Friday favorites 8/5
Upcoming newsletter plans for the fall, plus what to read while CCK is on break!
Happy Friday, friends! Today is the last issue before Come como Kiki takes un pequeño descanso1. After today, expect the next issue to land in your inbox on Friday, August 19th. I have some fun new features planned for the fall, including Ask a Madrileño, which will be a monthly interview to talk food culture with a local.
I’m also debating on occasionally publishing posts on food I’ve eaten on my travels. Think less pretty pictures of sunsets (although I love those, too!), and more pictures of traditional dishes from the area, including some history behind them and my experience trying them while I was there (like the tea in Morocco, pictured above).
So I’m leaving it up to you: is this something you would be interested in? Please let me know in the poll below, and thanks ahead of time for voting! The poll is open for a week.
While I’m on break, I thought I’d offer some suggestions for other newsletters I’m loving. Most are food-focused, but I’ve also included a few others that are cornerstones in my reading diet.
A Dash of Prosecco: Fellow Mediterranean-dweller Sinù serves up delicious, seasonal recipes from the city of Venice. I especially love her more recent project of cooking her way through a traditional Venetian cookbook and sharing her results along the way. If you thought Italian food was only pasta and pizza, this newsletter is for you.
Buona Domenica: Stay in Italy for a while to check out Domenica Marchetti’s weekly newsletter focused on Italian recipes and inspiration. She frequently includes interviews with fellow cookbook authors that focus on Italian cuisine and also generously publishes recipes of her own.
ingredient by Rachel Phipps: Hop over to the English countryside, where recipe developer and cookbook author Rachel Phipps features a deep dive into a different ingredient each month as well as accompanying recipes. I also highly recommend her issue on ingredient snobbery.
Time Travel Kitchen: Fly over the ocean to my old stomping grounds of Chicago, where professional baker Jolene welcomes you into her late-60’s kitchen. Jolene mixes current food culture with historical blasts from the past, such as food from the 1964 World’s Fair. History with a side of recipes for delectable baked goods—what more could you want?
KitchenWitch: Cook up a spell with another Chicago-based writer, Jen Billock at KitchenWitch. A mix of culinary traditions and witchcraft rituals, Jen’s newsletter offers a look into how food can be magic for witches and non-witches alike.
In Good Taste: Take a trip down to ATL to check out In Good Taste by E. Grim-Throop. Her newsletter has a bit of everything: personal anecdotes, interesting links, and recipes such as Party Chicken and Bok Choy Lo Mein.
Culinary Chronicles: Road trip to Florida! Kim at Culinary Chronicles delves into her childhood food memories as well as how food connects us. She’s also a fellow reformed picky eater (her own term which I love), so a lot of her early culinary experiences mirror mine. I enjoy reading how she’s grown as both a cook and an epicure.
Snack Stack: When Florida gets too balmy for you, flee back to Minneapolis, where Doug will entice you with interesting tidbits on snack foods. He has a nifty table of contents pinned to his homepage so you can pick your favorite snack and start reading!
Kate McDermott’s Newsletter: Let the lure of fresh-baked pies take you to Kate’s Pie Cottage in the Pacific Northwest. A true baking expert (you have to check out her book Art of the Pie!), Kate recounts snippets of her day-to-day life all the while bestowing her pie-making wisdom upon the rest of us.
As We Eat Journal: Finally, there’s As We Eat, which can’t be boxed into a single region. More than just a newsletter, As We Eat also has a podcast, and one that can actually hold my attention at that (no minor feat!). Recent discussions have revolved around the history of cookbooks and the definitive difference among jams, jellies, and conserves.
And now for a few standouts in the non-culinary world:
On the Verge by Natalie Carroll: Natalie is that hilarious friend you have that always has something quick-witted to say about the latest celebrity gossip or cultural trend. If you need a good laugh, check out her two recent issues about paddle boarding and meditation.
A Ghost in the Post: Word nerds unite! Olivia’s newsletter is a smorgasbord of quotes, obscure words, and other linguistic fun. I highly recommend her ’Stack for anyone interested in the intersection of language and culture.
Spanish language and Spain culture: I’m so happy to have found Ángeles’s excellent newsletter! As someone who first studied Spanish in the US, I can tell you that nothing prepares you for the slang and informal terms that you encounter once you move to an actual Spanish-speaking country. Filled with information on colloquial terms, common sayings, and cultural customs, this newsletter is a must for anyone studying Spanish (or with plans for a visit to Spain!).
CAFÉ ANNE: Reading Anne’s newsletter makes me wish I had lived in NYC back when I was in the US. Her Senior Citizen Roulette is actually what inspired my upcoming Ask a Madrileño feature. Every newsletter of Anne’s feels like a chaotic party of delightful mayhem, just like NYC itself. I hope I can eventually do Madrid half the justice!
I would love, love for you guys to share any current newsletters that you’re also enjoying in the comments below. I realized after typing out my tour of culinary Substacks that it’s severely lacking in writers outside of Europe and the US, so I’m particularly interested in newsletters from other corners of the world. Shout out your favorites in the comments below!
And with that, I’m out! See you back here on August 19th!
Hasta la próxima y que lo paséis genial!2
Ki
Un pequeño descanso: A small break
Hasta la próxima y que lo paséis genial: Until next time, and have fun
Thank you so much for sharing my newsletter and for introducing me to a bunch of new ones as well! I'm always excited to read other writers! :)
As for some other newsletters I enjoy, I would include Poe Can Save Your Life (inspiration in the form of one Edgar Allan Poe), as well as Letters of Note (letters from all kinds of people throughout history, including the famous, infamous, and little known).
Hope you had a wonderful break as well! :)
Thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful break!