A reintroduction...a spring rebirth
picking up a few years later...a little older, maybe wiser, just as hungry
Hello! I started this substack 3 years ago this week…and here we are, 3 spring equinoxes later, I’m picking things up again after a good looong break—thanks for being patient. After lots of life twists and turns (1 move to Denmark, 1 new restaurant opening, 1 bike “accident” and 1 resulting broken arm, 1 restaurant exit, and too many new dishes & creative trials/errors to count), I figured spring’s calling for renewed energy, growth and a lot of vibrant, verdant green vegetables was as good a prompt as any to start typing again.
I’m writing to you from Copenhagen (where it does not yet feel entirely like spring…maybe 75% of the way there). I’m currently volleying between CPH and NYC so you’ll get a nice blend of Nordic & Big Apple seasonal cooking inspiration, recipes for everyday life, ingredient notes and wellness bits in forthcoming posts. If you’re new here, here’s a quick recap of why I’m even on substack—and maybe what drew you here:
I think about food a lot (guessing you do too?). I like to write. I really like to write about food, particularly seasonal fruits and vegetables, they light me up! I cook professionally, but love the joy that home cooking provides. My approach is laidback, heavily inspired by mother nature, the seasons and our locality, thoughtful and resourceful, a little wild, sometimes weird (just trust me on the flavor combos) and pretty fun—well, at least I’d like to think so. With over 2 decades of experience as a chef and an educated nutritionist, I’m hoping to encourage readers (that’s you) to feel a little more connected to the seasons, to your body, and to feel more empowered and excited by unique flavors and sustaining (even life-giving sometimes?!) recipes. Really I just cook and write about food that simply makes us feel good, really good.
What would I like from you? Banter, feedback, questions, and your deepest, darkest/lightest/most delicious thoughts about food and wellness and cravings and recipes and all the crusty bits and jammy pieces that bring light to your eyes and make you want to dive back in for another bite.
What you can expect in future posts:
< easy everyday recipes - a few times a month, accessible to everyone. seasonally-driven recipes for everyday life. *disclaimer*: I realize sometimes I get carried away and recipes become complicated because I nerd out on some method or flavor profile in my head…and the likelihood of you, or me, making it on a random Tuesday night after a full day is about…zero. So, I promise I’ll do my very best to make these streamlined, yet sustainable and seasonal.
>’a little extra’ recipes - ok, this is where I nerd out a little more and you can get into the depths of my process around developing a more “restaurant-y” recipe or dive deep into a technique. Also a few times a month, accessible to readers who choose to be paid subscribers—thanks for supporting and appreciating the time it takes to write all these posts (it’s a lot!). *I’ll be bringing the paid option in a few weeks, for now, everything here is on the house!
~ in season - posts on the seasonal essence of a particular ingredient (expect an ode to spring rhubarb coming very shortly) and a few different ways to utilize that ingredient.
// feeling it - posts focusing on some aspect of wellness/health and how food can make us feel good…or better. An example: I’m still feeling moody and a little emotionally low from a very, very long and dark winter (tell me I’m not alone here). We’d take a look at what foods and habits can help lift that lowness (or deter it) because no amount of vitamin D seems to be doing the job alone for me. (I’m talking about foods that are accessible, realistic to work into your everyday routine, and don’t cause you to go broke, nor do you need to consume loads of them to actually feel an impact). Most of these posts will be for paid subscribers.
\ regenerative eating - lastly, you’ll hopefully notice I’m bringing up this concept again and again. Regenerative eating is a term I’ve been working on for years…probably since the start of my career whether I realized it or not. It’s an intentional, intuitive awareness of how we feed our bodies, how we care for ourselves, our communities, and the natural ecosystem and climate around us. Regenerate means to improve, restore, nourish, bring back to health/life/energy–all the tenets of the concept of regenerative agriculture (if you want a quick dive into the meaning of regenerative ag, here’s a good 101). Regenerative eating weaves those tenets together with our personal cravings and habits, along with the seasonality of good quality ingredients, the locality of where those ingredients are grown and the farmers and purveyors stewarding that growth. Eating and cooking with regenerative intention has the magical potential to overhaul our wellbeing–it can improve our physical health, weight, mood, digestion, hormones, sleep quality, sex drive, relationships and more. It can, in turn, be a tiny (or very big) benefit to our community and to the climate and biodiversity–a few small bites can turn into massive forkfuls of change. That last sentence was cheezy, but I’m keeping it.
+/- a word on videos - I am bad at them. I know y’all love them (and they’re obviously incredibly useful tutorials for certain/all recipes). I will do my best to figure out how to make tripod filming and editing not utterly terrible, but bear with me. In the meantime, just for fun, I’m thinking of throwing in a monthly mood board of images and items (food, art, aesthetics etc.) that I’m inspired by because anyone who knows me, knows I freaking love a mood board.
Thanks for reading…more soon / happy equinox weekend!
x, M