WHO?

My name is Sarah Cook, a former personal chef turned mostly stay-at-home mom, but also freelance violinist. It’s interesting and confusing. But as I write this, I find myself thinking: 

What the hell am I doing?  Trying to write a relevant newsletter with subscribers who care about food and what it can do for our overall well-being.

When do I actually have the time to commit to writing a newsletter? I have a naps-whenever-he-wants-to toddler, which is *never*, and the lack of childcare or family nearby is going to make meeting my self-imposed deadlines impossible.

What actually qualifies me to ask people to pay money to read what I have to say here? Who do I think I am?? See below.

I have no formal culinary training, I have no degree in journalism, I have no professional experience. Well, I do have a little tiny bit of that last thing - I ran a micro-business as a personal chef for 2 ½ years, but that was also a thing that morphed into many things when the pandemic hit and then it fell apart when I realized that doing that and staying at home to raise/chase our son was not ideal.

What I do have is a lot of real, practical, day-to-day lived experience and knowledge when it comes to food and eating well at home. You can find a more in-depth look into my life and how I found myself here in my announcement post. 

Home cooking is where I thrive. It’s what made me sane during the harder parts of my life, trying to make a living as a musician. It’s what made me think that I could work professionally as a personal chef after realizing that I wasn’t going to get what I was after in the world of classical music. Home cooking is essential to my identity and how I function in the world. 

I learned by making different recipes. All. The. Time. I was thinking about this before sitting down to write, and I figured that in my home cooking career, I’ve probably made about 5000 recipes. Honestly, I think it all started when I began watching Top Chef with an ex-boyfriend. Then I went to the Culinary Institute of Pinterest, and from there I subscribed to Food & Wine, Saveur, and Bon Appetit, and I continue to drown in magazines and cookbooks. I have an insatiable need for new experiences and opportunities to create. There is just so much good information out there about how to cook, and I’ll never know it all. But I can try, I guess. When I have the time in between tantrums and meltdowns.  

I also learned by letting myself make mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, I hate making mistakes - perfectionism is the devil, but he’s sitting on both shoulders telling you the things that you already know aren’t right. But cooking allows you to make the mistake and then fix it, most of the time. Not really in baking, you usually have to throw everything away if it’s a big enough mistake (which is very easy to do), but that’s just another way to learn acceptance and adaptability. 

Having been repeatedly praised for dishes that I made meal prepping in people’s homes, for small events, even an 88-person wedding (all by myself!), and then asked to share recipe after recipe with friends/colleagues/family, I finally decided to put it all out into the world in this space with the hope that someone will find it useful and interesting. 

WHAT?

What you can expect to find here:

Recipes and thoughts in real-time to reflect on the now that we are in. 

Think seasonal eating. How our current food system is or isn’t serving us. Creative ways to extend the life of your food hauls. Budget- and time-conscious cooking. Highlighting favorite ingredients and how to incorporate them into a balanced and nutritionally sound way of eating. And finally: simple, uncomplicated ways to feed your baby/toddler/child/tween/teen and your spouse/partner.

Otherwise known as: everyone. Food is for everyone to enjoy together. 

As a free subscriber:

• monthly newsletter with: 

  • one big knowledge bomb + recipes

  • seasonal shopping lists + reflections

As a paid subscriber:

• all free content listed above

• weekly newsletters with:

  • recipes + shopping lists

  • a look at how our family ate

• thoughts on pantry staples and best kitchen tools

• book recommendations

• favorite food + travel experiences

WHY?

This begs for an answer to the age-old, extremely outdated question: Is a SAHM working hard or hardly working? It depends on the situation, I guess, but there is no question: all moms work hard. Our labor is not free, by any means.

With this publication, I will be working even harder, thinking through every little detail, and all thoughtful work needs to be properly valued. With your support, I will be able to invest all the time and energy (that I can muster with a 2-year old Energizer bunny following me around the house) to develop and write the recipes coming to your inboxes at a regular pace. $7/month or $60/year and my heartfelt appreciation with each post.

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