A Glance Back and a Look Ahead
(Happy New Years Eve eve!)
Hi friends! This is a bonus issue coming to you on a Monday rather than our normal Friday post.
Today there’s a reveal on all the subscriber benefits ahead in 2025. But first, we say adios to 2024 with a roundup of some of this year’s most popular posts.
The 2024 Round-up
This year has been chock full of delicious articles and recipes! Some of you are new around here so maybe you’ve missed a few? Now is a good time to read them and links are provided below.
Good to Know Series: These newsletters included topics like how to save on groceries, how to menu plan, make an effective grocery list, how to stock your pantry, what veggies to grow, and how to make extracts. There were lots of helpful hints plus some easy pantry-friendly recipes.
Springtime 4-Week Menu Plans with Dessert: These menu plans helped us get into a habit of cooking dinners three nights a week and included a dessert. The line up:
Week 1: 20-Minute Fish and White Beans Skillet, Mushroom and Spinach Loaf, Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken with Veggies, Mocha Mousse
Week 2: 35-Minute Lemon Ginger Chicken Soup, Middle Eastern Lentil Meatballs with Red Pepper Sauce, Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil, Small Batch Cheesecake
Week 3: Crispy Black Bean Quinoa Tacos, Sheet Pan Fish and Chips, Guinness Beef Stew, 6-Ingredient Strawberry Shortcake
Week 4: Vegan Curry, Asian Pork and Mushroom Burgers, Tzimmes Chicken with Apricots, 4-Seed Chocolate Bark
Travelogue of Greece: My husband and I took a special anniversary trip this year. I reveal what we ate, where we stayed, and what tours we took in Athens and the Peloponnese, plus my honest reviews with links.
A paid subscriber commented:
Summer Grilling Series: Grilling happens year-round for Southern Californians so I shared tips and recipes for vegan grilling, meats, and pizza on the grill.
Summer Salad Series: Perfect hot weather food includes kale with stone fruit, Greek chicken, grilled Caesar, melon and feta, Green Goddess chicken Cobb, carne asada.
Oven Evasion Series: No need to fire up the oven, especially in the heat of August. These newsletters highlight easy-to-make and cool-to-eat Vietnamese summer rolls, waffle iron frittatas, no-bake fridge cake, one pot protein bowl, shrimp Louie salad.
Fall 4-Week Menu Plans with Wine Pairings: Autumn is a good time to get back in the habit of cooking dinners three nights a week. Each week included a recommended wine to pair with the week’s menu.
Week 1: Plant Protein Greek-style Gyros, Salmon with Brown Butter Sauce, Banh Mi French Bread Pizza.
Week 2: Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs, Shrimp Tempura Tacos with Jalapeno-Lime Crema, Fall Niçoise Salad.
Week 3: Lamb Kofta with Cucumber Salad and Lemony Tahini, Maple-Glazed Bundt Pan Chicken, Penne with Roasted Veg and Romesco.
Week 4: Pork Chops with Figs and Thyme, Flammekuchen with Leeks and Bacon, Plant Protein Schnitzel with Fresh Cabbage Salad.
Pasta and Noodle Month: A cozy, carb-y series of dishes including pumpkin alfredo, nutty noodles w/shrimp, pimped-out pappardelle, and Mexican pasta verde.
Thanksgiving starters and pies: No messing about with the traditional turkey and sides but there’s always room for interesting things like gingery squash soup, vanilla latte pie, beet hummus, and leftover turkey banh mi.
Holiday recipes: It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Celebratory goodies include California holiday morning scones, SoCal-style cookies, West Coast brunch, root vegetable latkes, and NYE snacks.
It has been a pleasure to meet with you every Friday and talk about our favorite thing: food!
Ahead in 2025
There are so many good things planned for you in the coming year and I can’t wait to share them!
Betty Eatz Podcast
In January I’m launching the Betty Eatz Podcast! The show will be about real recipes created by real people. On the podcast, I interview food bloggers, recipe developers, and food writers from all over the world who create recipes worth making.
Finding a tried-and-true recipe that works and tastes good is becoming more and more like playing recipe roulette. There are a lot of terrible recipes floating around online that are untested, AI-generated, or just plain bad. Frequently our time, energy, and expense are wasted on these dishes.
Listeners of the show will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look into the life of food creators and their secrets of combining ingredients and instructions to make the recipes you want to cook again and again. Plus, each podcast includes a recipe!
Starting in mid-January, you will find the podcast linked on the Betty Eatz home page here on Substack as well as on your favorite listening platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Subscriber Benefits in 2025
This newsletter is reader-supported by all of you. Because of this, there are no ads, no sponsorships, and no endorsements. Your contributions are what make this possible.
The new year brings new goodies for all subscribers! Here’s what to look forward to.
Free
It costs absolutely nothing and all Free subscribers receive:
Weekly Friday newsletters 3 times a month and access to most recipes. Good news: in 2025, January, May, August, and October have an extra Friday, so you get an additional free newsletter these months.
Archive access for the previous 2 months. You can read the most recent newsletters, going back two months.
Paid
Upgrade to Paid at any time. All Paid subscribers receive:
Weekly Friday newsletters with recipes 4 times a month (5 times in January, May, August, and October) and access to ALL recipes in the post. You get every single one of them!
Quarterly cooking videos. Every 90 days you receive a video covering California cuisine ingredients, cooking techniques, and other helpful instructions.
Archive access to all previous newsletters. Nothing is held back.
Recipe Index access. An easy and helpful way to find recipes and their links.
Founders
Upgrade to Founders at any time. All Founders subscribers receive:
Personalized 4-Week Menu Plan. Answer a short survey, list personal preferences, and receive a four-week menu plan with recipes put together just for you.
Weekly Friday newsletters with recipes 4 times a month (5 times in January, May, August, and October) and access to ALL recipes in the post. You get every single one of them!
Quarterly cooking videos. Every 90 days you receive a video covering California cuisine ingredients, cooking techniques, and other helpful instructions.
Archive access to all previous newsletters. Nothing is held back.
Recipe Index access. An easy and helpful way to find recipes and their links.
Tell Me
What are you looking forward to most in the new year? I’d love to hear about it!
Thanks for reading and Happy 2025! See you on Friday.
Happy New Year Betty!! Looking forward to a new year of fabulous recipes!!🥰
Best wishes for the New Year Betty! Looking forward to reading your work and trying your gorgeous recipes.