidding, we read our respective books while I occasionally sneak a few sips of his wine (but not a lot because I discovered last year that drinking booze hurts my stomach and that getting old is a real party pooper).
This may not be a traditional happy hour in any sense of the word, but it’s an hour or two where I feel great happiness. And self-righteous because I am collecting more golden stars for all the books I’m racing through.
Hope y’all enjoyed this first edition of RPL at home! You might have noticed that I was sharing mini life updates in our newsletter recently, but the long-form blog format just felt 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.”)!
If there’s a way to make vegan tiramisu (GF if possible), I would be so excited for that! Tiramisu is my all time favorite dessert but with a milk, egg, and wheat allergy it never feels very good to eat (so like twice a year I just go for it lol).
This was cute and I enjoyed it!
Hi Nisha!
I think I have made all six of those desserts! For recommendations, I would like anything with seasonal fruits.
Thank you for this newsletter.
Aww I’m honored you’ve made them all! I do love seasonal fruit desserts (I have so many in my next cookbook!) and will keep that in mind 🙂 Thanks, Lujennie!
Hi Lujennie, I know Nisha already responded to you but I wanted to bring to your attention some mouth-watering desserts made with seasonal fruits we already have on the blog!
My favorite spring desserts are the lemon olive oil cake and lemon poppyseed layer cake.
Some of my absolute favorites made with summer fruits are the Raspberry crumble bars, blackberry galette, and brown butter peach cobbler.
We hope you get the chance to try some of these!
Loved reading through this so so much! I love books bt adult me has very lil time! Keep this coming and I hope to stay inspired
Loved it! Thanks 🙂 Also trying to get myself into reading more. I used to be a voracious reader but life is much busier these days and it really takes a commitment (or a good book you can’t put down). It’s also really hard to pull away from technology but once you do IT’S SO GOOD. I’m currently reading the greatest book ever written….The Bible. I’ve been working through it with a 52 week study guide. It’s been over 2 years and I’m only halfway through but I will finish it.
Love this and hope you keep doing them. Great stuff 🙂
I totally get it! I remember having so much free time when I was a student that I could race through books (or do something crazy like take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon or go to the gym for 2 hours, what?!). But yeah, that’s why I committed to something small like 10 minutes at night when I normally watch TV, and I often find that the books are WAY more interesting than TV! Glad you’re enjoying reading too!
Hi I lv ur recipes do u ever make freezer foods in bags for the week so all u have to do is take out and put in crockpot or instapot thank u Lisa carr
I also like this idea! If it easy to prep for my slow cooker, I’d use it more often.
Is it even possible to make a delicious tiramisu for a vegan? If anybody can do it, it’s you, Nisha! 🙌🏻🙏🏻
I think it’s amazing that you’re taking time to do more reading and enjoying the things that make you happy 😊 I’ve recently gotten back into reading as well as helping raise my stepdaughter takes a lot of my time. I really enjoy watching your YouTube videos of new recipes and making them! I like the name RPL at home, but what about Nisha’s Rainbow Life 🌈🌈🌈
Hi Michelle, always lovely to hear from you! I’m glad you’ve also recently gotten back into reading 🙂 So happy you enjoy my videos!
I also considered myself a reader for most of my life and went through them like popcorn. In college, however, the amount of reading I had to do for school along with working 3 jobs ruined it for me and I didn’t really get back to it for about 10 years. A couple of years ago I set a goal to read a book every month and failed abysmally with barely 6 books read that year. The following year, however, I read a whopping 78 books! The big changes I made were tracking my reading statistics on the site/app The Storygraph and getting an e-reader (a kobo). With the e-reader, I feel like it’s easier to trick myself into using it instead of scrolling on my phone because it’s as convenient to carry around and it has a similar tactile sensation while being easier on the eyes. I also like being able to read at night with just the backlight, look up words while I’m reading, check books out from my library in a minute, and take it in the bath (mine is waterproof). I’m glad you are reading for yourself again!
Hi Teresa! Wow, 78 books! That’s incredible. You’re not the only person to recommend Storygraph, so I am definitely looking into it this weekend. And so nice you can have a relaxing bathtime/reading ritual!
I thoroughly enjoyed this! It’s a bit like chatting with a friend so I think you nailed it!
That’s so nice to hear, Vanessa 🙂 So happy you thought so.
Love your channel and your family and most of all your recipes. I can’t wait for more.