The 2024 Keepers

Plus my family's longstanding NYE ritual

I have to start this final newsletter send of 2024 with my grandmother’s New Year’s Eve ritual, believed to usher in health and prosperity for the year ahead.

If you’ve been reading along for a little while you surely already know it. But everyone in my family has followed this tradition for many decades now, and if nothing else it makes the year’s close feel complete:

On New Year’s Eve, grab your favorite mug or coffee cup. Put a quarter, dime, nickel, and penny in it. Go outside and put the mug somewhere where it will get “lots of air” (Grandma’s insistence — I have done my best with a fire escape, which is to say that if you don’t have a whole lot of outdoor access, don’t be dismayed). Leave it there until the morning.

That’s it. I mean, it’s so easy, so why not?

I find this to be such a funny week, a mixed bag of forward- and backward looking. The holiday disruption throws off my schedule and leaves me a little out of whack, including my eating and cooking.

Maybe it’s for the best to feel a little off-kilter looking into a new year? The only remedy is some rest, quiet focus, and forced resolve, and looking back on the past 12 months in recipes has been a helpful steer for me. Below you’ll find my favorites, all unlocked.

I hope you’ve got the kind of year end that you most desire, whether that’s a prolonged session of goal-setting and reflection, a big party with bubbly and lots of snacks, or something else entirely.

Thank you as always for reading and cooking along, I’m looking forward to what we’ll be cooking in the new year ahead.

—Lukas

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My 2024 Keepers

I’ve unlocked all of these recipes for everyone to access, and will keep them that way until the ball drops.

• Extreme Green Sandwich

• One-Pot Pasta & Beans with Asparagus

• Stout Bread with Barley Flour (and lots of butter)

• Honey-Butter Tempeh with Asparagus (thank you

  Ali Slagle
  for the opportunity to develop this one)

• Higher Protein Zucchini Slice

• Erin Alderson’s Chipotle Pinto Bean Stew

• Earl Grey Overnight Oats

• Halloumi-Stuffed Dates with Honey & Lime

• Briny Wild Rice Salad with Charred Scallions & Tomatoes

• Tomato-Egg Tartlets in Yeasted Olive Oil Crust

• Butternut Squash Protein Porridge

• Strawberry Galettes (not a 2024 recipe, but it was certainly a highlight to make these for Alice Waters! You can find my recipe on page 237 of Start Simple.)

What are your 2024 keepers? I’d love to hear!