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Natalie Litofsky

@positivelynatalie.bsky.social

130 followers 160 following 660 posts

Writer | Editor | Pop Culture Nonfiction Publisher | Horror Podcaster Mainly comprised of coffee, cheese, and zombie movie hot takes. 📚 atbpublishing.com

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 9d

To celebrate my favorite season, every day in October I'll post a random autumnal recipe from my collection of vintage and branded cookbooks.

🍎 October 1: More Joys of JELL-O (1993) brings us Harvest Pie. It's a throw-it-all-in sweet stuff extravaganza + apples and nuts in a graham cracker crust.

Recipe for Harvest Pie. Ingredients include milk, pudding mix, Cool Whip, graham cracker crust, chopped apple, nuts, mini marshmallows, and caramel sauce.

Front cover of the recipe book More Joys of JELL-O.

Photo of Harvest Pie, which is a graham cracker crust absolutely overflowing with chopped apples, nuts, and mini marshmallows, covered in caramel sauce. Also pictured at the bottom is Maple Walnut Cheesecake.

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 11h

Hope you feel better soon!

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 11h

Ugh, sorry to hear it. If you want to mix it up with your hot liquids, a go-to remedy I picked up when I lived in China (and still swear by to this day) is hot Coca-Cola. Boil in a pot for a bit with a big chunk of ginger until it's molten and it's like a magic elixir.

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 17h

🍎🍖 October 10: Cutco Cook Book (1961) wants to sell you knives by telling you what to make with them.

Looking to use up all that extra ham broth? Why not make Cider Sauce to serve with (you guessed it) ham. With both apple cider AND jelly in the mix, it feels more like ham dessert syrup to me.

Front cover of the Cutco Cook Book. The word "Cutco" is on top of an illustration of one of the company's knives, and around the edges are atomic-era style illustrations of food and knives together.

Two-page spread from the Cutco Cook Book. On the left page is several sauce recipes with yellow, atomic-age style illustrations of a woman washing dishes, and on the right page is an ad for "Distinctively Styled Meat Knives" with a photo of the set and description.

Recipe for Cider Sauce. There is a yellow and black illustration of a sauce dish in the top corner. Ingredients include butter, flour, ham broth or water, cider, and apple jelly.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 22h

These are all amazing! I love pumpkin carving conceptually, but I've found that I'm not very skilled at it myself. 😅

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 1d

Why not go all out and make it an interactive experience?

Scene from The Menu where everyone is sitting at tables wearing chocolate hats and marshmallow jackets, surrounded by graham cracker dust.

Reposted by Natalie Litofsky

Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 1d

A+ headline, no notes.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

You won’t believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned

Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists The pope has condemned clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism, at a private audience with global newswires. Australian media representatives were among those to hear directly from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday with about 150 members of newswire alliance Minds International. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 1d

Just received what is quite possibly the best marketing email I've ever seen.

High fives to the team. Treat yourself to a celebratory pepperoni and apple pizza.

Email from the company Slice. The subject line is the thinking emoji, followed by the text, "You like weird stuff, don't you Natalie?"

Four photos of different pizzas assembled together in a rectangle. The toppings appear to be chicken and tomatoes, olives, pineapple and ham, and pickles. There is red and yellow stylized block text over the photos that says, "Gettin' Weird?" and under that the heading, "You Put What On Huh?"

Illustration of a pizza cut into 4 quarters that represents the suggestions in the email. These are, sausage and pickles, broccoli and olives, anchovy and pineapple, and pepperoni and apple. Text underneath talks about "Pepperoni & Green Apple Slices: Beat the Italian heat with crisp, tart freshness. Two slices are better than one."

Bottom of the email. Text says, "No One's Looking... We're right here, and we won't say a thing". Under that is a yellow CTA button that says, "Get Weird."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 1d

Accidentally perfect pause screen, PSYCH edition.

Photo of TV paused during the Psych episode "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast." It shows Juliette's hands with manicured nails holding open and invitation that says, "God's gift is forgiveness. Please join us in remembering our daughter. Your attendance would be greatly appreciated. What: Candlelight Vigil. When: Tonight. Where: At Wispy Sunny Pines."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 1d

🍎🍞 October 9: Bird Feed (1999) is one of several charity cookbook editions created by the Baltimore Orioles in the 90s.

Apple French Toast recipe is pretty basic, but I do like the idea of using tart apples. Plus, you can tell everyone you learned it from professional baseball guy Terry Crowley.

Front cover of a charity cookbook called Bird Feed: Favorite Family Recipes of the Baltimore Orioles. It features an illustration of the Oriole Bird mascot with a bib on, holding a fork and spoon, with hands coming in from all sides offering different dishes of food.

Photo of a two-page spread open in a spiral-bound book with orange paper and black text. On the left page is a caricature illustration of Terry Crowley making apple french toast. On the right is the recipes for Apple French Toast and Lemon Trifle.

Close-up of the recipe for Apple French Toast. Ingredients include brown sugar, white bread, margarine, eggs, water, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and Granny Smith apples.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 1d

All harvest season holidays should revolve around al fresco dining.

View from inside a sukkah looking out the opening at yard and trees.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

+1 for habanero. There are a few cultivars that are green, so they may actually stay that way or more likely go red/orange.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

I'm fascinated by how, if you zoom in, it looks like nana is holding some sort of ghost violin.

Like, the warped HDR processing gone haywire is one thing, but the addition of imaginary artifacts is the icing on this bizarre cake.

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

🎃🧺 October 8: How to Garnish (1983) is here to celebrate decorative gourd season.

Why eat it when you can carve a Butternut Squash Basket and stick *other* veg inside it instead? It honestly seems like a lot of work that would just result in soggy breadsticks and celery that tastes of raw squash.

Front cover of How to Garnish: Illustrated step-by-step instructions. It features a photo of an island scene carved entirely from fruits and vegetables, including palm trees made of carrots, a zucchini whale, and a pineapple hut.

Recipe page for Butternut Squash Basket, with instructions and black-and-white illustrations showing where to cut.

Close-up of the carving instructions for a Butternut Squash Basket. It reads, "Slice off a thin section from the bottom of the squash to form a stable base and remove the stem. To make the handle make two long cuts 3/4 of an inch apart halfway down the squash. Make two short cuts on the sides and remove the two side sections. Use a knife to remove the pulp inside the handle. Hollow out the inside of the basket with a melon baller."

Full color photo of the Butternut Squash Basket, filled with cut vegetables and breadsticks.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

And since it's October, please enjoy(?) this horror story of someone finding venomous spiders had set up a happy little home in their unused dishwasher.

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "I had a co-worker once who never used it. She said when they got ready to move they went to clean it and found black widows inside of it. For her, it was cultural. I had another co-worker who refused to use it because it was 'more expensive.' I could not convince her dishwashers used less water than hand washing."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, I mean I'm definitely not going to fight the efficiency good fight in the comments, but some others have jumped in to try to debunk. I feel like it's a case of people *wanting* to feel a certain way about not using it, like it's some sort of work ethic = good person situation.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks to this post, I have also learned that there are a fair number of people who store PET FOOD and SNACKS in the dishwasher.

I mean, if you are that committed to not using it, why not just... remove it? And put in a shelf?

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "My house is a step above a tiny house and I prefer handwashing and having the dishwasher as a pantry/storage space for my pets' extra food. I have no pantry and very little cupboard space. My closet space throughout the rest of the house is laughable."

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "My aunt stores snacks in hers because it's just her and my uncle now that their kids are grown."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

I tried engaging with a few comments to help me understand why, but pretty much all the explanations were some version of this one: "Never had the need or interest I suppose."

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "Bought a house with one and have never used it in the 7 years so far." Original poster replies with "Interesting! Any particular reason? I've lived in places without a dishwasher before, and having one now I'd never want to go back to hand washing everything." The person comes back with the reply, "Never had the need or interest I suppose."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 2d

Waking up to this dishwasher post on Threads overflowing with comments, 80% of which are on the side of never using it and/or actively hating it.

Since the Threads algorithm prioritizes showing people content they're inclined to argue with, I'm not exactly taking this as a representative sample.

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "We have never had a dishwasher..don't care for them."

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "Appalachain here, I grew up without a dishwasher and worked dozens of food jobs over the years. I use the dishwasher as a drying rack if I even remember I have one. Just got it in me early on to do the dishes as I go and I feel I'm 10000x faster and more energy efficient so I never changed. Kudos to people who find them useful!"

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "I have disliked dishwashers since the 70's. Needing a spoon and having to go into the dishwasher and fetch a dirty one and wash it. Not my dishwasher. I love my dishes. I cook and clean as I go. My kitchen is always neat and tidy and quiet. I don't have enough storage for pots so they live in the dishwasher. And if you want teenage sons to talk? Have them help you with dishes!"

Reply to the dishwasher post that says, "Im positive the amount of water and electricity it uses is way more than doing by hand, and it's done faster by hand."

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 3d

Because the Threads algorithm LOVES boosting posts with a random question, this is getting quite a lot of interaction over there.

It was an earnest question, but I was not prepared for how many people would be proud to declare that they never use their dishwasher and never will.

Screen grab from a Threads post. The top post is the same text as the original post in this Bluesky post thread. The reply is from someone who said, "I had a dish washer in last house for 15 years and never used it, been in current house a year and I've not used the one here either and never plan to."

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 3d

Just saw a commercial that started with a lady saying, "Have a dishwasher, but only use it as storage or a drying rack?"

Are there actually people out there with dishwashers who don't use them to wash dishes? I feel like the ad is based off... some kind of research? But I'm seriously perplexed.

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 3d

When I was a kid, on a trip to Germany, I saw wild pigs behind a HEFTY fence in the Black Forest. I wanted to get closer, but locals convinced me to stay away with lots of danger motions.

They hurled sausages over the fence to keep the pigs occupied away from people. Which they ate with gusto.

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 3d

i have met a number of pigs, including pigs i later went on to eat (we have small farmers in our family) and quite frankly, getting to know pigs has made me feel even less bad about eating them

they would 100% eat us if given the chance

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Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 3d

🍫🍎 October 7: Hershey's Make It Chocolate! (1987) isn't exactly a fall food treasure trove, but it does have one recipe for your Halloween party tray.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Coated Apples are a less sticky alternative to candied or caramel apples, but probably just as awkward and messy to eat.

Front cover of recipe book Hershey's Make It Chocolate! It features a photo of brownies with chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Recipe and photo for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Coated Apples. The photo shows an apple on a stick that has been covered in chocolate and is being rolled in chopped peanuts. Ingredients include wooden skewers, apples, Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, Hershey's Cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vegetable oil, and optional chopped peanuts or flaked coconut.

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 4d

I love how vague "1 pkg Japanese vegetables" is as an ingredient. 🤣

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 4d

The modern version of the six-word story...

For sale: AI slop, not wearable.

Reposted by Natalie Litofsky

Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 16d

Like many professional creatives, I've been out of work most of this year. I could use your help with expanding my reach to find a job.

📝 20+ yrs editor, writer, copywriter, marketer
🚫 Will *never* use gen-AI, no exceptions
💻 Full-time remote ideal, open to freelance/contract for now

Screen grab from the Nintendo Switch game Fashion Dreamer. A character identified as Robot Robby is speaking all in caps as if shouting in monotone, "I HEARD HUMANS DISCUSSING YOU. I LOGGED IT INTO MY MEMORY."

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