Maybe chocolate chip cookies and a good night's sleep are the answer to everything

+ Tuscan Meatballs, Apple Streusel Cake, Brussels sprout, Apple, and Cheddar Salad, Mediterranean Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and No Bake Cookies

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Rebecca, a cookbook author, 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 who divide our time between an RV and a sailboat, so I write about life on the road and on the water, the incredible places we visit, and the inspiring people we meet along the way.

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Well friends… After trying for 6 weeks to make our tiny boat bed comfortable enough for a good night’s sleep, we gave up and moved ourselves back into the RV. The boat is still in the water and we hope to have many days of sailing this month, but we reached our limit for trying to live on it. This year at least. Next year is another chance.

A friend of mine used to work at a library and when kids would misbehave she’d tell them, “You have to leave now but please come back and try again tomorrow.”

This is where we are. It was time to leave but we plan to go back and try again next year.

Why, you might ask, are we trying so hard to live on a boat? Excellent question.

Because next summer we want to sail it all over Lake Michigan. We want to sail up north and across to Wisconsin and Chicago. And the summer after that, we want to sail it out of Lake Michigan and explore the other Great Lakes. This will require us to live aboard for weeks at a time. So, we feel quite determined to figure out how to make that work.

But sometimes you have to know when to take a break. Like when you have Covid and can’t get a good night’s sleep.

And also, even though I insist on trying, you can’t really change who you are. I would love to be one of those people who can sleep anywhere and who is not prone to claustrophobia.

I am not.

Sheer determination can take you places. But also, it has its limits.

So, here we are, 2 weeks into having Covid and I still feel lousy. BUT, I have a very comfortable bed AND an oven in which right now there are chocolate chip cookies baking.

And friends, anyone who tells you that happiness does not involve a good night’s sleep and chocolate chip cookies is a liar.

I may be sick but my bed is an absolute dream and there’s warm melty chocolate in my immediate future, so I think we’re going to be just fine.

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Watch the replay…

Despite coughing all the way through, I had so much fun this week learning how to make Tuscan meatballs with

Christine, My Tuscany Roots

! In case you missed it, Christine wrote a guest post for this newsletter a couple of weeks ago about traveling across Europe in a camper van.

One of the things she made while on the road were these meatballs. And last week I made them in my tiny boat kitchen. So, when I say they can be made in any size kitchen, I mean it!

For all of you who joined us LIVE, thank you for being there. For everyone else, here’s the recording!

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This week’s menu

Brussels sprout, apple, and cheddar salad, Mediterranean chicken salad sandwiches, Chocolate peanut butter oatmeal no bake cookies

*Lost Supper Club Members: You’ll find downloadable pdf recipe cards for these recipes and every recipe in the Recipe Index.

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Brussels sprout, apple, and cheddar salad

Apples and cheddar are one of my all time favorite flavor combinations. During the fall and winter months, Steve and I eat this apple and cheddar salad at least twice a week and we never get tired of it.

This salad takes that combo and adds shaved Brussels, smoked almonds, and a tangy white wine vinaigrette. Every bite is a sweet and sour burst of flavor with plenty of crunch.

I’d be happy with a bowl of this salad all on its own. But, it’s also the perfect partner to the creamy Mediterranean chicken salad sandwiches below.

Serves: 4-6

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small shallot

• ¼ cup white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 16 ounces Brussels sprouts

• 2 large apples (Honeycrisp is my favorite variety to use for this salad, but any kind will do)

• 8 ounces sharp or extra sharp white cheddar

• 1 cup smoked, roasted and salted almonds (I used Blue Diamond Smokehouse almonds)

Instructions:

1. Make the vinaigrette: Chop the shallot into very small pieces and add it to a bowl with the vinegar, honey, Dijon, and about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Let the shallot soak in the vinegar for 5-10 minutes to soften it’s bitter edges. Then, slowly add the olive oil, pouring it in a thin, steady stream, while you whisk with a fork or a small wire whisk. Set aside while you make the salad.

2. Trim the bottoms of the Brussels and remove any brown leaves. Cut them into very thin slices. You can do this with a sharp chef’s knife or, if you have one, use the slicing/ shredding disc on your food processor. Add the shredded Brussels to a large salad bowl.

3. Slice the apples into 4 quadrants and remove the core from each section. Slice each section into very thin slices and add to the bowl with the Brussels.

4. Use your fingers to crumble the cheese into the bowl, breaking it into pea size pieces.

5. Pour in the dressing and toss everything around in the bowl to mix.

6. Chop the almonds and sprinkle them over the top of the salad, or serve them alongside.

Note: Do not mix the almonds into the salad if making it in advance, or if you suspect you’ll have leftovers because the almonds will get soggy.

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Mediterranean Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This bright, briny, no cook Mediterranean chicken salad sandwich is sunshine on a plate, I tell you.

Packed with rotisserie chicken, capers, tarragon, parsley, chives, and plenty of fresh lemon then layered onto a bun with roasted red peppers, radishes, and cucumbers, this chicken salad is about as far from basic as you can get.

It’s endlessly customizable, meal-prep friendly, requires no cooking, and takes less than 15 minutes to make.

Get the recipe —> Mediterranean Chicken Salad

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No Bake Cookies {aka Preacher Cookies or Cow Pies}

My mom used to make these every Christmas, usually for pot lucks and holiday parties because they are soooo easy and everyone loves them.

But, as an adult I had to wonder, why Christmas??? I mean, don't get me wrong, share a plate of these cookies with me anytime during the holiday season and I will love you forever.

But, the time I really want to make a no bake cookie is in July when it's hot as !@*# and I absolutely do NOT want to turn on the oven.

OR, when you find yourself living on a 37 foot sailboat. 🙄

I wrote about our spontaneous decision to not only buy a sailboat but move ourselves onboard here, but the main point is that earlier this year I suddenly found myself in a hot, cramped boat cabin with no oven and you know what I thought about?

My mom's no bake cookies.

I know my mom didn't invent these cookies, and I was curious about their origin. Legend has it that chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies originated in the south because busy, overworked housewives needed something they could produce lickity split when they were presented with unexpected visitors, such as the local preacher. As such, they are often called Preacher Cookies.

(I'm guessing in many cases there was a keep-their-mouths-stuffed-with-chocolate strategy to this plan, but who knows?)

These cookies are also sometimes called Haystack Cookies (which is very confusing because there's another kind of no bake cookie called haystack cookies that includes chow mein noodles and butterscotch chips) or, get this: Cow Pie or Cow Patty Cookies.

I find this both disgusting and hilarious in equal measure.

Call them whatever you wish, just call them delicious because that's exactly what they are.

Get the recipe —> No Bake Cookies

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