June 🍒🍋🪺
summer fruit galore, butter towers, bottles of fresh squeezed lime juice, beans for protein, watermelon colored clothes, churning out ice cream
Happy July 1st! June felt like it flew past. I can’t believe we are already at July - it feels like the days move slow but the weeks feel like I just trying to catch my breath. I suppose that’s how summer is. There’s still work to be done but it feels important to utilize every moment possible with loved ones + nature. There’s so much life to be lived and I need to remind myself to carry this energy into the cooler months.
July marks the beginning of a busy few months ahead! A river house for the 4th, Hudson Valley with mom & dad, Portland, OR to visit family + friends, Pittsburgh for a concert, and some weekend trips here + there.
Please send any and all Hudson Valley spots! Looking for coffee/matcha, dinner, winery, and shopping recs.
I wrote about everything that’s inspiring me in the food space and it gave me space to reconnect with everything that I love about food! What a blessing it is to have fought tooth and nail to make a career out of what I love. Sometimes I feel like I’ve done nothing but then I look around at the life I’ve built.
Warm weather always increases my gratitude levels. Maybe because the world around us is so alive right now?
Everything That Is Inspiring Me Right Now As A Food Creative
All day, everyday I think about food. My next meal, groceries that need to be acquired, what I need to prep for my next project, filming, photographing, editing, and more. You’d think I’d get tired of it and sometimes I do but there’s just so much to be excited about. I’ve been pitching & building quite a few moodboards recently, so I thought it would b…
More of last month below <3 YouTube is coming this month…you heard it here first!
This month was a very exciting time for the podcast and newsletter! Hummingbirds joined me as the first long-term sponsor 🍾 It is so validating to have someone view work as vulnerable as writing and see value in it. Bringing on a sponsor meant I could expand upon other ideas I have for this space and gave me more room to create.
So thank you for supporting my work and allowing me to not have to utilize paywalls!
I chatted with 4 inspiring founders this month:
Berk Bahceci is the co-founder and CEO of Heraclea, a proudly Turkish American olive oil company. Launched by him and his wife Sena Bachceci in 2023, Berk’s mission is to grow and produce Heraclea’s high-quality olive oil using sustainable agricultural practices and fair-trade labor on his family groves in Turkey.
With over 35 years of experience in the secured financing industry, Marshall’s passion is helping growing companies obtain non-dilutive, asset-backed financing solutions.
Matt Mclean of Uncle Matt’s Organic
Matt McLean is the fourth-generation Floridian and the real-life “Uncle Matt” who founded Uncle Matt’s Organic in June 1999, motivated by a lifelong passion for healthy living and his family’s century‑long tradition of citrus farming.
Jennifer Liao is the President and Co-Founder of modern Chinese food brand MìLà. Born in 2018 as a brick-and-mortar shop in Bellevue, Washington, MìLà has evolved into a culinary force that brings restaurant-caliber Chinese delicacies into homes across America.
Spotify | Apple Music | Substack
Lotsss of cooking in June! Summer produce was the star of the show and what inspired every dish I made. I love planning my meals around what I find rather than trying to find produce that matches an ingredient list. It feels a bit like an adventure.
June’s recipes —
My favorite drink of the month has no recipe but I still have to share! Fill a glass with (crushed) ice, add water almost to the top, a few cracks of pink salt, a splash of lime juice, and one shot of Kloo. Now you’ve got my ideal hot weather coffee xx
I really want to bake a cake this month!! Who wants one! I’m feeling very inspired to make a punch of sorts (I have a gorg punch bowl + cups from my mom) and passionfruit vanilla bean marshmallows. Aka a few things I’ve never attempted 🌟
Watch: The Bear | Greek Cooking Diaries | Jane Olivia | Strawberry Rhubarb Choux au Craquelin | Harrison Wallace
Reading on Substack: The Guides are Killing the Vibes | Salt Looks Like Sugar | Moon Lists
Listen: Japanese House | Bruises Off The Peach | Is Substack the Most Exciting Place for Food Writing
Cookbook: Hailee Catalano’s By Heart holds supreme
Most Used Kitchen Items: O Olive Oil organic squeeze bottle, Natalie’s pure lime juice, Kitchenaid ice cream bowl attachment
Purchase: East Fork dinner plate + breakfast bowl, Matcha Freak restock, Madewell smocked top in watermelon, Merrell crosslander 3 hiking shoes
Thanks for supporting this publication, it truly means the world to me! This month 21 new friends subscribed and readership is steadily increasing. Please like, share, and comment when you feel pulled to do so. 🌞
& don’t forget to check out my other Substack, Wholesome Goods for weekly CPG news updated + trend reports!
Talk soon!
xx,
Lauren (Hodgen)
Dear Citrus Diaries Host | @ citrusdiaries.studio
Citrus Diaries Studio | Creative Director
If you’re interested in working together, drop me a line: hello@citrusdiaries.com 🍊