winter quarter

some updates + something I've been working on

I haven’t been motivated to share here in awhile. Partially due to my new year resolution of wanting to be more ‘analog’ and less ‘online.’ Which means I’ve also been more heavily invested in my community. But somehow there has been a resurgence of new followers on here, so I’d thought I’d tell you what I’ve been up to this winter so far, and the things I’ve been working on for future me.

At the start of the year I had an opportunity to work as a food stylist for the Speciality Food Association Winter Fancy trade show here in San Diego. 4 days of being in a convention center full of chefs, foodies, food makers, brands, buyers, and businesses from all over the world. So fun. So invigorating. I started volunteering at my neighborhood cat shelter which has been so special to love on some cats and connect with a wide age range of people in my community. Z and I started hosting a “family meal” a reoccurring, bi-weekly, meal with our neighbor-friends that’s a bring and be as you can sorta vibe vs put together dinner party vibe. We also started waking up at 6:30 to give ourselves a slower coffee morning, and while our Brick is still blocking our phone from the evening before, working our way through The New York Times’ Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! book. Therapy has been in form of movement so far this year. I’ve been attending my local gym 5 days a week. Biking at 7am as the sun is getting up to a heated mat class and feeling the just waking up energy and crips air on the ride home before starting the work day is my newest medicine. I co-hosted with Timshel in University Heights a Cookbook Swap fundraiser that collectively raised nearly $600 to aid orgs like @borderangelsofficial @immdef_lawcenter, American Civil Liberties Union, San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium, @mutualaidformoms, @alotrolado_org, Minnesota mutual aid, and SOMOS TIAS. Topo Chico donated water, and cookbook authors: @haileecatalano, @cannellevanille, @bromabakery, @polina.chesnakova, @ciaosamin, and @alexafuelednaturally donated their books. I’d never been more proud of my community!

Cookbook club is almost finished with it’s winter quarter. We cooked from Salt Sugar MSG by Calvin Eng in Jan, Third Culture Cooking by Zaynab Issa this month (Feb, on Valentine’s.. as a Galentine’s Brunch twist), and next month we will be cooking from Italopunk by Vanja van der Leeden, that was graciously gifted to me by Tra Publishing last year. Our Spring Quarter I’ve also just set: March will be Something From Nothing x Sweet Enough by Alison Roman, April, Mi Cocina by Rick Martínez x Plantas by Alexa Soto, and May, Hello, Home Cooking, Ham El-Waylly’s next month debut.

Speaking of cookbook club and cookbooks, I’ve also been hunting and applying to storefronts. If you know me in real life, this isn’t anything new. I’ve dreamt of a storefront for years. Had a concept idea of when Dining With Friends was thriving in Seattle. And now a new concept for what I see thriving of my work now paired with, most importantly, what I see as a need in the community.. heard… by the people in my community. A journey… as expected in this market and niche/limited neighborhood desire. A lot of business plans, brand development, website building, finance education, and maany many more things have been taking up my brain capacity as a business team of one: myself. Website is still in works, but I can now finally share the name and logo with you.

Patine— French for patina; a surface appearance or aura developed through experience or habit, adding depth or character, as in an "aura of respectability.” Picture your dining table that has signs of love and use, your favorite cookbook that has grease and sauce stains on the pages, white table cloths that have permanent wine stains from past dinners, or the sight of a pile of empty dishes and empty wine bottles post a dinner party. A kitchen used and worn in.

Until I find a store front, the “shop” will be just online and/or possible local pop-up markets. But once it has a home, it will be a cookbook shop (think Book Larder in Seattle or Now Serving in LA or Books for Cooks in London), a grocer (think Alison Roman’s First Bloom in Upstate NY, or Cookbook Market in LA, or Persephone in Seattle) with all my homemade soups, sauces, sourdough bread, and my pantry goods like ghee and preserved lemons, and a community third space (think like how community centers, libraries, public parks, worship houses, etc. serve a community) for things like cookbook club, cooking classes and workshops, author talks, and events. In an ideal world, this spot is next to a pre-existing cafe or coffee shop to collaborate with. The cookbook store will have seats for communal sitting, drinking coffee or tea, and reading from the used cookbook or food media zines in the shop.

As I mentioned, the website is still underworks (again thanks to being a team of one and someone learning how to make a website again) but hoping to be up and running soon. But for now you can follow along and see any updates on Instagram: patine.sd

Well, it’s getting past my off screen window time before bed, so I’ll wrap up there. Apologies for being MIA for a bit here, but welcome to all you new subscribers. We’ll chat soon!

xo Court