Welcome to Cooking Stuff, I’m Marcella! This is a place where I talk about all things food, cooking, my life, and…stuff. If you are not a subscriber, hit that button below to join us. And, yes, original recipes from me will be coming back soon. When? I don’t know but soon, promise!
I have written this newsletter three times now. The first was too depressing and I quickly deleted it, the second was too optimistic, and this third version is somewhere in the middle. Which also happens to be how I have been feeling these last few months.
Immediately after I paused all my work back in October I started planning a return. Almost weekly I would decide this was the week to come back because I couldn’t take the stillness in my life. I run at a fast pace and although I love a slow relaxing day here and there, having nothing but myself to work on was very hard for me.
Sometime after Thanksgiving, I decided that the start of the new year would be my fresh start. How cliche. This is when I really got to work. I taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator and redesigned all the fun images that make up my brand. I went through piles of notebooks to organize recipes to revisit and work on. Marco and I spent evenings together working on mission statements and other boring but important shit. Oh, and I started cooking again for fun. Playing around and experimenting with no pressure other than to be creative. I wanted to jump right back in so badly but as we got closer to January, I became consumed with fear again. Hence today is January 20th and not the first of the month.
So I have a little more work to do before I am back at 100%. These last few months I have done everything from media cleanses, therapy, daily meditation, and a bunch of woo-woo stuff that I’ll keep to myself. Although I have ripped myself open and healed from a lot I still don’t feel quite there and that’s okay for right now.
What I do know is that I miss this. I miss having my little spot on the internet to be creative, ramble nonsense about my life, share funny memes, and connect with people. Instead of diving head first and picking up right where we left off, I want to ease into things one step at a time. So that’s what I am doing because ultimately I can do whatever I want here (that’s why I love it).
Here is how things are going to go down. There is no more Kitchen Club and Weekly Recap. I am thrilled to introduce you to Cooking Stuff, a newsletter by Marcella Schneiderman. Me! A bi-weekly (soon to be weekly) newsletter to help you become a better cook where we break down original recipes and stuff you need to know about food.
For now, I’ll be popping into your inbox every other week with fun (free) newsletters talking about all things food and whatever else I want to talk about. Think weekly recaps 2.0. Down the line, I will add original recipe newsletters again and we will alternate back and forth. I’ll be sending you off into the weekend with Cooking Stuff because Friday is our new newsletter day.
This newsletter is exactly where I want to log in online and hang out. It’s all the stuff I love and want to consume. My little corner of the internet to share the random things on my mind. Most importantly it’s a place where cooking is fun and we all gain skills and confidence in the kitchen to impress our friends. Woo!
Okay, that’s it for today. As always, THANK YOU for subscribing. It feels good to come back to my people online. Enjoy today’s newsletter which is what newsletters will look like moving forward. I’ll talk to you in two weeks.
Turmeric Cashew Chicken from Rachel Gurjar at Bon Appetit.
This recipe is good. Flavor wise it needed a little zhuzhing. I ended up adding more ginger, more turmeric, and a bit of curry powder to really up the intensity. It delivers as promised, a quick and easy meal. It’s an excellent base to play around with and zhuzh to your liking. It’s in the back of my mind as a weeknight option and definitely worth trying.
You can sip this but you have to make it first. A surprising favorite gift from the holidays was this DIY gin making kit. I quickly made a bottle and found it super fun. I love a craft! My bottle of DIY gin is actually tasty too. Makes a great negroni and the recipe I used came with the kit.
The Watcher – I waited until we finished watching the full season of The Watcher on Netflix to read this article. If you thought the show was creepy, reading the details about it actually happening to a real family is beyond.
U.S. agency examines secret pollution source in 40 million homes: Gas stoves. – When we bought our last home it came with an electric stove and I didn’t mind because the basement underneath was unfished. AKA easy to run a gas line and swap it out. Three and a half years went by and that never happened. I have to say, I don’t mind cooking with electric. There is a learning curve for sure, just like there was a learning curve with the gas stove in our new home, but they are really just fine.
Is Stock Overhyped? – Yes and no. I love my homemade broth and nothing compares but you can 100p use water when you don’t have broth. I secretly love Better Than Boullion too. They all serve a purpose.
You’reee welcome!
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Belle’s Bagels – They're right down the street from my house and the only thing that stopped me from going sooner was Marco’s inability to eat gluten. I picked up a PEC, pastrami egg and cheese, one day and it did not disappoint. Whitefish salad was bangin’ too.
New New New – See that button ⬆️ it will take you to my LA restaurant map. This is my personal map of restaurants I have been to and want to go to. I’m working on adding notes on what I liked at each spot or if I would pass. I update it weekly and wanted to share it! It’s a work in progress so make sure to check back every now and then.
ORANGE are places I have been with notes. BLUE are the places on my list to visit. BLACK are shops where I like to shop. If you have a favorite spot that’s not on my list, let me hear ‘em!! Enjoy!
MINI JUICER! I fucking love this thing. Rewind to many years ago when I had a huge clunky juicer. You know what I’m talking about. It was great and we used it but it took up so much space that we got rid of it.
Now we started going to the farmers' market every Sunday and the overflowing citrus made us want to make juice but I didn’t want a huge machine. Purchased this thing on a whim and I’m a fan.
Let’s set clear expectations here – it doesn’t have a blade to pulverize anything you throw in it. Instead, it crushes the produce to squeeze out the juice. This makes a thicker juice and it also requires a little more prep. For example, you can’t throw a whole orange in it because it will get clogged with pulp. If you are trying to juice daily, pass on this, but if you want a jug of OJ once a week, you need it. I love it!!
ALSO under $100!!
Hello! I am Anna, I am a brand new subscriber who wants to learn more about easy cooking tips, and I love your energy!
So glad to see you in my inbox today! Welcome back. 😸