Cooking And Coping is a series created by @HungryEditor profiling people on what they are cooking and how they are coping during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Sarah Paiji Yoo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blueland. Blueland has been shaking up the cleaning industry with products that have eliminated the need for single-use plastic. Before starting Blueland, she was a Partner at the startup studio LAUNCH, which helped to develop and manage brands such as Follain, M.Gemi, and Rockets of Awesome. Prior to that, Paiji Yoo was the Co-Founder and CEO of Snapette, which was the largest mobile platform for local fashion shopping and sold in 2013 to e-commerce platform PriceGrabber. She was recently featured on Shark Tank and has contributed to Time, InStyle, Glamour, and The Wall Street Journal. Paiji Yoo is a graduate of Harvard University as well as Harvard Business School. She is based in New York City with her two sons and husband Ken. You can follow her on Instagram: @Spaiji and @Blueland.
Benjamin Liong Setiawan: What is a recipe you are loving right now?
Sarah Paiji Yoo: My favorite recipe right now is this vegan pizza grilled cheese. I promise it tastes as good as it sounds.
Ingredients
- 8 oz firm tofu, drained
- 2 tbsp. of nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp. of olive oil
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp. of salt
- ¼ tsp. of black pepper
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 6 slices of sourdough bread
- ¼ cup of vegan butter
- Optional add-ons: Vegan shredded cheese, mushrooms, onions, green peppers
Instructions
- Press tofu between reusable cloth towel to squeeze out any excess water, and then crumble into a blender.
- Add nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Blend until smooth with some texture, like ricotta cheese – adjust seasoning to taste.
- Spread vegan butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Take 2 slices of bread – spread vegan ricotta on one side, and marinara on the other. Add basil, any additional pizza toppings you like, and then put the sandwich together.
- Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until lightly brown and crusty. Best served warm.
Setiawan: How did you come across this recipe?
Paiji Yoo: I actually was given this recipe by our Blueland social media coordinator, Lydia, who has been vegan since high school.
Setiawan: What do you love about this recipe?
Paiji Yoo: I love that it’s healthy, comforting, and something my toddler son and I can both enjoy together. We have also been trying to eat less meat, and the tofu ricotta is a good, filling source of protein.
Setiawan: Any special memories connected to this recipe?
Paiji Yoo: I will remember this as our family’s go-to lunch during the peak of lockdown. Prior to this period, we never really had a formal lunch as a family, and instead on weekends we typically eat breakfast foods for brunch. I would usually get a salad for lunch during the week when I was working out of our office, so it’s a nice treat to be able to fix up something warm to share with my eldest son for lunch.
Setiawan: What are you doing to stay creative?
Paiji Yoo: I go on morning walks as a way to pull up and think bigger picture about Blueland. I used to walk to and from home each day, which would give me a solid hour to be digitally unplugged and reflect on our business and mission. I found that I ended up losing this time being work from home, as I’m constantly connected with a device at hand, which made me more inclined to spend my time being reactive to emails, slacks, and tactical things that needed to be done. These morning walks are a great solution and a meaningful time for connecting with myself and ideating.
Setiawan: What gives you hope?
Paiji Yoo: Our planet's ability to heal has always inspired me. In the last year, our planet is breathing better due to a decrease in pollution, our beaches are visibly cleaner, our waterways have become clearer, and some wildlife has even returned to their natural habitats.
Setiawan: What changes do you hope to see in the future?
Paiji Yoo: As whole industries and behaviors have experienced significant shifts in the last year, it’s worth evaluating what we want and how we want to rebuild. Additionally, I think these shifts have moved consumers to become active participants who make conscious decisions about how they want to live, voting with their actions and their dollars.
Setiawan: What rhythms are you implementing during this time?
Paiji Yoo: I’m prioritizing and proactively carving out family time during the week. At the start of the pandemic, this was difficult to accomplish and often felt like I was constantly switching between work and spending time with my children - feeling like I was failing at both. Now, with blocked out time to spend with my sons throughout the day, I can do both and be more present in both motherhood and in business.
Setiawan: What projects have you been working on?
Paiji Yoo: We launched a few new and exciting laundry products this summer. I believe these products will have an even greater impact on plastic pollution than our spray cleaners and hand soap. I’m also proud to share that after a year-long journey of further reducing our emissions, Blueland is an official B-Corp, plus we are Climate Neutral Certified.
Setiawan: Who are some people you think should be featured on Cooking and Coping next?
Paiji Yoo: Bea Johnson @zerowastehome. Donte Colley, uplifting content creator @donte.colley.
Find us on Instagram: @spaiji and @hungryeditor.
