If there is one lesson I’ve gained from social distancing, it’s that even the most introverted of people need connection. Not being able to join my friends for our monthly cookbook club has left a hole in my heart and it has only confirmed that people coming together over food has tremendous healing power.

Thankfully, my friends have found a way to keep calm, keep cooking, and keep connecting through Zoom calls and cooking the same recipes, which got me thinking…why not create something similar for our community?? The silver lining in this scary time is that it’s brought out the best in our communities and I’m hoping we can find ways to support each other beyond words on a screen. 

How will it work, you ask?

Each Sunday, you’ll receive an email from me, Kate Arends (in case you didn’t know), highlighting three recipes. When you join our email list, you will receive a detailed email explaining how to participate, recommended pantry items and other ingredients to have on hand, a list of kitchen tools we will be using, and a preview of the eight cookbooks we will be cooking from. 

The schedule:

Week One: The Art of the Pantry by Claire Thomson

Week Two: Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin

Week Three: Gjelina by Travis Lett

Week Four: Indian(-ish) by Priya Krishna

Week Five: Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi

Week Six: Sababa by Adeena Sussman

Week Seven: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

Week Eight: Where Cooking Begins by Carla Lalli Music

Starting next week, I will be cooking one recipe from each of these books on Wednesday nights. That doesn’t mean you have to cook ON Wednesday, but if you want to be with me in spirit, please do! The process will be shared on our Instagram. 

You can participate in two ways:

1. Buy the book and cook whatever you want. This works great if you want to set a menu for your friends or you don’t like being told what to do. I won’t take it personally—I don’t like being bossed around either. 😉

2. You choose 1-3 of the recipes I handpick each week. You can still do this with friends—it’s actually a lot of fun to cook the same dish all together on a Zoom call. It’s fun to do it alone, too.

Finally, we want to share your creation! Please tag us on Instagram using our handle, @witanddelight_ and using #WDcookbookclub. We will be sharing your meals, Zoom screenshots, and epic fails—ALL OF IT—with our community. 

I’m not a chef or food blogger, and that’s part of the fun of this. We’re going to figure it out together, and I’ll be available to answer your questions as you cook your way through our book selections.

Let’s get started! Sign up here to officially get on our list, and all the details will come straight to your inbox. And please know that when we can get together in person again (because that day will indeed come), we’ll be putting together another round of cookbook club that we can all participate in face-to-face, from the comfort of our friends’ homes or our family members’ homes or from wherever we’d like.

Happy cooking, my friends!

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.