Making Room by Gather
Hospitality. What do you think of when you hear that word?
For some it's old school 'stuffy' entertaining for others it's something to do with the hotel industry. One thing is for sure, as a culture we're not talking about it much.
Food * Design * Relationships have seemed to have taken a back seat to what our culture focuses on and values yet...we find ourselves in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Something has to change, it's time to get back to our tables, and we're making room for it!
Making Room by Gather invites you into a new conversation on everyday hospitality. One that rewrites the way we approach opening your doors and filling your tables. Shifting the narrative from 'how does this make me look' to 'how does this make you feel' these buildable conversations aspire to inspire connection through everyday gathering.
Kayty's chic and a little quirky interview style will make you feel like you're sitting with a friend talking about how to grow in confidence as an everyday host. You can expect conversations from navigating challenging relationship dynamics to foundational cooking techniques and everything in between.
Whether you are a seasoned host or looking to develop new friendships and grow in your skills for the first time, there is a seat at the table. Join us weekly for new conversations with expert guests and with Kayty in her beloved Date with Kayt episodes. Continue the conversation @gatheritentionalliving
Making Room by Gather
Pretty Delicious Food Styling and Middle Eastern Flavors: A Conversation w/ Food Dolls
It seemed like over the past few weeks EVERYONE was talking about the new release, Pretty Delicious created by Food Dolls, and I knew I had to have them on the show to talk more about the book and the heart behind it!
Our conversation takes you behind the scenes with this dynamic sister duo who, surprisingly, didn't always love cooking. Growing up as first-generation Americans with Egyptian parents, they actually avoided helping in the kitchen whenever possible! Their journey to becoming well loved recipe developers and food stylists began when they had families of their own and started calling each other daily with the question: "What are you making for dinner tonight?"
They introduce listeners to game-changing ingredients like sumac (a lemony herb), za'atar (an earthy spice blend), and pomegranate molasses (a must try if you love balsamic glaze). When they describe tahini as "the Middle Eastern version of peanut butter" that you can spread on toast with honey, you'll immediately want to explore these flavors in your own kitchen.
Rather than pursuing Instagram perfection, we frame beautiful food as "carving out moments of joy" in everyday life, instead of striving for perfection.
Ready to bring Mediterranean magic to your table? Follow the Food Dolls @fooddolls on all platforms and grab their cookbook for 110 approachable recipes that will transform your everyday cooking with minimal effort and maximum flavor.
This Episode is Sponsored by:
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Hey everyone, welcome back to Making Room. I am so glad you're here. This conversation oh my gosh talk about right up my alley Food styling, mediterranean flavors. I tell Colby often if I could pick one cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, it would be anything Mediterranean, anything Middle Eastern, and so the only thing that I wish I could change about this is that we were at the kitchen table like sharing a meal as we're talking. A change about this is that we were at the kitchen table like sharing a meal as we're talking, but so excited to get to know the creators behind Food Dolls that I'm sure you guys know and love as well. There are some books, some releases that launch that just feel like everyone is talking about them, and their latest book feels like that. It feels like everyone is talking about it, so I'm so glad that we get to host the story behind it here today. Well, aaliyah and Radwa, did I say it right? You can correct me, yeah, okay, correct me when we're live. I should have asked you before. I'm so sorry, guys, but they are the sister duo behind Food Dolls, and we haven't had a sister duo really any duo in a very long time. So this is going to be fun. Now.
Speaker 1:Officially, new York Times bestselling authors, which you guys know from the show, is a huge accomplishment. Their debut cookbook, pretty Delicious, is all about sophisticated, fresh and vibrant Mediterranean dishes with a Middle Eastern twist. Born and raised in the Middle East to parents originally from Egypt, they are known for their quick and easy, delicious approach to cooking. They make every meal feel fun, stress-free and totally doable. But they're not just about food. They also share the best home and lifestyle hacks think genius organization tips, cozy decor inspo and all the little things that make everyday life feel special. Guys, this feels like a match made in heaven. My listeners are probably like there could not be a more perfect guest for you.
Speaker 1:So this is the first week that I looked at the 10-day forecast and I thought oh my goodness, thank God summer is finally here. I live for this time of year. It makes me come alive. I am the most Katie in this time or this type of weather, and I know a lot of you guys know exactly what I mean. Well, if you are anything like us, you are thinking about traveling and getting outside and just soaking up every last second of the season.
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Speaker 1:And before we dive into this episode, you need to know about a unique collaboration between Stephanie and myself. We are headed to Antigua Sandals Resort, antigua. I feel like I say it different every time, but you guys probably know what I'm talking about and we want to invite you to come with us. Currently right now the pricing is around $1,500 a person if you share a room for this girls trip. Guys, that price is all inclusive meals, airfare, transportation, lodging prices may go up from here, but if you book today, that is the rate you get. And guys, listen, we have some fun things planned with Stephanie and I have some volunteering opportunities, some girls trip kind of like things on the agenda. But if you want to go and just literally sit by the pool and take advantage of this incredible deal, maybe make some new friends or maybe just hang out by yourself, the option is yours. So head on over to Stephanie's profile at travelwithstephanie S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I, or slide into my DMs and ask me for more information about this trip. We would love to have you there with us Now.
Speaker 1:Without waiting any longer, let's dive into this incredible conversation with the food dolls. Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the host of Making Room by Gather podcast. I am set to see our communities get back to the table through hospitality, but it wasn't always this way. My husband and I moved to Thailand and through it I experienced some loneliness, and with it I was given a choice to sit back and accept it or to do something about it. And for me, that meant two things that I needed the healing to learn how to accept an invitation and the confidence to know how to extend one. Through this process, I developed some of the richest and deepest relationships of my life. Through Making Room by Gather, you will hear conversations from myself and experts in the areas of food, design and relationships. You see there are countless things trying to keep us from the table, but can I tell you something? Take a seat because you are ready, you are capable, you are a good host.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you for having us, thank you so much for having us, of course.
Speaker 1:Okay, can we talk name pronunciation? I want to make sure that I say it right. The rest of the episode Okay, I'm Alia. Alia, okay. Okay, you were so close. And Radwa Alia Okay, okay, you were so close.
Speaker 2:And Radwa Radwa Okay, so I have my best friend's name is spelt the same, but it's Alia, yep, yep, we do see that a lot. Or else sometimes it's it's spelt A-L-I-Y-A-H, but then they pronounce it Alia. So I see kind of everything.
Speaker 1:And then I'm Katie, with two I's, you know, so I'm always very aware of pronunciation. Well, I have to say, when I was first learning about you guys, I must have been under a rock. I don't know, you guys are new to me but I was seeing your absolutely stunning press kits getting sent to people. They were so curated, so gorgeous, so bravo, just the design behind that, right Congratulations. And we just share a lot of the same values.
Speaker 1:Like I, I think I want to talk about this actually in the episode, like making food beautiful is a lost art and I think it's something so important and I think it's misunderstood, a lot like the motives behind it, and so I want to dive into all that actually. But I'm just really I don't know. I think it's misunderstood, a lot like the motives behind it, and so I want to dive into all that actually, but I'm just really I don't know. I think that this conversation is going to be really sweet for a lot of reasons, but, to start off, you guys are the first sister duo I've had on the show Definitely first duo. I can't remember how long it's been.
Speaker 1:A long time, but I'd love to hear as you guys think back to wherever you want to start your childhood. Were you guys always interested in working together? Was that always on the forefront?
Speaker 3:No, we never thought about working together. We just always talked to each other all the time and we did practically everything together, so it only felt fitting that we would have a business together. Wow.
Speaker 1:That's kind of rare?
Speaker 2:huh, it is. And it's funny because to us it seemed, yeah, it just seems so natural. It's not something that we put a lot of thought into it, like, oh, should we start working together? Is this a good or a bad idea? It just felt normal, like there was nothing wrong with working together, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow, how about the food side of things? Were you guys both equally interested in food?
Speaker 3:Well, we both, equally, didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen, but we both loved and and really enjoyed eating it. Okay.
Speaker 1:So, like looking back to how, what's the age difference actually between you guys? Do you mind sharing Four years? Okay, so when you guys were in the kitchen, I mean, what was that like, was one kind of like always helping parents? Were you both helping parents? What did that look like?
Speaker 3:The funny thing is is we. Anytime our mom would ask us to help her. It was like we're like. Oh man, we got to go help her in the kitchen.
Speaker 1:We did not want to do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we did not want to do that but we loved growing up. We loved baking together. That was the thing that we did that. We loved baking cookies and doing brownies and like making all the desserts Like that was our jam, but making food. We didn't start doing that until we had families of our own.
Speaker 1:Wow, so interesting. So you guys really learned a lot in a short amount of time. I guess it all kind of led there. But the food piece yeah, like the savory food piece started when you were later in life. Very interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when we had kids and we just had to, we called each other. Hey, what are you making for dinner today? Just trying to figure out our day to day. You know, that's when it really it really started.
Speaker 1:Wow, how close in proximity are you guys now. Do you like live in the same community?
Speaker 3:Well, we used to live five minutes away from each other, but that recently changed and Alia left me and now she's like about 20 minutes away, which is still great. I not that, not that far.
Speaker 1:That's so. That's so rare and so sweet. What do your parents think of it all Like? What's their reflection as they look at you guys working together?
Speaker 2:Oh, they for sure love it. They love it, you know, and like. If we ever like, like, get into a tip, they're always like there, you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, yep. So I think at the beginning they weren't really exactly sure what it is we were doing. Yeah, they didn't understand it all, but I think now that they understand it and get it, they're so supportive.
Speaker 2:Yeah so cool.
Speaker 1:What a what a sweet family story. Probably some parents dream to some every parent's dream to some extent, right that they're best friends and all stays in the family. That's really sweet, Wow. Well, your parents are from Egypt and I really was thinking about it as I was like preparing like this question If I know anyone from Egypt. I've always been fascinated with the culture, always very interested, always on my place, like my list of places I want to go. I don't think I know anyone from there and so what was that like for you guys growing up? Because you're first generation Americans, right? So give us a little glimpse into that, because that comes with unique beauty and unique challenges.
Speaker 2:Yeah, For sure. So our parents immigrated here in the 80s. So we were born here and, like, everything here was pretty new to our parents. You know, everything from the language to the culture. It was very different. So at home they really tried to keep our Egyptian culture alive because, you know, they're, they're, they're from Egypt. So they really did a good job making sure that it was. It came through with food and language. We do speak Arabic as well, so it's yeah, so that's pretty much how, how it went and it's we're just. That's all we know. So now, having kids of our own, we also want to kind of, you know, give them of some of those things as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's such a valuable gift. My husband and I lived abroad for a few years and we had our son when we came back to the States. I'm like man, how do we keep that alive for him? Because it changed our life, you know. So it's really sweet to hear that you guys are trying to actively continue that. Do you have Egyptian community, like near you, or Middle Eastern community outside of, like your family?
Speaker 2:There is. I mean, we have our cousins and, like aunts and uncles are here, but there is an Egyptian community. It's just not. Minneapolis is not a huge Egyptian community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we lived in Thailand. That's where we called home. I've actually heard in Minneapolis there's a yeah, minnesota Wait. I I have a few friends that are also first generation Americans and I know that they've expressed challenges of just maybe going to school and hearing cultural things from their friends that maybe weren't as understood at home. Did you guys ever feel that tension, like kind of being the person to introduce your parents to American culture, like did it ever feel that way for you guys?
Speaker 2:Well, I think back when we were growing up it was, it was a lot different because there wasn't a lot of like our school, there wasn't a lot of diversity, even in our high school, you know. But now it's now it's very different, it's very more, it's a lot more diverse. And for our parents they did work full time, so they, they learned obviously a lot about the American culture just going to work, you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I, I love it all. I love studying culture. I love learning new traditions at the table. I think it's it's one of the things that we miss most about living abroad, coming back here and having like less I don't know cultural difference in our like in our communities, so I love learning about it. Okay, so I feel like Mediterranean food, middle Eastern food, is kind of having a moment. Are you guys feeling that in the food scene, it?
Speaker 3:totally is, and we love seeing that shine through it speaks to us.
Speaker 1:It's so cool because I remember I went on vacation with a friend in like I don't know, seventh grade and I had Greek food for the first time, which isn't even that crazy, and I came home and no one knew what I was talking about. Like, you know, what did I have? I don't know, like Baba, ganesha, like things like that, right, and I was like, oh, it was so good. And everyone's like you're crazy. Now, that's so normal, it's so, uh, known and familiar. So I guess, as you guys are looking to introduce food from like your background or like your favorite foods, right, um, what do you think? What flavors, techniques, dishes, do you think people? Um, maybe, might, maybe it might not be as common, but you know people would love if they tried them.
Speaker 2:Well, I think with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food it's very fresh Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, a lot of feta cheese, so it's very colorful.
Speaker 3:Lots of herbs.
Speaker 2:And I think certain things that maybe a lot of people might not be familiar with are certain spices like sumac, for example, a very lemony herb, and then there's sawthorne, which is another one which has got thyme and oregano and sesame seeds very earthy but very, very flavorful. And things like pomegranate molasses, for example, is also another really good one that you know it's, you could find in a lot of grocery stores. On Amazon, you could find it.
Speaker 1:So what would we use that with the pomegranate molasses Um?
Speaker 2:a lot of times you could put it like on top of, like dips, as a garnish, or even to like marinate, marinate.
Speaker 1:So kind of like a balsamic glaze, is that?
Speaker 3:how you use it Wow.
Speaker 1:Oh, I haven't even heard of that one yet. It's kind of surprising. What are some dishes that people might make, like fusion style, that you're like oh my gosh, they really missed the mark. Like what are some of the common ones that you're like do you know what I mean? Like sometimes, like falafel recipes, I'll make it and I'm like, oh yeah, this. Like oh yeah, this is not, this is not authentic, or hummuses, anything that you think are falling flat um well, I know that chocolate hummus was like a thing for a long time yeah, that's true right
Speaker 1:yeah did you like it or was it like?
Speaker 3:no, I don't know, it was yeah, and it's funny because we do.
Speaker 2:We do make a lot of fusion recipes ourselves, like fusing kind of our middle Mediterranean, middle Eastern side with our Midwestern side, but we haven't made chocolate hummus before.
Speaker 3:So maybe there was on the next to do one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that'd be a fun thing to see you guys explore. Yeah, I'm sure you could do it. Well, trader Joe's had a a pretty good one, but the thing is they had to add so much sugar to mask the bean it was like not healthy in the end.
Speaker 1:Um, what? What are some dishes that you think like? If someone's listening today and they're like man, I really wish I cooked this way more for my family. Um, but they haven't explored it yet. What are some great like starting recipes for Middle Eastern Mediterranean cuisine that might are family friendly, that you know maybe haven't tried these flavors as much yet From the book Sure, or just the cuisine in general you could highlight?
Speaker 3:the book. I went straight to the book Like do it, do it yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd say the Middle Eastern chicken and potatoes, the saucy chicken and potatoes, cause it's like a one pan meal. Um, you literally just dump everything. You make the marinade and a food processor and you just kind of dump it over the chicken and you just bake it in the oven and it does have a very robust flavor and it's so simple to make. That's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think people are always scared like, oh, my kid's not going to like it, my husband's not going to like it, and some of these flavors I think we just like get in our head. You know, yeah, and these flavors are so phenomenal. There's this like Middle Eastern, almost kind of like food cart vibe restaurant near us. It's not a food cart but it like gives that, it gives that feeling, um, and it's like just like chicken over rice, and they have a few different varieties. The flavors are so insane and I have an Italian background. I was raised on exclusively Italian food and, um, after I had Wesley, the first meal I wanted was that I wanted the chicken over rice with extra white sauce. I love that. It's so good yeah.
Speaker 3:Love a good bowl.
Speaker 1:Say it again Love a good bowl Like a pretty bowl. What do you guys make Like? What do you put in yours? Do you have any in the book?
Speaker 3:Well, actually that's our cover. You know, our cover is like this hearty bowl it's got rice, it's got chicken, it's got the tomato cucumber salad, and then, of course, our dip is our favorite cucumber salad, and then hummus.
Speaker 1:Do you guys make a Middle Eastern white sauce at all? Because I tried to replicate it and I did not do it.
Speaker 2:well, Well, we make ours with just yogurt and a little bit of sour cream, but sometimes, like a lot of times at restaurants, they put, sometimes they'll put mayo in there, they'll put all sorts of stuff, but like traditional cucumber sauce is just with with full fat yogurt.
Speaker 1:Really Okay. What seasonings Anything. I think I did a little garlic.
Speaker 2:Garlic fresh mint salt pepper.
Speaker 1:Yum. Yeah, we always do the extra white sauce and usually I'm pretty like aware of what I eat. I'm like I'm not even going to ask questions, just load it up, just load her up.
Speaker 2:Otherwise it could be. I think sometimes too at these restaurants with these white sauces. Sometimes they put tahini paste in there, sesame paste, oh yeah. So with the yogurt. I guess it depends on where you get it from, but sometimes they put the tahini in there.
Speaker 1:That sounds good. I know everyone uses tahini. I haven't gotten too familiar with it, like I don't use it that much. Oh my gosh, it's a game changer, is it so tell?
Speaker 3:me about it.
Speaker 1:Like I love to cook, I love to bake, I love new flat. Like what, where do I use it? Like, where should I put it?
Speaker 3:I feel like it's like the um Middle Eastern version of peanut butter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it literally is.
Speaker 3:Okay, so you would like, would you spread it?
Speaker 2:on toast. Like, would you make it? Totally can, really, absolutely can. Yeah, you can put on toast with honey. Sometimes you could do that with molasses as well, on toast. Otherwise, you can make a dip out of it. So you add some water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cumin and, yeah, you make it into a sauce or a dip and you could do it thicker, thinner. You could do it as like a salad dressing. It's very versatile and now people put it in all sorts of desserts and it's amazing on falafel.
Speaker 1:Is it really? Falafel is one of my favorite foods, like in life.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Well, this sauce to go on top is like a match made in heaven.
Speaker 1:Yep, okay, I'll do that this week. Live reaction loading. Um, man, I love that I'm going to get the pomegranate molasses, cause I use balsamic glaze all the time, um, and so I could see myself using that too. Yep, for sure. Um, well, there's a few things that I could totally geek out about. Anything studying people, like psychology, social work I could talk about that forever and ever. I love studying people, but also anything home, so food design, relationships, and I love I was reading about you guys.
Speaker 1:I'm like check, check, check, like check all the boxes, um, and I actually really appreciate about that about you guys, because I think that in culture, maybe more a few years ago, when people were first starting their own brands, um, there was a huge emphasis on like, pick your niche, pick your. One thing, you know don't, don't do too many things, um, don't spread yourself too thin. But you guys have mastered it. You do an incredible job. It's it's very authentic, um, it all makes sense, uh, and it's uh really sweet and unique. So I want to kind of pass the mic to you guys. What are some of the tips that you guys teach um or passionate about that you wish more people knew?
Speaker 3:that you guys teach, or passionate about that you wish more people knew. I think one of our biggest mottos is trying to make life easier. So you know, whether that's buying a veggie chopper to cut your time in half in the kitchen to like chop your vegetables up so much quicker, or organizing your spice cabinet to have your spices labeled and you know where they are and you can refill them easy enough to grab and put them back, and you know anything that makes life easy. But also making it pretty too simple. It doesn't have to be super curated. Um, we love a styled kitchen, you know, simple yet beautiful.
Speaker 1:Actually, um, if you guys have something else, feel free to jump back to that, but while you said, like you love a styled kitchen or making things pretty, I think I don't know if you feel this way. I feel like this is really misunderstood in culture right now. People think that the goal is perfection, it's unattainable, it's unapproachable, and I think that until you've experienced the other side, you don't know how life giving it could be right, like it's. I remember I don't know I'm getting ahead of myself. First of all, do you guys feel this way? Do you feel like styling things is misunderstood, sometimes Absolutely, cause it's?
Speaker 3:everybody thinks that you do need to have it perfect, but it could be perfect for yourself, you know, making your kitchen your happy place. That could be how that could be perceived in so many different ways. It doesn't have to be exactly how we have it, but how you like it.
Speaker 2:You know it, but how you like it you know, yeah, and just simple little tweaks is all you need. You know you don't need to do anything over the top in order to make it perfectly styled, just little simple things. You know, like if you, if you don't like fresh flowers, you could get artificial flowers on a vase, and just you know. Or you know having some greens, or like some pop of color here and there, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think the other thing too is it's not like the end all be all. It's not like I don't know, like it's okay if sometimes it's not that way, like, for example, I love food styling. It's my happy place when I have the margin, that's my default. But I've also had to learn like having Wesley now a year and a half year old, like one and a half year olds. It's not always going to happen, and so for me I'm like okay, it just has to mean that I give myself grace in the in between. Right, like it's not. It's not like. This is the only time I can gather is when my food is highly styled or when my house is perfect. That's not the only time I can have people over.
Speaker 1:I think, that's absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:That's the most understanding I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in and of itself is not hospitality. Like styled food is not hospitality. A beautiful house is not hospitality, it's just. It's just a tool, it's just a cherry on top. Agreed?
Speaker 2:And we have. We have kids of our own. We don't style our food when we you know when we're, when we're, when the kids are eating dinner or whatever you know. It's just more like styling the food is nice if you're hosting, you know how to like plate, certain things you know but day to day, we don't style our food day to day, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:I was actually. I was thinking of sharing this story. I'm toying with Substack. Do you guys have a Substack? We have an account, but we haven't used it. I'm like back and forth. Are you guys doing that too? Yeah, yeah, it's like another thing.
Speaker 3:Everybody's talking about it right now.
Speaker 1:I know I know I do better with long form contents that's why I'm considering it than like short little captions. But there was a story I was thinking of sharing. In high school I made myself lunch every day and this kid used to always tease me that my lunch was so beautiful and what he didn't know was home. Life at that point was really tough for me and groceries were actually really limited at home. At that point was really tough for me and groceries were actually really limited at home. And so having a beautiful lunch was just a way for me to kind of like carve out a moment of joy, a moment of celebration.
Speaker 1:It was kind of like creative expression and an art form. For me. It had nothing to do with like my goal was never to make anyone feel uncomfortable or perfection. It was just kind of like carving out and curating like moments of joy throughout the day. And I think that's the other side of it. Like, if you are someone that maybe is quick to think that people are trying to be perfect with like these details, maybe try to reframe your thoughts Like maybe it's just trying to curate moments of joy. Yeah, yeah, have you guys watched the Megan Markle show yet on Netflix?
Speaker 2:I haven't. Oh yeah, it's on our to-do list.
Speaker 1:I wish you did. I would have loved to talk about it with you because I feel like maybe I'll do a reaction reaction video. But it's getting so like. It's getting so much criticism, Like, have you seen all the reports? It's insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I haven't seen, but I did see something like I think she does a lot of style things.
Speaker 1:But wait until you watch it. Because I was like man, this show is going to be terrible. It's like, well, I read all the reports before I watched it and it is so attainable, like it is. So I feel like she approached it with so much like approachability and just access. I don't think it's what people are saying it is, and I think it goes along with what we're talking about, this like misunderstanding of the purpose and styling things, and I think you guys are going to love it. We got to watch it. You do have to watch it. Yeah, you do have to watch it. I think what happens is like people get so busy that they just scratch, scratch this off. They're like I'm too busy to style things, I'm too busy to make the table beautiful and it doesn't have to be hard and it's way more life-giving than I think people realize. Yeah, Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, okay, let's talk about the book. So I haven't dived into it yet, and so I want you guys to paint a picture for us. So what aspects of it are you excited for readers to experience? Let's start there.
Speaker 3:I think that how approachable the recipes are, how simple, easy, lots of flavor. We really tried to add a lot of tips and tricks, for example, like air fryer is like a tips for real life air fryer. Or what to do with leftovers. Or how to turn a salad into a jar Really trying. When we created this book, ali and I talked back and forth about what is it that we need in our life? Because the things that we need in our life we know that other people need, and that is easy, simple recipes.
Speaker 1:Anything else there no.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's no, I think that really sums everything up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, it's well, it's gorgeous. Obviously I, you know, I love knowing the behind the scenes of, like, the road to launch, just because it's not talked about a lot. What was, how long was this process for you guys Like?
Speaker 3:start to finish.
Speaker 1:So maybe like signing the book deal to launch day Two and a half years.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Two and a half years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's a very long process. It's very. We didn't. I mean, we knew in the beginning it was going to take that long. Well, we didn't know, but that's what we found out after we signed that it's going to take that long between everything from like just the manuscript to the recipe, to coming up with a list of recipes, to cutting things out to the testing. It was just, it was very robust, yeah, wow, wow, robust yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, wow. Yeah, I love having authors on the show and helping to support launches because people don't realize. I think they see social media accounts, they see these books, some of them hitting the bestseller list. They think it's this overnight success thing. And I love when authors share pictures of tears and sweatpants at a coffee shop or something like like leading up to the launch, because that's just as much a part of the process as as a glamorous launch party. You know it's it's the whole range and it is a it's. I haven't written my own book yet, but it is a very long process. So what's one part of the launch process that was maybe the most challenging and then maybe your favorite, because it's your?
Speaker 2:debut book. Yes, so do you mean the launch as in, just like a couple weeks ago, or just like the whole process from A to Z? Let's do A to Z.
Speaker 3:Okay, from A to Z. Let's do A to Z, okay. I mean, I feel like the the best part was the photography, styling and trying to curate it to me and Alia and our style and our upbringing and our culture and our vibe into the book.
Speaker 2:I would absolutely say that would be the best part Same and just seeing it all come to life like everything that the best part Same. And just seeing it all come to life like everything that, like everything that we created, and just seeing it all put together, because we obviously saw like the PDF file of it before it was put together in a printed book, but opening the book for the first time was probably just the most rewarding thing ever, to be honest, yeah.
Speaker 3:Wow, alia, would you say, the hardest part would have probably been the, the like the really nitty gritty details of every single recipe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, because, like the thing is like I mean, we have a website we put, we put recipes up on our website, but when you're doing a book you can't go in and edit anything. You know, once it's written, it's, it's in there. No changes can be made. So we always have to. We have to go back so many times just to like get like every, every detail, like, oh, if you're putting red bell pepper, well, how big is that red bell pepper, you know? What size is it Small or medium? Like just like really small details that we had like had to make sure it was written correctly, and like we were like measuring certain things just to make sure you know, like, if it's a cucumber, how big is the cucumber, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm definitely in our relationship. My husband's a detail guy. I'm like the big picture, and especially like when you're comfortable in the kitchen or with some of these creative things, it's so natural to you. Like you don't think of right, like, yeah, all those things that's, I could like feel the headache, oh man, um, well, anything else, hmm, anything else that you guys are working on at this point, or part of the book that you're like if someone were new to our platform, I'd want them to know this.
Speaker 2:I'd say, yeah, just get our book and come to our website. You know you'll find a whole bunch of recipes. I mean, we have 110 recipes in our book, but we have a whole bunch of recipes on our website as well.
Speaker 3:So and we're too busy working moms, so we get the busy lifestyle that everybody has and, um, we're all about those quick and simple recipes. So, and that won't lack any flavor.
Speaker 2:And we do love feedback from our community. You know we love when they tell us oh, can you make, can you find, make us a recipe for this, put together a recipe for that, or we need more tips and tricks. And you know, and we love to bring that stuff to life.
Speaker 1:That's so cool. I love that personability. Well, we end each of our conversations with the same three questions, and I would love to hear your answers as well, and then you guys decide if you so here, let's do it this way. If you have an answer that you're like, oh yeah, that's definitely my answer, why don't you both give it?
Speaker 3:you know, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:If you're, if you're struggling to think of one, don't feel bad, passing Okay. Okay. I feel like in these interviews I should send when there's multiple people, I should send you guys like a talking stick.
Speaker 2:Oh, that'd be an answer. Okay, something you have eaten recently and loved, I'd say I've been on a cookie granola kick. I don't know if you've had it before. It's by Pearlie Elizabeth. She has the double chocolate cookie granola and the peanut butter cookie granola.
Speaker 1:I get in so much trouble, though. For me it's like a full bag or nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is hard to stop, it is hard, it is hard. So that's why I said it's been an obsession you have to like have a handful.
Speaker 3:Good, okay, even though I always say, like I would say, a dessert for sure, but I don't know why these Chobani yogurt drinks has been like my daily jam.
Speaker 1:Really so good Right.
Speaker 3:It's like a protein drink. It's got like 20 grams of protein, or you could get the one that's got 30 grams of protein. There's a vanilla one that I like, absolutely love, or there's strawberry or mixed berry.
Speaker 1:Well, I trust you guys with food. I haven't tried those. Okay, I know we've been making these like um, so everyone does the overnight oats. My husband found a recipe for drinkable overnight oats and that sounded like barf to me. I was like, texture-wise, that sounds so gross. They're phenomenal. It's basically overnight oats, is it blended.
Speaker 1:No, so that's a good idea. He didn't want me to blend it, he had this vision. So it's like overnight oats, but you would maybe like cut the oat part in half and just do. We've kind of just like eyeball it, um, just like more liquid than oats, and he drinks it on the way to work and we pack it with protein powder and sometimes peanut butter and he loves it. So you have to give that a whirl. He's definitely in that drinkable era, so he'd like those two. Um, okay, how about this one? A gathering that you attended that made you feel a strong sense of belonging and, if you could pinpoint it, what it was that made you feel that way?
Speaker 3:oh, our cookbook um signing.
Speaker 2:Cookbook signing for sure I know alia's gonna agree with me on that one, right, yeah, yeah, you know what about it?
Speaker 3:tell me about it just to see our followers and our community just in life, in real life, like we usually get messages and dms and we respond back. But there's just something else about seeing someone in person so excited or with our cookbook, holding the cookbook in their hands and telling us how much they love us and how they make our recipes every day. It was, you know. It was such a beautiful feeling.
Speaker 1:That's really sweet after a two and a half year process of kind of grinding right. Yeah. Yeah, it could be a little bit lonely. I don't know if you guys feel that way, but oh for sure, Sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's so important, that's really sweet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do talk about that a lot because you know we technically work behind the scenes a lot and we you get kind of sucked into everything and you kind of forget like the world out there in a sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so real. Wow, very, very sweet. And then my favorite one recently something you've discovered recently that you think everyone should know about a Netflix show Amazon purchase anything.
Speaker 3:Um lineage lip mask.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Seriously.
Speaker 3:I okay, Like I am a huge sucker for, like anything moisturizing your lips. Like I use cocoa butter every day. I have like the stick that I found at Walgreens that I absolutely love. But I recently saw this Laneige lip mask. It's like thick, it's glossy and it makes your lips feel like butter. So I would say that.
Speaker 1:Okay, noted.
Speaker 2:Okay, I would say I've been using this Elta MD oil cleanser and gel. It's amazing. So after, like, you have your makeup on, you put this, like it's like almost like a gel, you put it on your face and then you wipe it off with a hot towel and it takes all the makeup off and you feel like you have a fresh, fresh face. It's amazing. That does feel.
Speaker 1:I was going to say that feels nice. I said that, I think, because I was feeling Wow, okay, that's great, those are both really good. I I'm coming out of my like postpartum slump and, like you know, getting back in my skin and like give me all the beauty, like all the feel good dopamine hacks. That's awesome. Well where do you guys want to send people if they want to follow along for more Well?
Speaker 2:we're on all platforms.
Speaker 1:That is great. Branding, really easy. Well, guys, thank you so much for taking the time. This was, this was fun. This was really fun, excited to get my hands on a copy of the book, excited to start cooking. And, guys, if you had their way, get a copy of their book, make recipes. Be sure to tag both of us so we could see what you're creating, and we will see you next week.
Speaker 3:Yep, thank you so much. Thank you Bye.