How travel saved me

Let's Get Lost, Issue #37, Feb.15,2025: How travel saved me, Things worth reading, Chimichurri steak sandwich, Miso potato salad, Oatmeal raisin cookies, Anchovy olive oil pasta, Chocolate rye muffins

The thing that you may not know about living in an RV is that it can save you.

Granted, this may not be true for everyone. In fact, it may not be true for anyone except us. But it is uncompromisingly true for us.

Our son died the week we were moving from our home into our newly purchased RV. He was 24 on April 29, 2020, with his whole life in front of him, wide open with sparkling possibilities and every option on the table, and the option he chose was to not keep living it.

I am aghast with awe and horror when I think of that week, of how quickly and unexpectedly everything about the life you think you’re in charge of can change without your permission.

The first thing I said on the first morning that I awoke to a world without a son was, “I can’t believe this is our life.”

But that’s not how the week began.

The week began with giddy excitement and frenetic energy, which we needed because moving requires a lot of energy. It was the start! The beginning! A new chapter! Oh, the adventures! Were we were really doing this? Yes we were! Crazy! Wild! Everyone thinks we’re nuts and isn’t that part of the fun of it?

How to describe who we were by the end of that week? Empty shells. Dead weight. Our oldest daughter shut down and closed off. Our youngest slept 22 of every every 24 hours. We were gutted. We were in bad shape.

But. The house was sold. We did not own it any more and we had to go. So we went.

At the end of the two week reservation at our first campground, we had to go again. And again, and again, and again for all of that year and into the next, right up until this very day as we haul our home on wheels through Texas to Louisiana.

At a time in our life when we could not have manufactured the energy to keep moving, our circumstances dictated that we had to do just that. We kept going because we didn’t have any other choice.

It saved us.

Travel has always been a siren song for me. I remember the day, in my late 20s or early 30s, when I decided that I would be a traveler. As in, this is who I am, not this is something I like to do. Like I was sorting through a rack of identities, picked that one up, tried it on for size, realized that it fit, and never took it off.

And isn’t it funny how, when you’re young and choosing who you are and making major life decisions without the weight and caution of experience, that you cannot possibly know the effect it will have on your 45 year old self who has fully actualized the identity of traveler to the point that her actual home has wheels but now finds herself in a situation where she would much rather stay in bed.

My younger self did not know that the constant supply of new views outside the window will be one of the reasons I got up every morning. But there it is.

Our son’s birthday is coming up later this month and I am writing this on the day before we move ourselves from one location to the next. Earlier this week, I listened to an interview with Natalie Goldberg, author of many books including the timeless, Writing Down The Bones, where she talked about writing as a meditative practice.

She said, “We eventually produce so that we can let go.”

And I think the same can be said about travel. Travel can be a practice of experiencing whatever this present moment has for us, the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of a place, and the ever changing impermanence of it.

Travel teaches us that we eventually move on so that we can let go.

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Worth reading

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve happened upon several different people talking about writing as a meditation and am finding it useful. If you are a person who writes, even if you only write things like emails, and birthday cards, and labels on your freezer bags, I think you’ll enjoy this short, simple piece from

Jen Knox

.

I ordered myself this beautiful book from

Jessie-Sierra; The Last Bite

and it is incredibly inspiring. Page after page of gorgeous food on dreamy, beautifully tablescaped tables!

So, I just need to say that if you ever come to my home for dinner, and I hope one day you do, there might be a vase of fresh flowers, but the table will not be scaped. However, you might very well find one of the gorgeous, mouth watering recipes from this book on your plate and you are welcome to thumb through the pages with me and dream while we eat.

Check it out: Seasons Around The Table

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What to make this week

In last week’s Lost Supper Club issue, I shared a recipe for chimichurri steak fries that, I am not embarrassed to say, absolutely kicks ass. Crispy french fries covered in bite size pieces of filet mignon smothered in garlic aioli and chimichurri sauce is not a life choice you will ever regret. Just saying.

BUT. I also publish a recipe for chimichurri steak sandwiches on the blog that is just as good. In fact, if you were to ask me which I liked more, the steak fries or the steak sandwich, I am not sure I am capable of giving you an answer.

Trust me when I say it is very, very good and if you can make it this week, I highly encourage you to do so.

Recipe —> Chimichurri Steak Sandwich

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Creamy miso potato salad with roasted cabbage

This creamy potato salad also happens to be vegan thanks to pureed cashews which stand in beautifully for traditional mayo.

This is one of those recipes that ended up nothing like the original idea, which, if I’m honest, is often how things go for me. I am an endless fount of ideas but it’s only after making them real, into something that I can see, feel, touch, and taste, that I can evaluate whether I actually think it’s a good idea.

The original idea for this salad was not a good idea.

But, it got me on track towards this. And THIS creamy, umami rich potato salad with crispy roasted cabbage is a very good idea.

This is a warm potato salad that’s fantastic with any simple protein - grilled or roasted poultry or meat, crispy tofu, or even a couple of soft boiled eggs. It’s also good on it’s own, which is how we ate it this week. You could also toss in some shredded chicken, or a couple of hard boiled eggs, folding them right into that creamy sauce along with the warm potatoes.

6 Servings

Time: 60 minutes

• 1 cup roasted or raw cashews (raw cashews make a creamier sauce, but roasted work perfectly well)

• ½ cup water

• 3 tablespoons white miso

• ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari)

• 1-3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce, to taste

• 1 medium sized head red cabbage

• 1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

• ½ cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons of black or brown sesame seeds

1. Make the dressing: Add the cashews, water, miso, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce to a blender and process at high speed until completely smooth, 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more chili garlic sauce if desired. Pour the dressing into a bowl or jar and set aside, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

2. Roast the cabbage: Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cover the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Slice the cabbage into slabs that are approximately 1-inch thick. Remove the core from the center slices. Lay the slabs of cabbage on the baking sheet and brush both sides of each slab with oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and then place the baking sheet in the oven. Roast the cabbage until the edges are a very dark brown, almost black, and crispy, about 25-30 minutes.

3. Cook the potatoes: While the cabbage is roasting, peel the potatoes and cut them into generous bite size pieces. Add them to a medium size saucepan and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes by a couple of inches. Add enough salt to the water to make it taste salty and set the pan over high heat. When the water begins to boil, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender but not so soft that they are falling apart.

4. Drain the potatoes in a colander set inside the sink and then transfer to a medium size bowl. Pour the dressing over the hot potatoes and very gently, toss them around in the dressing to coat.

5. To serve: Layer the potatoes and roasted cabbage into a serving bowl, alternating spoonfuls of potatoes with some of the crispy cabbage. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and sesame seeds and serve warm.

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Oatmeal raisin cookies

These have been a favorite in my family for many years but I only recently realized how much my husband likes them. At the first Lost Supper Club, I asked our guests one of my favorite questions: “If you could only eat one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

Steve said it would be these cookies which seemed enough of an excuse to both make him a batch and share the recipe with you.

Time: about 90 minutes to make + several hours of resting time (plan ahead!)

Makes: 22 large cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup loosely packed raisins

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 6 ounces butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup whole wheat flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon table salt, OR 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 cup almonds; I used roasted and salted almonds (optional)

Instructions:

1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat with a fork to combine. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and the raisins. Stir to mix and then let the mixture rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Add the butter, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is lightened in color and has a fluffy appearance, 3 - 5 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl a time or two.

3. Meanwhile, add a ½ cup of the oats to the bowl of a food processor and process until ground to a powder. Dump the ground outs into a medium-sized bowl and add the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir with a wire whisk to combine.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix on low speed just until combined. Add the remaining 2 cups of oats, eggs and raisins, and almonds (if using). Mix on low speed just until combined.

5. Scrape the dough into a covered container and place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least one hour and up to 5 days. (24 hours or more of resting time produces cookies with the best flavor.)

6. Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.

7. Use a ¼ cup measure to shape the dough into large balls. Add 4 to 6 cookies to a cookie sheet, leaving at least 4 inches of space in between each ball of dough.

8. Bake the cookies in the center of the oven for 11 - 14 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set but the center looks slightly underdone. Remove from the oven, set the baking sheet on a wire rack, and allow the cookies to cool almost completely before removing them from the baking sheet.

9. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. Add sheets of parchment paper in between layers of cookies because the cookies WILL stick together if stacked directly on top of each other.

Recipe notes:

• I usually like to make these quite large, but you can make them any size you like. Use about 2 tablespoons of dough for regular-size cookies.

• It's important to allow the cookies time to cool on the baking sheet before removing them. These are very soft and tender cookies and they will fall apart if you try to move them while they are still too warm.

• You can store baked oatmeal raisin cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to wrap them individually with plastic wrap and then put them in a zip-top freezer bag. This keeps the cookies from sticking together.

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Anchovy and olive oil pasta

Earlier this year, I was captivated by a recipe for 20-minute anchovy, caper, and olive pasta from

Lolly Martyn

of the delightful Weeknight Pasta from Italy.

As it happened, two of our friends who attended the very first Lost Supper Club dinner showed up with a couple bottles of very good California olive oil. The next week, we went vineyard hopping with the same friends and I picked up a jar of spicy anchovies at one of the wineries.

I, of course, took all this as confirmation that I should make a pasta dish that would show off the gorgeous flavor of the oil and anchovies in my possession, and Lolly’s recipe seemed an obvious choice.

I did not have all the ingredients in Lolly’s recipe, so what you see here is a modified version. Thankfully, Lolly’s recipe left plenty of room for improvisation.

This is what I like to call a no recipe required kind of meal because you really can modify it in any way you like. The only real requirements are that you use good quality pasta and really good olive oil.

Time: 20 minutes

The amounts listed will serve 4 people, but the recipe is easily modified to make as little or as much as you like. Also, keep in mind that nothing in this recipe needs to be precisely measured. Add more or less of any ingredient to suit your personal tastes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of spaghetti noodles - I used homemade fresh spaghetti

• About a cup of really good extra virgin olive oil

• 10 - 20 anchovies

• 4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

• 2-4 ounces nonpareille capers

• About 1 cup (8 ounces) of olives, any kind

• A handful of fresh sage leaves, or any kind of fresh herbs

• 1/2 - 1 cup of oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained

• Shredded parmesan or parmigiana reggiano, optional

Instructions:

1. Fill a large saucepan or stockpot with enough water to cover the pasta and give it a bit of room to swim. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Set the pan over high heat and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until it’s slightly underdone - tender but still hard in the center. Drain in a colander, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.

2. Add the cup of olive oil to a skillet or braiser and set the pan over medium heat. Add the anchovies. Cook, stirring, until the anchovies break apart and melt into the oil. Lower the heat as necessary to maintain a very gentle simmer.

3. Add the garlic, capers, olives, fresh herbs, and sun dried tomatoes. Let simmer for a minute or two then turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

4. Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan with the anchovy sauce and toss it around to coat. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the pasta is al dente (tender, but with some resistance when you bite into it). Add more pasta water if it starts to look dry.

5. Serve with shredded cheese if desired.

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From the cookbook!

The Let’s Get Lost Cookbook is the culmination of many of the recipes and stories I published in this newsletter in 2024. It includes 143 recipes with full page color photos of every dish and, scattered amongst the recipes, a handful of the stories from our life on the road.

Here’s where to check it out: Let’s Get Lost, The Cookbook

One of my favorite people holding my book AND a double chocolate rye muffin that she made from the book!

The adorable human in the photo is

Mic

who made these double chocolate rye muffins the day her copy of my book came in the mail. This, obviously, made my heart swell so large I thought it might actually burst.

Here’s the recipe, plucked straight from the pages of the book, in case you want to be like Mic (you do) and make them too.

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Reminder for paid subscribers!

Downloadable pdf recipe cards are a perk of being a member of The Lost Supper Club. You’ll find the recipe cards for every recipe you see here in next week’s issue of The Lost Supper Club.

Coming up next week: Supper Club in Texas with a Texas food writer who shares recipes for San Antonio Shrimp Nachos, Texas Chili, and Sopapilla Cheesecake!

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That’s all for now, friends. I hope you have a delightful week and, if you are enjoying this newsletter, please tell your friends.

If you make something from this issue, have questions or anything you’d like to share, add a comment below. I ❤️ to hear from you.