To our village~
There's something beautifully messy about summer and the long, unstructured days that spill into one another. But as the season begins to fall away, I find myself sorting out space for fall—to clean the mind, body, spirit, and home. Maybe you caught that New York Times piece noting how we each consume the equivalent of a credit card's worth of plastic every week. It's a jarring truth, but one that's surprisingly easy to change when we focus on the small touchpoints—especially in the kitchen. This month, we're sitting down with author and environmental health advocate Lindsay Dahl to talk about her new book, Cleaning House, and we'll be sharing a practical deep dive on ditching plastic. Our homes are full of easy upgrades: glass jars over plastic tubs, aluminum and steel in place of cling wrap, and choosing products packaged without plastic. It's why, from day one, west~bourne has been 100% plastic-free—because what touches your food touches you.
Oil, in particular, feels like the forgotten frontier of wellness. Plastic water bottles often get the headlines (liquids are incredible conductors of microplastics) - and similarly, oils sit by our stoves, travel in heat, and flavor our food every single day. If you wouldn't drink water stored in plastic, why would you cook with oil that is? From the start, we've believed health is inside-out and from the ground up, which means not just nutrient-rich food but the way it's grown, packaged, and shared. Regeneration has always been our compass. And while plastic is marketed as "cheap," it only appears that way because we collectively subsidize it. So, put some intent behind your choices - demand something different, and the system shifts.
That's why community matters. We've been proud to stand alongside MAD Agriculture since the beginning of our journey - one of our closest philanthropic partners. We are proud to deepen this partnership as a founding member with MAD Agriculture, Whole Foods Market, along with so many brands we admire, for their bold new step toward a regenerative future - 1 million acres of land to transition to regenerative. A super highway of soil health and biodiversity - the first of its kind. It's proof that we can affect change when we work together.
In the meantime, I hope you didn't miss our late-summer collab with fellow Angelenos YUZUCO, our first infusion and most requested citrus flavor — only a few bottles left. And as we look toward this coming crisp season and beyond, we have new limited editions coming to your kitchens, each a small ember of the bigger change we're building together. Stay tuned…
Here's what I'm turning toward this month:
8 Plastic-Free Swaps:
- Reusable cotton mesh and beeswax wraps instead of plastic produce bags.
- A wooden cutting board in place of plastic.
- An enamel spatula over plastic cooking utensils.
- Or a set of wooden utensils.
- A countertop water filter that's completely plastic-free.
- Silicone storage bags instead of single-use plastic wrap and baggies.
- Ceramic-coated glass containers for the refrigerator, no plastic tubs.
- Cast iron as a lasting alternative to nonstick pans.
These four pieces of seasonal produce offer a bridge between summer and fall:
- Green Plums (see my recipe, Cucumber and Green Plum in Its Juice from My Regenerative Kitchen)
- Lemon Cucumbers
- Squash Blossoms (perfect for my recently-shared recipe for Squash Blossom Tempura)
- Kiwi (packed with antioxidants and rich in serotonin, kiwi can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.)
with gratitude,
Camilla
Chef and Founder, west~bourne
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