In February, I was back to normal after sending the second draft of my next book over to my editor on January 31. On top of my writing here for this newsletter, I also wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian that ran in the paper. Here’s a full rundown of the month that was, along with a preview of what’s coming in March—the month that will mark the 5-year anniversary of this newsletter!

“On Tradwives” / “From the Desk Recommends... Forthcoming Books!” / “On Criticism” / “The Monthly Menu: Strange Days” / “A Brief Note on Beef” / “The Desk Book Club: ‘The Hunger of Women’ by Marosia Castaldi” / “Against Relatability” / New Recipe: “Sesame-Ginger Dressing”

“‘I Like Being Brutal’: The Desk Salon with Anna Sulan Masing” / “What Is Food Writing?” / “The Desk Book Club Discussion of ‘The Hunger of Women’” / “‘A Flesh and Blood Portrait’: The Desk Salon with Mayukh Sen”

“A perfect boiled egg in 32 minutes? Don’t let science ruin the joyful imperfection of home cooking,” a piece for The Guardian “Opinion” that also ran in print

Moviepudding and GUTS collaborated, asking 12 writers for our favorite food scenes in movies

An interview with “Creator Spotlight,” available on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. Francis, the host, also did a feature for his newsletter: “Rejecting the 'creator' label to build a sustainable career as a critical writer”

“On Gentrification” / “Ways of Working: 5 Years of From the Desk…” / “For Consistency: A Thank-You” / “How Do You Eat? No. 3” / “The Desk Salon with Carina del Valle Schorske” / “The Desk Book Club: ‘Black Food Geographies’ by Ashanté M. Reese” / …and all the usual extra features!

I’m running my Newsletter and Research & Organization Workshops in a special back-to-back edition this Sunday, March 2. Sign up for both or take them separately. Find all workshops on my website.

Join me on March 11 for “Reported and Personal Essays in Food Media,” where we’ll be discussing essay structure, how certain essays fit into different publications, and how to pitch. You can catch up with “What Is Food Media?” and “What Is Food Writing?” by buying the materials as a download.

Join me for the third installment of the Desk Salon Series on Sunday, March 9, featuring writer and New York Times Magazine contributor Carina del Valle Schorske: paid subscribers have free access with the code in the header (or email me) and anyone else can buy a ticket for $10. There will be ten of these over the course of the year.

Every Monday, paid subscribers have a chat in what I call the weekly Salon at 3 p.m. EST—a casual space to discuss what we’re reading, watching, and working on. It’s a space for building camaraderie and getting to know folks who are interested in food and culture—my attempt at creating a little social media oasis.