The Soup That Teaches Us About Friendship

Hello Reader, It's Yukari!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family! 🦃

And even though the world is in full “shopping craze” mode right now, I hope you can slow down for a moment and relax with us here at the Kitchen Table. 🧡

✨ Building Our Own "Kitchen Table" Traditions

Around the time Aric really fell in love with cooking, he was working in a high-end restaurant and considering culinary school.
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One day, he asked the chef if he should enroll. The chef looked at him and said:

“Why spend the money? I’ll teach you everything you’d learn in school, and I’ll pay you to learn it.”

From that moment, Aric was all in.

He would come home talking about techniques, new ingredients, new dishes… and I could see him changing, evolving, and becoming the person he was meant to be.

While this was happening, I was working at a small mom-and-pop Italian restaurant as a server, and I was so curious about what it felt like to cook in a real kitchen.
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The owners let me jump in as a cook a few days a week, and it opened a brand-new world for me.

Of course, my kitchen and Aric’s kitchen were… very different. 🤣

My restaurant used a lot of frozen items and pre-made sauces.

His kitchen made everything from scratch.

If I had worked where he worked, I wouldn’t have lasted a day. 😅

But in that small Italian kitchen, I was safe to be a beginner, and I loved learning and observing the basics of cooking.

In those early years, whenever Aric had questions, he would call his mom, Marge.
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Later, I started asking him questions. And eventually, Marge began to ask him for advice too. 😅
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His knowledge grew so fast.

And just like how my friend Terumi taught me potato salad through conversations and curiosity…

Marge, Aric, and I began building our own circle of cooking, stories, and connection. 🧡

I was chasing what Aric was passionate about.

And to be honest, I’m still chasing him and his passion today. 😊

🥣 Repurpose Your Leftover Turkey: Three Sisters’ Soup

Marge taught me that leftovers aren’t leftovers.
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They’re a gift.
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And this year, I want to share this very special soup. 🍲
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​✨ Three Sisters’ Soup (with Leftover Turkey)

A nourishing, Indigenous-inspired bowl made with the three crops that Native American communities planted together for centuries: corn, beans, and squash.
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These three ingredients weren’t just chosen for flavor.

Aric actually recorded a short video explaining how the Three Sisters’ gardening method works and the surprising health benefits behind it.
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​👉 Aric's Three Sisters' Soup Video!
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​👉 Get the Three Sisters' Soup Recipe!

💡 Did You Know?

The Three Sisters — corn, beans, and squash — were often called a “sisterhood” because each plant protects and supports the others as they grow.

They thrive because they grow together.

Many Native communities also saw the Three Sisters as a symbol of friendship and interdependence. 🧡​
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A reminder that we flourish when we support each other.

I love that. 🧡

And I think it’s a perfect message for the week after Thanksgiving.

✨ Want More Simple, Smart, Meaningful Cooking?

We’re building a cozy online cooking membership designed to help you feel confident, inspired, and supported, whether you grew up cooking or not. (like me!)

Inside the community, you’ll get:

🍳 Keep It Simple Smart (K.I.S.S) cooking lessons
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🎥 Monthly live cook-alongs
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🥣 Mini challenges
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👫 Cook-with-your-partner date nights
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🌿 Guest workshops on nutrition & wellness
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🧡 A community that cooks and learns together

Founding members get 30% off the first 3 months + first dibs on live workshops.

👉 Join the Waitlist!

We’d love to welcome you! 🤩

Thank you for being part of this growing Kitchen Table. 🙏
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We’re so grateful to build this joyful cooking community with you on this cozy little corner of the internet.🧡
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With deliciousness and friendship,
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Aric & Yukari
🐶🐱 (Senna & Ka-En are here for the scraps, as always)

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