HELLO, AGAIN

It's my birthday!! 10 Things you may not know about me (including my most embarrassing moment), my favorite cakes, and a big subscription sale!

Welcome!! ~ This letter wouldn’t be possible without YOU! Thank you for being here and enormous thanks to all who choose to support my work with a paid subscription.♡

Happiness is a small house, with a big kitchen." - Alfred Hitchcock

Hello!

Hooray, it’s my birthday today, and the sun is finally shining after two months of rain! I’ll be celebrating my day at my son’s last elementary school Field Day, with a cafeteria veggie burger and a slice of watermelon, followed by a cozy family swim, tacos, ice cream, and a fête with dear friends over the weekend.

Still, I wanted to celebrate here with all of you because the truth is, you make my life better. Coming here each week and writing to you has been an integral thread in the quiet rhythm of rebuilding after Covid, through raising my kids from little to big, and through the evolution and at times devolution of an industry (print publishing) that I have lived, loved, and worked in for over two decades. So, thank you. You are deeply important to me, to my work, and to my family.

I wish I had the time to develop a gorgeous new triple-layer cake recipe for the occasion—for us both to enjoy—but alas, all my cake-baking prowess goes into making kids' birthdays special year after year. My pair has had chamomile cakes with fresh apricot buttercream, vanilla cakes with strawberry filling, carrot cakes with luscious mascarpone frosting, and 8-, 9-, and 10-layer chocolate blackout cakes (a layer for every year). For my birthday, I favor something simple and un-iced, like my Flourless Chocolate Cake (flawless, and perfect with ice cream), a plum torte or an olive oil cake (I wrote a whole post about Cakes That Travel; any one of those could make a welcome appearance on my birthday table or on any summer table for that mattter).

Before I slip away into the weekend, I want to leave you with three things: a Q&A, a LOOK BACK +, and a BIG SUBSCRIPTION SALE.

There’s no time like a birthday to pause and look back. March marked four years for me on Substack, but as usual, spring was jam-packed with my son’s birthday (this spring he turned ten!), Spring break, concerts, and sports galore, so the milestone came and went without much fanfare. So, I’m using this birthday milestone to re-introduce myself to all the new folks who have gathered in this space since my very first Substack post in March 2021 (wow, what a different world it was back then!)

Here are some things I wrote in my “Coming Soon” post, technically my first Substack letter, which only reached a handful of people (Substack was still a relatively new platform at the time). I share here because it still feels spot on for my mission and what I want my work to be about today:

This is EDIBLE LIVING, a newsletter about Food, life, wellness, family—and, JOY! I’ve been on the internet for ions, writing articles and developing recipes for brands like Food Network, Food and Wine, New York Times Cooking, Real Simple, Pure Wow, Better Homes and Gardens, Eating Well, Washington Post and so many more—but I’m so glad you’ve found your way to me here on Substack.

For those who don’t know my work—my signature is delicious, healthyish, modern (and sometimes ancient) meals that are easy and infinitely repeatable, whether you’re cooking for just one person, or one big (or small and hungry) family. You’ll find these kinds or recipes, tips and strategies in my best-selling books: Every Day is Saturday, Instant Family Meals, Feast and The Newlywed Cookbook.

I pride myself on recipes that are whole body + soul nourishing. I definitely believe in enjoying your life around food, whether you’re cooking for fun, or cooking for fuel—but recipes are just the beginning. Stick around, this space and I are evolving, and good things lie ahead.

There’s a lot more I could say, but in the vein of keeping things a little unconventional today, I leave you instead with a TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME Q&A, a fun (and hopefully funny, at points) read. I am loving unpeeling another layer about each of you through reading your recent comments and notes, so I’m pulling back the curtain on some of my funny/surprising/special moments for you, too. The Q&A is below.

THE BIG SALE: For my birthday week, I’m offering a once-a-year 25% off sale for paid subscriptions, now through June 20. That gives you a full week to sign up to get insider access, which includes: Full access to the complete archives of over 175 recipes (and constantly growing), plus all the recipes, articles, and travel guides to come, and any forthcoming live or online classes. I won’t offer a discount again until Christmas, so this is your moment to join in! Upgrade here:

Thank you, as always, for being here, for helping me celebrate, and for giving me a reason to show up and write to wonderful you each week.

xx

Sarah

TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME (actually, 13*):

1. THE MOST PEOPLE I’VE EVER COOKED FOR AT ONCE: In my mid twenties, I was a private chef in St. Tropez for two summers, in a villa right on the Mediterranean sea (if you’re new here, I wrote about that summer in my third book, and also here). Most days, we had between 12 and 22 guests at the table for lunch and dinner, the two meals I was responsible for each day. One night, we had 28 guests (family, family friends, renowned scientists from Sweden to France to New York), to whom I served a five-course plated meal, starting with appetizers and ending with miniature tarts, petit fours, and a cheese course. I cooked and prepped for days and served it all without a sous chef or assistant of any kind, but it was a glorious meal. There’s no way I could do that today—I’m lucky to get dinner for four on the table! I’m not sure what youthful superpower made this feel like no big deal back then; maybe one day I’ll tap into it again.