Exciting times! I turned in the manuscript for my cookbook and was so excited that I posted about it on Instagram. Weird times! Someone that I don’t know replied to my excitement by telling me I was fat, along with some other not-so-nice things.
If felt pretty bad.
Of course, my husband told me to not worry about it. My agent told me that the more exposure I get, the more negative comments I’ll get. My friend told me that’s just what happens on the Internet and I need to learn to cope better. But I don’t want to learn to cope. It’s not cool or acceptable for people to treat anyone that way.
Let’s think about it in terms of real life (offline) for a second: it’s basically inviting someone over to your house, sharing your space with them, and then they tell you all the reasons they think you’re terrible and that they didn’t want to come over in the first place. If someone did this in real life, you’d ask them to leave, tell them to never come over again, and lock the door. But on the Internet, we just have to deal because that’s what people do? I don’t know about you, but I only want to surround myself with people that actually like me.
If you belong to my Sunday newsletter, you know that I’ve been migrating most of the OPP content there. I think it’s where things are headed in terms of sharing. With all the algorithms, people not wanting to be on social as much (real life can be very cool), and there just being sooooo much stuff out there to look at – it feels harder to connect and see the stuff you actually want to see. I realized I could sit around and complain about algorithms and the state of social media or I could do something about it, so I decided to make the newsletter more of a priority. And by doing this, it’s created a community that feels more intimate and real.
After my little trolling experience, I felt even better about this decision. I love getting constructive feedback and ways I can improve this site and the podcast – but I’m not into being part of a community that thinks it’s cool to tear people down. We’re one big happy family on Sundays. And I’m really proud of that.
If you want to join the newsletter, it’s free and you can leave whenever you please. Lately, it’s had lots of behind the scene photos, new books + products + people that are inspiring, deep topics, not-so-deep topics, and just a ton of stuff that you’ll only find there. I know in the coming months, I’ll be revealing the cover to my book and the special person that wrote the foreword there too. I’d love for you to join us on Sundays (you can sign up here).
Until Sunday, a new recipe. Yes, I’ll still be sharing recipes here – I’m not going to vanish completely. I’m just going to be posting more of the good, good in the newsletter.
This week I’ve got my new favorite, Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins. I love these muffins because they aren’t too sweet, but blueberries add just a hit of the sweetness you want from a muffin. If blueberries aren’t your thing, mix in some sliced jalapeños instead and serve them up with some chili.
Love,
JM
{ Blueberry Cornbread Muffins }
Makes 12 muffins
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoons water)
1 cup cornmeal (I like medium grain)
½ cup almond meal
½ cup brown rice flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 baking cups.
In a small bowl, combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar. In another small bowl, make your flax egg by stirring together flax meal and water. Set both aside and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flours, baking powder, and salt together. Add almond milk mixture, flax egg, and maple syrup the bowl. Stir to combine, but do not overstir. Add the olive oil and blueberries and stir again until combined.
Use 1/4 cup of batter for each muffin tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.