I want to go to there
I started Meal Better for many reasons…
…mostly to help solve the ceaseless refrain of “what’s for dinner?” that plagues so many families - including my own - everyday at 5:00 pm. I also hoped to make dinner more equitable and easily shared among everyone in the home. Though I can’t solve these quarries on my own, I hope I’ve help my readers chip away at them. But, though there’s still a lot to be done, I’m unable to be as present here as I’d like to be, and releasing new recipes on a weekly basis isn’t possible.
This month marks a year of Meal Better’s newsletter, though I’ve been working on it for far longer. As some of you know, Meal Better was born in the nascent days of my return to DC. I was freshly divorced, in a new (old) city, and living in a garden unit with my beloved pup. At age 30ish, I was on my own for the first time, and craving connection. I was working as a private chef, and though the food I prepared was often eaten communally, the actual act of cooking was largely solitary. I interacted mostly with my clients, and hadn’t anticipated working with (and for) so few people; I’m a grassroots girlie at heart and wanted to reach a broader population.
So, I enlisted my bestie from culinary school - the one and only Grace - and we embarked on a weeknight meal project. We had a blast: no one finds me funnier than Grace, and I am my funniest around her. This project provided a regularly scheduled dose of structure, company, and laughter during a dark time period in my life.
As I grew and dug roots in my new home, Meal Better changed, too. And when covid happened, Meal Better changed again. And now, (re)marriage and motherhood have happened, and Meal Better will change yet again. Stay tuned to see my talented hubs star in a #daddinners series soon, but I also hope to share more candid food moments, as well my personal meal hacks - like what easy snacks I’m prepping for the fam, my go-to on-the-go lunch, my fave products, etc. And, in keeping with the times, we’re going to focus more on video though we simply cannot Tik Tok.
On the note of social media, I’ve recently had a desire for connection. We all know that while we’re more connected than ever, we’re somehow more isolated. To that end, I’m suddenly itching to get out of the home I love so dearly. I never expected to work from home for so long: I started cooking from home during the pandemic, than had two kids in short order, which required flexibility. This flexibility has been a godsend while also coming at a cost - I miss having colleagues with whom I collaborate. And, though the last 5+ years have been from home I’ve worked on my own for more than a decade. Now that we’re in a grove with childcare and the girls are sleeping through the night, I’m exploring opportunities in a different environment.
I’ve loved writing the newsletter the past year - being on this weekly journey with you has brought me so much joy, and I’m forever grateful for your support. I hope you'll consider extending that support over on Substack new content will largely be published. I know many of you are already there, and I’m excited for the infrastructure and features Substack provides, and to join a thriving community of readers and writers. For the moment, all content will be free, but I aim to release holiday meal plans in the near future. In the meantime, all recipe archives will now be available in the main section of the site, where they’ll be sorted and tagged.
Again, thank you so, so much for all of your support. I truly cannot explain how magical this journey has been and I’m excited for it’s next chapter.