This is a deeply personal book that reminds us of the importance of how we feed ourselves, not just what we feed ourselves. And how we feed ourselves is up to us! We are in charge! We get to decide!

“Cooking can teach us about our preferences and desires; it can help us gain authority over our bodies; it can connect us to the earth and to one another; and it can open the door to sensuality, pleasure, and play.” - Nicki Sizemore

In her gentle, nurturing way, Nicki teaches us that making a meal is a daily opportunity for intentional awareness of our moment to moment experience, of noticing what we’re doing and how we feel while doing it. In other words, it’s a way to slow down and enjoy our life.

And isn’t that the entire point?

In this LIVE streaming class, Nicki and I talk about how learning to prepare meals with joy and intention has literally changed her life, and might, in fact, change yours too.

We also show you how to cook one of the recipes from the book: Chili Crisp Tahini Noodle Bowls, and I think this photo, taken 5 minutes after the class, says it all…

Subscribe to Nicki’s newsletter, Mind, Body, Spirit, Food for the recipe and information about where you can pre-order her new book.

Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD

Recipes, interviews and inspiration to bring more intention, presence and freedom into the kitchen and beyond. Weekly new exclusive recipes, all gluten-free (but you'd never know it).

By Nicki Sizemore

To all of you who joined us LIVE, thank you for being there. If you missed it, here’s where you can watch the replay.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays, my friends.

It was something I wanted to talk about mostly because I wanted to work out my own thoughts about what it means when people unsubscribe. As with everything, I started by putting my thoughts on a page.

Life, being the unpredictable and uncontrollable experience that it is, threw us a curveball this morning by way of a crippling migraine. Poor Liza is down for the count and our discussion is going to have to wait for another day.

Instead, I gathered up my notes and am sharing them with you here. At some point in January, we’ll try again for a LIVE discussion about this topic. You are only getting my very one sided thoughts on the subject, and I know for a fact that Liza also has a lot of insight to offer. By then, of course, the discussion will have changed. It will widen, and grow, and expand, and we’ll probably all be better for it.

Let’s all send Liza some healing energy. These are some of the things I wanted to share with you today. If it brings anything up for you, I’d love for you to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Mastermind for Food Writers

A Change In Plans: Mastering the Art of Losing Subscribers

A few weeks ago, Liza Debevec and I decided to have a LIVE discussion about a common experience. You pour your heart into something, proudly send it out into the world, and promptly loose subscribers. Not always, of course. But, with frustrating frequency and often as a result of the work you are most passionate about…

Read more

4 months ago · Rebecca Blackwell

My co-host Bergdoll has challenged herself to post a cocktail recipe daily from December 1^st to December 21^st. You can read about that here, The Power of Words and Other Cocktail Missives, and spoiler alert! The food writer she mentions at the beginning who got scolded for daring to post non-traditional thanksgiving recipes is me! 🥂

In this class, Robin shows us how to make three cocktails that are just as perfect for gatherings as they are for for quiet evenings spent in your pjs.

But, for a taste of a true Italian Christmas, watch the replay of this live streaming class. Lolly talks about the difference between a pandoro and a panettone, and shows us how to make one of the simplest and most delicious desserts I’ve ever had: Coffee and Mascarpone Cream

Watch as Lolly uses her egg free mascarpone cream to transform a pandoro into a true showstopper.

I prepared an egg-rich mascarpone cream and then layered it with cubes of butter cake for decadent parfaits. Scroll down for the recipe!

Mascarpone Cream and Cake Parfaits!

For the cake:

• 1 1/4 cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces/ 113 grams) butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature

• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cups (175 grams) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) buttermilk, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Grease and flour the inside of a 8-inch cake pan that’s at least 3-inches deep.

2. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt to a bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.

3. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and the egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the flour and buttermilk in alternating additions: ¼ of the flour, ⅓ of the buttermilk, ¼ of the flour, ⅓ of the buttermilk, ¼ of the flour, the last of the buttermilk, and the last of the flour. After each addition, mix on low speed just long enough to barely incorporate. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. After the last addition of flour, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the batter, ensuring all the ingredients have been well combined.

6. Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing it into an even layer.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any evidence of raw batter.

8. Allow the cake to cool inside the pan for 5 minutes then gently turn it out onto a wire baking rack. Allow the cake to cool completely, then cut into large bite-size cubes.

Coffee and Mascarpone Cream:

• 6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar

• 3 large, cold, pasteurized egg yolks

• 16 ounces (452 grams) mascarpone cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon of rum, more to taste

• 1 tablespoon cold strong coffee, more to taste

• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture is light in color and thick, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat until completely incorporated and smooth.

2. Add the salt, rum, and coffee. Beat to combine. Taste and add more coffee or rum if you like.

To assemble the parfaits:

1. Add a few cubes of cake to a glass or a bowl and top with a generous layer of mascarpone cream. Repeat these layers, cake cubes and mascarpone cream. Dust the top with a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes: For a stronger coffee or rum flavor, sprinkle the cubes of cake with some additional rum or coffee. The mascarpone cream can be flavored in whatever way you like, it doesn’t have to be rum and coffee. Instead, use vanilla or almond extract, or even lemon or orange extract, or play around with different flavored liquors!

Robin has done two cocktail classes with me since that fateful meeting (Cocktails 101 and Cocktails with Robin) and next month we’re doing the most fun cocktail class to date….

The Only Holiday Cocktail Party You Can Attend In Your Pajamas

I know, it’s very judgmental of me to assume you don’t already attend cocktail parties in your pajamas. But, for this one, your comfiest attire is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged.

Robin has challenged herself to post a cocktail recipe daily from December 1^st to December 21^st. You can read about that here, The Power of Words and Other Cocktail Missives, and spoiler alert! The food writer she mentions at the beginning who got scolded for daring to post non-traditional thanksgiving recipes is me! 🥂

Anyhoo, I hope you’ll join us on December 5th at 7pm EST for a fun holiday cocktail class that you can, in fact, attend in your pjs (because we won’t be able to see you.)

When: Friday, December 5 at 7pm EST (6pm CST, 5pm MST, 4pm PST)

Click this link to join the party: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/81229

As I prepped for this pie class, a friend I’ve known for over 30 years texted me a photo from an old family recipe collection of her mother-in-law’s recipe for Foolproof pie crust.

Here’s the thing about that: When Steve and I got married 31 years ago someone gave me a small binder filled with blank recipe cards. Foolproof pie crust was one of the first recipes I copied into that binder and it’s the recipe I’ve been making ever since. I didn’t remember where I’d received it, but now I do.

As you’ll see in this class, I’ve tweaked it over the years, incorporating new techniques and knowledge that I’ve learned from other talented bakers and from my own experience baking countless pies for the past 30 years.

Betty’s recipe is also a living, breathing connection to the generosity of other bakers, Betty included. The recipe originates from an old Cook’s Illustrated issue, and as you’ll see here, Betty has spent the past decade perfecting it and making it her own.

In the company of ghosts, indeed.

If you were able to join us live for this piecrust class, thank you so much for being there. These classes have been such an enjoyable way to get to connect with many of you in a way that goes beyond words on a screen.

If you missed it, I hope you enjoy the recording! In this class, Betty and I show you how to prepare two different pie crust recipes, the recipes we’ve been relying on for decades. You’ll also learn:

• The difference between using vegetable shortening and butter and which is better

• How to get the flakiest crust ever

• A few secret ingredients that make pie crust easy to work with and the final result, tender, flaky, and full of flavor

• How to roll out and shape pie crust dough

• How to pre-bake and partially pre-bake your crust

• How to prevent a soggy bottom (unless you’re into that kind of thing!)

The Recipes and Piepalooza!

Here’s where you’ll find my recipe: Foolproof Pie Crust

Here’s where you’ll find Betty’s recipe: Betty’s Butter and Booze Pie Crust

On Saturday, November 1st, Betty will send out a special issue of her newsletter - Piepalooza! The issue will include over 30 (!) different pie recipes from bakers all over the world. All you have to do to receive Piepalooza is subscribe to Betty’s newsletter, which let’s be honest, you want to do anyway. 🙂

Betty Eatz Newsletter

Fresh California Cuisine! Newsletters every Friday.

By Betty Williams

My understanding of a hot dish is that it’s a casserole of sorts with a protein and veggies in a sauce topped with something crispy that is often, but not always, tater tots. BUT, I had lots of questions about this midwestern specialty and I asked them all while Stephanie showed us how to make one.

Subscribe now

Read more

The base of this apple streusel cake is a simple butter cake that I've flavored with plenty of vanilla plus a touch of almond extract and cloves for a little bit of extra warmth.

Thick slices of apples are baked in between the cake and a generous layer of brown sugar cinnamon streusel so that every single bite contains soft cake, roasted apples, and buttery streusel.

It’s the kind of cake you could serve as a coffee cake, an afternoon snack, or dessert. It’s an anytime cake and don’t we all just love the sound of that???

In this LIVE streaming class, I show you how to make this cake and share some simple tips and tricks that will make this simple recipe even easier. We’ll also talk about how to turn this cake into muffins, a loaf cake, or swap out the apples for different kinds of fruit.

Read more

These Tuscan Meatballs from check all the boxes.

In this video, Christine joins us from her cottage kitchen in Ireland to show us how to make them. Earlier this year, Christine set off on an epic camper van road trip across Europe and these meatballs were one of the meals she made on the road.

As you’ll see, I’m making them from my tiny RV kitchen and the week before I made a batch in the cabin of a sailboat! So, when we say they are also simple enough to be made in any size kitchen, we mean it!

Read more

In May, the fabulous Robin Bergdoll showed us how to make a Black Manhattan and a French Gimlet and she’s BACK to show us how to make two new colorful cocktails that are perfect for hot summer evenings!

The Monarch Cocktail

Here’s what you’ll need if you want to mix along!

Read more

Lisa is a writer & culinary journalist, and a food stylist for commercial photography. In this class she shows us how her work as a food stylist informs the way she cooks and entertains.

Read more

Years ago, my grandma typed out the many hand written recipes from her recipe card box along with a few sentences about who liked each recipe the most, when she was most likely to make it and other memories about each dish. My grandpa added clip art, printed many copies, placed each recipe in a sheet protector and organized them inside binders.

They gave each of their children and grandchildren a copy for Christmas one year and I am certain that every single person who received one would tell you the same thing: It’s one of my most treasured possessions.

Family recipes are a record of traditions and memories. The are a way to bring the past to life by recreating the sights, smells, taste and experience of our family history in a real and tangible way.

If preserving family recipes is something that calls to you, this conversation is for you.

Lori is an Author, Genealogist, and Story Collector who writes two substack publications about preserving culinary and family history, Culinary History is Family History and The Lost and Found Story Box.

She is a treasure trove of information about all the ways to keep our histories alive. And this conversation is packed with inspiration and practical knowledge that you can implement immediately to preserve our own culinary history.

Lori generously provided three handouts to go along with this conversation. All three are packed with valuable information and you can download them here:

Read more

If you’re into things like buttery cookie dough, jammy fruit centers, and a snack that doubles as breakfast (and c'mon, who isn't?), these might just become your new favorite cookie. And in this class, I show you how to make them.

Read more

• What Substack is and how it’s different from other media platforms

• The basic elements of Substack including publications and posts, notes, chat, and direct messages

• The difference between using Substack on desktop or in the Substack app on mobile

• How to navigate between notes and the publications you subscribe to

• How to save posts

• How to view your profile and adjust your settings

I also offer a quick tour of my publication, Let’s Get Lost, that will I hope help you find everything I offer here.

If you ever have questions about Substack or about the content I am creating here, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Send a direct message to me or leave your question below in the comments.

Get more from Rebecca Blackwell in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

As a recipe developer and food photographer, one of my concerns was whether my work would be limited by the smaller space. What transpired was a lesson in how many of my limitations are self imposed.

Over the past 5 years, I’ve done everything in my tiny kitchen that I did in my much larger suburban kitchen. I’ve continued to create, photograph and write recipes, and we’ve entertained groups of all sizes (we had over 40 people here once!).

This is not to say that I don’t often miss having a large kitchen. There is something wonderful about the luxury of large open spaces with plenty of room to move. But also, there is something wonderful about the luxury of tiny, cozy spaces that contain everything you need in arm’s reach.

Today, joined me for a LIVE tour of both of our kitchens and hers is absolutely stunning. From the giant, cozy kitchen island, to the pantry with pull-out shelves and the appliance garage, her renovated space is clean, simple, and thoughtfully designed. It’s the kind of space in which any chef would love to work, but also the kind of space I just want to hang out in.

At the end of the day, all of us are doing our best to use what we have to do what we want. And that, I hope, is what this video demonstrates.

So much of our lives transpire inside a tiny square of earth we call home. Creating a space that enriches the many hours spent there is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable things we can do.

If you joined us live, thank you for being there. Perhaps one day I’ll have the opportunity to invite some of you into my kitchen in person. If you missed it, here is the recording.

And, if you’re not already a devoted fan, subscribe to Nicki’s newsletter and you’ll soon become one. I guarantee it.

Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD

Recipes, interviews and inspiration to bring more intention, joy and freedom into the kitchen. Weekly new exclusive recipes, all gluten-free (but you'd never know it).

By Nicki Sizemore

Read more

Like homemade flour tortillas, the work to reward ratio of homemade corn tortillas skews heavily in the direction of reward. In other words, the amount of work involved pales in comparison to how delicious they are.

In fact, as you’ll see in this video, you can make a batch of warm, soft homemade corn tortillas in about 15 minutes.

While on a trip to Costa Rica last year, I learned that the combination of corn and beans creates a complete protein. This is true of any grain with any legume, a combination that forms the basis of traditional cuisines around the world.

In Costa Rica, corn tortillas with beans and rice (Gallo Pinto) are fundamental. And so, so delicious. Ever since that trip, I’ve made bean and rice tacos with homemade corn tortillas on a regular basis. They are, in fact, one of our favorite breakfasts. And in this class, I show you how.

Read more

Read more

Read more

The first time I met , she made tacos for me and they were ridiculously delicious. (You can get that recipe here: Slow Roasted Pulled Pork Tacos with Green Slaw)

Tonight she showed us how to make poke tacos with pineapple salsa and let me just say that Betty now holds real estate in my brain as the taco queen. The second I shut down the video, my husband and oldest daughter and I devoured every last bite.

Also, there were spicy pineapple margaritas. So yeah. It’s a good night at the Blackwell RV. 😋

Watch the video. Make the margaritas and the tacos and it will be a good night at your house too.

Read more