SIX THINGS I MAKE ON REPEAT IN JANUARY
My best blueberry muffin recipe, plus five no-recipe meals to lean into this winter.
Hello, friends
We’re deep in it now, eight days into the New Year, and I’m already feeling people's fatigue with resolutions and recaps. It can feel that in January, we are supposed to be wholly reinventing ourselves. New year, new you. A physical or spiritual remake.
That's a tall order, especially when we must send our kids back to school and adjust to dark morning commutes after two weeks of sparkly lights and presents under the tree.
In these times, I find it best to rely on simple classics—the things I know deliver on my LOW-LIFT, HIGH-IMPACT mantra when I need them most. Below, I’m giving you a list of my six most cooked (or prepared) meals for January, including Shakshuka and my Old Faithful Blueberry (or Cranberry) Muffins—with how-tos and links to get you started further below.
But first, some Housekeeping: I’ve made fairly aesthetic-focused decisions for this newsletter, and that will never completely change, but I want to make it easier for you to read, use, and enjoy what I share here. To that end, here are two resources and one excellent cheat for listening to rather than reading these newsletters at your pace and in the way it is most helpful to you.
Headlines—
Whenever you see something pulled out bigger, like the word "Headlines" above, you can skip to that portion later to find the exact thing you’re looking for. I will try to start using this feature to headline recipes, so if you’re in a hurry and need to get back to a recipe or list quickly, you can.
Index—
If you’re new here, there’s an Edible Living Recipe Index, updated this week, with over 170 of my best recipes—from breakfast and brunch to lunch, dinners, sides, soups and sweets (etc). We’ll keep this updated every three months, so you can always access your favorite recipes here.
Listen—
If you read Substack on the App (and not in your email), you can opt to have any newsletter read to you so you can listen while cooking, walking, working out, etc. I use this feature to listen to my favorite writers while I do dishes, fold laundry, or even in the sauna—it’s a delightful experience! Look for the “PLAY” button on the top right of the substack app (I’ve circled it in yellow here).
It’s not my voice reading to you, but a nice, relatable voice still delivers all my sentiments while you listen. I’ll drop the App button here to give it a try.
Onward to today’s list and our recipe:
6 THINGS I MAKE ON REPEAT EVERY JANUARY
Old Faithful Blueberry (Cranberry) Muffins: My favorite blueberry muffins recall the simple joys of my Mom’s blueberry muffins from childhood—soft and pillowy and bursting with blueberries. I make a double batch on weekend mornings, leaving leftovers for Monday. I can make them ahead and serve them with a fruit salad, fried or scrambled eggs, or half an avocado on the side, so breakfast never feels boring. These are excellent with locally milled whole grain flours (my new favorite: farmer ground white wheat). I switch out cranberries for the blueberries for mornings when we want an extra tart start. (The full recipe is below).
No-fail Vegetable Soup: Every week, I make at least one creamy vegetable soup—which can serve as dinner for two nights, or dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow (school or work lunches or at-home weekend lunch)—using this or this recipe as my base. Use cauliflower, celery root, fennel, squash, pumpkin, or potatoes and garnish with whatever crunchy, fresh vegetables, herbs, or greens you have on hand (radishes, chickpeas, chopped herbs, pesto. See also:
‘s creamy bean soup.Cacio e Pepe Risotto: Whether you make it on the stovetop or instant pot (easy, easy, easy!), this simple and classic cheese-forward risotto never disappoints. Serve with a salad on the side. Change it up by adding sauteed mushrooms or roasted vegetables on top for a more robust bowl. Here’s my base recipe (from my fourth book, Instant Family Meals) plus an entire risotto tutorial I wrote last year.
Egg + Cheese Shakshuka: Heat 2 to 4 cups of your favorite red sauce (marinara, arrabbiata), storebought or homemade, in a low, wide saucepan until simmering, depending on how many people you’re serving. Crack in enough eggs to serve your crowd. Break or sprinkle over your favorite cheese—mozzarella, goat cheese, chive Boursin, or feta—and simmer on low until the eggs are soft-cooked (firm whites, soft yolks) and the cheese melted and oozy. You may need to cover it with a lid for even cooking. Sprinkle over a handful of chopped greens (mustard greens, kale, spinach) and let it wilt. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, fresh herbs, parmesan cheese, or all of the above. Serve warm with crusty bread.
Brothy beans with Yogurt, Greens, and Warm Cornbread: A bag of dried beans in the pantry is like money in the bank. Get the beans going early on a busy day with mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery—heavy on the celery), salt, pepper, water, or broth. Let them simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Add extra broth toward the end of cooking and let it thicken into a soupy dinner. Meanwhile, make this easy cornbread (from The Newlywed Cookbook) toward the end of your cooking time. To serve, top brothy beans with a dollop of plain, full-fat yogurt, a handful of baby greens or celery leaves, halved or whole cherry tomatoes, and a drizzle of olive oil. Add pesto, salsa, or chopped avocado and herbs for extra flavor and fiber.
Vacation-ish Lime Breakfast Parfait with Blueberries, Banana, and Apple: Divide a small bag of fresh or frozen blueberries between two or four bowls. Slice one banana and one apple and divide evenly between the bowls. Use a box grater to grate lime zest over each bowl, then repeat with a peeled knob of ginger (more ginger equals more flavor and antioxidants, but it can be zingy!!). Half the lime and squeeze a little lime juice over the fruit. Dollop with your favorite plain yogurt (I love a full-fat, grass-fed yogurt for the best texture and flavor) and drizzle honey over the top. If serving ginger-sensitive folks, stir the lime and a small amount of ginger into the yogurt before dolloping.
These flavors are bright and clean, nourishing and delicious. They don’t involve a lot of prep or cleanup, leaving you room for puzzling (literally or figuratively), rest and restoration, reading, and reconnecting with the ones you love until we come out of hibernation mode this spring.
Please find the full recipe for my muffins below, with all my cozy thoughts for January.
xx
Sarah
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My Best Blueberry (or Cranberry) Muffins
This recipe springs from my Nostalgia Wins Blueberry Muffins from my book Every Day is Saturday. I named them that, since after months of trial and error on a healthier blueberry muffin, with whole wheat or almond flour, less sugar, etc., I determined that what we all want is a faithful, nostalgic, pillowy, soft muffin bursting with blueberries. This is it.