I just pulled off a full dinner party spread for a friend's 60th birthday, and it got me thinking about how much this process has changed for me lately. I've been using Claude as a kind of kitchen command center, and it's truly one of the cleanest, most organized ways I've found to stay on track through a big cooking project. I uploaded the recipes I wanted to follow or modify at the start, and from there it became an ongoing conversation about how many people I was feeding, what I should add or cut or swap, where I was sourcing everything and what it was going to cost, and what the best way was to cook this particular brisket. Every time I moved through a step, I'd just give an update, and it helped me stay oriented on whatever needed to happen next. I used this same process for two retreats I cooked for last month, and that's when I really saw how much it was helping. I have a project folder just for cooking projects now, and it's actually learning how I operate, how I cook, the ingredients I reach for, what my creative process looks like when I'm building a menu from scratch. This has become one of my favorite ways to use AI lately, and it's officially my go-to for this kind of work. I had someone with a much better camera take a pic of the spread for me and I don't have it yet so here are a couple snapshots of my process. Seasonal NC August veggies were in order for this one Have you ever used AI tools to help you manage things in the kitchen? I'd love to hear how. Also, who wants to see my menu? It was pretty delish.

What are 5 things you buy every single week without fail, and generally can't live without in your kitchen? Rank them in order if you like.

Do you have any go-to strategies to regulate your nervous system, and get your cortisol in check? Here are a few of my most recent habits that I've stacked one-by-one (not all at once) that seems to be helping me feel more balanced and regulated. I'm definitely still working on it. - 🟠 Amber glasses for screens during the day, ❤️ red glasses when the sun goes down. - 🚶‍♀️ Walk 3 laps of my long driveway every morning to get morning light and gentle movement before looking at any screens. - 🍳 30g of protein for breakfast (and protein-anchor every meal). - 🥗 Not under-eating — nourishing my body well instead of restricting. - 💧 Hydration with plenty of water and electrolytes. - 🏋️‍♀️ STRENGTH TRAINING — my absolute favorite tool for building stress resilience! 💪 I created a Cortisol Habits Score Quiz you can walk through here. I'd love to hear how you score? No judgement. https://cortisol-habits-score.netlify.app/