2 great green sauces, good news from NYC + beyond, an easy way to help immigrant + refugee families | 7/5/2025
Zohran Mamdani + more good news; chimichurri + pesto; a lovely way to help immigrant families, musings on the Terrible Awful Bill passage.
I hope you’re enjoying a long weekend filled with yummy food, good weather, and fun with your loved ones. 🎆🗽
Speaking of yummy food, 👇scroll down for two herb-powered green sauces that will help take your summer meals to 11. 🌿
Trump’s Hideous Cruel Budget Bill passed late last week. Does holding a moment of silence to acknowledge all the suffering this legislation will cause seem appropriate to you, too? 🙇🏽♀️
I’ve been thinking a lot about the language and the power of 12-step programs like Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous lately because I’m tearing through the galleys of Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, All the Way To the River: Love, Loss and Liberation - due out on Sept. 9 from Riverhead. 📕It’s a raw, brutally honest, and ultimately uplifting memoir about Gilbert’s and her partner, Rayya Elias’s dueling addictions (to sex and love for Gilbert, to drugs and alcohol for Elias), their long friendship, their brief, incendiary love affair following Elias’s diagnosis with terminal cancer, and Gilbert’s eventual path to sobriety and the start of her lifelong journey of recovery after Elias’s death from liver cancer in 2018.
Sometimes things have to get truly terrible before people find the will to make them better. Maybe America has yet to hit rock bottom? There may well be many more horrible things that need to happen before our society can begin the long, difficult climb to clear-eyed recovery and healing. In the meantime, we just need to keep doing what we can to strengthen democracy (ahem, register voters!), and to help others, and try to have faith that things will improve if enough of us are committed to that vision.
It’s also helpful to celebrate the bright spots amidst these raging dumpster fires. One of the brightest spots for me was Zohran Mamdani’s decisive win over Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced abuser and former Governor of NY in the Democratic Primary for the New York City mayoral race last week.👍🗳️ This victory is emblematic of a shift our country needs badly — from entrenched, aged, largely white rulers to younger, more diverse leaders whose loyalty is to voters over parties. Scroll down for a round up of lots of other good news from across the US and the world. ⬇️📰
I’ve had some fun ideas for new magnets, shirts, hats, etc., but zero time to work on them, so for now, check out my existing designs, especially my new personal favorite - Smokey The Bear with his warning that “Only you can prevent fascist liars.”
Don’t miss out on an easy, satisfying way to help immigrant/refugee families in the NYC metro area below, too. 👨🏽👩🏽👦🏽 Bonus points for setting up one of these collection boxes in your neighborhood.🐶💩🧊
I hope you’re having a great long weekend.
-Eve
EAT: TWO DELICIOUS GREEN SAUCES - CHIMICHURRI + PESTO!
Now that it’s legit summer, our garden is producing lots of flavorful herbs which makes it easy to whip up a delicious batch of green sauce to amp up pasta, grilled meat or fish, sandwiches, and more.
1. Chimichurri. My sister-in-law recently whipped up a batch of this addictively herby Agrentinian sauce with the fun name to go with grilled chicken and steak and It. Was. So. Good. I hadn’t made chimichurri in a few years but have since made it twice in two weeks and plan to keep it in regular rotation. Also, if you happen to belong to a CSA and receive way more parsley than you feel you can handle, this is a perfect way to use it up. Just blend a bunch of parsley (you can also add oregano, cilantro, etc.) with some olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes, cider or red wine vinegar and/or lemon, and salt and something magical happens. Get the recipe.
2. Pesto. One of the things I appreciate most about pesto is how flexible it is — few foods are as versatile. It’s delicious whether it’s made with basil, or cilantro, or parsley (or a combination of some or all of them.) You can use garlic or garlic scapes and you can saute or roast it first for a mellower, sweeter flavor. You can also use garlic mustard greens if you want to eat your invasives. Or skip the garlic altogether if you’re not a fan. Pesto is tasty whether it’s made with pine nuts, or cashews, or pistachios, or walnuts, or sunflower seeds. And if you or others in your life have food allergies, pesto is still good without the cheese 🧀❌ and/or the nuts. 🥜❌This page includes many variations of pesto - try any or all that appeal to you. And don’t forget that you can freeze both of these sauces to enjoy during the colder, darker months. My recommendation is to freeze them in cubes that you then unmold and store in a glass container or if you know you’ll want a larger batch at some point, freeze a bigger amount in a glass jelly jar to defrost later.
PRO-TIP: Pick Your Herbs Regularly 🌿📆
While you don’t want to completely denude the plant, the more basil or parsley or cilantro or dill that you pick, the more energy the plant will put into producing new leaves, rather than bolting and going to seed (a.k.a. flowering). In short, the more pesto or chimichurri you make from your garden herbs, the longer you’ll get to enjoy eating those same herbs. Pick your basil regularly and the plants will thank you by producing tender new leaves all summer long. And the same thing is true for lettuce, kale, etc.
ACT: HELP IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE FAMILIES IN NEED 🛏️🍴
This is a tough time for all the thoughtful, sane folks who care about other people, the environment, and the world at large. It’s easy to feel powerless and overwhelmed. That’s why I’m pleased to be able to pass along this tangible, direct way to help immigrant and refugee families in the NYC area get settled via Ruth’s Refuge - a suggestion from my good friend, Anna. I bought three things (a set of towels, a set of cutlery, and a set of kitchen knives) off the wishlist for the 11 families and it felt so good! Other immediate needs include toasters, lamps, bathmats, etc. The organization also has an air conditioning fund you can donate to because summer in NYC is HOT and so many apartments don’t have AC.🥵If you’re in the NYC area, you can also donate high-quality used goods in good condition.
HOPE: GOOD NEWS FROM ALL OVER 🗞️😊
Not only did Zohran Mamdani beat the pants off Trump-esque former NY Governor, Andrew Cuomo, winning the Democratic party’s nomination for NYC Governor, his campaign and victory also inspired a record-breaking number of young people to sign up with Run For Something - the organization received 2,700 applicants in three days after the primary results were shared. ✍️
As the Trump administration rolls back federal environmental regulations, boosts fossil fuels, and cuts subisidies for electric vehicles, wind, and solar projects, mayors across the U.S. are stepping up to keep their cities moving forward rather than backward. 🌎
The FDA has approved a potentially game-changing drug in the 40+ year battle against HIV/AIDS. The new drug is called Lenacapavir and is a capsid inhibitors that is injected twice-yearly to prevent the spread of HIV in people who are at risk of contracting it. It was nearly 100% effective at preventing the spread of HIV in large clinical trials and is being hailed as a “milestone moment”. 💉
Late last week, a federal judge permanenently struck down a White House executive order seeking to punish the law firm Susman Godfrey, adding to a string of court victories for firms targeted for their association with Trump’s perceived enemies. ⚖️
Over in Musk-land, Elon continues to suffer the consequences of spending more than $290 million to elect an insane and morally bankrupt man who’s bent on destroying America (that little buzzing sound you hear is me playing the world’s smallest violin.) 🎻
After going silent for weeks following his apology to Trump, Elon couldn’t help himself any longer and started tweeting nasty things about Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and calling for a new political party.
In response, Trump mused publicly about looking into deporting Elon and threatened that he might have to “put DOGE on Elon.”
The City of Charlotte, NC voted 6-3 to remove Tesla from a list of pre-approved electric vehicles the city can purchase.
And Europeans are still not buying Musk’s tainted Teslas.
Please tell your friends, family, and neighbors about Feed Your Fight!