LAGOM - April 2025
Lentil tempeh salad, 8 vegan dressings, notes on regenerative agriculture and our views on Fashion Revolution Week
Hello, hello!
The change of season inspired us to revisit and refresh some of our pieces. First, the temperature drop in the Southern Hemisphere called for a favourite, the lentil tempeh salad. We also compiled all our vegan dressings and sauces to help you flavour any dish in any season, sans the additives and sugar found on supermarket shelves. In this daunting time, we like to revisit our piece on regenerative agriculture, demonstrating that food can be produced differently, respecting soil health and other beings. Finally, on the occasion of Fashion Revolution Week, we looked at the trailblazers and change-makers from the textile industry that we had the pleasure to meet, the brands doing fashion differently, and the issues surrounding fast fashion.
It all comes down to respecting Mother Earth. April 22nd was Earth Day, the recurring day celebrating our planet, the only home we have. Yet, what we witness globally, again and again, is everything except respect. Those special days, such as Earth Day, but also Women's Day or Ocean Day, serve as an opportunity to highlight a specific issue, but are, in some twisted ways, the causes that the establishment doesn't care much about. And every day, we witness it, how the Earth system's limits are pushed, again and again, beyond what people, scientists especially, thought could be possible. And it is normalising being poisoned, surrounded by waste, eating low-quality food, and a collective de-sensitivity.
Robert Louis Stevenson said about personal responsibility, "Sooner or later we all sit down to a banquet of consequences." Where are we going like this, individually and collectively? Has our future reached a dead end? Une "panne d'avenir", as Robert Kempf, French journalist and economist specialised in ecology and environment, suggested earlier this month? Assessing the situation, he underlined how our current system has reached the end of its race, as it is not durable. More and more people feel that the capitalistic system is not made for them, so they are getting prepared. He said that we are at a historic crossroads between carrying on with a conservative, capitalist and brutal society, thirsty for natural resources to keep producing more, or we could move on towards something else, based on solidarity and cooperation, a world run by kindness. There is joy in this projection. Kempf underlined that this move is already happening, discreetly but surely. Everywhere, everyday, alternatives are born, other ways of living, of making business. There is hope. Plant-based food, regenerative agriculture or slow fashion, here we are all about how to create this hope.
Lentil and tempeh salad with tahini dressing
Tempeh, seasonal greens, lentils, and a creamy tahini dressing is the magic formula that makes this dish the all-star that it is.
What is regenerative agriculture?
We spoke about regenerative agriculture as a tangible solution for food production and climate change mitigation as early as 2019, before the word “regenerative” became a marketing plot. If still, you are not aware of what this form of agriculture is about, take a crash course through our article, and join the voices advocating for a shift from industrial, corporate food production.
How we revolutionise the fashion industry
More recently, tariff conversations have created room for healthy debate around cheap imported consumer goods with a distinct focus on fast fashion. Where we do not pay, someone else pays either in lower wages, worker rights and or health and safety provisions. It is not those with super limited finances who are keeping these enterprises in business. Sometimes it is difficult to understand and separate the concept of value and price, and to bring this awareness to our publication, we have featured illuminating conversations with Anna Woodruff of Francie, Marina Davis of Ovna Ovich and Keva Rands of Papa Clothing. Over the last few years, we have also profiled Maggie Marilyn and Penny Sage and shared writings that offer our views on some of the issues becoming increasingly problematic, such as hyper consumerism, plastic and textile waste—and no, it is not getting recycled.
Enrich your dishes with these sauces and dressings
Over the years, we have shared a few recipes to help you achieve finesse in your cooking, that layer of flavour complexity making a meal unforgettable. While sauce encompasses pretty much anything that is liquid yet isn’t a proper dish, a dressing is a sauce whose base is a pairing of oil and vinegar plus some extra ingredients. What is nice about most sauces and dressings is that you can prepare them in advance and keep them in the fridge, ready to coat your food as required. We have something to satisfy any palate!
Sauces. Try a simple yet chic paprika olive oil, a grounded tomato passata, or a more complex roasted tomatillo dip. We also have the perfect companions to your pasta dinner with two choices of pesto, either sundried tomato or basil-based with hemp seeds.
Dressings. If you are after something fresh, this avocado dressing is ideal. If you’d like to bring a taste of Spain or Argentina to your potatoes and tempeh, try out these two mojo picón salsas or this traditional chimichurri. Finally, the perfect tofu flavourings, either glazed in the oven or marinated in a pan, so people can stop pretending tofu is tasteless.
Trace's edit
A wonderful fair trade project that demonstrates that waste is an underutilised resource. These placemats are handcrafted in South Africa of telephone wire by local artisans. Workshops teach the unemployed how to weave—this is a craft that is difficult to master, the workshops providing intensive skill development, training and ongoing employment. An exclusive Pan After initiative, worldwide shipping is available.
My favourite Youth to the People product, the Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial, is now available for your body. The AHA Yerba Mate Smoothing Energy Body Scrub combines physical and chemical exfoliants as per the version for your face to deep clean your body now.
Jasmin Sparrow recently added a new collection online featuring ear cuffs, which are available in sterling silver and 18k gold plated silver. Cuffs offer a modern approach to layering, but the large version would make the most wonderful statement.
Amandine's edit
A trip to visit family in the Parisian region is always an opportunity to tour the French capital and discover new places—a restaurant, a boutique, or a passage. This time, as I wanted to try the (not so new now) serum by Doré, my sister-in-law and I went to Merci Paris, an incredible concept store that mixes art and shopping with intent. I also picked up the cleansing gel from Korean beauty Meisani while I was there.
Since getting struck by the European Union duty taxes ordering Juem breastfeeding bras, I have been searching for a local label fitting my criteria, i.e. natural, certified organic fabric and practical cut. Particularly while sleeping. Finally, after months, I found Talk Under Light. Based in Barcelona, Lara Quetglas locally makes inclusive, 100% organic cotton underwear and light clothing, using natural dyes. I also ordered the long socks!
Prior to giving birth, I needed a bit of structure for working from home, so, as a friend suggested, I started applying the Pomodoro method. Simply, twenty-five minutes of deep work, five minutes of break doing whatever, and to repeat through four cycles. A thirty-minute break between cycles helps integrate home chores into the routine. This focus technique is nothing new to many, but it works wonders for me, so I am sharing. And now I have a baby, it is kind of applicable still, as the cute creature entertains itself in spans of twenty to twenty-five minutes!
Thoughts, questions, you can always direct reply to these emails. We look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey Creed & Amandine Paniagua
This is a salve for the soul. I want to make all the dishes