What PTFSers Dug in 2024

5 conversations, 12 top recipes and ingredient tips and more!

What a year 2024 was! I hope your solar New Year arrived with extra hope for good health, prosperity, and life satisfaction.

I’m writing to you from the above vantage point in Hawaii. We are very lucky to have friends hosting us on Kauai.

Thank you for being here in 2024. Your enthusiasm yielded the following:

• Total dispatches: 77

• Total subscribers: 33% growth, from 13,811 to 18,365

• Paid subscribers: 36% growth, from 498 to 678 monthly and annual subscribers (the total includes 21 extra generous Founding Members!)

Many, many thanks to all paid subscribers. I never thought people would financially support my online work. On a weekly basis, I spend two-plus days days producing PTFS. I do not have a staff, except for my husband Rory, who proofreads and is paid in food, hugs and kisses. Join us in 2025 as a free or paid subscriber!

What did we enjoy last year?

5 Top Conversations

I’m usually a private person but decided to tackle midlife health issues last year. I didn’t know if I’d scare people off — talking about menopause and being crabby about the Mediterranean diet. You were into it, along with good reading recommendations. I thank you kindly for reacting and contributing insights on the following:

• Why the Mediterranean Diet Needs a Name Change

• A Chinese-Mediterranean Diet for Longevity

• Taking a Pause for Menopause

• Menopause Revisited: the HRT Edition

• 16 Noteworthy Books of 2024

12 Favorite Recipes + Ingredient Tips

Viet coffee drinks, sticky rice and chicken, bo kho bolognese, smoky eggplant, and sticky rice, shiitake and chestnut dressing

PTFS recipes in 2024 were inspired and informed by our conversations on eating healthily and my travels. Recipes included pointers on using microwave ovens for modern takes on Viet dishes. The delicious coffee drinks tell interesting stories about Vietnam’s coffee culture.

• Bo Kho Bolognese

• Vietnamese Sticky and Roast Chicken Upgrade

• Minimal Mess Smoky Eggplant and Garlicky Scallion Oil

• Sticky Rice Dressing with Shiitake and Chestnut

• Salt Coffee and Egg Coffee Recipes

We also tackled tofu. There’s so much bean curd to unpack, cook up, and explore. I hope you won’t tire of tofu because I have more information and cooking ideas.

• Tofu Myths, Truths, and Vagaries

• Fried Tofu 411: An Easy, Low-Fat, Tasty Option

• 5 Effortless Chilled Tofu Recipes

• Tofu Noodle Salad with Chile Crisp

• Vietnamese Spicy Tofu and Tomato

• Lean and Luscious Tofu: 2 Fried Tofu Recipes

• Shira-Ae Tofu Salad

Wait, there’s more!

✅ Check out more tips and recipes in the PTFS recipe archives (free and paywalled). And don’t forget to hang out at Vietworldkitchen.com (always free) for ideas like:

• 5 tools for charring vegetables well

• Buying guide for microwave splatter guards

• Chicken tikka skewers

What’s in store

PTFS is an experiment to create a community around Asian food, cooking and culture. I feel like I’ve figured out a rhythm for publishing engaging content at a pace that is sustainable. The 2024 virtual cooking classes were a blast and I’ll have more in 2025.

Meantime, I hope you’re getting recharged and super energized for the next twelve months to come.