Saying goodbye to 2022
With an update for something new next year!
Hi friends!
Happy New Year’s Eve!
As a last hurrah, I thought I would take some time to reflect on my 2022 content creator journey. First off, I want to thank all of you, especially my regular readers, for supporting my work here on Substack. Although my primary content is video, I have always been a writer at heart. So it’s been wonderful having this platform to do something I enjoy and share my writing with you all.
This year (I suppose like every year since 2020) came with a big change. In March, after a lot of consideration, I decided to take the leap from blogging to creating my YouTube channel. It was quite honestly scary for me—having never made videos for the public eye—but without a shadow of a doubt, it was 100% the right thing to do. The challenge of making science more accessible and fun via video is thrilling, and along the way, I’ve grown more into the person I aspire to become. Things are still bumpy for me as a new YouTube content creator, but I’ve gradually shifted my mindset—from needing that constant success fix to learning essential skills that will prepare me for the next big thing that comes my way. As always, I like to say #smallbutmighty.
For 2023, I’m looking forward to honing my content strategy because strategy is foundational to a good business. But I’m also challenging myself to show up with all of my uniqueness and trusting that I will build the community I’ve always wanted to have.
2023 update!
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been brainstorming content ideas for next year and have a new series planned out for 2023. I’m calling it “Bite-Size Cooking Science,” and my goal is to create short-form videos featuring science-based ideas/tips I’ve adopted in my own kitchen. Since long-form content can be, well, long, I want to diversify and break down the science into even more digestible bits. I’d love for people to watch these videos and try some of the concepts at home.
So how does this fit with my regular YouTube videos? I’ll continue to post my long-form YouTube videos every other week per usual, but on the off weeks, I’ll be posting my short-form videos to YouTube shorts, Instagram reels, and TikTok. So find your favorite platform and follow along in the series! I’m going to try my best to sync the short- and long-form videos conceptually, but the beginning might be a bit more experimental, shall we say. (Thanks for your patience!)
The short-form videos will go up on Tuesdays and Thursdays every other week, starting January 10th, but if all goes well and/or I gain 200% more energy, I might consider more frequently than that. (I had originally planned this as a 365 day series, but after thinking about it, that sounded like an insane amount of work for me i.e. one regular human being.) 😂 So, here’s to a new adventure in 2023!
And whoa, I just discovered that Substack has a poll function! Polls are fun, so let’s do a couple here:
Trends for 2023
I saw these hilarious posts on Instagram:
Some of these are spot on. 😂 Along the lines of weird pestos and achaars, I really want to see more interesting pickled/fermented things (maybe more homemade miso pastes?? Or more things with kimchi?).
What do you guys think? What do you think is in/out?
The latest in my tiny kitchen
The third annual buche de Noel (yule log cake) happened on Christmas Day without too much of a fuss. The weather was great, so I was able to whip up the egg whites perfectly (but I will admit I did have the dehumidifier on as extra insurance). This year, I adapted my usual Cook’s Illustrated recipe to make a maple bourbon version with candied bacon and pecan praline bits. The bacon and pecan praline ended up being fun surprises in the cake (what I called “little pops of intrigue” on Instagram 😂).
On the other end of the flavor spectrum, I decided to try my hand at making kimchi for the first time. (Lesson learned: making kimchi at home is not for the faint of heart, or maybe more appropriately…nose.) I made this loosely based off Maangchi’s recipe — I added some Japanese glutinous rice flour for the paste (left over from making mochi ice cream), subbed dried anchovies for the salted shrimp (saujeot), and mixed in some Korean pear (which is traditional) *and* pineapple (less traditional). A while back, I watched the PBS special The Mind of a Chef with David Chang, and one of the episodes showed a Korean woman making kimchi with pineapple! So I decided I had to add that into the paste, plus part of a Korean pear (because well, I’m always extra when it comes to food).
Well, I can’t believe this is happening…but happy last day of 2022! Wishing you and yours a happy new year and see you in 2023! Cheers! 🎉🍾🥂