The universe is a cheeky bastard

But we've got options + Stuffed Butternut Squash and Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome to Let’s Get Lost! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer, food photographer, passionate people watcher, and chaser of new experiences. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.

My husband and I are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. I write recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.

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When you live in a home that you move about the country on a regular basis, logistical problems due to mechanical failure are inevitable. It’s baked in.

A few months ago, I wrote about how I plan our year of travel in advance. The planning process is just as much about deciding where we’ll go as it is about trying to get a handle on things over which I can assert some control: departure and arrival dates, the best route from one place to another, that there will be a space large enough for our 5th wheel waiting for us when we arrive, etc.

But, honestly, those things are just hopeful bookends to a story that hasn’t yet been written. Sometimes everything goes as planned, no surprises, nothing to see here. And sometimes things break.

Last Friday, Steve took our truck in for an alignment and learned that we have a totally different problem. The truck is still in the shop, awaiting the arrival of backordered parts, and we are still in Colorado.

I feel this is the universe’s hilarious response to this sentence, which I wrote in last week’s newsletter…

But, even though I’m writing this on Thursday, I can tell you with 100% certainty that when this is published on Saturday I will be happy as a clam to be back on the road.

100% certain, are you?, says the universe. Hold my beer.

Cheeky bastard.

Life has a way of teaching us that plans are merely aspirations. They are little more than an idea of experiences that you hope to have. But that story hasn’t been written yet and we forget sometimes that we are merely a co-author. Co-author might be overly ambitious. We are, perhaps, the story’s biographers and only able to write it after the fact.

But we make the plans anyway and pretend that we are actually in control.

Our current situation is a hiccup. A minor plot twist with problems that are easy to solve. A few years ago, we were in a similar situation with much bigger problems to solve….

Picture it. Navajo State Park, Colorado, just past the New Mexico border, April, 2023. (I’ve been watching old episodes of the Golden Girls. Does it show?)

Somewhere between Santa Fe and the Colorado border, while hauling our 20 thousand pound trailer, on a remote road with no cell service, the front end of our truck decided it had had enough. There was no good reason for it to give up. It wasn’t an old truck and it was built to haul heavier things than our trailer. But, these are facts that don’t matter when you’re on the side of the road with the indisputable truth that something is very broken.

And here’s the first in a string of lessons we would learn in quick succession over the next two weeks: You can keep driving a truck with a failing axel, even if you are hauling a very heavy trailer, but it will create some seriously heightened anxiety levels for the driver and especially the passenger.

Having made it to our campsite, we found a dealership with a shop and hired a tow truck to haul the truck there. The dealership called the next day to tell us that due to supply chain issues, the parts may not arrive for 6 months.

So, my friends, I ask you: What would you do if your home is in a temporary location and must be moved in 10 days and your only vehicle for moving it is out of commission? Our immediate answer, and the only option we thought we had, was to get a new truck.

Thus began a multi-day project of tracking down a new GMC 3500 dually available at a dealership within a few hundred mile radius who would also negotiate with us about trading in a truck with a broken axel. And also, remember those supply chain issues?

So, how fortunate we felt to find one at a dealership in Albuquerque, just 4 hours away from us. A brand new 2023 truck that had just arrived on the lot and was exactly what we needed. Kismet! Problem solved!

We negotiated the deal over the phone, working out the details for our trade in and even completing the financing so all we’d have to do is walk into the dealership, sign the paperwork, and drive our new truck off the lot. We rode to Albuquerque the night before on the motorcycle, stayed overnight at a Hampton Inn, and arrived at the dealership bright and early the next morning.

They were waiting for us and happily took us to see our new truck, which wasn’t in fact, a new truck at all. It was a 2 year old used truck that hadn’t even been through inspection yet.

We said, “This is not the truck.” They said, “It’s the only one we’ve got.”

We said, “You’re trying to sell us a used truck for the price of a new one.”

They said, “What else are you going to do? It doesn’t sound like you have a lot of options.”

Here’s what we did: We walked out, got on our motorcycle and rode to a Starbucks where we promptly came up with a whole list of options.

And this was the most important lesson of all: Sometimes all you need to come up with solutions is to be backed into a corner for which you think there’s no escape. Suddenly, we saw that there were windows on those walls.

One of the windows was to call GMC and ask a lot of questions about what expenses they’d cover if our truck was in the shop for warranty work. A lot, it turns out, including the cost of a rental car, which we picked up that afternoon. (The rental came in especially handy when we got back to our campsite to find one of the tires on the trailer completely flat. Try picking up new tires on a motorcycle.)

We also learned that they’d have to cover the cost of moving our trailer from one location to another. I called GMC to alert them to the $2500 bill coming their way and the backordered parts showed up at the shop the next day. Well, what do you know.

Our current situation is immeasurably easier than that one. It’s January in Colorado so there’s no issue with staying in our current campground for a while longer. We are surrounded by resources. And, we have some hard won knowledge of how the system works, and we are working it.

But, more than that we know this one thing for sure: We always have options. Even when we think we don’t.

Last week, I signed off with “See you in Arizona!” This week, I’ll simply leave you with this…

There’s a good chance I’ll come to you next week with another newsletter written from Colorado, but we’ll see what happens. That story hasn’t been written yet.

That fateful trip to Navajo State Park came with a stellar view.

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This Week’s Menu

Roasted Butternut Squash Stuffed with Sausage, Apples, and Grains and Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Roasted Butternut Squash Stuffed with Sausage, Apples, and Grains

This is one of those incredibly satisfying recipes that manages to feel both comforting and impressive without asking very much of you.

Start with a simple butternut squash, cut in half, remove the seeds, and roast cut-side down until it’s tender and slightly caramelized. Roasting concentrates the flavor of the squash, intensifying that savory, slightly sweet flavor we love.

While the squash is in the oven roasting, prepare the sausage, apple, and grain stuffing. In the photos of the stuffed butternut squash you see here, I used quinoa. But, you’ll find 8 different grain options below, so you can build this stuffing around whatever you like or whatever you have.

Start to finish, this dish will be on the table in about 45 minutes and takes minimal effort. And the combination of roasted squash, Italian sausage, a touch of sage and thyme, and the sweet-tart crunch of apples is richly satisfying and full of cozy, savory goodness.

This recipe is intentionally simple and easily adaptable. With a short ingredient list, straightforward steps, and bold, comforting flavors, it’s the kind of recipe that cool, crisp evenings were made for.

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh but these are addictive little cookies. Addictive in a just one more, no just one more, this-time-I-mean-it just one more kind of way.

Honestly, you’ll enjoy them so much more if you don’t even try to resist. Just sink your teeth into their soft, chocolate studded, cream cheese and vanilla flavored crumb and enjoy every second of bliss as it melts onto your tongue.

You think I’m being dramatic, but only because you’ve yet to try them.

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Recipe Writing Workshop!

If you’re interested in what it takes to write a good recipe, join me and Betty Williams on Friday January 23 for a recipe writing workshop.

This is a practical workshop where we’ll break down what actually makes a recipe successful on the page. We’ll discuss how to structure ingredients and instructions, how to write effective headnotes, and where to place substitutions, variations, and helpful notes.

Plus, there will be a live recipe critique, an open Q&A, and a book giveaway!

This workshop is hosted by Kelsey Erin Shipman and Hannah Howard for their Write Up Community, but is open and free for everyone! Please join us!

The workshop is on Friday, January 23, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am U.S. Pacific time.

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Recommended Reading

This memoir of Elizabeth Pizzinato’s beloved sister is so beautiful it took my breath away. “Most of all, I think about her laugh—a head back, mouth-wide-open laugh that was distinctive and loud and joyous. If you heard that clarion call, you knew you wanted to be within its radius, catching the golden sparks that flew from Lucia’s being.”

The story of a sister

Nicki Sizemore’s latest book, Mind Body Spirit Food, was released last week and if you didn’t already pre-order it, go get your hands on a copy immediately. Nicki and I talked about the book and cooked one of the recipes (Chili Crisp Tahini Noodle Bowls!) in a LIVE class a few weeks ago. If you missed it, here’s where to watch the replay.

It's Pub Day!! + Giveaway

So much love to my Minnesota friends. ❤️

Minnesota Undaunted

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This newsletter would not exist if not for the members of The Lost Supper Club, who show their support with a paid subscription thus ensuring that the vast majority of readers can keep reading this newsletter for free. As a thank you, I try to provide those paid subscribers with some cool stuff, including three free cookbooks! Find out more about becoming a member of the Lost Supper Club.

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NEW! Live Cook-Along Classes Over Zoom

Last year I taught a series of classes over Substack LIVE and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. More that that, I was pleased as punch to see so many of YOU join me for the classes and watch the replays. (Question: is punch pleased?)

However, the limitation of teaching a class over Substack LIVE is that you can see me but I can’t see you. You can type things into the chat, but we can’t actually talk to one another.

So, in addition to classes over Substack LIVE, this year I’ll be doing a once-a-month cooking class over Zoom that’s just for members of the Lost Supper Club (paid subscribers). These will be cook-along classes, where we’ll make something together, and get to interact face to face! Sometimes it will be just me, and sometimes we’ll have another guest chef joining us.

The first class will be on Wednesday, January 28 and here’s what’s on the menu:

Chimichurri Steak Fries and Apple Cobbler

• We’ll learn how to reverse sear a steak so you get the perfect temperature every time AND a gorgeous crust on the outside

• How to make chimichurri sauce (you’ll want to put it on everything!)

• How to make a super quick and easy garlic aioli

• How to make my favorite cobbler topping. For this class, we’ll cook it over apples, but we’ll also talk about how you can use it to make any kind of fruit cobbler you like.

We’ll make all of this together in an hour and have way more fun doing it than we would if we were cooking dinner by ourselves.

Register with the link below. I’ll send out the recipes and a shopping list next week!

*Please register with the email you used to subscribe to this newsletter! This is where I’ll send the recipes and shopping list.

Please let me know if you have any questions by sending a direct message over Substack or an email: rebecca@rebeccablackwell.com

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