4 Tiny Ideas+Rituals
#6 A Softer Start to Your Week
This week, I’ve been thinking about the little things that make a day feel whole. A recipe passed down from my Aunty, a cake that carries memories of another place (and another lifetime), the joys of paper + pen. Small rituals, small pauses—things that ground us in a tiny + quiet way. So, I’m sharing a few of them with you today.
Before I get into this week’s Tiny 4, here’s something special to look forward to:
🌸 Edible Flower Food Styling Workshop: in person, Sunday, April 27th, in my home in Toronto. A hands-on day of styling, creativity, and gathering around beautiful food. More details soon.
🌿 Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is in a few days, on March 20th
A celebration of renewal, gathering, and the first days of spring.
Next Week’s Tiny 4?
Instead of the usual Tiny 4, next week’s newsletter will be a special edition for Nowruz. I’ll be sharing stories of my grandmother, Shameem Saadat, whose Persian roots tie me to Nowruz, the turning of seasons, and a table laid with symbols of renewal.
A moment to remember, honor, and welcome what’s ahead.
Here are your 4 Tiny Ideas+Rituals💫
1) Make Something Just for the Joy of It 🌽✨
And yes, these sweetcorn pakoras are one of those treats. Crisp, golden, and spicy—the kind of snack you eat straight out of the frying pan, too good to wait for a plate.
This is my Aunty Shelly’s recipe, and if you’ve ever tried to get a proper recipe out of a mom, you’ll know the struggle. In my part of the world, we cook by Andaza—a little this, a handful of that.
Something small to bring joy to your week.
Recipe
Aunty Shelly’s Corn Pakoras (these are basically gluten-free corn fritters)
2) A Cake Tradition (Because It Just Works)
As you know, I love a tiny baking ritual that makes the week feel gentler. And this week, I’m baking an olive oil-based cake that takes me back to Rome.
Down the hill from Aventino, where I lived, there was a small pasticceria in Testaccio that sold an apple olive oil cake every year, on Pasqua (Easter).
In my early days there, when I was still finding myself, I would chat with shopkeepers in the neighborhood, who made the city feel a little less lonely.
This cake reminds me of those days, when I was looking for something comforting and familiar in a place that was still becoming home.
The owner shared the recipe with me, and now I’m sharing it with you (with my Spice Spoon additions).
Maybe you’ll bake it this weekend and enjoy a slice with your coffee, your chai, or a quiet moment just for yourself.
3) A Little Prep, A Lot of Flavor 🌶️
Here’s something small that makes cooking feel easier: mix your spices ahead of time.
Whatever you’re making this week—a pot of lentils, roasted vegetables, grilled fish, or a quick stir-fry—instead of reaching for a separate spice jar every time, just blend them now.
A simple mix, ready to go, means less thinking, less measuring, and more time actually cooking.
A minute of prep, a week of effortless flavor.
4) The Stillness of Writing Things Down 🤍
Lately, I’ve been thinking about stillness—especially about all things analog, paper and ink, the kind of presence that comes from writing something down, holding something real in your hands. For someone like me—whose life’s work exists mostly online—there’s something deeply comforting about picking up a pen and scribbling a list in my journal.
This week, I want to invite you to do the same. There’s a kind of noticing that only happens when we step away from the screen.When we sit with a moment long enough to really see it—the way light shifts across the dining room when I’m near the window, or the simple act of putting words on paper.
A grocery list, a thought to remember, a recipe to try—it doesn’t matter what. What matters is the act itself. The rhythm of pen to paper, the small pause it creates.
So this week, I’m making a list—on paper, with a pen. Maybe you’ll do the same.
Also, hit that ❤️ or share my post—it helps more than you know.
May my 4 Tiny Ideas+Rituals be useful, and bring a little ease to your week. If you give any of them a try, I’d love to hear from you—please share your thoughts in the comments (and a ‘like’ ❤️ helps this post reach more readers, so I’d be grateful for that).
Wishing you a calm and intentional start to the week ahead.
All love, Shayma x
All photographic beauty in this newsletter is by me, unless otherwise credited.
If you enjoyed my writing, and it inspired you, I would be so grateful if you hit that ❤️ or share my post—it helps spread the work about my craft.
I have a thing for fountain pens and beautiful notebooks. In them I copy words of inspiration or snippets of poetry, especially Rumi.