Introducing: Forest Feast Supper Club
In this issue of my reinvented newsletter: a personal note, my next book, the salad I make every Thanksgiving, a BIG tablecloth sale + new Floral Puffer Coats!
✨Thoughts on Creative Reinvention✨
Hi friends,
If you’ve been following along, after 13 magical years at our cabin in the woods in California, this past summer we moved to Madison, Wisconsin. It was really hard to leave the west coast and all of our family there, but we have been loving lake life and our cute new neighborhood. We bought a 100+ year old bungalow in the city where we can walk down to the water, Jon can walk to his new job and the kids can walk to school…a lifestyle shift we were craving.
There have, of course, been hard moments. Moving, unpacking, getting kids acclimated to new schools, finding new friends and new sports teams—it’s a lot. The house is old and it will probably be years before we can do all the updates we hope to do. I was at the DMV a few days ago and when they punched a hold in my California driver’s license, telling me it was no longer valid– I cried. It felt like a sudden farewell to my California life and identity. As I try to build a new one, I’ll be honest–some days it’s pretty overwhelming.
But I remember feeling exactly this same way 13 years ago when we moved from New York City to the woods. At the time I told Jon that I was worried my biggest career achievements might be behind me. It was so hard to leave my life in New York as a food photographer and start over. But what came next I could have never imagined. The shift in scenery inspired my blog, The Forest Feast, which led to a cookbook series and then a whole brand. So I am hopeful that this shift to Wisconsin ignites something similar and allows me to grow what I’ve started. My books have opened doors for me and allowed me to connect with people in a way that’s so meaningful and I hope to expand this! Hearing that people are cooking my recipes around the world and feeling creatively inspired by my books is everything to me.
And it all started with that blog. A blog where I shared snippets of my new, fragile forest life. It became a place where I could creatively experiment and be the most authentic version of myself as an artist, and my readers (you!) really responded to that. Transitioning now to a new city in my 40s as the mother of 3 small children is a bit different :) but creative reinvention is feeling necessary. Via this newsletter, I hope to dive into this creative reinvention journey with you. Are you starting over or looking for ways to reset? I think creative outlets like cooking and painting can help— let’s do it together.
For the first time this week, I’m shifting my newsletter format to Substack which, for all I can tell, is sort of like the new way to blog. And I’m calling it ‘Forest Feast Supper Club’, a sort of mash-up of my woodsy identity and new midwestern life. Supper clubs are a thing in Wisconsin and I love the concept. Think family-owned, old-school restaurant-type setting with cozy comfort food, classic cocktails, a wood-paneled vibe and an emphasis on community gathering. Sounds perfect, no? I’m excited to gather with my Forest Feast community here more regularly, and Substack has some nice community-building features where we can interact better. My newsletters will still come to your inbox as usual, though I’m offering some perks for those who choose to support the newsletter via a paid subscription (totally optional!).
Here’s what to expect:
Free weekly emails with vegetarian recipes, stories from my new life in Madison, family news, creative home projects I’m working on, creative projects you can do, hosting inspiration, Supper Club visits!, trips I’m taking, art I’m making…etc.
Upcoming book events and workshops around the country
Updates on new art items I’m offering in my shop
Paid Subscriber benefits:
One new (never-before-published) vegetarian recipe the first week of every month
Special sales and early access to new limited-run art and other products in the shop
Opportunities for live Q&As and classes with me
More to come! Let me know what you’d be interested in!
Thank you all for coming along with me for this new era of The Forest Feast, I’m excited!
xx
Erin
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My New Book, Thanksgiving Inspo + Holiday Shop Updates—>
In case you missed it, I have a new book coming out next year and you can already PREORDER it!
I made The Watercolor Feast with the hope of inspiring YOU to make time for creativity. In it, I teach you how to paint (very simple) fruits, vegetables and flowers with watercolors. It is an art book (with recipes sprinkled throughout) and it even has watercolor paper pages you can paint directly on in the back. It comes out April 15, 2025 and I can’t wait to share it with you!
The first thing I did when we decided to move to Wisconsin was make myself a bright and cheery floral winter coat. Forest Feast Puffer Coats are now available in my shop! If you order by TOMORROW 11/26, it will arrive by 12/25.
Big Tablecloth Sale: Garden Tablecloths are now 40% off for an early Black Friday. It’s the most unique floral tablecloth you can find and features my artwork printed on a heavy flax linen. Makes a perfect gift for just $65.
We are having a small Thanksgiving this year, just our family at home (not quite enough time to fly home this weekend), but we plan to cook and make it festive. One dish I always make on Thanksgiving is the Persimmon Salad from my first book. It’s one of the first recipes I posted on that OG blog and honestly, one of my favorite things to eat. Fuyu persimmons are at my Trader Joe’s right now and I’m buying them up like crazy.
During our usual Thanksgivings in Santa Barbara, I am often in charge of the appetizers. For the last couple years I’ve been making Pumpkin Deviled Eggs from my latest book, The Forest Feast Road Trip. Just mix the yolk with mustard, mayo, a dollop of pumpkin puree and garnish with paprika and pomegranate seeds. So good!
As always, my cookbooks make the best hosting gifts. You can find them last minute at your local bookstore or online at Target or Amazon. Find more gift ideas in my shop.
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Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Cooking!