Recipes + Ideas for Sub-zero Temps

The first hard copy of my book just came! Plus wintry baking faves, watercolor to combat overwhelm, and the sweetest painting my mom made us.

Hi friends,

First off, apologies for sending this on Saturday instead of the usual Friday. This week was a lot! But I hope my note brings you a little inspiration over the weekend.

It was very cold here this week (it hit -13°F in Madison!!) but I received some joy in the mail that warmed things up. It feels crazy to say this, but this is the 6th time I have feverishly opened a highly anticipated package containing a book I wrote. And it never gets old! I know each page intimately and to see it turned into a tangible object is pretty special.

Winnie was excited, too!

When I look at each of my books, what I see (and you might not) is what was going on in the background while I made it. I’ve been pregnant or had a new baby while working on each of my books, but this one had different challenges. Soon after beginning it, we decided to move cross country. Suddenly hours that should have been spent painting and shooting were taken up scrolling Zillow for a house in Madison, researching neighborhoods, enrolling kids in new schools, packing up our life, driving cross country, and then unpacking (still working on that)—with book deadlines throughout. It was overwhelming at times, with a lot of cardboard and a few tears sprinkled in.

But through it all, I am so happy with how The Watercolor Feast turned out. Most importantly, I am excited about the creative moments it will bring to people!

One of my biggest book deadlines was just days after we arrived in Madison. It took me a few days to even find my paint supplies!

During our first week in Madison I tried to sneak in work whenever I could— here I am painting radishes while the kids were at swimming lessons! This is what would become the radish painting tutorial in the book (see below).

Recipe Idea: Radishes —>

• For an addition to any cheese platter, top halved radishes with a swipe of room-temp butter, flaky sea salt and chopped chives or small edible flower petals. A crunchy, creamy, savory bite.

Things get busy for all of us. And sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I turn to watercolor. Just this week, feeling sad about the news and the sub-zero temps, I sat down and painted a doodle of pinkish squares and somehow felt much better after just 10 minutes. Cooking and painting are 2 of my favorite creative outlets and both help me feel calm and present. I hope this book helps others tap into that as well.

Comforting Wintry Baking Ideas:

• I LOVE Smitten Kitchen’s Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. My friend Laura made them for us after Winnie was born and I immediately asked for the recipe and have made them several times since.

• We had a dinner party last week and my friend Becca brought Molly Yeh’s Chocolate-Tahini Fudge Cake and WOW was that crazy delicious! She said it was easy, too.

• No-Knead “Sourdough” Bread! When Jim Lahey first published this recipe in the New York Times it was like a shot heard round the baking world! It really is that good. If you have a NYT subscription there’s a video, otherwise Leite’s Culinaria has a great rendition of it. Make the bread here.

Embracing the Cold!

I’ve been trying to “up” my vibration by just getting outside. It helps! As I’ve mentioned, we have been having so much fun ice skating. My mom always paints us a Valentine and this year’s was especially sweet. She painted the kids skating at Hillington Green, the sweet little park that really is the heart of our neighborhood. I got a little teary when I read the handwritten note on the back about how our kids will remember this as the place they learned to skate.

We got several inches of snow last week which the kids were excited about! Now our outdoor playtime and neighborhood walks seem to revolve around getting hot cocoa to warm up. We love that we can walk to a couple cafes from our house.

Sending warming vibes to all of you this weekend!

Cheers to a peaceful weekend ahead with colorful, joyful moments.

xx

Erin

Preorder a signed copy of The Watercolor Feast from my local bookstore. It comes out April 15th.

*PS: Book Tour Dates coming soon! I’m looking to add another workshop/talk/event in New York City. If you have any suggestions of cool foodie artsy places I should reach out to, please let me know by replying to this email. Thank you in advance :)