Okay, cooks! The ‘NY’ in the headline stands for New Year’s, as you have probably guessed. So disabuse yourselves right now re.- dreams about the Big Apple so we can get on with some realistic New Year’s resolutions we might actually be able to keep!
Get cozier with Tofu…
‘Voraciously’ gets your attention
When I first discovered the Washington Post‘s Eat Voraciously newsletter (going on half an hour ago, now) what romanced me into a second look was the title. ‘Voraciously’ isn’t exactly a word you hear every day, much less read in a newspaper. But there you go.
Lunched about a year ago, EV described itself as dedicated to ‘solving the dinner dilemma’. But offers a lot more than that. EV is positioned as the work of one writer, Daniela Galarza (see photo, top of page), a former pastry chef who, before coming the Post was a features editor at Serious Eats, senior editor at Eater.com and deputy food editor at Los Angeles magazine. As such, and based on the blend of ‘contributors’ credited on the EV masthead, I think – from a practical standpoint – she’s sitting in the Editor’s chair there, too, rather than writing it all herself. But that’s just fine with me!
Best thing about Eat Voraciously is, it’s free.
Why I read further
About two sentences into the introduction of the first EV article I found, I was sold on the approach and the tone of the newsletter. The phrase ‘common sense’ isn’t actually used there, but idea certainly resonates.
It’s a post, “sharing some of our cooking resolutions with you — ones that we think are simple enough for us to actually accomplish. If you’re in the market for changing any of your food habits, maybe you’ll be inspired by one of the intentions we’ve included.” No pretensions or overly-high ambitions.
The resolutions themselves sounded totally practical; some were even fresh inspirations for me:
What they suggested
Roast more veggies
“Instead of vowing to just ‘cook more’, I wanted to be more specific with a small, actionable task that I could easily manage: roasting a sheet pan of vegetables once a week (or so) with the hopes of inspiring myself to prepare something else to go with them.” — Daniela Galarza
Perfect my pie crusts
“I’ve gotten so into my head about pie crusts that I’ve lost all instinct. A recent attempt was so bad I actually had to toss it. They say practice makes perfect, but I’d take passable. […] It’s nice to have goals.” — Becky Krystal
Get cozy with Tofu
“In 2023, as I lean into more plant-based eating, I have resolved to embrace tofu, which is high in protein, includes essential amino acids and, like chicken, offers that same mild base for recipes. I’ll air-fry it, sauce it, slip into soups — the sky’s the limit.” — Ann Maloney
Get cozier with my cookbooks
“Rather than gravitating toward full dinners or desserts, I want to explore the apps, sides and sauces that will inspire me to vary my meals. I want to make more of the recipes that didn’t get the glossy photo treatment.” — Matt Brooks
Waste less food
“I hope to double down on my conservation efforts in 2023. I relish the challenges that await me in my pantry and fridge. A few remaining drops of honey or vanilla might end up in my morning cereal, and the last bites of kimchi from the farmers market can add pleasant crunch to sandwiches, leftover rice and omelets. Everybody wins!” — Tom Sietsema
That’s just a sample of what the EV team contributed.
See what I mean?
I think I’ll be subscribing to the EV newsletter. I’ve become aware that one’s in-box can easily be choked by reams of subscriptions that nobody would ever have time to read. But one or two like EV would be really nice to wake up to every morning!
~ Maggie J.