Hello! Let's Get to Know Each Other Better.
A little bit about me, some questions for you + an exciting announcement
Hello friends and readers!
Over the past nine months this newsletter has been slowly but steadily growing and it feels like a good time to re-introduce myself. I’m also excited to announce a paid subscription option if you want more easy dinner recipes and more Kitchen Skip content.
I also want to get to know you better! When I sit down to write my newsletter each week I feel like I’m sending it out to friends and neighbors, but honestly, I don’t know who most of you are. Please, introduce yourself in the comments section or drop me a quick note at jenny@kitchenskip.com
Three things I’d love to know about you . . .
Where do you live?
What is your biggest cooking challenge each week?
What are you reading right now?
If you could receive a personalized recipe from me, what type of recipe would you request? An Instant Pot recipe, or pasta, or soup or chicken….let me know!
Let Me Introduce Myself
Hi! I live in Los Angeles with my husband, two kids and our cat. I’ve lived here for almost 20 years (!) but I still feel like I’m adjusting to Southern California. I grew up in Washington state and went to college in Portland and Seattle before moving to San Francisco to attend culinary school for a year. I was 26 years old and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I loved food and cooking.
I realized pretty quickly that the frenetic pace of a restaurant kitchen was not for me. So instead, I started my career by pushing a cheese cart around a fancy restaurant, which led to becoming a cheesemonger which led to becoming a wine seller and wine buyer, with occasional stints waiting tables, catering and managing a restaurant.
When I had kids, I was more than ready to exit the food industry. I wanted to be at home, but I still wanted to cook in some way. I also wanted to write, but couldn’t quite figure out how to make a living doing it.
It seems obvious now that I should have started a food blog, but food blogs were barely a thing in 2010. I landed my first food writing and recipe development job as a “cheese specialist” for About.com. Soon after, I was hired as a recipe developer for a popular Paleo website. A decade after culinary school, I had finally found what I loved doing in the food world.
In 2019, I finally launched my own food blog. I also started working as a recipe development consultant for SANS Meal Bars. These are still my main gigs, along with publishing this newsletter.
This newsletter began as a way to promote my work on Kitchenskip.com and build a friendly community without having to rely on social media. I could go into a long screed about why, but honestly, the easiest explanation is that I’m just not into it. I’m a happier person when I’m not on social media. I have no desire to post endless food photos or film myself dancing around my kitchen. It’s just not for me.
The whole point of working for yourself is that you get to call the shots and do what you love. And what I really love doing is writing this newsletter!
So, What’s Next?
Starting this week, I’m launching a paid subscription option for the Kitchen Skip newsletter.
Writing a newsletter is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work and takes more time than you might think. The Internet has conditioned us to expect free content, but behind all of that content is a freelancer like myself who is trying to make a living.
Creating and sharing recipes is my job, it’s not a hobby. I’m able to offer free recipes on my food blog, Kitchenskip.com, because I earn money through advertising. On Substack, there is no advertising, so paid subscriptions are what make it possible for me to create and share content week after week.
And let me tell you, I have so much new content that I’m excited to share with this community!
If you’ve already subscribed to Kitchen Skip, then you will continue to receive my weekly free newsletter on Thursdays. Signing up for the paid version means you’ll get even more!
What exactly will I get with a paid subscription?
For just $5/month or $50/year ($4.17/month), you will receive extra content, such as:
1 exclusive dinner recipe a month, with an emphasis on the word EASY. These subscriber-only recipes will make a fully satisfying and delicious meal for your family.
Subscriber-only access to the full archive of exclusive recipes.
Two bonus newsletters each month covering topics such as meal plans, additional recipes, real-life shopping lists, reading & parenting and other fun surprises like audio messages and videos.
This month (March 2023) all subscribers will receive one free, exclusive recipe and one bonus newsletter. Then the paywall will come down on extra content. You can choose to subscribe (or unsubscribe) at any time.
Can I still read the newsletter for free?
Absolutely, a free newsletter with lots of great content will continue to arrive in your inbox every Thursday. If you can’t commit to a paid subscription, there are other ways to show your support. You have no idea how happy it makes me when someone hits the heart button at the end of a newsletter! You can also share the weekly newsletter with your friends or leave comments, which are both really appreciated.
Visiting my food blog, Kitchen Skip, is also a great way to show your support.
Thank you for reading and for supporting my work! I can’t wait to get to know all of you even better.
xo
Jenny