We're dumping plastic cups!

Hello friends!

We have been working toward a move out of single-use plastic cups for all takeout cold drinks, and the time is here. We've gone through all our existing supply of single-use plastic cups, and we don't plan on buying them anymore. The last plastic cup has left the building!

Read on to learn a bit more about this change we're making to make our operation more sustainable & harmonious with the environment.

For all your future takeout orders, please bring your own reusable cup or purchase one of ours for $10 and get your first fill free. Our standard iced drink size is 16 oz. and we will gladly fill any clean container!

If you're down to eat & chill here with us, we encourage you to let us know so we can pour your drink in a real glass!

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A note on why we're moving away from single-use plastic cups:

Throughout the five years we've been running Rebelle (!!), our desire has been to operate in a way that is harmonious with the environment and our community. It's the reason why we work with local producers & roasters, support our local farmers markets, and compost all our food scraps locally. 

Trash has always been a problem for us. While we've always encouraged on-premise consumption to reduce trash, the reality is that the majority of our customers are eating on-the-go and the demand for takeout far outstrips for-here orders. We've been thinking about solutions since 2019... and then the pandemic hit and takeout became the only way.

Did you know we went through 1.6 tons of single use plastic cups just in 2020? That's 3,200 pounds of plastic, which takes 36,031 gallons of water to produce. Think of all the better uses for that water, and all the energy it takes to make those cups. 

We could switch to "compostable" plastics, but we're not here to lie to you so we can all feel good about our consumption habits. There are ZERO industrial composting facilities in RI and the cups are usually ending up in your trash bins at home. Clover Food Lab in Boston already tried this and they don't love it.

Listen, it's 2022 and the world is heating up at an alarming rate. When we decided to open a small business, we weren't thinking we'd add to the problems, but we are making things worse and it's time to correct that. Maybe we lose some sales and have to live with that... But there's no money in the world that worth the damage we're doing with single use plastic cups.

Starting Friday 8/19, we will not have any single-use plastic cups available for takeout. Your options are to BYO cup, to purchase one of ours for $10 (first fill free! it's a deal!) or to enjoy your drink on-premise using one of our cups.

Thank you for supporting our business during the past 5 years! A big, bold change is a huge risk -- one we are proud to take with your unrelenting support.

Cheers,

the Rebelle team

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 6/14 & 6/17

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

LIGHT, SUMMERY, COOL EATS

We anticipate a few evenings where it's just too dang hot to turn on the stove. Follow us to some flavorful meals that'll cool you down!

I saw lychee on offer from our supplier and my heart skipped a beat. If you haven't tried lychees, imagine the juiciest, sweetest flesh beneath a rough skin. Bite into the skin, peel it off, and snack on the flesh like eating a cherry. If you want to use them for a dish, this lychee ceviche caught my eye!

Some nights, all you wanna do is snack on the couch and pass that off as "dinner". This cowboy caviar fits the bill! It's got protein-packed black eyed peas, sweet corn and fresh veggies. You can grab a pack of corn tortillas from our add-ons and make fresh tortilla chips!

How about a peach and tomato salad? You can grow this salad with a little bit of your bunched arugula.

OOEY GOOEY & CREAMY

Creamed spinach pasta is a good way to use up your local savoy spinach this week. I've been preaching for this local spinach, such a good value buy!

Grating some squash inside a grilled cheese? I had to see it to believe it... luckily, the pictures on Smitten Kitchen are all I needed to get on board! Try this grilled cheese with summer squash or zucchini, whatever you got on hand!

ASIAN INSPO

This baby bok choy salad with sesame dressing caught my attention with the grocery store ramen crispies. RAMEN CRISPIES!

This spicy tofu with pickled shiitake mushrooms looks amazing. Do not be intimidated by the long list of condiments you might not have at home. I don't have wakame or black bean paste at home but we do have rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil in our Rebelle pantry for you to add on to your bag. Just work with what you have and taste as you go!

This lime & lychee custard looks like a super easy dessert idea. Try it out!

PACK YOUR FRIDGE WITH SOME PRESERVED FLAVORS

We love some good preservation techniques here! Make some of these pickles and condiments that'll keep good for a few weeks.

These lightly spiced pickled cucumbers can be a fun formula to riff on. How about adding some thin sliced carrots too?

I play fast and loose with pesto recipes and work with whatever fragrant, pungent greens I have on hand. Arugula pesto is TOTALLY a thing and this mature bunched arugula will pack a punch.

Quick-pickled red onions are such a great topper for tacos, rice bowls and improvised salads!

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 6/7 & 6/10

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

WEEKNIGHT MEALS

I think this is our first time giving you spaghetti squash! If you've never worked with spaghetti squash, please read this brief primer. Once you're ready to dive in, may we suggest this Baked Spaghetti Squash with cheese & breadcrumbs? I mean... easy weeknight dinner right there.

Quiche for dinner? Why not? Try this broccoli and cheddar quiche. I've been on a little quiche kick and I'm finding it's a beautiful vehicle for odds and ends of veggies, meat & cheese. (If you happen to own the Bouchon cookbook... we love the quiche recipe as a foundation!)

Poblano peppers are a favorite in the Rebelle kitchen for their texture & shape, similar to bell peppers, as well as their mild spiciness. We recommend you stuff your peppers with beans, meat & cheese, kinda like these Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers! Maybe also grab a can of chipotles in adobo sauce from our bodega, blitz it in the blender with some canned tomatoes, and smother the chiles before baking... yum!

Any pasta recipe by Chef Evan Funke is gold. This spaghetti al limone with asparagus is going to be my Thursday Night Pasta meal. I love the tip to cut the asparagus on the deepest bias to get it ribbony and twirly into the pasta.

SUMMERY SALADS

This asparagus salad with fresh mint and avocado dressing is green goodness on top of green goodness. Or if you still have grape tomatoes from last week's bag, try this asparagus & tomato salad.

This Asian-inflected broccoli salad with creamy peanut dressing sounds incredible, and it also comes together with ingredients available from our bodega shelves.

Summer always makes me crave carby salads. A classic potato salad can be made in a bigger batch and stored in the fridge to pull together easy meals through the week. Throw some celery, red onion, hard-boiled eggs and our garlic & dill pickles into the mix!

SANDWICHES FOR LUNCH!

All of these bad boys come together with a loaf of our incredible sandwich bread and a few add-ons. Read on...

This chicken salad sandwich with fresh mint & feta cheese looks incredible. Use your alfalfa sprouts! Add some shaved red onion! I don't have feta cheese at home right now so I'm gonna wing it without. You do you!

This BLT sandwich with the woven bacon strips had me like 🧐because who can argue with a perfectly engineered sheet of crispy bacon for complete coverage!? And the alfalfa sprouts as greens... And the avocado... Yes!

AND NOW... DESSERT & A DRINK!

Blueberry Banana Bread is a classic for a reason. I'm also going to throw in some chocolate chips into mine!

It's been a few scorching hot days. I'm drinking mojitos non-stop.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 5/31 & 6/3

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

WEEKNIGHT MAINS

Wanna start with an easy stunner? This whole roasted cauliflower with whipped goat cheese is very impressive! If you're vegan, you can use our cashew spread instead.

This roast chicken with tomatoes works as a sheet pan meal. Try roasting some of the fennel alongside!

Thursday nights at home, we like to make pasta dishes. Try this sausage & corn pasta! It's a riffable recipe if you want to add your tomatoes or fennel.

Really good pork chops are as splurge-worthy as a fine steak, and ours are locally bred, raised & slaughtered. Try this recipe for seared pork chops with a celery & almond salad!

VEGGIE-FORWARD SIDES

Roasted cauliflower with capers & Parm sounds mouth-watering to me. FYI: our capers are a really really good deal!

Have you ever tried taro root? We eat it a lot in Puerto Rico and it's also popular in Asia as a starchy tuber. Try peeling it, boiling it and mashing it like potatoes with a good dose of EVOO and salt.

I'm bullish on this Savoy spinach because it's local, it's a great deal, and you can cook it or turn it into a salad. Hopefully you're loving it as much as us! This week, we're suggesting this vegan creamed spinach. If you don't have silken tofu, I've made this with Oatly thickened with corn starch.

Don't forget about radish green pesto! This is always a thing! Use it on some pasta or potatoes for an easy side.

FRESH SALADS

Celery, apple & peanut salad reminds me of school lunches but all grown up. Consider growing this salad with some spinach!

I just learned about this Japanese spinach salad called gomae. Anything with toasted sesame scores points with me!

With your radishes, you could try a version of this radish & basil salad. Maybe throw some tomatoes & cucumbers in there to grow it a bit!

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 5/24 & 5/27

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

LET'S START WITH BRUNCH IDEAS!

Eggs are one of our favorite foods around here. Grab a dozen of our Pat's Pastured eggs, and let's get crackin'!

This recipe for Poached Eggs with Cubanelle Peppers & Mushrooms from Chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main (Cambridge, MA) looks incredible. Use your oyster mushrooms here!

From Jessica Koslow of Sqirl (Los Angeles, CA) comes this recipe for green shakshouka. Instead of swiss chard, use your spinach and any other hardy green you have.

This vegan-friendly banana French toast has just 5 ingredients. Sounds pretty easy to me!

VEGGIE-FORWARD SIDES

OK so we've plugged the kale caesar and the celery caesar... Have you tried broccoli caesar salad? It's time you do!

Braised leeks might be my favorite way to have these onion relatives. The green tops can also be braised along for zero waste!

WEEKNIGHT DINNERS

This Ratatouille pasta recipe is one you're going to riff on all summer long, I guarantee it. Use your zucchini, squash, eggplant & tomato here!

This orzo with yellow squash, mushrooms & pine nuts also sounds like a beautiful dish. I don't have pine nuts at home, so I'll sub hazelnuts. You do you, honey.

Picadillo-stuffed cubanelle peppers are a Latin-American inspired twist on regular ol' stuffed peppers. I suggest making ground beef picadillo & white rice for dinner, then using the leftovers for the stuffed peppers the next night.

We looooove this recipe for sesame tofu & broccoli: make it vegan or add animal proteins if you wish, serve over rice, and most of the ingredients are available in our pantry for add-ons!

SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT!

I'm excited for these plums. Try making a baked plum pudding and throw in whatever cherries you have left over from last week. Stone fruits all get along pretty well! OR use your plums to make a galette with your strawberries. Bon appétit!

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 5/17 & 5/20

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

FEELIN' DANDY

Haven't tried dandelion greens? They're one of our favorite Grocery Bag additions. Peppery & bold, these greens are great in a salad and they also hold up to cooking with heat. Two ideas:

Make this Dandelion salad with bacon & leeks! I still have leeks from a few weeks ago, but if you don't, try shallots or onion.

Or sauté your dandelion greens with some garlic for a side worthy of a steakhouse-at-home night.

STUFF 'EM UP

Stuffed peppers are one of our favorite things to make with green bell peppers. Grab some rice, some ground beef or sausage, and cheese. I love stuffing just whatever we have! Easily veganized with potato & tofu, too.

Stuffed mushrooms are also a great app or snack, and these are vegetarian! Try grabbing one of our flavored cream cheese spreads to jazz it up even more.

ASIAN-INSPIRED EATS AT HOME

This black pepper tofu & asparagus makes it onto this inspo list a lot because you can sub any protein for the tofu and it still works! Top it with some everything spice or furikake (which we put on everything)!

This cucumber & carrot salad is inspired by Thai green papaya salad. You're surely going to love it!

SUMMERY SALADS

Craving a potato salad that's lighter and less mayo-ey? This lemon & dill potato salad is vinaigrette-based. I would even eat it a bit warm...

Mexican Street Corn salad. Enough said.

ROOM FOR DESSERT?

I first fell in love with cherry clafoutis after a summer in Paris where seemingly everyone has a cerisier in their backyard. Get a cherry pitter, you won't be disappointed to get help from a handy tool, and get to work! This dessert is worth it :-)

Warm bananas foster with vanilla ice cream? YES.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 5/3

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

FIESTA PARA EL CINCO DE MAYO 🇲🇽

I still have some corn from our Grocery Bag 2 weeks ago, so I'll be making this grilled corn & mango salsa. If you don't have fresh corn, how about some frozen kernels?

Fajitas can be made veg-friendly with your mushrooms! Put your creminis, onions & green peppers to work with this Mushroom Fajita recipe. If you still have your oyster mushrooms from last week, use them! (Or shiitakes from 2 weeks ago! Mine still look good!)

Psst: We have corn tortillas in our pantry shelves!

You're going to need some guac to go with all of this! Check out this recipe for fresh guacamole, and maybe fry some fresh tortilla chips at home to go along. With a squeeze of lime or lemon and a sprinkle of salt, there's nothing that beats fresh corn chips!

Whenever we give you jalapeños, I give you this recipe for jalapeños en escabeche! What a beautiful way to pickle these peppers and use up the carrots that have been hanging out at the bottom of your crisper! (Or is it just me? I accumulate a lot of carrots...)

We're patiently waiting for a chicken restock from our local farmer Katie at Deep Roots, but we still have 2 whole chickens! Take one home, roast it for dinner one night and then make chicken tinga tacos with the leftovers the next day.

STOCK YOUR FRIDGE WITH FLAVORFUL BASES
Compound butters are a great way to stretch the last of your herbs! I'll be using my sage brown butter to gently baste Fearless Fish's hake fillets at home this week. Sear it & build a quick crust on the fillet, then use the brown butter in the finish and spoon it over the fish as it finishes cooking.

We keep a quart of caramelized onions at home and at both shops for when a dish needs extra oomph. The best 45 minutes you'll spend passively developing flavor! Some ideas to use them: add to a grilled cheese, build a quick French onion soup with our chicken stock or veg stock, zhuzh up some Annie's mac & cheese.

I have a ton of tomatoes in my fridge that are looking a bit sad :( If you're in the same boat, find comfort in these oven-roasted tomatoes! If you pack them in oil with some garlic cloves, herbs & maybe a peel of lemon, you'll be able to preserve them for tomato toast or to make pasta sauce in the future.

We go through an inordinate amount of mushrooms at Little Sister for our Cremini Mushroom Melt sandwich. Our cook Emanuel taught me a trick: Save the mushroom stems and make a flavorful stock!

QUICK HITS FOR THE WEEKNIGHTS

Creamed spinach in the steakhouse style is one of my favorite dishes. Augment it with some thin-sliced kale! Mix it with some cooked pasta and bake it!

Broccoli rabe is so luxurious to me. Cook it simply, like this broccoli rabe with garlic and chili flakes, and serve it with some broiled fish and white rice.

This recipe for yellow squash & zucchini gratin is going to get a lot of action in my house this summer.

Kung Pao brussels sprouts? Over rice? Add tofu? Yes! (Here's how to make hoisin sauce at home if you don't have any.)

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 4/12

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

All the Alliums! 🧅🧄

You got Potatoes, you got Leeks, now you have to make Potato Leek soup! Hearty but light enough for lunch, this Classic recipe looks smooth and delicious while this "Rustic" one leaves pieces of veggies for a texturally interesting experience. So good!

These Braised Leeks with Walnuts sound amazingly good. I wish I had known about this festive but simple recipe for my Passover dinner. We've got the Dijon you'll need in the add ons, so make sure to grab some

How incredible do Scallion Pancakes with Chili-Ginger dipping sauce sound for a Spring-y snack?! I'm always plugging this hack when we feature scallions, but make sure you regrow your scallions for an infinite supply. It's like magic!

You can use any or all of your leeks, garlic, scallions, and onion in this Green Garlic Rubbed Roast Chicken for a garlicky, lemony treat. You already know that you should grab a whole Deep Roots chicken to make the most of this recipe!

Butternut Dreams

Ooh, check out this super versatile, "Fridge Clean Out", Butternut Squash Hot Pot. As the link says, "the ingredients listed in the recipe are merely suggestions," so that you can use practically anything from your bag or leftover in your fridge to make this light and delicious meal.

A Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart is an absolute showstopper. It's a gorgeous and delicious way to spotlight your butternut. Make sure to give your onions plenty of time to caramelize for a perfectly sweet bite!

I love the idea of Butternut Shakshuka, which will also give your plum tomatoes some love! The eggs make this one filling enough that you can eat it any time of day: you'll find me making this one breakfast, lunch and dinner! Also, I'm totally sold by this review from the recipe:

"I partied harder than intended last night and when I woke up with the hangover of the century I decided that I must have this shakshouka or I would certainly die."

Cauli Me By Your Name

For a complex ("spicy, sweet, bitter, and salty"), but still simple to make, side, check out a Spice-Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts & Tahini Drizzle.

Cauliflower rice may never be real rice, but I think it can stand on its own as an awesome veggie dish. Just blitz up your cauliflower in the food processor, then steam or panfry for a great side ready to be seasoned! For inspo, see this Bacon and Egg Fried Cauli Rice. The lightness of the cauliflower sounds like a perfect base to really enjoy the rich toppings!

For a super filling cauli main, look to this General Tso's Cauliflower.

Or, this Korean Fried Cauliflower looks absolutely unreal (though definitely a bit time consuming).

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 4/8

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

Everything's Coming up Rosemary

Rosemary Lemon Chicken is a classic, easy use of your fresh Rosemary, and a great reason to snag a Deep Roots Chicken from the add ons. While the oven is hot, pop in some Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes for a fitting side. For maximum efficiency, why not arrange the potatoes with the chicken and cook them together for an all-in-one rosemary extravaganza?

Channel everyone's quarantine baking last April and whip up a Rosemary Foccacia! This dish is awesome since you can add in whatever roast veg odds and ends you have around. I love the idea of scallions in here, some caramelized fennel, or maybe some roast yellow squash. You could even go sweet with strawberries if you're feeling extra bold

Craving dessert? Clementines would be a bright and delicious choice of citrus in a Rosemary, Olive Oil, and Orange. A cake like this is subtle enough for a snack even when you don't want something too sweet. This is the kind of treat that gets even better as it sits for a few days after it's made (if you can wait that long!), so bake one off now and be rewarded all week!

Spring Picnic 🧺

You've got all the ingredients this week for some perfect dishes to eat outdoors. Make an Orange, Fennel, and Arugula salad, or mix up your Watercress and Strawberries for an ideal spring salad. An Arugula Pesto Pasta makes a classic main, or Cherry Tomato Couscous will serve you just as well. Now make a French Apple Cake for an easy to transport dessert, and go picnic!

Something heartier

Yes to this Lemon Asparagus Risotto! We have the arborio rice, grated Parm, and chicken stock you'll need in our add-ons, so we're your one stop shop on the path to this incredible springtime dinner. This one really hits the spot on chilly nights after sunny days, like we often get this time of year. An interesting secret ingredient in this recipe: coconut milk!

Fennel lovers: Check out this Garlicky Roasted Fennel Pasta! This recipe has you roast your fennel and garlic together to cut their sharpness and bring out their sweet flavor. I'm super excited to try this one!

Drawing inspiration from this Green Curry with Spring Vegetables, you can throw just about any produce you like into a nice green curry. Asparagus, yellow squash, and potatoes will all shine here! Serve with salad from your produce, and rice from the add ons, and don't forget to grab some coconut milk while you're at it!

I stand by my recommendations from last time we had Yellow Squash! This mellow, delicious vegetable is your friend when it comes to versatile sides. You can always chop it and pop it in the oven at 400F for half an hour (tossed with some olive oil and maybe grated parm?), but I think you should take a slightly heavier route and turn your yellow squash into a creamy, savory side this week! This squash gratin looks quick and delicious. Or, cream your squash in a classic southern casserole, for an even richer side.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 3/22

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

🌶️FAJITA NIGHT!🌶️

Chop your green peppers and red onions, round up your leftover avocados from last week: It's fajita night! Slice and sizzle your veggies, mix up a protein like Deep Roots Chicken/Beef or beans from our add-ons, and snag some of our corn tortillas for an easy peasy, infinitely adaptable, crowd pleaser dinner. For inspo, here's a vegan fajita veggie recipe, and here's one that whips up chicken fajitas in a sheet pan (!!!)

If you're looking for another fajita night dish, these Skillet Refried Beans with Snap Pea and Radish are such a spring-y take on a classic side!

🍲 SOUP-ER DUPER🍲

This extra vibrant Roasted Tomato Soup with Caramelized Onions looks like pure savory deliciousness. I love their idea of adding in coconut milk (add-on!) for extra creaminess that just happens to be vegan. Once you whip up some tomato soup, you know you'll crave some grilled cheese for dipping. How about you put your cremini mushrooms to good use and add them into a Mushroom Grilled Cheese? A killer combo for everyday decadence.

Grab your immersion blender, we're making Sweet Potato Carrot Soup. This one has a super simple list of ingredients so that your produce can shine. Make a ton now since it freezes very well! I'd take a tip from the recipe commenters and add in some smoked paprika, a fave seasoning we have available as an add on.

⏰ SPRING FORWARD ⏰

A Radish Salad is just about as spring-y as it gets. It would rock with an egg on top as a lunch, or as a hearty side salad with dinner (now that it's no longer dark by dinnertime!) That salad is really an excuse to make one of our favorite zero-waste innovations: Radish Green Pesto!!! Don't let those tops end up in the trash when they could transform into a nutty, cheesy sauce, ready to top your salad (or pasta, or beans, or toast!)

If you're into fruit in salad, a Spring Salad with Radishes and Strawberries feels appropriate this week since you get Strawberries!

Prepare your favorite pizza dough/ foccacia and make a Zucchini Ricotta Flatbread. You can spruce up the ricotta with some extra lemon and a little zest for a centerpiece dish.

Ready for something sweet? This Lemony Tea Cake is super simple to make, super hard to mess up, and a great back-pocket loaf cake to always have around!

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 3/15

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

✨This week’s recipes✨

BRINGING THE HEAT

Your Guajillo chilis are a really wonderful way to add complexity and mild heat to a savory dish. They range from 2,500-5,000 Scoville Heat Units -- for comparison, jalapeños have up to 8,000 -- so no need to worry if you're not a spicy food fanatic. For best flavor, you can dry toast them in a medium hot pan to draw out some of their sweetness, then open them, remove the seeds, and rehydrate them in hot water for about 30 minutes.

Then, they can be used in a recipe or ground into a paste! Put this into practice with a Guajillo and Bean Chili, an exceptionally savory dish that keeps very well. Make sure to grab some tomato paste and canned beans from the add ons for this one!

Or, use your Guajillos in some Chorizo-Braised Butter Beans with Eggs. Deep Roots' Chorizo Spiced Beef Burgers or Sausages, from our add-ons, could be an awesome sub here.

The header blurb on this Chicken Tetrazinni refers to it as a "weeknight casserole of great distinction." This one is comfort food at its finest, and calls for Guajillos!

Add-ons: Deep Roots Chicken, Cabot Cheddar, Tagliatelle (or other pasta), Chicken Stock

SUMMERY THINGS

This Corn Risotto includes a cool no-waste hack to turn your corn cobs into veggie stock. Or, if you're in a hurry, we've got you with both Chicken and Veggie Stock in our grocery add-ons.
Add-ons: Arborio Rice, Heavy Cream, Grated Parm, Chicken/Veggie Stock
Blend up your kale with some pasta water for a super easy and nourishing pasta topper! This Pasta in Kale Sauce would be really good using some tagliatelle, maybe alongside a roasted Deep Roots chicken. Add-ons: Grated Parm, Pasta
Here's a salad trio to make you feel like you're at a summer BBQ, and use some delicious things from this week's bag while you're at it:
Corn, Avo, and Cucumber Salad gives me peak picnic vibes. Crunchy, refreshing, and delicious!

Potato Salad is a canonical summer BBQ side, but no one's stopping you from making it now! I love mine with some grainy mustard. This is also a great place to use some scallions, if you have any regrowing from one of our past bags!
Asparagus and Mushrooms: a delicious pairing! This recipe combines them in a simple salad that you can throw together in no time.

RISE AND SHINE

Baked oatmeal is totally trending online right now, but that doesn't mean it isn't great. Make some at the beginning of the week and you'll have breakfast covered! This Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal looks killer: Someone in the comments says, "I made this oatmeal this morning and it has changed my life. It’s THAT good." Or, here's another idea: what if you subbed in your gooseberries?

You don't really need a recipe for this, but if you want to feel fancy, you can always top a grapefruit with some sugar and pop it in the broiler for a nice Grapefruit Brulee. Treat yourself!

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 3/8

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

SALADS & SIDES

A classic: Garlic roasted green beans rock with just about everything, thrown over your arugula, or even topped with an egg as a meal. High heat really makes these come to life, so make sure your oven gets nice and hot before you throw them in.

I love the idea of this Lentil and Arugula Salad since it's bright and light enough to be a snack or side, but does have some heartiness from the lentils. There are a lot of places you could swap out ingredients here, definitely play around with it. An amazing lunch salad! Add-ons: Lentlls

Pretend its summer and you're sitting poolside with a Cucumber and Cantaloupe salad. A little sweet, a little savory, a lot of crunchy.

STAR OF THE SHOW

Sheet Pan Tarragon Chicken with Onions is an instant star! It just takes a few minutes of active time before you set it to marinate and pop it in the oven a few hours later. You can throw any other veggies you'd like to roast in the sheet pan, so that when the chicken comes out, you have a whole meal that practically made itself.

Or, for a meatless main, your Tomatoes and Eggplant will kill it in a Chickpea Curry over rice. This one also keeps quite nicely, so you can prep it ahead for a week of lazy dinners

MEZZE VIBES

Muhammara is a Red Pepper spread, made creamy (but still vegan!) by the addition of toasted walnuts. It's got a savory, complex flavor that you'll love. Balsamic vinegar (add-on!) can be subbed for the pomegranate molasses. You can even start with frozen red peppers, so if you end up with too much in your haul and pop them in the freezer, this is a great recipe to keep in your roster!

Time for my personal fave dip, Baba Ganoush! The smoky flavor of the eggplant, burned slightly over the stove or under the broiler, is the perfect pair with the nutty and bright additions of garlic, lemon, and tahini. Use Burlap & Barrel's smoked paprika from the add-ons for a truly unstoppable dip!

Whipped Lemon Scallion & Feta Dip looks so delicious and versatile. This recipe calls for your scallions and cream cheese (obviously available as an add on ), but here's a thought: Why not use our charred scallion cream cheese to really up the ante?

Eggplant Caponata is an interesting, deeply savory dish. You mix up your roasted eggplants with your celery with tomato paste, onion, capers, and seasonings, for a Sicilian concoction. It's slightly pickled so it will keep longer than you'd expect. Serve on toast! Add-ons: Tomato Paste, Capers

If you make Garlic Confit now, you can jar it up and keep it in your fridge, put it over just about any savory dish (including these dips!), or mash it right on bread like a spread. Either way: game changer.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 2/16

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

SOUP'S ON!

We have two ideas for soup this week. Maybe make some & freeze for easy weeknight meals?

Cheddar, Cauliflower & Broccoli soup sounds pretty dang good. The cauliflower adds body to the soup without weighing it down with cream.

This Roasted Tomato Soup can be made with fresh or canned whole tomatoes. We love the plum tomatoes for their fleshiness!

May we suggest making some herb & Parm croutons like these? Could totally envision turning a loaf of our sandwich bread into these croutons and just keeping them around to complete any soup or salad.

SPRING BOUNTY

Level-setting expectations: these carrots are more greens than carrot, but that's an opportunity for us! Have you ever tried carrot top pesto? Similar to radish green pesto (our FAVE), go with the tried & true formula of greens + nuts + Parm + garlic + lemon + salt. Sunflower seeds could definitely be a "nut" here.

Now that you have that carrot top pesto... Try halving your potatoes lengthwise, roast them and then toss in some pesto. Pesto potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to a simple salmon fillet from our friends at Fearless Fish!

Shell your peas and cook with the carrots for a uber-fancy spin on the classic dish! Another way to use your peas: Risotto. Try our house-made chicken stock or veggie stock, and use plenty of butter & Parm. I would love to serve this at home with a whole roasted chicken from Deep Roots!

Watermelon radish got you stumped? Eat it fresh or pickled to preserve the gorgeous color. Whip out your Japanese mandoline (we've already preached our love!) and slice paper-thin to top salads or stuff sandwiches. For pickling, we recommend using rice vinegar instead of white for a refreshingly sweet touch! (And we also have rice vinegar!)

ASIAN FLARE

Baby bok choy is among our favorite greens! The stalks are juicy and take really well to different cooking techniques. I like to separate each leaf, halve it lengthwise, and sauté with butter & oil at medium-high heat. But if you're looking for something more amped up, this Soy & Ginger Braised Bok Choy sounds amazing to me. Serve with a side of coconut rice and some of our tofu or Fearless Fish!

These Brussels sprouts would SIIIIING with Chi Kitchen's kimchi (pssst... we sell it too!). I would add bacon and serve the whole shebang over rice with a sunny egg and too much dang furikake.

A LI'L SWEET THANG

I've been on a marmalade/jam/preserves kick. Any and all citrus crossing my path is being made into marmalade, and this Cara Cara orange marmalade looks promising! Marmalade is a great way to use the citrus: you use the whole fruit! (Anybody down for an in-depth tutorial on DIY marmalade at home? Once I discovered the temperature set point method, all bets were off! It's marmalade time all the time!)

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 2/9

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

🦪🍄The World’s your Oyster (Mushroom)🦪🍄

Oyster mushrooms are a delicious, mild, savory, and slightly meaty variety of mushrooms. They are particularly special due to their broad, thin, oyster-shaped caps, which crisp up beautifully when roasted or stir fried. Learn more about this amazing fungus from this writeup!

Your 'shrooms will sing in a simple preparation some good olive oil, a la this recipe. I have so many ideas for how you can use these pan fried gems. How about alongside a soft scramble or tossed in a warm salad with your kale? (Add-ons: Eggs!) Another great one: stir fry them with some of last week's veggies (carrots?) and this week's peas. Coconut rice and some easy baked salmon will be the perfect accompaniment 😉

Add-ons: Rice, Coconut Milk, Fearless Fish Salmon/Hake

A decadent mushroom pasta is another great way to transform your mushrooms into a vegetarian main. Or check out these crispy mushrooms with creamy white beans and kale. We’ve featured this one before! It's so texturally interesting, savory, and a great way to spotlight your mushrooms and kale in a veggie dish thats hearty (and protein packed from the beans) enough for dinner.

Add-ons: White beans

🌱 Short and Snap-pea 🌱

Sugar snap peas are crunchy and supersweet small peas, that you should eat whole: pod and all. They are delicious raw, sliced on the diagonal. If you'd like to cook them, be sure to prepare them quickly to keep their sweet character and crisp texture intact by briefly steaming, stir frying or simmering in soups at the end. Don't store them too long, as they're meant to be eaten within a day or two after purchase. (Otherwise, just freeze them to keep plump and cook from frozen -- Bonus storage win!).

This post has a few different ideas on how to season your snap peas, including a lemon zest - parm combo that I can't wait to try!

Add-ons: Grated Parm

💞Show your Grapefruits some Love 💞

Getting kale and grapefruit at the same time is the perfect opportunity for you to make a Winter Kale Salad with Grapefruit! You can top with your butternut squash from last week or any other starchy veg you have left over (I'm intrigued by the idea of taro on this).

A Broiled Grapefuit is a classic way to treat yourself to a special brunch on one of these long days at home. It's also a great reason use my favorite niche utensil, the grapefruit spoon! (I'm kind of blown away that it has a wikipedia article?)

And finally, for something sweet this week, make a light Pink Grapefruit cake with ginger glaze and be rewarded with a week of dessert (or breakfast, if that floats your boat 😉).

🍽️Slightly Richer Sides 🤤

I NEED to make this Coconut Braised Kale on one of these cold winter days. Topped with fried shallots, this would really be a best of both worlds mix of nourishing and comfort.

Add-ons: Coconut Milk

Lemon, potatoes, and parsley will mesh nicely in some simple, crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes. This is one of the most versatile sides out there. It truly complements anything!

Add-ons: Chicken Broth, Olive oil

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 2/2

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

️ Puerto Rican Inspired Treats!

Sofrito is a very flavorful base for cooking, like a Puerto Rican mirepoix! You blitz up your cubanelle peppers with garlic, onions, and herbs for an amazing starter that will give delicious flavor to so many recipes. Use it in your beans, rice, eggs, soups, or absolutely anything that could use its serious hit of flavor.

We're giving you enough plantains that you can eat some green and let some sit to ripen. The best of both worlds! Use your ripe plantains to make Canoas, an amazing, indulgent dish of fried whole plantains stuffed with ground beef and cheese. Add-ons: Deep Roots Ground Beef, Cabot Cheddar, Sazón

The green plantains will rock as Mofongo, Plantain Chips, or even as a soup!

The malanga/taro root is super unique: creamy and starchy, with a slightly nutty flavor. It can be treated similar to potatoes: you can eat it mashed just like potatoes, slice it and fry like chips, or just roast it with some olive oil! One particularly delicious use for your Malanga is to make it into a soup: We recommend pureeing your butternut squash and adding half a cup to this recipe for an incredible, warming dish.

Hearty & Healthy Mains ️

One perfect, easy weeknight dinner: Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken! The sweet-savory action of this dish is exactly what I'm craving on these cold winter days. Serve with rice! Add-ons: Deep Roots Chicken

This week's cherry tomatoes are really special and would be gorgeous roasted as they are, on the vine. A little olive oil, good bread, and maybe some cheese makes these a perfect, beautiful appetizer or snack-y meal.

And if you'd like a way to use them in a recipe ... a roasted Cherry Tomato, Chickpea, and Cauliflower salad is an amazing way to show off your produce! This recipe uses a cauliflower "cous-cous", but you could just as well use real couscous (available as an add-on!), and roast and mix in the cauli. Add-ons: Cous-cous, Chickpeas, Olive Oil

Braised collard greens with some of our dried beans would be super nice with a base like rice for a modular, satisfying lunch. Maybe cook your beans with your sofrito! Add-ons: Chicken stock, Bacon, Beans, Rice

Quick Pantry Staples!

Do you have too much garlic from the past few weeks? Whip up a garlic-infused olive oil for an easy burst of garlic-y flavor in any recipe! Make sure to keep the heat low while infusing so that you don't burn the garlic.

And if you have a little too much onion, the pro move is to hit them with a quick pickle for some tangy gems that keep for a while in the fridge. Even a few of these will really upgrade your egg sandos, avocado toast, and salads.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 1/26

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

️ What to do with your cactus duo

When using your Nopales, it's important to clean them of their spines before getting started, or you'll be in for a prickly bite. Then, they are usually served cooked to soften their fibrous texture. After you've cleaned them, a classic option is to make an Ensalada de Nopales, a easy salad that spotlights this awesome succulent. The dish is totally riffable, kinda like making pico or guac: add avo, add cuke, add jalapeño, or anything else you love!

Another concept: Nopales Tacos! Sautée the cooked nopales with your poblanos from last week, some tofu, scrambled eggs, or chorizo burger meat, and assemble inside a tortilla. Add-ons: Corn tortillas, Eggs, Chorizo Burger Meat, Tofu

The Star(Fruit) of the Show🌟

If you've never tried it, star fruit is tart and sweet, and the beautiful shape makes it a cute garnish for fruit salads and granola & yogurt bowls. Your fruit will come in under-ripe and greenish so we suggest you let it sit on the kitchen counter to ripen until golden yellow and fragrant. If you'd like ideas for how to bake with these, may we suggest this gorgeous Star Fruit Upside-Down Cake?

Put your cabbage to work!

Braising cabbage with butter and sausages from Deep Roots is always a great move! Check out this Sausage Cabbage Skillet for inspo on how to get this warming winter treat done. Add-ons: Deep Roots Sausage.

Okonomiyaki is a dope Japanese cabbage pancake you can fry up for any meal. It lends itself really well to odds & ends of whatever you got in the fridge, and it uses up a lot of cabbage. Why not make some Pickled Ginger to go on top, since we've already got rice vinegar in our add-ons?

In the market for a long term project? Concoct some magical probiotic goodness with this recipe for Spicy Sauerkraut. It even uses your jalapeños!

Warm things for chilly days

If you've got a scratchy throat, or just want a warm bev that's not caffeinated, look no further than this Ginger, honey & lemon tea. This drink is so soothing, restorative, and bright! ️

When it's chilly out, how perfect is a nice hot soup? Potato leek soup will keep you warm, happy, and full on these winter days ️. Add-ons: Heavy Cream, Vegetable Broth

All about the greens

Watercress, with it's slightly peppery bite, is a BOMB green for salads. You can definitely invent one with whatever veggies (or fruits) you have around, but take a look at this Nordic Nicoise that you could use our show-stopping Lox in! Add-ons: Lox, Capers, Eggs, Mustard

Inundated with herbs? I'm here to remind you of the Chimmichurri Recipe from a few weeks ago! This is an easy, useful way to use up all your parsley, cilantro, scallions etc, and is just beautiful with roasted chicken from Deep Roots or broiled hake from Fearless Fish, both available in our add-ons!

Check out this epic Roast Broccoli, that uses anchovies and garlic for big flavor. Bonus: it makes use of the often-overlooked broccoli stems for a no-waste dish! Add-ons: Grated parm, Olive oil

I've recommended my favorite pandemic trend before: Regrowing your scallions! These alliums are so resilient and prolific, that it feels like magic to watch them regenerate with nothing but a little water, sun, and a jar to live in.

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 1/19

This is our regular blog post where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

️ 🌹Got a hot DATE?🌹

Never had Medjool Dates? Compared to other varieties, like the Deglet Noor, they are much larger and softer with a rich caramel taste. IMO, these are the finest dried dates! They bake up really well, blend nicely to sweeten a smoothie, or are even a great standalone snack.

Dates are delicious in every kind of dish. Get the best of all worlds by making these gems into Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Dates, a sweet and savory roast that will show off your Deep Roots chicken. Add-ons: Whole Chicken (cut it into parts) or Chicken Legs, Chicken Broth

🌊 Mediterranean Apps🌊 

Grab your Zucchini, and last week's potatoes or your sweet potatoes from two weeks ago, and make Zucchini-Potato Pancakes. This simple technique for making veggie fritters is really adaptable. Just make sure to squeeze as much water as possible out of the grated veg before mixing everything together! Add-ons: Flour, Eggs, Olive Oil

If you have leftover red beets from last week, you can roast them with the golden beets for a stunning multicolor side dish. Or, grab a can of chickpeas from our add-ons and make a Roasted Beet Hummus that would be great with cut up carrots/cucumber, on a sandwich (grab bagels or sandwich bread?), or with bagel chips.

We're giving you more lemons this week, and we know just the thing you should make with them. Preserved lemons are tangy, bright, and a perfect complement to Mediterranean flavors. Check out this Preserved Lemon Hummus for one way to put them to good use!

Your eggplants are the key ingredient to make my favorite dip, Baba Ghanoush! This spread has a really special flavor: Creamy, smoky, and savory. Put it on everything!

🛒Showing off Add-Ons 🛒

How good does this French Onion Grilled Cheese look? PEAK comfort food. I'll be making this with our Sandwich Bread this week, and you should too!

New in the pantry this week: Couscous! Use any leftover veggies you can think of with this riff-able, vegan Roasted Vegetable Couscous. Try mixing in your zucchini, yellow squash from last week, Chickpeas or Tomato Paste from the add-ons, or anything else your heart desires 💝

Fearless Fish Salmon will be the perfect pair with your tomatoes in this Salmon and Tomatoes in En Papillote, a super simple recipe with a fancy name. Each salmon filet gets its own little packet, that you fill with cherry tomatoes and anything else you'd like. If you have potatoes from the past few weeks' bags, roast 'em and serve with this dish!

🍦Something Sweet🍦

Get figgy with it, with this showstopping Fresh Fig and Lemon Cream Tart. You can and should make a little extra lemon cream along the way, to eat on yogurt, cake, or toast. Or let the lemons steal the show in Ina Garten's Lemon Bars . 🍋 Add-ons: Eggs, Sugar, Butter

Can't pick between types of quick bread 🍌🥒 ? You can have your cake (bread?) and eat it too with a Zucchini-Banana Bread for all your breakfast, snacking, and dessert needs. Add-ons: Sour cream, Sugar, Eggs

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 1/12

We’re trying something new where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

️ 🥬 VEG OUT 🥬

Yellow squash is your friend when it comes to versatile sides. You can always chop it and pop it in the oven at 400F for half an hour (tossed with some olive oil and maybe grated parm?), but I think you should take a slightly heavier route and turn your yellow squash into a creamy, savory side this week! This squash gratin looks quick and delicious. Add-ons: Heavy cream, Grated parm, Butter

Or cream your squash in a classic southern casserole, for an even richer winter side. Add-ons: Butter, Cabot Cheddar, Eggs

The rainbow assortment of produce we're providing this week is your cue to make modular, nourishing bowls for dinner this week. All it takes is a base, some roasted veg or protein components, and a topping if you want. You can truly use anything and everything in this template, but we'll provide some ideas:

Got leftover kale and sweet potatoes from last week? Roast up your purple cauli and throw it on there! You can always add roast chicken, tofu, or beans for extra protein, and this thai peanut butter dressing could be good on top!

Bowl add-ons: Chicken, Tofu, Canned beans

Dressing add-ons: Peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil

Did you know we have two types of kimchi as add-ons? These Cauliflower Rice Kimchi Bowls are great bowl inspo and have an amazing coconut sauce. Add-ons: Coconut milk, Kimchi, Tofu

️ 🍽️ SHOW OFF YOUR DEEP ROOTS MEATS ️🍽️

You can make a nice chimichurri by whizzing up your parsley and scallions, your cilantro from last week, and a squeeze of whatever citrus you have on hand, like your limes from this week. Feel free to ad-lib the proportions, but here's a recipe that uses all these components! Now, roast a chicken and serve with rice and your freshly made sauce for a simple but delicious dish that really spotlights the flavor of the chicken. Add-ons: Olive oil, Deep Roots Chicken

Your poblanos will shine stuffed with some Deep Roots ground beef and onions. You can make this one up as you go along, or take a recipe and run with it. Top with grated parm or cabot cheddar, and serve with rice and beans on the side for a complete meal! Add-ons: Grated parm, cabot cheddar, rice, canned beans

Snag some Deep Roots Chorizo-spiced Beef Burgers () and treat yourself to a burger night! Load 'em up on our Brioche burger buns with Heinz ketchup and cheddar (we have all 3 as add-ons!) for your favorite meal this week. Plant based friends, you can rock this one too with these beet burgers using ingredients from this week's bag.

🍓FRUIT TIME🍓

Gather together your satsumas and grapes from last week, with your banana, berries and mango from this week for a phenomenal fruit salad! This would be great over yogurt with some of our Granola, which you can find as an add-on.

Trust me and put veggies in your smoothies this week! We've recommended avocado and beet smoothies before, but seriously: these are so good. Or go a more classic route and blend up your bananas, strawberries, and blueberries with a milk (oat or coconut?) and peanut butter for an easy treat. Add-ons: Oatly, Coconut milk, Peanut butter

2020 was a doozy but we made it work!

This 2020 recap is a few days overdue, but we would be remiss if we didn’t take the opportunity to reflect on our year as a team and to look forward to the next year. As we set our goals/intentions for the new year, we look back at our successes during 2020 and reflect on ways to build on them moving forward.

This pandemic has really whooped our asses. If you put a drink in my hand, I’d tell you all the ways in which this year absolutely sucked as far as running a food business. But we’re not going to get much out of dwelling on the hardships. We get far more out of celebrating the successes we’ve had, and we’ve had a few in spite of the swirling sh*tstorm we’ve collectively endured.

This is only a sampling of what we accomplished with your support this year. We are so dearly grateful for our loyal, encouraging supporters! This magic literally could not happen without you. You have a choice in which business practices you support every time you open your wallet. Thank you for choosing with us! OK, here we go!

Launch of Grocery!

We did our first run of Grocery Bags on April 2, 2020. (You can read more about it here and here.) Grocery has been a surprisingly sustainable source of work for us! The best thing to come out of this program (for me) was the unexpected pleasure of signing up to do something you’re not 100% about and then just getting really into it and working hard to make it successful. I didn’t think it was going to stick, and I’m glad we tried it anyway because it has stuck. Some customers, like our friend Jesse, have been relying on our Grocery Bag as their main source of food at home. This is rewarding work!

What made me really excited about expanding our grocery program was the collaboration with Mt. Hope Community Center and Camp St. Ministries, our local neighborhood food pantry. Every week since April, we have committed to 30 grocery bag donations for their clients, whose limited access to fresh produce was further curtailed by the pandemic. (FYI This work is ongoing, and you can support it with your purchase!)

Befriending our neighborhood activists Jackie, Donver, Eugene & Helen, and brainstorming ways to work together, has been a gift for us. Getting a call from them when they know our team or I can be helpful lets us know that we’re an appreciated resource to our community. I am especially proud that we were able to finagle a gift of 132 turkeys for Camp St. Ministries’ Thanksgiving dinner drive! This donation was made possible by the generous funding of Providence Presbyterian Church and our Sysco rep Tom, who moved mountains and cut through red tape to get us turkeys delivered at cost during a pandemic year when turkeys were scarce.

We were surprised to see this very-slapped-together pandemic pivot contributed over 10% of our sales last year. We’re going to do more here. Stop giving Jeff Bezos your money and come shop with us!

Second Annual Fundraiser to Benefit MLK Jr Elementary

With your help, we donated $6,400 to the Parent-Teacher Organization at the school across the street from us, MLK Jr. Elementary. MLK is a community school that serves kids from underserved, underprivileged communities, including ours. The funds went towards purchasing PPE and school supplies for each child to cope with pandemic-style schooling. We’ re excited to continue blowing up this fundraiser in the coming years. Could we raise $10,000 next year? Only with your support!

Expansion of employee benefits

We introduced Rebelle-subsidized health insurance this year for our team, what a milestone! This was on my list of goals to accomplish by Year 3 of Rebelle and we got there a bit late, but uh… there was this whole pandemic that set us back just a touch! 

Beginning in January 2021, all full-time employees are eligible for Rebelle-sponsored health insurance after 90 days of service. We have employees enrolled in the program right now! HealthSource RI is our dope partner in this pursuit, and they made it easy by helping us estimate the cost to employees & employer and showing up in person during the pandemic to sign up our team (Fran, you’re a hero!).

Our team has more choices for health insurance plans & providers than I had when I worked for a certain large RI-based Drugstore Chain & Healthcare Company. Personally, I have serious misgivings about the health insurance industry, and know enough to know that health insurance does not equal access to health care… But as an employer, I’m pretty happy to have concocted the program we have today. If we can lower the barrier to employees being able to seek & afford health care, which I believe we are doing, we’re all going to be better off. Baby steps.

So our whole benefits package for full-time employees now comprises: paid time off for vacation & sickness (~2 weeks per year), a fully-funded & fully-vested 401(k) with employer match after 6 months, and subsidized health & dental insurance. We’re like a legit company now! Come work with us!

Launch of our sister bakery & café, Little Sister

Little Sister was my personal passion project sabotaged by the pandemic, and we still made it! It took 3 contractors, battles with National Grid, cajoling the city inspectors to come do their jobs, and a ton of sweat equity from us to get it done. I learned an insane amount executing this project, and I am so proud to share that I led all the interior design and layout planning, which I had only ever done for Rebelle! We took it to a WHOLE ‘NOTHER LEVEL with Lil Sis. It is sooooo beautiful and stunning!

Little Sister is a beautiful homage to my homeland of Puerto Rico right here in the East Side, but please don’t see it as a vanity project! This has been a team effort from the get-go.

It’s been a joy to see Juan cooking up amazing food in the kitchenette and connecting with his Puerto Rican roots, and our fellow Nuyorican baker Alyssa has learned to make deliciously flaky quesito pastries like the ones I gobbled in the panaderías of my youth. Michele, our production manager at Rebelle, was a key figure in developing our recipes (or recreating them from my memory!) alongside Lauren B., the mistress of all yeasted doughs. And I’ve enjoyed my return to the kitchen as well, as head baker at Little Sister. There is always something new to learn and working with my hands to feed people is nothing short of soul-soothing for me in a time like this.

Little Sister is open on weekends only, Friday-Sunday 8-2. We’re working on expanding our hours, but this pandemic is not helping! Check out the menu, peep Instagram for specials and call in your order!

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Thank you sooooooo much for your fierce & loyal support this year. I sincerely hope our work has made you proud to be our supporters. We look forward to feeding you & being here for you in 2021! ✌️

Recipes to go with this Week's Grocery Bag: 1/5

We’re trying something new where we archive the weekly recipes we curate with our grocery bags.

If you’re new here, learn more about our grocery bags here.

This week’s recipes:

️ 🍽️ CROWD PLEASING MAINS ️🍽️

Make your satsumas last even longer with an Orange Marmalade! If you have leftover lemons and oranges from our last 2020 bag, these can be added in as well for an awesome, multipurpose citrus spread. And you'll be happy you did, because now you're one step closer to an Orange Marmalade Glazed Chicken!

Add-ons: Dijon Mustard, Chicken Leg Quarters

Nigella Lawson's Mushroom Ragout is peak vegetarian comfort food. Serve over a pasta or grain from our add-ons!

Add-ons: Olive Oil, AP flour

With only 10 minutes max of prep time, this Honey-Sriracha Salmon will showcase your Fearless Fish Salmon alongside your cilantro and garlic. This is such a nice way to get an exciting main on the table in minimal time!

Add-ons: Gulf of Maine Salmon

🥗SALADS AND SIDES🥗

While the oven is nice and hot, you could pop in your cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes to roast with some olive oil for a side that practically makes itself.

Use our add-ons to whip up the ultimate side to salmon: this Coconut Rice. Velvety, flavorful, and so delicious, this recipe is an absolute treat, and good with everything! Add-ons: Rice, Coconut Milk

Cook your black eyed peas as a side on their own or a starter to another dish, for a delicious symbol of prosperity. You can simmer your kale into the cooked beans for the most traditional (and luck bringing) combination! Add-ons: Chicken Stock

Or make your new favorite salad: Kale with pecorino and walnuts! This one is very customizable, making it a great way to use what's in your fridge or our add-ons! Replace or accentuate the raisins with a fruit (your satsumas?), the walnuts with another nut, the pecorino with another cheese (like our parm), etc. Add-ons: Grated Parm, Olive Oil

Make the most of your peppers with Pickled Jalapeños & Carrots en Escabeche! Once you make these tangy gems, you wont be able to stop putting them on everything from tacos to eggs.

🌮 TACO NIGHT! 🌮

Corn tortillas are new to our add-on roster, which means one thing for you: Taco Night! Whip up your favorite guac recipe with your avos, chop your lettuce, cook your black eyed peas, and roast your sweet potatoes for some modular sweet potato tacos. Or here's a take on sweet potato tacos that includes a great yogurt-avocado sauce!

Add-ons: Olive Oil, Greek Yogurt, Corn Tortillas

🍬SWEET NEW YEAR🍬

Now is the time to make a snacking cake, because 2020 is over, and you deserve to cake at any time of the day. I'm obsessed with the idea of using your carrots for this Chocolate-Carrot Snacking Cake. Use our maple sea salt cream cheese for a best-ever cream cheese frosting, Rebelle-style. Add-ons: AP Flour, Sugar, Canola Oil, Eggs, Cream Cheese