Who is Sixburnersue?
Well, that would be me, Susie Middleton. Writer/editor/cook/farmer, amateur photographer. Author of four cookbooks, writer of essays, developer of many, many, many recipes. Year-round Martha's Vineyard resident since 2009. Celebrating 18 years of sobriety — to which nothing else can hold a candle.
Once upon a time, I was chief editor of Fine Cooking magazine. Now I work for the wonderful Vineyard Gazette Media Group as special projects editor, doing all the fun things, including editing a very cool cooking newsletter here on Substack called Cook the Vineyard.
I am obsessed with flowers – really and truly gobsmacked by their beauty. I’m in love with vegetables – the flavors, the colors, the textures. I had a small farm and operated a daily farm stand here on the Island for nine years. I am currently building out a new small farm with my husband and growing a lot of flowers.
What Do Flowers and Vegetables and Serenity Have To Do With Each Other?
What I’m most interested in these days is the pursuit of serenity – how being outside in nature and tending my garden quiets the chatter in my head, calms my anxiety, and feeds my spiritual quest. How diving into a creative project – whether it’s arranging flowers or making a photo collage or designing a garden – brings me so much joy and peace. How listening to my gut not only rewards me with good decisions (and there were so many bad ones over the years!), but also helps me stay aligned with the true Susie, the one who was hidden behind a curtain for so long.
What Can Sixburnersue the Newsletter Do for You?
I began my professional life as an editorial assistant at Seventeen magazine, where I learned the art of service journalism. It’s not very sexy, but it’s all about the reader (that means you!). I’ve never really been able to get past that – in the recipes and cookbooks I’ve written, in the essays and magazine articles I write, I’m always thinking, “What can I do to help you?”
My hope is that by sharing my experience — the tools that work for me, the beauty that inspires me, the frustrations that I grapple with, the books that rivet me, the wonders of the special place I live — I might help you find joy and peace, make a needed change, find a better solution, shuck the regrets and resentments, embrace gratitude. Yeah, that’s a tall order, but I can try, can’t I?
P.S. I’ve been writing a blog on and off (but mostly on) over at sixburnersue.com since 2010. I was thrilled to move over here to Substack in January of 2023, and in addition to welcoming all of my loyal long-time readers, have been so happy to welcome hundreds more who are hopping on board for the first time.
Ready to subscribe?
Yippee! Thank you for your support. If you opt for a free subscription, you’ll be hearing from me every other week, usually in an essay-with-photographs format. You can expect those every other Sunday morning at 6 a.m.!
If you opt for a paid subscription, you’ll receive an essay from me every Sunday as well as two bonus posts each month. One of the bonus posts will be a Garden Gram (notes from the farm, growing tips, and flower varieties) and one will be a version of my original Sidebar posts, which offer ideas, recommendations, and occasional recipes. These will mail out to you on a Thursday or Friday before the Sunday essay. As a paid subscriber, you’ll also have full access to the archives, participation in commenting, and other goodies.
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