Hi Reader,

It has been almost a year since I started sharing a little bit more of myself and the recipes that I truly want to make with you all. And I am not going to sit here and tell you that it has been easy because truthfully, it has been hard. Really hard.

Once I stopped asking myself "will this perform?" or "will go this viral?" and started asking "is this something I want to eat and share with my family?", I began to cater to a much smaller group of people. But I kept telling myself, I will find those people. They will show up.

Because I know the people who love this kind of food are out there. The ones who crave simple, maybe even sometimes boring, home cooked meals with lots of olive and lots of garlic.

And maybe it takes a little time. Maybe it takes a few quieter moments, or a few recipes that don’t reach as far, to slowly find your way to the right people.

So while I continue on this journey, continuing to find my people and, in many ways, finding myself all over again… I just want to say how grateful I am to have you here.

Truly.

And if you’re here, reading this… I’m really glad we found each other.

Which brings me to today’s recipe.

Because this right here is exactly the kind of food I’ve been talking about. A big pot of brothy beans with pipis (or clams), cooked slowly with garlic, olive oil and a few simple ingredients that come together into something so comforting and full of flavour. It’s not flashy, it’s not complicated… but it’s the kind of meal I crave, the kind I grew up around, and the kind I will keep coming back to.

And if this is your kind of food too… then I think you’re in the right place..

Love,

Daen xoxo