April Wrapped

Everything I am cooking, enjoying, and repeating lately

May 04, 2026

Welcome to our first official monthly newsletter on Rocky’s corner! Today we’re recapping what was a truly incredible month - from trips to San Diego and LA, having my sissy in town and going wedding dress shopping (!!), to launching my new Component Prep series, this month really yanked me out of seasonal depression. So let’s get into it, shall we?

While winter felt like it dragged on for six years, April somehow blinked by. It was busy—in the best way—but also felt like a real test run for summer: travel, visitors, plans stacked on plans… all the things that usually throw routines out the window.

Going into the month, I knew I didn’t want to swing to extremes like I have in the past—either being all in on “healthy” or completely off the rails. Instead, I started a “Hot Girl Spring” accountability chat with my friends, set a few non-negotiables (10K steps, 4 workouts a week), and kept everything else flexible to real life.

At home, I leaned into whole foods and cut back on refined sugar. But outside of that? I let life be life—tacos in San Diego, pizza nights with my sister, dinners loaded with veggies, but still with a chicken cutlet on the side.

And honestly, that balance is what made it stick. Not all or nothing, not trying to be perfect—just habits that hold up even when your calendar is full.

On the agenda today:

On My Plate:

Between traveling to California, having my sister in town, recipe testing, and finally seeing April produce come in, this month of eats was one for the books. I hit a new all time high of 7 tacos (!!) on my San Diego trip, tried Sri Lankan food for the first time (bussin), and went on an always epic crawl in Flushing Chinatown.

I launched my new Not Boring Meal Prep series with a bang with “We Have Chipotle at Home” —a 1-hour prep that sets you up for 4–6 meals throughout the week. I also posted a Lemon forward meal plan and have a Thai inspired one coming soon!
I explored more with Jon Snough (my sourdough starter lol), making Sourdough Discard English Muffins for the first time. This recipe used sourdough discard and yeast, but they somehow didn’t turn out with as many pockets as I would have hoped… but we soldier on (drop your tips below if you’ve cracked the code)!
My sister brought me cold brew bags so I’ve started making my own and think I’ve nailed the ratio:
1. 8 oz coarsely ground coffee + 48 fl oz water
  Steep for 24 hours
  It makes more of a concentrate, which I love—it stays strong even after adding coconut water and creamer.
My LA/San Diego trip was basically a Superbowl of good eats - consider this your to do list next time you’re in SoCal:
1. Jus’ Poke - some of the freshest and best poke I’ve had outside of Hawaii
2. Fish Tacos at Oscar’s
3. Sonora and Camaron Taco from Taco Stand
4. Spicy Garlic Wings (will never not order these), PB Jmo Shots, & The Sizzling Fish from my favorite restaurant in San Diego: OB Noodle House
5. Best Drink Ever from Better Buzz & Mint Mojito from Philz
6. Pistachio Cake from Muri, a cute Kurdish cafe in North Park SD
Anytime my sister is in town, I always have new spots or tried and true favorites I want to take her to in NY like:
1. The Sausage Hatch Chile Breakfast Burrito from Santa Fe BK (my favorite breakfast burrito of all time)
2. Trinidadian Doubles from A&A in Brooklyn
3. Lobster Rolls and Beef Patties from Smorgasburg
4. I had taken my sister to Manhattan Chinatown many times, so decided to take her to Flushing, Queens for a truly epic crawl:
  1. Jianbing at Followsoshi (a savory Chinese crepe)
  2. White Bear - unfortunately it was closed, but these are my favorite dumplings of all time
  3. Shanghai You Garden for peking duck bao
  4. Liu Liu Sheng Jian
5. The Charleston - our favorite bar for a cold pint of Guinness with a free personal pizza!
I had Sri Lankan food for the first time at Sigiri in the East Village, where my friend introduced us to an incredible spread of crab curry, kotthu roti (a fav!), cashew curry, yellow rice, eggplant moju, and aappa. Safe to say the food coma was worth it
I re-fell in love with my Crispy Salmon and have been loving the combination of arugula, grapefruit, and salmon for salads. Pro tip: use grapefruit wedges in the salad AND grapefruit juice in the dressing (similar to this recipe, but swap the orange for grapefruit).

If I Had to Pick Favorites:

The Perfect Sundress
- I switched my closets from winter to summer this month (maybe a little earlier than I should have, but it’s called ~manifesting~), and one thing I added to my arsenal was a truly phenomenal sundress. It hugs in the best way, and is the perfect length for summer picnics, spring parties, and everything in between.
Herb Saver
- I love putting fresh herbs in absolutely everything, but if you don’t keep them properly stored, they can spoil in no time. I’ve been obsessed with this herb saver that keeps my cilantro fresh even after 8 days!!

Bar Keeper’s Soft Cleanser
- April called for spring cleaning, and a deep clean of all the things I’ve been putting off - my oven, my Dutch ovens, my fridge. You might find it strange I get so excited about a cleaning product, but this baby is my workhorse - it gets your stainless steel pans and Le Creusets back to brand new, and does wonders to your stove and sink.

Off My Plate

This month was jam packed with trips, visitors, new and exciting activities, and being outside as much as possible (hello spring!!), while somehow still trying to stick to a routine that makes me feel good.

One of the biggest highlights this month was getting a random text from my sister: “what are you doing 4/8–4/12?”

Like… anything can be cancelled!! She lives in Spain, so we don’t get nearly as much time together as we’d like, which makes spontaneous weekends together feel extra special.

This trip felt extra special because I officially asked her to be my maid of honor (the first time was… on the toilet the night I got engaged, so this was a more formal redo 😂). Spoiler: she said yes.

We also got to go wedding dress shopping at Kleinfeld Bridal, which was such a peak girlhood moment—and a full circle one after growing up watching Say Yes to the Dress religiously.

Outside of that, April was full of little “firsts” and spontaneous moments—my first hockey game, getting my third piercing, and finally making it to the Conservatory Garden in Central Park to see it in full bloom.

I also did a “Hot Girl Spring” challenge with my friends, where we focused on eating more whole foods, cutting back on refined sugar, averaging 10K steps, and hitting 4 workouts a week. We kept a shared album for workout pics and meals, which made it way more fun—and kept us accountable without taking it too seriously. The goal wasn’t absolute perfection, just small incremental steps to build habits that make us feel good.