Three late-summer recipes

And hello from paradise!

Aug 17, 2024

When I went to college for Hotel Administration (that’s what my Bachelor’s is, though it looks a bit clunky on a diploma…), the running joke was to make friends with the people who ten years down the line would be operating all the best hotels in the world. Y’know, for the perks. Your girl somehow made the right moves, and one of my friends from college recently opened Naviva, the most beautiful resort I’ve ever seen. He was a year below me in school, so the idea that he’s more successful than me is frankly…rude, but I will take the opportunity to see his beautiful property any day.

So hello! FROM MEXICO! Well, Punta Mita to be specific. And wow, is it beautiful here. I’m eternally grateful my job gives me the opportunity to show off some of my friend’s best work. And if you feel so inclined, maybe give Naviva a follow on Instagram so Gundeep can report some solid numbers to his marketing team for why he sent me here.

I’m here for a three-day mini vacation (it’s August, mini vacations are a rule, even if it’s just a state of mind!), and this resort keeps packing in special moments and details. Even though I’m more of an adventure traveler than a resort one, I’ve texted Eric at least four times that we should consider this for our honeymoon.

A few things I can’t get over:

Their cooking classes in their kitchen. All hands-on, and the ingredients are exceptional, which truly changes the profile and build of Mexican food. Even the avocados are BUILT DIFFERENT. They call their restaurant their “kitchen,” to emphasize that it’s more of a communal, familial feeling instead of you being waited on hand-and-foot, which was way more my style.
The fact that the water is SOURCED FROM THE SKY. They have solar-like panels that filter 3.5-3.9 liters of water from the humidity a day. So every guest can be sustained on their internal water system.
They have a wine program with wines exclusively from female-owned Mexican wineries. Slay.
The opportunity to do a Temazcal ceremony, which fed my adventure-style-traveler needs. If I’m traveling somewhere, I want a chance to experience the culture. This ceremony where you spend up to 90 minutes in a high-heat, high-steam, dark environment is tough, but I think that’s part of its power.

While this trip was gifted (thank you, Gundeep), I was not required to write about it the way I did. I just wanted to say that if you have a splurge, a celebration, or a honeymoon coming up, I highly recommend this place. It’s something special.

But enough about beaches, this week has three recipes that are great for late-summer entertaining. I’m using and transforming all the peak summer produce that you’re probably overbuying (which I endorse). So here’s the round-up!

The weekly round-up!

Single Tomato Tarts - A simple tart, but I love that they can be served individually! I simplified the recipe from last year, and honestly, it’s better for it.

Eggplant Parmesan Chickpeas - don’t let the name turn you off, this is just a deconstructed-eggplant-parm in a way, just with some chickpeas thrown in to make it a full meal. And even if you’re an eggplant hater, I think this might swing you!

And Peach Bread, my latest YouTube video! A brown-butter peach bread that acts like banana bread, but just swap in peaches for banana and eat it with ice cream. Live your best life.