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Hey y’all, it’s been a long time since we wrote. We were probably called something different then but that was a lifetime ago. If you’re wondering what we’ve been doing, we’ve got a new cookbook, Brave New Meal, dropping November 9th. We’re so fucking proud of this one. It’s the longest book we’ve ever written and has the most photography we’ve ever shot. So if you’ve got our other books, you definitely wanna add this to your collection.
So in honor of our new book, we’re starting a weekly newsletter exploring food in this weird new reality we all live in. Don’t worry, we won’t wax poetic about each recipe or any of that bullshit. But there’s a hole in food, particularly when it comes to eating plants, where good sense should go.
We’re tired of reading articles about far-flung restaurants with $700 tasting menus, new lab meats years from viability, and watching videos of beautiful food that’s too costly and time-consuming for anyone not chasing clicks to prepare. It’s fucking exhausting.
Those articles, listicles, and interviews are just discourse for the sake of discourse. People writing and posting for responses from the same voices in food: recycled arguments, willfully ignorant takes, and deliberate misunderstandings to virtue signal one’s personal piety at the expense of kindness and logic. When all food is branded, who talks about dinner?
That’s what we’re gonna do here. Just talk to y’all about the business of going to the grocery store, farmer’s market, the corner shop, and preparing all the food you need to run your life. We want you to be excited about your meals even though we know it can feel like a slog to start cooking. It’s hard to keep up the momentum of thoughtful eating when every moment of your life is spent working, cleaning, or in service of other people.
We know that often the fastest food, regardless of its healthfulness, is a kind of mercy when you can’t be bothered to make one.more.goddamn.decision. Let us help. We’ve been doing this “plant-based for regular people” schtick for a long time and we’ve got plenty of tricks to help you have a better relationship with food. Stick with us and soon you’ll be able to whip up a fast, healthyish meal without even thinking about it.
Sure, we’ll sprinkle in some links to stories so you can read what you want about the outside food world. We’ll give you a menu-like overview of everything so that you can stay informed without going down too many wormholes about whether canvas bags are worse than plastic or how many minutes a hot dog can shave off your life.* If you listen to our Forked Up podcast then you’re familiar with our deliciously droll take on food, pop culture, and politics all through the lens of what we eat. You can also watch full episodes on YouTube. But this newsletter will be its own beast.
For paying subscribers, we’ll be sharing an exclusive newsletter or two each month with bonus recipes, cooking videos, and peeks into our pantry to help you save time and money when you make your grocery list each week. That will start in a couple weeks but for now, thanks for subscribing. Grab your sharpest knife and let’s get to work.
Welcome to the Broiler Room.
Michelle and Matt
* The science they used for this article is suspect at best but they got the headlines and clicks they wanted and 36 minutes for anyone curious about the hot dog math.