Month: April 2026

Gather / Recipes

Sunday Supper: Slow Down, Look Back, and Build Your Bowl

August Table | Build Your Own Bowl Series

There is something about a Sunday that invites you to breathe a little differently. The week that has just passed deserves a quiet moment of acknowledgment. What was hard, what was good, what surprised you. And the week ahead deserves a little intention before it arrives in a rush on Monday morning. Sunday supper, for me, is that ritual. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the more room there is for the things that actually matter: sitting down, looking at each other, and being present over a bowl of something warm and nourishing.

This is the first installment of what I’m calling Build Your Own Bowl with Ease, a new theme here at August Table rooted in the idea that beautiful, wholesome meals don’t require hours in the kitchen. They require a little intention, a good pantry, and the wisdom to let a few trustworthy shortcuts do their job while you rest.

This Week’s Bowl: Turkey Meatballs with Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges & a Greek Spinach Bowl

Outside, the peonies are absolutely bursting, deep pink and ruffled, exactly the way they get in that fleeting window before they open too wide. The pale peach roses in the courtyard are blooming too, soft and just-washed looking, and I’ve cut a few stems of both for the table. Sometimes the most beautiful thing you can do for a Sunday supper is bring in what the garden is offering. It costs nothing and changes everything.

Now. To the bowl.

The Turkey Meatballs: Let the Slow Cooker Do the Work

This is the most liberating part of the whole recipe: frozen store-bought turkey meatballs in the slow cooker. I mean it. Sundays can be a day of rest and reset, and there is no prize for making everything from scratch. (You can absolutely make homemade turkey meatballs if you love that project, but today is not the day we are requiring it of ourselves.)

The sauce is where you get to play, and this is the part I want you to make your own. The classic formula most people know, ketchup and grape jelly, is genuinely delicious in its simplicity. But the fridge is always telling you something about what you’re in the mood for. This week, mine told me: Japanese BBQ sauce, a spoonful of cherry jam I put up last summer, a touch of red pepper jelly for heat, and a drizzle of maple syrup to round it all out. It worked beautifully. Sweet, tangy, a little smoky, just enough warmth.

The method is almost embarrassingly easy:

Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs

  • 1 bag frozen turkey meatballs (about 24 oz)
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup Japanese BBQ sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons cherry jam (or grape jelly, the classic)
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper jelly
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Combine all the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to blend. Add the frozen meatballs and toss to coat. Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours or HIGH for 2–3 hours. That’s it. Turn it on and walk away.

The beauty of this sauce formula is that it is endlessly adaptable. Open your fridge. See what jams, jellies, condiments, and sauces are speaking to you. Peach preserves and sriracha. Blueberry jam and hoisin. Apricot jam and dijon mustard. The base ratio stays roughly the same, equal parts something tangy and something sweet, and the slow cooker does the rest.

The Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

These are crispy, caramelized, and completely irresistible. I started with a technique from Two Spoons for oven-baked sweet potato wedges. The method is solid and the high heat is the key to getting them properly golden rather than soft and steamy. I adapted it to what I had and what felt right: olive oil in place of avocado oil, and onion powder added in alongside the garlic powder. I left out the chili flakes since the meatball sauce already had some heat.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Serves 4

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Fresh thyme (optional but lovely) – I used 1/ teaspoon dried thyme today

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 3–4 long wedges, keeping the skin on.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Add the wedges and toss with your hands until every surface is coated.

Lay the wedges flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Don’t crowd them or they’ll steam instead of roast. Bake for 15 minutes, flip each wedge, and continue baking for another 15–20 minutes until the edges are deeply caramelized and a little charred. That char is flavor. Don’t be afraid of it.

Building the Bowl

This is where it becomes yours. Lay out the components and let everyone assemble their own, or build it yourself with care and intention, which is its own small act of love.

Start with a generous bed of fresh organic baby spinach. Pile on the warm turkey meatballs straight from the slow cooker. Tuck in several roasted sweet potato wedges. Scatter halved cherry tomatoes in whatever colors are prettiest. Add a handful of kalamata olives. A spoonful of pickled red onion (the pink jewels of any bowl, make a jar on Sunday and use them all week). Finish with crumbled feta cheese over the top.

Dress the whole thing with your favorite Greek dressing or a generous spoonful of tzatziki. Or both.

Simple Greek Dressing

This comes together in under two minutes and keeps in the fridge for the week.

  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated or pressed
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Whisk everything together in a small jar or bowl. Taste and adjust. More vinegar if you want it brighter, a pinch more salt if something feels flat. Shake before using. Makes enough for 2–3 bowls.

A Note on Sunday Suppers

The best Sunday suppers I can remember weren’t about the food being complicated. They were about the table being set, the flowers being cut, the slow cooker humming, and the feeling that someone had thought about you, had wanted to sit down with you and eat something warm before the week came rushing back.

That’s what this series is about. Build the bowl. Cut the peonies. Sit down together.

The week ahead will take care of itself.

Next week in Build Your Own Bowl with Ease: coming soon.

August Table is a space for seasonal cooking, slow living, and the table as a gathering place.

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Design and Lifestyle

The Featured Table: A Spring Garden Table with Claudia Fabiana

There are tablescapes that stop you mid-scroll. This is one of them.

When Claudia Fabiana set her outdoor table using August Table’s Garden napkins and tablecloth in yellow and gray, she created something that feels less like a styled moment and more like a memory waiting to happen. Sunlight pooling on white linens. Amber glasses catching the afternoon light. Daisies spilling from a white ceramic pitcher. Artichokes and lemons tumbling across the center of the table like a still life that wandered in from the garden.

It is, simply put, everything we believe a table can be.

Letting the Garden Come to the Table

What makes this setting so special is how effortlessly it blurs the line between the table and the world just beyond it. Claudia used what was growing and blooming around her — nasturtiums tucked onto each plate, trailing yellow blooms woven into the centerpiece, a generous bunch of daisies that feel gathered rather than arranged. Nothing here looks purchased for the occasion. It looks lived.

This is one of the most beautiful principles of a well-set table: nature is always your best stylist. A few lemons halved and placed casually alongside artichokes creates a centerpiece that is as fragrant as it is visual. A single bright nasturtium on a white plate is more arresting than any formal garnish could be.

The Details That Make It Sing

The layering in this table is masterful in its simplicity. The August Table Garden tablecloth and napkins anchor everything with their yellow and gray botanical print — the palette is the palette of the season itself. Against that, Claudia chose:

Ruffle-edged burlap chargers that add warmth and texture without competing with the print. White beaded charger plates that feel fresh and airy. Amber glassware that echoes the yellow in the napkins and flowers, bringing the whole color story together. Bamboo-handled flatware that lends a natural, organic quality to the table. A white ceramic pitcher serving double duty as a vase — one of the most charming and practical styling tricks there is.

Each choice is considered, yet nothing feels fussy. That balance is the hallmark of truly beautiful tablescaping.

A Table Made for Lingering

This is an outdoor table, set on a brick patio, with the kind of casual ease that invites people to pull up a chair and stay a while. It is the table you set for a long Sunday lunch, for lemonade in the afternoon, for dinner that stretches past golden hour into the soft evening light. It is generous and warm and entirely without pretension.

That is what we are always chasing at August Table. Not perfection, but presence. Not a table that impresses, but a table that welcomes.

How to Recreate This Look

If this table is calling to you, here is how to bring it to life:

Start with the August Table Garden tablecloth and napkins in yellow and gray. They do a great deal of the work for you — the print is layered and botanical, which means you can keep everything else quite simple.

Add texture through your chargers and flatware. Burlap, rattan, bamboo, and woven materials all complement a garden-inspired print beautifully.

Build your centerpiece from whatever is growing. Artichokes make extraordinary table decor. So do lemons, branches, herbs, and garden flowers. Use a pitcher, a crock, or a simple jar rather than a formal vase.

Let a single bloom do the work on each plate. One nasturtium, one sprig of something fragrant, one small flower from the yard. It takes thirty seconds and transforms the entire setting.

Finally, choose glassware that echoes your color story. Amber, green, or yellow glass will warm up a yellow-toned table beautifully.

Thank You, Claudia

We are so grateful to Claudia Fabiana for sharing this beautiful table with us. She has created something that perfectly captures the spirit of the season — and the spirit of what August Table is always trying to inspire. A slower pace. A more beautiful table. A gathering worth savoring.

We hope it inspires you to pull out your linens, step into the garden, and set a table this spring.

With warmth,
Carrie

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Gather / Recipes

The Featured Table: Our First Digital Cookbook

One of the great joys of August Table has always been sharing moments around the table with you. Through our linens, our tablescapes, and the recipes I share here on The Featured Table, the hope has always been the same: to inspire a life that feels a little slower, a little more beautiful, and filled with meaningful gatherings.

Over the past year, many of you have written to say how much you enjoy the recipes we share. That encouragement inspired something new.

Today I am so happy to introduce our very first digital cookbook:

The Featured Table: Breakfast

This small collection gathers some of my favorite morning recipes from the blog, along with a few new additions. Inside you will find vibrant smoothies, nourishing oats and granola, yogurt bowls and chia puddings, simple but beautiful toasts, and cozy baked treats like muffins and scones.

My goal with these recipes is simple. Mornings set the tone for the day, and when we nourish ourselves well, everything else becomes a little easier. Many of these dishes can be prepared ahead of time or assembled quickly with ingredients you likely already have on hand, making it easier to begin the day with healthy, satisfying food.

At August Table we often talk about slowing down and savoring life. Breakfast is one of the simplest opportunities to do just that. Whether it is a quiet smoothie after a morning walk, yogurt and granola at the kitchen counter, or a leisurely brunch with friends and family, these small rituals can become some of the most meaningful moments of the day.

This cookbook is also the first in what I hope will become a series of recipe collections drawn from The Featured Table. Throughout the year I will continue gathering recipes and sharing them in future collections that celebrate the seasons, encourage gathering, and bring a little beauty to everyday meals.

For our August Table community, this first cookbook is a gift.

You can click here to download your free copy of The Featured Table: Breakfast.

I truly cannot wait for you to see it and hope it inspires many joyful mornings around your table.

With warmth,
Carrie

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Gather / Recipes

The Featured Table: Coming Back to the Table

There are seasons when life asks more of us than usual.

The past few weeks have been full in the most meaningful ways. Travel, time with family, the kind of busy that reminds you how rich life really is. And while I have missed showing up here, I have learned to hold absence without guilt. The table will always be here. And so will you.

This is very much in the spirit of ikigai, that beautiful Japanese concept of finding purpose at the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what sustains you. When those things fall into alignment, life feels full rather than frantic. And sometimes, alignment means stepping away from one thing to be fully present in another.

But spring has arrived, and I cannot think of a more joyful reason to return.

This weekend holds so much. Easter and Passover overlap in a rare and lovely way, bringing families and friends to tables across the world. And beyond the traditions, there is simply the season itself. The light lasting longer, the air soft and green-scented, the sense that something new is beginning. It deserves to be celebrated.

For this week’s Featured Table, I am sharing one of the most satisfying things I know how to make right now. A broccoli cheddar quiche with a tender pressed potato crust. What I love most about this recipe is that swapping the traditional pastry for smashed small potatoes makes it naturally gluten free, without sacrificing even a bit of the comfort or flavor you expect from a great quiche. In fact, the potato crust has such a lovely, buttery quality all its own that you may find yourself preferring it.

This is also one of those wonderfully versatile dishes that works beautifully at any hour of the day. We had it last night for dinner alongside a simple green salad and good bread, and it was perfect. But it would be just as welcome at an Easter morning table, a lazy weekend brunch, or a quiet lunch with a friend. It is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent place in your rotation.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche with Potato Crust

Serves 8

This quiche skips the traditional pastry in favor of a golden potato crust made from baby Yukon golds, pressed into a springform pan and baked until tender and set. The filling is classic and comforting. Sharp cheddar, bright broccoli, and a silky egg custard gently seasoned with Dijon, thyme, and a touch of garlic. It is the kind of recipe that feels like home.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes (or any other little potato), scrubbed
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 3/4 cups sharp cheddar, shredded, divided
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • 8 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle position.

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan with 2 tablespoons of salt and enough cold water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high and cook undisturbed until the potatoes are very fork tender, about 20 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pot until they turn bright green and crisp-tender. Using a spider or slotted spoon, lift the broccoli out and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Drain the potatoes well and set aside.

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil and generously brush the sides and bottom with olive oil. Add the drained potatoes in an even layer, then use the flat bottom of a measuring cup to press them firmly into the bottom and about 1 3/4 inches up the sides of the pan, starting from the base. The potatoes will break and press together into a lovely rustic crust.

Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheddar over the potato crust. Top with the chopped onion and the blanched broccoli. Set the quiche on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic powder, pepper, and remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt until smooth. Pour the custard gently over the filling. Scatter the remaining cheddar over the top.

Bake at 400°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the center is just set and the top is lightly golden. A gentle shake should show very little wobble. Rest for at least 10 minutes before releasing the springform and slicing.

This quiche is wonderful warm, but equally lovely at room temperature, which makes it ideal for a relaxed spring table. It can be made a day ahead and gently reheated in a 325°F oven.

However life has pulled you in recent weeks, I hope this weekend offers a moment to slow down, set the table with a little intention, and gather with the people who matter most.

Spring is here. The table is ready. Come sit a while.

With warmth, Carrie

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