@ Zap Cooking⚡️👨🏻‍🍳

LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER | FEATURED RECIPE | MICROFICTION | FOOD NOTE QUOTE | SOUNDS | NOSTR MARKETPLACE | REAL REVIEWS | COMMUNITY ALBUM | NEW RECIPES | FIN

LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER 📝

A Year of Growth and Gratitude

As we approach the end of the year, it’s the perfect moment to pause and reflect. 2024 has been a transformative year for Zap Cooking. What started as a simple idea has grown into a vibrant, connected community. From recipes to shared stories, the #zapcooking tag has become a rallying point for food enthusiasts everywhere, and it’s inspiring to see how this shared passion is bringing people together.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible support and dedication of Sarah, who pours her heart into crafting these newsletters. Sarah, thank you for helping us share the joy of cooking and community with so many.

I am deeply grateful, grateful for you, our community, for nostr, for the milestones we’ve reached, and for the challenges that have helped us grow. Zap Cooking is about more than food; it’s about connections, creativity, and collaboration. Together, we’ve built something special, and I’m excited for what 2025 holds.

Here’s to another year of cooking, connecting, and creating together. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Cheers!

Seth

Founder, Zap Cooking

FEATURED RECIPE 🥪

Nostrville 2.0 was located in Nashville, Tennessee. This music destination featured some powerhouse food establishments, such as Ladybird Taco, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken Sandwiches, Pancake Pantry, and Modell’s infamous family-style breakfast; however, it was the people from Louisiana who brought their A-game to the shared kitchen at the after-party rental.

The lovely Rupert and her giant, Kajoozie, served up a traditional gumbo that had all of us reaching for a second bowl… or perhaps a fourth bowl. It was that good! They were also kind enough to share their recipe with all of us.

Rupert and Kajoozie’s #Nostr Famous Gumbo https://substack.com/home/post/p-152296981

MICROFICTION 📖

GIFTS by RustyPuppy

Every Christmas Eve (and by 'every' Aaran meant those he could remember, which, being eight years old, was not many), after the dinner dishes had been washed, and the family settled into the living room to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," his nani would start chopping vegetables. Aaran once asked why she didn't cook Santa's beef stew when she prepared their dinner. Because she wanted the stew to be fresh, came the answer. Aaron knew better than to ask how something that needed to simmer for five hours could be considered 'fresh.'

Everyone knew their grandmother's beef stew, placed in front of the fireplace in a hand-made bowl wrapped in a dish towel to keep warm, was eaten by the dog after everyone went to bed. And every year, she insisted Santa needed a hot, healthy meal.

None of the children could believe anyone would choose vegetables over cookies. Shari, the girl next door, made peanut cookies for Santa. Aaron had helped mix the dough last year. He was forbidden from adding the frosting because Shari needed the perfect amount atop each cookie so she could write her name in the sugary mix with a toothpick. Depending how guilty she felt about the year, she sometimes added candy beads.

One year, a cousin asked if Santa really ate all of those hundreds? thousands? millions? of cookies. An uncle said, "Of course, that's why he's so fat," while Aaaran's mother said, "Of course not, he gives them to children who don't have sweets," and Nani added "And those who still want to believe in him."

Aaran secretly wanted to believe his nani, because his older brothers had teased him for writing his Christmas wish letter, saying Santa was only real for babies. He didn't want to be a baby, but he still wanted to believe in the magic that was Santa.

At last, the evening ended. Some returned to their homes; the rest returned to their rooms. Nani set her bowl under the stockings. Aaran hesitated on the stairs, but the thought of seeing the dog actually eat the stew made his eyes wet. He stepped over his cousin's sleeping bag, got into bed, and dreamed of flying reindeer.

In the morning, as the children opened their gifts and the adults took turns making coffee and tea, Nani asked Aaran to bring her the stew bowl. He looked at the dog, currently surrounded by shreds of wrapping paper, panting happily with a bow on his head. Picking up the bowl, Aaron saw something within; a peanut cookie with the name Shari written in the frosting.

RECIPE REFERENCES:

Lovely Indian beefstew with coconut milk & Ultimate Peanut Cookies https://substack.com/home/post/p-152296981

FOOD NOTE QUOTE 🗒️

Today someone took a picture of my latte art after I handed them their cup 💜 and it made my day. Celebrate the small things. 😊 - TKay

SOUNDS 🔊

At Bitcoin Park in Nashville, Tennessee, the adorable cuties Mallory, Other Mallory, Island, and Sergio, along with help from Fountain, Phantom Power and Tunestr.io organized a night of activities, food, art, and a live acoustic music panel featuring four absolutely talented musicians - Ainsley Costello, Amber Sweeney, Luke Wood, and Jo Corso. SoupBox was honored to sit down with Amber to chat about music, fostering dogs from Wags and Walks, and food | Listen Now: SoupBox with Sarah | Featuring Amber Sweeney

https://fountain.fm/episode/nvwD83sajCiFNqTP4tYu

https://feeds.rssblue.com/soupbox

Short from Nashville | OpenMike | Tunestr

https://v.nostr.build/yLufD7GbwOPI3EgA.mp4

NOSTR MARKETPLACE 💳

Find Your Holiday Gifts on Nostr | Value for Value (aka V4V) #circulareconomy

Agi Choote | Art Prints | Find on Nostr!

Amber Sweeney | Custom Songs for Any Occasion | https://www.theambersweeney.com/merch/custom-songs

Ant Richard | Limited Custom Handcrafted Knife Gift Certificates (12-month waitlist for all custom handmade orders) | Find on Nostr!

Apotheca Viva | https://apothecaviva.love/

Aupa Bars | https://eataupa.com/

Barnminer’s Barn Jerky | Find on Nostr!

Billay Coffee | https://billaycoffee.com/

BitBees | Honey & Honey Products | https://www.kittrellsdaydream.com/

Bitcoin Blankets ⚡️| Website Coming Soon!

Bitpopart | https://bitpopart.com/ | https://www.storeofvalue.eu/collections/christmas-collection

BTC Aloha | Bitcoin Beachwear & Accessories | https://btcaloha.shop/

BtcPins | https://btcpins.com/

Cannabis Records | https://cannabisrecords.store/

CryptoCloaks | https://www.cryptocloaks.com/shop/

Delgado’s Fuego | https://delgadosfuego.com/

Dot GNT | Laser Engravings | https://dotgnt.codeberg.page/

Finca Yabisi | https://yabisi.farm/

Foxfire Mushrooms | https://foxfiremushrooms.com/

Golden Tallow | https://goldentallow.com/

GoodBeans 🇸🇻 Coffee | https://thegoodbeans.com/

Isolabell.art | https://isolabell.art/

Jake Wolki | https://wolkifarm.com.au/

Keto Beejay | Low Sugar Jerky | https://ketolish.us/ | https://ketobeejay.npub.pro/

Kanuto Takumi San | Find on Nostr!

Laser Eyes Cards | https://lasereyes.cards/

LeatherMint | https://theleathermint.com/

Lightning Store | https://lightning.store/

LightningSpore | Full Service Mushroom Cultivation Company | https://www.lightningspore.com/

Lost Sheep Ranch | https://www.lost-sheep-ranch.com/

Lucho Poletti | Art Prints and Merchandise | https://luchopoletti.com/

Madex | Art & Apparel | https://madex.art/collections/in-stock

MapleTrade | Find on Nostr!

Matthew D | https://whitepaperstreetsoap.com/

Next Block Coffee | https://nextblockcoffee.com/

NoGood | Jake Wolki | https://wolkifarm.com.au/

PatsPropolisHoney | Find on Nostr!

Peony Lane Wine | Ben Justman | https://www.peonylanewine.com/

PlebianMarket | https://plebeian.market/

PictureRoom | Assorted Dessert Treats | Find on Nostr!

Regenerative Farmed Meats & Knives | AgrarianContrarian | Find on Nostr!

RustyPuppy | Art and Stories | https://heidi2524.com/

Salt of the Earth | Premium Electrolyte Mix | https://drinksote.com/

Satoshi Coffee Company | https://sats.coffee/

Scott & Son | Animal Portraits, Prints, and Apparel | https://xavierscraftworkanddesign.com/t-shirts

SofterSkin Tallow Skincare | https://softerskin.co/

Shopstr | https://shopstr.store/

Soap Miner | Tallow Body Soap Bars

SweetSats | Honey | https://sweetsats.io/

Veiled Mycology | https://veiledmycology.com/

Yojimbo | Jam & Marmalade | https://jimblesjumble.odoo.com/

REAL REVIEWS ⭐

BitBees | Honey & Honey Products | https://www.kittrellsdaydream.com/ | By Rupert

If you follow me or have ever had the pleasure of chatting with me on cornychat.com or hivetalk.org, you’ll know how proud I am of my Cajun heritage. For me, that means memories of long, hot summer days in South Louisiana, plenty of mosquito bites, the humming of cicadas in the cypress trees, and my grandfather’s bee boxes abuzz with fuzzy little workers.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting our famed #nostr beekeepers, @bitbees and @kingbee, and the absolute joy of tasting the labors of the wee little friends they care for. @KajoozieMaflingo and I purchased both their wildflower and gallberry varieties, and we were able to pay with BTC! (BONUS!) The wildflower was chef’s-kiss perfection, but my taste buds were instantly rocketed back to my childhood when I tried the lovingly and aptly nicknamed “swamp honey.”

Its pale color might fool you into thinking it has a lighter flavor than its rich and flavorful counterpart, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s crisp and bright, with a mellow sweetness balanced by a slight tang to finish. It’s the ideal pairing with my favorite chamomile tea before bedtime.

This was my first purchase, but it will not be my last. By far, this is one of the most delicious use cases for Bitcoin I’ve come across to date.

Keto Beejay | Low Sugar Jerky | https://ketolish.us/ | https://ketobeejay.npub.pro/ | By The Beave

I recently had the pleasure of ordering four types of beef jerky from Beejay, the proprietress of http://ketolish.us. I was intrigued by her offerings and ended up ordering plain, pickle, pizza, and pepper. My order took a while to go through, mostly because Beejay and I were figuring out how to move sats around without it being too much of a pain in the butt. However, once finalized, everything shipped promptly and arrived quickly in a well-packed parcel. Beejay is also very good to communicate with, and I will gladly purchase more from her in the future.

I will start off the reviews with the most surprising of the batch: pizza. This was simply outstanding. I was shocked at how much it reminded me of eating pizza. I can't recommend this one enough! My second favorite pick is the pickle flavor. I love pickles. (I cannot express how much I love pickled things to you in words!) This was also very good, with the dill seasoning being front and center but restrained enough not to completely overpower the delicious beefiness of the jerky. A note on the texture: the jerky is ground, so it is not as tough as other jerkies you might try. This is a very new thing to me, and I rather enjoyed the novelty of the experience. The peppered jerky was full of pepper. This might be too much pepper for some, as it reminded me of the pepper-covered salami you can get at a good Italian pork store. Lastly, the plain jerky was delicious in its own right, though I would have preferred a touch more salt. I would order all of these again and am looking forward to ordering other flavors in the future, especially the bison!

COMMUNITY ALBUM 📷

Photos & Videos by Mandana from NextBlock & Flirting with Bitcoin, Efrat Fenigson, Ava, Birthday B, Vic from CornyChat, Tortuga, Mallory, Island, Jack Spirko, Paul Keating, BreadandToast.com, Nos.Social and Sarah SoupBox

View the Album: https://substack.com/home/post/p-152296981

NEW RECIPES 🍲

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In November, we received an incredible surge of over 30 recipes submitted to Zap Cooking! That's a fantastic leap from the three or four we typically see each week! Dive into one, two, or even all of them, and don’t forget to share your reviews and mouthwatering photos on Nostr using #foodstr. We’d also love to see your favorite personal or family recipes—let’s keep the culinary creativity flowing!

Corn Pudding, The Beef Panzone, Vodka Pie Crust, Short Rib Barbacoa Tacos, Guiness Beef Stew with Pickled Pearl Onions, Fast AF Beef Stroganoff, Dark Chocolate Mincemeat, Vic’s London Broil, Easy Wholemeal Spelt Flour Bread, Mamma SLCW’s Cranberry Sauce, Hot Dog Nachos, Italian Wedding Soup, Mapo Tofu Curry, Hot Honey Crispy Salmon Bowls, Curried Butternut Squash Soup, Best Damn Oven Baked Chicken Legs, Chocolate Creme Pie, Broccoli Beef, Tuscan Steak and Green Peppers, Easy Carne Asada, InstantPot Chicken Tortilla Soup, Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Fried Shallots, Bang Bang Shrimp, Rupert and Kajoozie’s #Nostr Famous Gumbo, The Best Lamb Winter Stew, Avery’s Hot Wallet Salsa, Candied Pecans, Pumpkin Bread, Breakfast Casserole with Sausage and Egg, Gold & Silver Soup, Mr. G’s Homemade Chicken Pasta Salad, Ultimate Peanut Cookies

The recipe links are available here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-152296981

FIN 🤠

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