Friday, August 29, 2025
Good morning!
“Deb, don’t you already have a newsletter?” Indeed I do. The first, the main, the original and undefeated Smitten Kitchen Digest goes out Monday mornings and contains links to new recipes, site news, seasonal menus, and interviews with cool cookbook authors. I love it, we love it, and it’s going to stay exactly as it is.
But I love sharing life bits and bops that don’t fit neatly into a recipe headnote and are sometimes not about cooking at all. Stuff like: what I’m up to and into, good meals out, cool new places, travel, things I'm spending an embarrassing amount of time doing (okay they're called hobbies, Deb), books I’m reading, things I've seen on my walks, an interesting conversation I had, random tips, maybe something I’m cooking that isn’t quite a front page-worthy recipe, but useful all the same, and the occasional Real Life Menu1 I'd also love to bring back Q&As2; it’s been forever.
For the last few years, I've shared these life updates as Sunday Updates on Instagram Stories. But I've not had free time on weekends for several months and even when I do, well, it's the weekend and a screen-free life beckons. (And why limit the conversation to people on Instagram during that 24-hour period before Stories expire, anyway?) I know email might not work for everyone but I want to give it a shot for a bit and see how it goes.
The Weekly Yap will go out on Fridays.
Please note: You are not subscribed to The Weekly Yap. This is merely a single announcement email sent to regular Smitten Kitchen Digest readers, letting you know about the new newsletter coming. If you’d like to begin receiving it weekly, you will have to opt in — instructions below.
How to get The Weekly Yap:
If you're a new subscriber to The Smitten Kitchen Digest, you’ll receive both the Monday digest and this new subsection, Off The Menu, by default.
If you’re already a subscriber to The Smitten Kitchen Digest, you will not receive Off The Menu — even though I sent this one to all subscribers — unless you opt into it. Here’s how:
Navigate to your account settings page via www.substack.com/settings. Or when logged into your Substack account, select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.
Under Subscriptions, click on The Smitten Kitchen Digest.
On the next page, slide the toggle next to Off-The-Menu to receive notifications about it.
How to unsubscribe from The Weekly Yap:
Navigate to your account settings page via www.substack.com/settings. Or when logged into your Substack account, select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.
Under Subscriptions, click on The Smitten Kitchen Digest.
On the next page, slide the toggle next to Off-The-Menu to stop receiving notifications about it. A gray toggle indicates that notifications will be off for the section.
Cheers,
Deb
P.S. The beach this past weekend with my little yap.
They're on hiatus right now, which happens when I'm writing a book and need to keep the stuff I'm working on closer to my chest, but don't worry, it's actually impossible to get through a conversation with me without me telling you what I've cooked.
Submit a question for me to answer right here!