The Kitchen Cosmos

A little sneak peek at something we've been working on behind the scenes...

Over the past few weeks, we've been reimagining our newsletter, The Shared Table, and I'm excited to finally give you a glimpse of what's coming.

One of the recurring features we're introducing is called The Kitchen Cosmos, a collaboration with astrologer Erin River Sunday.

This isn't a traditional horoscope. Each month, Erin will explore the month’s elemental energy (water, earth, fire, or air) and how it can show up in our kitchens, our cooking, our bodies, and the way we nourish ourselves. Think of it as a lens rather than a prediction. A way of paying attention to the energy that’s available to us all and finding practical ways to work with it.

I've loved seeing this feature take shape because it feels like such a natural extension of what we're doing here. Food doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's connected to the seasons, our routines, our energy, and the way we move through the world.

We're still putting the finishing touches on everything and will share a proper introduction when The Shared Table officially launches in July. But I wanted to give you an early look at what's coming! XO

Welcome ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

Hello from the front lines of getting this membership up and running! It’s 6:30 am, and in a few hours, we are officially opening the doors to The Kitchen Commune membership. This is my kitchen studio, half kitchen, half multipurpose dining area. This was taken a few months ago when I was up to my eyeballs in papers. I need to write everything out, print it, and rearrange things on a table to see what I’m doing.

This membership is a container for the layers of my work over the years, and I finally have some clarity about how I want to share it with you. In the past, I was trying to make social media the place where my work lived. I have struggled to stay consistent there for two reasons.

Number one: it really gets in my head. I bounce between feeling inspired and not caring at all, to becoming overly focused on tracking and all the other things I constantly tell my girls not to get caught up in.

Number two: life. If you're new here, I've had a complicated health journey spanning more than twenty years that has included multiple autoimmune diseases, Lyme disease, and uterine fibroids. Thankfully, after years of dedicated work, persistence, a few surgeries, and learning, those chapters are now behind me. But last fall, shortly after announcing that I would be teaching in-person classes, I faced a breast health issue that understandably caught my attention.

I canceled everything and burrowed deep inside my heart. It turned out to be a false alarm, but I spent three weeks waiting for answers and confronting some very difficult realities. I've had a few moments like that throughout my health journey, but this one had a way of purifying my spirit. More on that later if you want.

Needless to say, all this, combined with raising two girls, has made staying consistent with creative projects challenging!

As the universe would have it, my health has improved exponentially in the last six months.  My girls are spreading their wings, and I find myself feeling really good, energized, and inspired.

This community is what I want to feed. I want this membership to become a home base for learning, connection, and community. The recipes are cookbook-edited and written with the home cook in mind. It's where I want to put my energy and finally let social media do what it does best: help people find their way here.

Welcome!!! Please reach out!! Introduce yourself, write me (us) a note, chime in.

With love,

Chay xoxoxox