Welcome to the NeighborFood newsletter, a place filled with great food and the ordinary and profound conversations that happen around the kitchen island.
Please, grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair! Weâre here to talk about what itâs like to be a woman juggling kids, aging parents, and the fleeting hope that you might get to have dinner with friends sometime in the next 3 months.
Weâre here to share soup recipes and discuss that book we loved (or love to hate). Weâre here to talk about faith, and what it feels like when the religious scaffolding of your youth no longer holds you up.
Weâre here to embrace Good Enough Hospitality. Paper plates and the scrapings of your cheese drawer absolutely count.
Weâre here to talk about neighboring, an everyday practice of showing up for the people in your real life, with all your grief and joy, and letting them show up for you, too. My favorite way to neighbor is through food, but itâs only a small piece of the pie (Sorry, I hope youâre here for food puns, too!). Food is a medium to explore justice, politics, community, faith, motherhood, our relationship with our bodies, and a dozen other things that matter more than the food itself.
If youâre looking for a space where you can be a person whoâs still figuring it out, Hi! Welcome! Iâm Courtney, and Iâm right there with you. If youâre like, whoa, this person feels like a kindred spirit, please subscribe, and welcome to the NeighborFood Community.
More About Me
Iâm a mom of 2 boys, ages 10 and 7 (trying not to sob as I look at this old photo of them), and married to my college sweetheart. I wouldnât necessarily recommend getting married the same summer youâre legally allowed to drink, but itâs worked out pretty well for us. My husband and I work together on our recipe blog, NeighborFoodblog.com, and are currently dreaming about transforming an old church into a welcoming community space in Columbus, OH.
Iâm an enneagram 9 who deeply loves books, cozy blankets, and walks in the woods, but breaks into hives at a hint of conflict. Iâve lived my whole life in the Midwest and have roots in the Amish and Mennonite tradition, which means casseroles and baked goods are my native language.
I became a Christian before I could ride a bike, but my faith has changed and expanded dramatically over the last 30+ years. Despite my complicated relationship with big-C Christianity, I am still grounded in Love and stubbornly hopeful that all things will one day be redeemed.
Before I became a food blogger, I was a community organizer, and much of my love for food is tied to its power to bring people together across all kinds of social barriers.
I believe food is the greatest reminder of our common humanity, a thread that both ties us to one another and honors our vast and splendid diversity. Cooking is both deeply personal and communal at the same time. It animates our celebrations, comforts us in our grief, and surfaces a memory or connects us to our ancestors with a single bite.
Food has been the backdrop of the story of my life. I hope each time a new post or recipe hits your inbox, you feel like youâre getting a love letter from my kitchen to yours.
Why a Newsletter? And What Can I Expect?
I started this space as a way to reclaim the community aspect I so deeply missed from the dinosaur ages of blogging (ie: 2011-2015). This is a space where I can show up as a whole human being, and not just a recipe factory. I hope itâs a safe place for other hungry souls to show up and connect through food as well.
All subscribers receive:
A monthly round up of my favorite seasonal recipes
Essays on neighboring, building friendships, and hosting without losing your mind
Paid subscribers will also receive:
My most vulnerable essays, where we navigate deconstruction, grief, and the sandwich years of caregiving, together.
1 exclusive recipe each month
A quarterly âSnack Chatâ, where I imagine offering you a glass of sweet tea and sharing all the best things of the monthâbooks, recipes, tv shows, funny memes, itâs all fair game.
Access to the full exclusive recipe archive and a year of done-for-you monthly meal plans.
My Top Posts
You can get a feel for my writing and the community here with some of our top posts. I hope youâll poke around and say hi in the comments! Iâm so happy youâre here.
What I Mean When I Say Iâm Praying For You
Setting a Table in the Middle of the Hunger Games
Jesus on Rollerskates: The Spiritual Practice of Having Fun in Hard Times
Advent and the Weight of Expectations
25 of the Coolest Things You Can Get at the Library
Blueberry Muffins + A Baking Meditation to Process Grief
