the one item that's always in my suitcase when I travel with my mom...
EVERYTHING BELIZE!!! and a chart + a discount for you!
This post is chock full of photos which means it’s too long to see the whole thing in your email — simply open it up in your browser or on the Substack app and you’ll be good!
I was texting with some friends earlier today who I haven’t seen in a bit and when I asked how everyone was doing, one friend said: “finding joy wherever I can.” With waves-hands-in-the-air-anxiously everything going on, I appreciated her reminder to find the joy.
Are you finding joy wherever you can? Where are you finding it?
One thing that has brought me a lot of joy is reflecting on a trip I got to take a couple of months ago. I was invited by The Family Coppola Hideaways to helm a “Culinary Week” trip. Our time was split between two of their hotels in Belize — Turtle Inn, on the beach in Placencia, and Blancaneaux Lodge in the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve.
I’ve traveled a lot for work over the years, especially early in my career and during book tours, but this was the first time I ever did a trip like this where I was, for lack of a better phrase, the “face” of the trip. Was I a little anxious? Sure! I wasn’t sure who would be on the trip or how we would all get along. I had also never been to Belize, let alone these specific hotels.
…it turned out to be amazing.
I got to bring a plus one and took my mom along for the ride. The trip was in early December, just about a week after her 80th birthday(!!). When I was a teenager, my mom would often bring me along on her business trips. Belize felt wonderfully full circle and such a gift to have her with me.
I shared a bit of it all on Instagram but wanted to tell you more about it here. And, icing on the cake, my pal Natalie Chitwood tagged along and took extraordinary photos and just shared so many with me to show all of you!
So without further ado, some highlights from our trip with loads of photos from Nat (thanks Nat!!!), a soup chart, and a discount code from my friends at The Family Coppola Hideaways if you’re interested in a similar experience for you and yours!
And just for transparency:
yes, my expenses, including travel, were covered for the trip
no, I wasn’t paid for the trip
yes, traveling like this is an enormous privilege and no, I do not take it for granted
no, they did not require or even ask me to share anything — this was just a really amazing week for me and my mom and I wanted to share it with all of you!
We spent Saturday traveling to Belize and settling in at Turtle Inn. On Sunday, our first official day of the trip, we ended the evening in their amazing garden and I offered a little cooking demo before dinner featuring some of the stuff we enjoyed for dinner. I was struck by how GREEN everything was and how easily everything seems to grow there. I also love that they use egg shells (from eggs from their chickens…!) for their seedlings. Chef Irwin and I had a great time picking herbs that we chopped and added to a huge bowl of halved cherry tomatoes, a little olive oil, garlic, vinegar, salt, and pepper. This became the topping for fresh fish Irwin and his crew roasted in the pizza oven. Simple and so delicious. We also had the braised eggplant from WGWW along with some local cheese, a literal garden salad, and their homemade focaccia. For dessert, the pineapple upside down cake from WGWW!
The next day the weather was a little iffy, so we decided to have the beach BBQ we planned under one of their huge palapas for a little cover. We enjoyed a “greatest hits” menu featuring recipes from my cookbooks:
Sweet + Salty Sesame Peanuts from Simply Julia plus lots of drinks
Grilled Skirt Steak with Pickled Jalapeño Relish from Small Victories
Greek-ish Grilled Shrimp from Small Victories
The potato salad and the corn salad from Simply Julia
And for dessert - the Card Night Ginger Cookies from Simply Julia (made me very thrilled to send my friends a photo of these!!)
The best part of this lunch was after we all ate when we just sat around and did nothing but chat and have an extra drink (or two). I feel like the whole group began to really mesh at that moment and it was just very nice to be a part of that.
The following day, the weather was on our side! So whoever from the group wanted came on a beautiful boat ride out to Coral Caye, a tiny private island, and we spent the better part of the day snorkeling, relaxing, and eating a delicious lunch (just-caught fish grilled in a tin foil packet with peppers and onions, BBQ chicken, rice + beans, potatoes and salad).
I fell in love with snorkeling. I had never done it before, had always wanted to, and am now dreaming about how to do it more frequently. I felt an overwhelming amount of awe for what’s below the surface and gratitude that all of those fish and coral and other creatures allow us to take a peak. I am now also a bit obsessed with coral reef conservation efforts around the world (like here, here and here). I also learned a lot in this episode of The Daily.
We moved from Turtle Inn to Blancaneaux Lodge. It was my first time in a rainforest and….just WOW. It felt overwhelmingly beautiful. I saw toucans! My nervous system felt…what’s that word?…right! calm.
The hands down most amazing part of Blancaneaux is their garden farm. Elicer, the head gardener, is incredible. He has been farming this land for so many years and also teaches gardening at the local school. He is so kind and knowledgeable and walking through the crops with him one rainy morning is a memory that I will never forget.
Elicer and his crew grow loads (loads!!) of vegetables and herbs, many of which are the same as what’s grown near my home in the Hudson Valley, but then you turn a corner and there are actual pineapples and limes and bananas...we definitely don’t get those here!
The farm provides all of the produce for everyone at the hotel, both guests and staff. The whole thing is nearly 5 acres and it is all just an incredible ecosystem. The crops are fertilized not only with manure from the property’s chickens, but they’re also enriched with compost from their impressive compost operation which incorporates all food scraps and even ash from the hotel restaurant’s pizza oven.
On our second-to-last night we had an epic dinner there. Head chef Jaime and his crew, including Nelson and José, welcomed me into the kitchen and we made a huge vegetarian feast featuring:
Zucchini, Green Olive + Feta Fritters from Simply Julia
Mushrooms Rockefeller from Simply Julia
Smoky Eggplant Dip from Small Victories
Pea, Leek + Herb Soup from Small Victories
A beautiful and very literal garden salad
The carrot salad from WGWW
Grace’s Green Beans with Garlic + Tomatoes from Simply Julia
Stewed Chickpeas with Peppers + Zucchini from Simply Julia
Rice with loads of fresh scallions and herbs
and the Happy Wife, Happy Life Cake from Small Victories (which Grace and I have updated to “Happy Spouse, Happy House Cake” ever since Grace stopped using she/her pronouns!)
I was so inspired by cooking with Chef Jaime and his crew and using everything grown a few steps away that I made everyone a “From the Garden Soups” chart that I am so happy to now share with all of you:
The absolute best part of the trip was getting to spend so much quality time with my mom. I love all of these photos Nat captured:
So [insert drumroll here] the one item that's always in my suitcase when I travel with my mom?
…a deck of cards!
My mom and I played endless rounds of gin rummy on the trip. We kept the score going the whole time (she won, handily).
I grew up playing cards. At every holiday and after dinner on most weekends, my family played a version of gin rummy I’ve only ever known as Crazy Gin (it involves five rounds and during each you have to collect specific sets of cards). I started playing when I was so young that I couldn’t hold all of the cards I was dealt in one hand and had to make tiny piles for myself.
And, as you may have already picked up from the name “Card Night Ginger Cookies” (and already know if you’ve read the headnote to that recipe in Simply Julia), cards have stuck with me. Three of my BFFs and I had a monthly ‘card night’ when we all lived in New York City and even though we’ve all moved, our group chat is still called “Card Night.”
ANYWAY! What I love about playing cards with loved ones, including and especially my mom, is that it gives you an easy activity to do while you’re chatting. It’s my favorite way to pass time, especially since I’m an anxious person who has a hard time sitting still (just ask Grace what I’m like to watch TV with).
Obviously it’s fine if you’re not into card games! But I think a game or puzzle of some sort — something you can do together that’s fun, portable, not plugged into anything, etc. is just so important for a trip like this. Sure it’s nice to read next to your family member or friend, but I think having a low-key activity is essential for the kind-of easygoing talking and meaningful time together we all crave.
Lastly just a big old shoutout to my pal Christine, longtime friend of this newsletter!, who is the Director of Marketing for the hotels, invited me on the trip, and organized everything. We had such a good time!!! My favorite part with her was when we got to bench press together in the staff gym at Turtle Inn.
And for all of you from Christine:
The Coppola Hideaways locations in Belize and Guatemala are offering an exclusive discount to readers of this newsletter! Call: 1-877-935-6758 and tell them you’re a “friend of Julia” to receive 25% off your room rate and 20% off your food and beverage for stay dates now through December 19, 2025. This offer is not combinable with other promotions or offers. If you prefer to book online, go to www.thefamilycoppolahideaways.com and use the code CJ25 when booking and the discounts will be applied.
…Thank you Christine and The Family Coppola Hideaways!!!
Also special shout-out to Martin, the General Manager of Turtle Inn, and Bernie, the General Manager of Blancaneaux, for their incredible hospitality. Along with their teams, they made our stay so easy and special.
Want more of my mom and me…and my dad?? Come this weekend’s class!
This Sunday, March 9th, is my parents’ 45th wedding anniversary (!!).
In honor of their anniversary, join me to make a festive meal suitable for any celebration at home. Featuring easy-but-elegant recipes, we'll be making:
Kir Royales
Braised Fish with Cream + Dill
Lemony Rice Pilaf
Ice Cream + Jam Sundaes.
Non-alcoholic + vegetarian options will be offered. Fun and sweet! A portion of proceeds »» THE OKRA PROJECT (a mutual aid collective focused on supporting Black Trans people).
SUNDAY March 9th / 2p - 3:30p EST / sliding scale starting at $40
» SIGN UP HERE! SIGN UP HERE! SIGN UP HERE! SIGN UP HERE! «
xoxooxoxo, Julia
I'd like to recommend a game that brings me joy and would be great for traveling with! It's called Qwixx! It's a very easy-to-learn and fast-to-play dice game! Each game lasts maybe 20 minutes or so depending on how many players you have. And, it's the rare game that is just as fun if not more fun with two people! (Though you can have up to five players.) I highly recommend! My husband and I like to bring it to friend's houses and on trips, and we also like to play a quick round after lunch or dinner! https://gamewright.com/product/Qwixx
Well, this was delightful in every way. It's so true that real calm can be found in nature. <3 I've never been to Belize, but it sounds awesome. So glad you got this time.
I also grew up playing cards with family (always Hearts) and always travel with a deck. My husband and I tend to play Rummy 500 on vacation, though now we also, dorkily, play Settlers of Catan against each other on our phones. hehe