47 Comments

Congratulations on your anniversary, Sinù, and on taking the step to go paid! Your food preparations always sound challenging and intriguing. I like that you're seeking to share old recipes and techniques. Vinegars and pickles particularly intrigue me. I've made several failed attempts myself. Unfortunately, my "garden" (more like a sandbox!) has also been hopeless this year, so I'm not sure about attempting the green tomato recipe, but I'd like to give that white vinegar recipe a try.

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Thank you so much Ruth, this newslettery journey wouldn't be the same without you!

Do play with the infused vinegar, it's really lovely and makes any simple salad a work of art. So flavourful!

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Bravo, Sinù!

The exploration of these vintage recipes is fascinating but a little like old wines, age is no guarantee of deliciousness.

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Ahah exactly! But they're always a occasion for learning nonetheless :)

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A very expensive one, on occasion (particularly if we've bought a case)!

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Happy anniversary and congrats!! 🎉💕

I can imagine that converting traditional recipes would be challenging! You’re a braver woman than I am 😂 I’m so happy that you’re taking us along on your journey!

I’m also excited to see that the green tomatoes came out on top. This one is bookmarked for the future!

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Thank you Kiki!! 😘

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🍾Anniversary wishes🍾

.. Its always a joy to read your posts Sinù.. You work so hard with your research & development of your website.. I loved the spoken venetian dialect piece..

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Thank you so much, it means a lot to me ❤️

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Congratulations on your first year! and thank you for sharing that orange cake video.

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Thank you Gillian 🥳 Jamie's YouTube channel is a favorite of mine, glad you like the video! xx

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Congratulations! I love your newsletter and wish you all the best with your paid tier. xxx

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Thank you so much Marg 💓 🥳 let's see where this new journey leads us!

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Congratulations on your first year here on Substack! I remain intrigued by the Venetian pickled green tomatoes and I almost want to let them steep in my imagination where I do my best cooking...xx

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That's where my best cooking takes place too lol 😂😜

Thank you for your comment my dear Michelle, your support means a lot to me 😘 kisses to you and Rome

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Happy Substackiversary, Sinù! Great newsletter, I’m now bewitched by the notion of the quest for a ‘higher taste’ 👌🏻❤️

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Thank you Claire!! Love the new term you've coined here "Substackiversary", took me a couple of attempts to read it out loud 😂

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Congrats on going paid, Sinù! 🥳 and good for you for sticking with the vintage recipes for a year, even if they’re sometimes frustrating.

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Thank you so much Samantha ❤️ those old recipes drive me nuts lol! I guess that's part of the fun 😅 hope you're well in beautiful Cairo!

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Congrats on a year Sinù! I actually think the vintage recipe fails would be fun to read, even comical and an analysis of how they might be adapted and updated would be informative and appreciated. Excited to read more 😊

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Thank you so much 🎉 and yes to all of this, I've been thinking how to incorporate those aspects and this is partly why I've launched the paid tier. Let's see where the next year leads us!

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I am also thinking of adding a paid tier when I hit my 1 year substackaversary. BTW I picked up How to Cook a Wolf - reading it now. It feels so contemporary despite being so many years old.

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How long before the 1 year milestone? Keep me posted, we can share updates :)

I'm glad you like the book, have you read anything else by the same author? I heard that Consider the Oyster is really nice!

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It will be a year in January! I'd love to compare notes :-) I also picked up "An Alphabet for Gourmets." I'm studying essay writing and I do like the way she writes. Found this profile on her on LitHub that you may find interesting. Thank you for introducing me to her work!

https://lithub.com/ruth-reichl-on-m-f-k-fishers-lifetime-of-joyous-eating/

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Not long now! Have you started writing down your launch post? Tkae your time to do it, I improvised and I'm not that happy about it tbh.

Love the title of that book, it's in my tbr list now, thank you so much :) Also, lithub is a treasure trove isn't it, thanks for the link 😘

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That's a good idea. I keep vacillating on my Why for going paid. I think writing it out will help me clarify! Thanks for the suggestion :-)

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Happy anniversary and congratulations on going paid!

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Thank you Kate 🎉 your support is very much appreciated!

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Congrats Sinù! My mom and grandmother were big on pickling, and I remember the house smelling of vinegar and hot fumes (they would easily fill 15-20 3-litre jars at once). Never found the courage to try my hand at it myself though.

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They were probably better organized than us, a pickling station in an outside kitchen perhaps? I don't know about you but I live in an apartment, not enough space for massive preserve operations :) you could still try with a small vase though!

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My favourite part of the process was helping them hunt down all the leaves and herbs for the process. They used like 12 different things, including oak and cherry leaves.

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That sounds so utterly romantic Oleg! Can you still recognize all those plants? I'm a terrible forager but I'd love to learn :)

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I can definitely tell an oak tree from a maple tree, but I'm terrible beyond the basics :).

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I can tell an oak tree from a cherry plant 🙃👌

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A mattress needle? I have to look that up. I have lots of green tomatoes, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try your recipe! I think it's great that you delve into recipes from the past.

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The mattress needle bit took me off guard too 😆 to be fair, they're not that bad, I'd just use less vinegar and more herbs... it does need some tweaking to adapt to the modern taste :) have you tried frying your green tomatoes?

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Yes, I have tried frying them. My mom always ate them that way.

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That's a classic. For more ideas you could try gogonele (brined, Romanian) or a chutney (apparently Nigel Slater has a good recipe) xx

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Thanks. Chutney sounds like a very good idea!

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Congratulations on one year, and going paid, Sinù! I agree—vintage recipes can be ‘challenging’ 😏 to make and sometimes to eat!😂 Let’s go with playfulness! ❤️

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Thank you Jolene!! Your support means the world to me 😘 sometimes I forget that the kitchen is a playground and not a racetrack, having fun should always be the main objective!

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This will be our motto going forward! Again, congratulations and I can’t wait to see what you do next! 😘

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It will! I'm working on the first paid post, can't wait to know what you think of it 😁 happy Sunday xx

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😃

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Hi Sinú! It’s always a thing for me when recreating my grandmothers, grandfathers, or my Mom’s recipes, but what I do is. try to recall the days when they involved me in the preparation of the recipes and all of a sudden my mind get’s into the groove. While many times I alter the recipe here and there, the aroma and sometimes the flavor is still there or close to it. I tend to use the time making these recipes whether mine or someone else’s as a time to reflect on those days. That helps with when they don’t come out as exactly as they should. Your recipes are great and don’t you dare stop this newsletter!

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Thank you Mark, your words mean a lot to me 🙏 I believe your approach is the most sound and sensible, cooking can be a wonderful way to reconnect with our roots or a past that we lost or never knew. But it takes awareness, patience and creativity, too. It's OK to tweak old recipes, that's how we make sure they have a second lease of life ❤️

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