New Old Recipes, Commerce Writing Woes, and Cold Fruit

Pucker up!

We’re back, it’s hot; let’s get right to it.

My first two recipes for Southern Living went live this week, and it’s hard to put into words how thrilling it is to be part of such a legacy publication. I grew up with the brightly bound volumes of Southern Living Annual Cookbooks staring back at me from the bookshelves of both my mom’s and my dad’s house (a rare point of agreement between them, or more specifically, between my mom and stepmom), and the magazine itself was a ubiquitous feature on every coffee table at every friend’s house from the ages of 0 to 17. Now I’m sharing my memories and recipes with Southern Living readers, and it feels like a dream.

I was tapped by Southern Living’s Editorial Director, Kimberly Holland, to create approachable, Southern recipes for their digital audience, and I came up with a handful of ideas inspired by my childhood in Roanoke, VA. For the first recipe, my mind wandered over to nextdoor Salem, to a little college bar called Mac & Bob’s (I’m still on the hunt for a satin Mac & Bobs jacket, see below).

Mac & Bob’s was where my Dad got a free sandwich on the day I was born. If I had to guess, I’d say it was probably a Reuben. Anyway, the dish I chose to recreate is their Katie Salad — mixed greens, strawberries, fresh melon, cubes of cheddar and monterey Jack, walnuts, and a sweet and tangy poppy seed dressing that really makes the whole thing. Growing up, my stepmom, Ginger, was devoted to the Katie Salad and would often make it at home, which I loved, so I figured readers might want to do the same thing.

Get the recipe: Katie Salad

macandbobs

A post shared by @macandbobs

While I didn’t grow up with Walnut Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches, they would be right at home on a three-tiered platter adorned with the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches I saw more often as a kid. I particularly love the way the grated onion gives the walnut and cream cheese mixture a little bite in this spiral-bound cookbook deep cut.

Get the recipe: Walnut Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

Earlier this month, Best Food Blog shared a post by commerce writer, Megan Wahn, titled “Why Is Every Food Article a Product Review Now,“ simultaneously casting a light on an otherwise semi-shadowy omnipresent aspect of the internet and also getting right to the marrow of how I feel about the work that I very often find myself doing. In it, Wahn says,

After working in the space for almost three years, I often felt like Sisyphus pushing my own boulder up a hill, only for a new Google algorithm update or change in retailer conversion to knock me down again as early as the next week. The reliance on these tech players — to constantly maintain revenue-driving content that stays on that first page in Google, to constantly make more money — can sometimes clash with a writer’s editorial integrity.

That’s the thing, right there — the clash with integrity. I write a lot of shopping round-ups and product reviews, and I love doing it. I like feeling like my writing is helpful, ‘service-y’ as my editors say, and commerce writing also appeals to my desire to ‘shop‘ in a way that is ‘work‘ and thus virtuous, but occasionally, I’ve had assignments to write about products that probably didn’t live up to the breathless praise I heaped on them or, more often, been required to link to Amazon, a problematic retailer that I seek to avoid in my own daily life. I guess what I’m saying is that I have a fair bit of ambivalence around commerce writing, but I still want to do it and do a great job at it. Wahn, again,

Still, as much as I felt the pressure to turn every story into a commerce moment, I often experienced firsthand just how impactful commerce content could be. Not only did it afford the opportunity to showcase small businesses on a larger platform, but it also helped home cooks navigate their shopping journey, often for purchases that were sizable investments. I saw it right there in the data how many people purchased a Vitamix blender because it’s what we told them to get.

It just feels right to write about something you really love.

That quote reminded me of the time I helped to sell $1500 worth of Keya’s Chips in a day by writing about them for The Kitchn. That was a good moment, when I was able to shout about my friend’s brilliant, delicious chips from the highest mountaintops of the food internet, and it’s experiences like that the keep me in the game.

quiet kids, mom’s entering her sour fruit-induced trance

It’s a Cold Fruit Summer for Old Steph. I want watermelon and pineapple on ice. I want frozen, shaved melon in a small, chilled bowl. But above all, I want vast quantities of Fruit Riot. My Official Bite of Summer, Fruit Riot (if you’ve somehow missed it on TikTok) is frozen fruit that’s been rolled in sour candy coating. It is the epitome of youthful exuberance. It tastes like listening to Spice Girls on a Discman on the bus. Like a hasty first kiss at the Scholastic Book Fair. Like a pinky swear exchanged between two best friends before they go down a water slide.

Fruit Riot launched with sour grapes, which is still my favorite, especially the mix (which includes the coveted [by me] mixed berry flavor), but since then, the brand has also introduced sour pineapple, sour mango, and candy-crunch cherry, plus a Tajin-blasted mango that I haven’t been able to find in stores and is, thus, a kind of white whale for me.

At around $8 for an 8 oz. bag, these aren’t the most affordable sweet treat out there, but at least there’s fruit involved. I just ordered some citric acid online so I can try to figure out my own recipe, but in the meantime, I will happily fork over my dollars to the Fruit Riot overlords. Go ahead and buy some; and no, I’m not going to see a penny of affiliate revenue.

What’s keeping you cool this apocalypse heat wave? Holler in the comments!

xox

SG