The Ladle is the SimmerStead newsletter. I send it on Saturday morning. It is one email with the soup, stew, or chowder I worked on that week, cooked and re-cooked until the pot was right, plus the step that takes a soup from thin and forgettable to worth the afternoon. I cook the slow way, on real stock, and the newsletter is written from a chair next to that pot.
What lands in your inbox
- One tested soup recipe for the week. Full ingredient list, the simmer time that actually matters, and the point in the process where most people stop too early.
- A short note on the technique behind it. Building a stock, layering flavor, rescuing a pot that came out flat or too salty. The why, not just the what.
- One reader question from the inbox, answered properly. Usually a substitution, a “can I freeze this,” or a “why is mine watery” question, because those are the ones I get most.
It takes about four minutes to read. If a week’s cooking produced nothing worth your stockpot, I say so and skip rather than pad it.
What you will not get
- Daily email. One issue a week is the whole deal.
- Recipes I have not made myself. If the pot did not come out right in my kitchen, it does not go out in yours.
- Sponsored posts dressed up as a recipe. If a partnership ever runs, the subject line says so and the rules on the affiliate disclosure page apply.
- Your email handed to anyone outside the vendors named in the privacy policy.
After you sign up
You will get a confirmation email within a few minutes, sent through Mailchimp. Click the link inside and you are on the list. The next Saturday issue arrives in the morning, US Eastern time. If the confirmation never shows up, check spam first, then write to me through the contact page and I will add you by hand.
Your email, and what happens to it
- The only thing I ask for is your email address. A first name is optional and only used to say hello.
- Every issue has a one-click unsubscribe in the footer. It works immediately. I keep a record of the address only so the system never re-adds you by mistake.
- The newsletter is intended for readers in the United States. If you subscribe from the EU, UK, or EEA, the transfer of your email relies on standard contractual clauses, and you keep every right described in the privacy policy.
Trouble, or you want back in
If the unsubscribe link misbehaves, you want to change the address on file, or you left and want to come back, send a message through the contact page. I sort these out within a couple of weekdays.
Last updated: 22 May 2026