LAGOM - May 2024
Tomatillos salsa + vegan banana cake, cleanser selection and the latest on Kelmarna Garden
Hello, hello!
Everything is interconnected. In this issue, we share a fresh tomatillo salsa and a classic vegan banana cake recipe, apt for this time of year. We also discuss the realities of local agriculture in a global context through Tāmaki-based Kelmarna community farm. It is a market garden that today is under threat of closure, the result of ever-reducing council funding for anything that could improve the social good. And because we all need to wash our face, we have a list of seven cleansers for your consideration, all the result of intentionally sourced ingredients and cruelty-free.
We recently discussed the internet, specifically social media—what we were seeing and our associated feelings because these platforms have become spaces where people increasingly come to learn about elections and the news. The dopamine loop has become replaced with something else that seems very bleak. That said, Instagram still does feel like a positive force, there are still good things there if you look.
At a time when many people wonder what is happening in the world, there is rent to pay, emails that need to be written, and groceries bought. We are all consuming and actively participating in this system. What we publish on our website and Substack is a portal to create opportunities for a new world, and what we share is where we find freedom and can offer a form of value and care to our reader community. And yes, there is still a section of the internet that is very much about photo album dumps and sharing top-down photos of what you ate for lunch.
Roasted tomatillos salsa verde
Enjoy this roasted tomatillo dip sauce, something different. It is fresh, spicy, lightly tangy and slightly sweet, a collection of bright flavours to uplift any basic meal, from your favourite salad to baked veggies and sandwiches—also to enjoy for itself with tortilla chips. Wherever you are, save this recipe for the next season, or make it soon!
Do you cleanse or double cleanse?
Some people don’t cleanse, and some double cleanser. You need to know what will work for you because not everything will. If you are yet to find a reliable cleanser routine these are Trace’s favourite ones. Perhaps this read will be your excuse for buying a multi-action exfoliating, makeup-removing cleanser.
From Aotearoa - Kelmarna Garden needs your help
It was two years ago that Trace caught up with Andy Boor, the previous manager of community farm Kelmarna in Auckland Central. Over the last years, the farm went through various developments based on agroecology farming, expanding its activities and offering a CSA scheme for people to enjoy the nutritious dense food harvested on location on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, as public funding, a pillar of their business plan, is becoming more uncertain and the organisation lost an important annual grant a few months ago, the future of the farm is in jeopardy. Agroecological community gardens are vital tools for reshaping our food system, and it will be a shame to see Kelmarna disappear. They have put in place a strategy for funding and need people's support more than ever.
Vegan banana cake, a classic
Cold weather calls for warming baking. Grab your ripped banana and prepare with super easy, delicious vegan banana cake, a classic that never disappoints. It is for no occasion other than the occasion being you feel like banana cake, or cake, simply.
Amandine's edit
The Schmidt Ocean Institute, an organisation operating in the ocean research field, has a YouTube channel where they share videos of their diving research trips, giving people the opportunity to discover deep-water marine life. This video from December last year features a beautiful psychedelic jellyfish (short version is here for those who have no patience). What a world of wonders we live in.
Our recent move from Aotearoa involved, no surprise, decluttering. It’s a cathartic experience. This sentiment is echoed by others. In this piece published in the Guardian, authors Jem Bartholomew and Jane Clinton met with people who let go of their possessions, exploring what benefits or downsides the experience brought to their lives. How far can it go?
This little online shop, Lazy Jaimie, sells mainly aluminium goods for the home—US delivery only, but items are cute and original, so the store deserves a browse.
Trace's edit
In a previous Substack issue, I shared news of Crown Affair being available at MECCA. And now, for those of us in Australia and Aotearoa, we have improved access to Act + Acre, which is exciting. If you have been Googling how to get fuller hair, you might have come across Swiss apple stem cells. If not, and you are seeking a fuller mane, Act + Acre’s 3% Stem Cell Peptide Treatment is described by one user as a ‘miracle serum’, and I really want to try it. The formulation contains aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, and a bamboo and pea sprout blend, which I cannot speak to yet, but the product reviews are five out of five. Trichologist tested and approved, Act + Acre are committed to responsibly sourcing, and all products are cruelty free and vegan.
I have listed and reviewed my previous body oil purchases here, and the latest is the Ikarian Body Oil, Rose Absolute, Neroli, Seabuckthorn. I ordered a bottle, which I believe is at the post office awaiting collection (either that or it is my HAY basket!), and I cannot wait to use it. Also, buckthorn oil is wonderful; it has a unique unsaturated fatty acids profile—palmitooleic acid (omega-7) and gamma-linolenic acid (omega-6), which provide regenerative and repair properties. I had previously read it was fantastic for eczema. This is no longer my skin issue, but if it is yours, this oil is an option over steroid creams commonly prescribed. Back to the brand, the range is all sourced from Mother Earth, there is a great deal of focus on packaging materials, and they are TerraCycle partners. All products are cruelty free.
As part of Melbourne Design Week, Aesop hosted a conversation with Jessie French, an experimental designer, artist and founder of OTHER MATTER, which I attended, interested in learning more about French's algae-based non-fossil fuel plastic. French's Decals are non-toxic, made from renewable resources, and circular. French's Decals have transformed the windows of 38 Aesop stores across Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand, as part of the Immaculate Lotion campaign. They have the potential to transform the temporal signage industry, presenting alternatives to PVC, a class of fossil fuel plastics increasingly banned in other forms due to their toxicity and carcinogenic properties. Watch this space.
Thoughts, questions, you can always direct reply to these emails.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey Creed & Amandine Paniagua
