I apparently need someone to tell me how to enjoy my life
+ A sailing video! And 30-Minute Chicken Soup, the Flakiest Buttermilk Biscuits, Banana Oat Cake with Chocolate Buttercream, Charred Eggplant Dip, and my new favorite word
If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer and food photographer. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.
My husband and I are nomads with an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat, so I write about life on the road, the incredible places we visit, and the experiences we have along the way. Plus, there’s recipes.
And, if you are brand new to Substack, I created this short video tour.
I loved facebook in the early years. It was such an exciting way to stay connected to people. I was able to keep up with the lives of friends and family from all over the world who I would have likely lost track of. I can also say that facebook is the reason why I’m friends with a handful of people whom I otherwise would not have met or gotten to know. Back in the day, it was a place where you could have actual conversations with people that turned into real relationships.
But those years are long gone, aren’t they?
What began as a tool that allowed people to talk about what they’re up to, what they think, and the things they are interested in, has turned into a series of funhouse mirrors. We’re seeing other people’s lives and viewpoints, but they’re all twisted and confused. And it’s twisting and confusing our own ideas in return.
What I’m trying to say is that, these days, when I spend time scrolling on facebook or instagram, my brain feels twisted and confused.
For the past couple of years I’ve tried to find some happy medium with social media. I’ve posted very little. I removed the apps from my phone so I have to be deliberate about the time spent there. I’ve tried to curate what I see there and who I’m connected to in a way that still allowed me to keep up with the people I’m interested in and cut out the rest.
It’s not going very well.
Also, quite frankly, there are people in this world for whom I don’t want to know what they think or what they’re up to. I would not subscribe to their Substack or sit next to them at a dinner party. I’ve tried to avoid them on social media.
That also is not going very well.
As a business owner, the relationship with social media is even more complicated. Because, can you be a business owner without a social media presence? Especially if your business exists mostly online?
I don’t have an answer to this but I am willing to ask myself some questions: How can I continue to do what I do without being a part of the problem? Or, how can I continue to do the work that I love without subjecting myself to a place that makes me feel twisted and confused?
Last weekend, I read an issue of
’s Substack, We Are Losing The Information War With Ourselves. His last lines are these:“Get off social media.
Read good books and real journalism.
Find your friends.
And enjoy your life.”
Perhaps social media has made me markedly stupider because I seemed to need someone to spell this out for me in profoundly simple terms.
Aside from 5 minutes when it was brand new, I haven’t spent any time on twitter and everything I’ve heard about the platform since confirms the wisdom of that decision. Facebook almost always makes me feel gross, so why am I spending any time there? Instagram makes me feel less gross, but also like I’ve wasted time that would, unquestionably, be better spent reading any one of the books on my bookshelf or the newsletters in my inbox.
Read good books and real journalism. Find your friends. Enjoy your life.
Ok, Sam. You’ve convinced me.
(If Sam’s closing words didn’t convince me, these certainly would have, “President Trump is a creature of social media, and his presidency would be unthinkable without it.”)
And yes, I know, Substack is social media. But, for now, it’s not the same.
The purpose of Substack is to provide a platform for writers to write and readers to read. And there are some really, really good writers here.
There is also plenty of not so good writing here. At least, not so good according to me. The beauty is that we each get to decide for ourselves what is good and not so good and fill our inboxes accordingly.
We get to do that because the incentives are different.
Substack, as a company, is not incentivized by ad spend because there are no ads. The subscription model changes the playing field. Substack makes money when it’s writers makes money. The writers make money because there are readers who want to support their work. This is an important distinction from other social media companies who maximize their own profits by selling user attention to advertisers.
I am in control of the content I consume on Substack. I choose who I subscribe to, what I choose to read, and which newsletters to support with a paid subscription. If I could afford it, I would pay for many, many more subscriptions than I do. But, I pay for some and try to rotate my subscription dollars around to support as many as I can.
In any case, I am in the drivers seat for what I consume and whose work I support. This does not make me feel gross. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I am also forming real relationships here. I have met other Substack writers and readers in person this year and it has been utterly delightful. Next year, a group of food writers who only know one another because we are all here on Substack, will gather together for a retreat in Pennsylvania and how wonderful is that?
So, this is where I’m hanging out these days, with you wonderful people. For now at least, it’s a place where I am free to write what I like for an audience who wants to read it.
Like everything else, Substack has it’s problems. And, I can’t remember who wrote this, but I read something recently that is also important to say: Don’t thank Substack for the connections you’ve made here, thank the people you are connecting with.
Thank you. Thank you for reading and commenting and sharing. Mostly, thank you for being here.
This and that
Speaking of excellent writers on Substack, I discovered
last week and I’m smitten. This post expresses, in much more eloquent terms than I’ve been able to cobble together, some things I’ve been wanting to say for a long time.
My friend Marsha (who, earlier this year, shared her family recipes for Persimmon Pudding and Jambalaya) turned me on to my new favorite word:
trump·er·y
/ˈtrəmp(ə)rē/
(noun) attractive articles of little value or use.
(adjective) showy but worthless.
We are desperately trying to get as much time on the water as possible before the season is over and we have to pull the boat out of the water. Buying a sailboat prompted Steve to purchase something he’s been wanting for years: a drone that is capable of capturing really good video and images.
After playing around with it over land until he had a handle on how to handle it, he sent it up while we were sailing with our daughters. Here’s a clip of that footage…
Watch now!
Juicy Lucy Cheeseburger Tater Tot Hot Dish with Stephanie Hanson!
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.
This week’s menu
30-Minute Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup, Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Banana Oat Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
This super easy method to making chicken soup takes less than 30 minutes and is as warm and comforting as a hug from your favorite person.
The recipe comes with plenty of ideas for variations because I can't help but think that we all need a few more ways to get dinner on the table in a use what you have kind of way. Also, we probably all need more hugs even if they come in the form of chicken soup.
The Ultimate Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
What is the secret to light, flaky super tall biscuits? I'm so glad you asked. The most important things you need to know about making tall, flaky biscuits with hundreds of layers are:
Butter is better. If you want soft, crumbly, cake-like biscuits, use vegetable shortening. If you want aaaalllll the flaky layers, use butter. Butter contains water (about 18%) which evaporates quickly in a hot oven, leaving delicious, flaky layers in its wake.
Use Buttermilk. The acid in buttermilk not only makes biscuits that are light and tender, it works with the leaveners in the dough (baking powder and baking soda) to help them rise and rise, and rise some more. In a pinch, you can use one of these methods to make homemade buttermilk.
Bake the biscuits close together. To help the biscuits rise to their maximum potential, place them in the pan very close together so that their sides are touching. As they bake, the biscuits have nowhere to go but up, and will use each other to climb to new heights.
Banana Oat Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
This banana oat cake with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream is all things simple, warm, uncomplicated, and comforting. And, if you're a chocolate and banana fan, it's a slam dunk.
This is a very simple cake to make. Mixing the batter will only take about 15 minutes and the chocolate buttercream comes together in about 5 minutes.
The cake will also keep well at room temperature for several days so it's a wonderful cake to make in advance. Once frosted with buttercream it should be refrigerated, so if you're preparing it in advance, wait to smear it with chocolate buttercream until the day you plan to serve it.
This recipe will make one 9x13-inch cake, which will give you about 8 slices, depending on how large you cut your slices. And, I'll tell you right now, you're going to want large slices.
Exclusive content for paid subscribers.
New recipe for members of the Lost Supper Club: Charred Eggplant Dip
Or maybe it’s a spread?
I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while and I have no idea what’s taken me so long to share it. Maybe because it’s a bit difficult to describe… It’s somewhere near the category of baba ganoush but not close enough that I could call it that.
Is it a dip or a spread? Yes.
The base of the recipe is charred eggplant that gets blended up with garlic, spices, lemon juice, and tahini.
It’s rich and creamy, utterly satisfying, and as spicy as you want to make it.
By the way, even my eggplant hating husband loves this dip, so if you are a fellow eggplant hater, or cooks for someone who is, I still think you should make it. Who knows? It might be the first eggplant dish you (or they) like!
The Weekly Recommendation List
If you were sitting around my dinner table this week, and I genuinely wish you were, one of the topics that would inevitably be sprinkled throughout the evening’s conversation is recommendations. For books, food, restaurants, clothing, places to visit, things to see, things to do, things we love.
Classes!
Here you'll find information about upcoming classes and the replay links for past classes. LIVE classes are open to everyone who would like to drop in. Replays are available to everyone for a couple of days then available to paid subscribers (Lost Supper Club members)
Recipe Index: Get Every Single Recipe
This index + downloadable recipe cards for every single recipe (over 200 and counting!) is a perk of being a member of The Lost Supper Club (a paid subscriber.)
The No Recipe Required Cookbook
No Recipe Required dishes are more of a formula than a recipe. They are designed to be thrown together with whatever ingredients you like with one thing swapped out for something else, increased, or reduced as you like. This book is FREE for all paid subscribers!
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I love everything about this post, and it’s made me think hard about the content I’m consuming that’s making me stupider. It’s such a powerful reframe - not just mindless scrolling, but what is actually making my mind twisted in not-so-good ways. Seeing it that way makes it far easier to actively avoid. Also, I can’t get that banana cake out of my mind. Looks AMAZING.
I don't know how you do it Rebecca. Every week, I nod along to your words, as you have voiced exactly how I also feel. I have a similarly complicated relationship with social media. But yes, Substack does seem different (for now). I am so grateful for the connections I have made in here. I am grateful for your support, and to be able to read your words and recipes, to look at your beautiful photos. For the opportunity to learn from you. Ah, getting a bit soppy here!
And gosh, that sailing video. So calming, and the music! 👌