I have a confession: I’m writing a cookbook. Doesn’t sound like it should be that much of a secret, right?

Well, the reason I haven’t mentioned it publicly yet is because once I announce it, then I HAVE to do it. So, there you have it – if you just read that sentence, then I took the plunge.

There are a few reasons that I decided to blog about the creation of my cookbook:

1)    If I promise it’s coming, then I have to finish it. I work best under pressure.
2)    Several friends (mostly chefs) wanted to hear about my self-publishing experience and I thought others might too.
3)    It may be a good way to get feedback from parents before printing it.
4)    And the most obvious answer: to start marketing it. But in reality, I’m just hoping to finish the dang thing. I’ll worry about selling it later.

This cookbook has been sitting inside of me for years. The parents of my young students were the ones that planted the seed. They loved the recipes the kids made in class and encouraged me to write a cookbook for parents. It sounded like a good idea. I mean, really, how hard could it be? (Ha.)

So, I did what most aspiring writers do in New York City. I signed up for a writing class. I was fortunate that I could take one at the JCC in Manhattan where I worked. I won’t get into the nitty gritty details but let’s just say that I was not a star student (okay, I sucked). And lest you think I’m just being modest – I have several classmates that will vouch for the sucking part. It’s been a long road from that first class to the launch of my blog – a long and very red-penned road. As you may have noticed, I still have trouble being concise….

I started working on a book proposal – I spent a LOT of time on it. When it was finally done, I showed it to a few agents and publishers who loved the concept but thought the niche was too small (i.e. “bugger off”). This was a couple of years ago before cooking with kids became trendy.

Someone suggested I self-publish it. I was aghast. Self-publish? No way. I wanted a legitimate publisher. But the more I started researching it, the more appealing it sounded. With the modern print-on-demand sites now available, I wouldn’t end up investing tons of money and getting stuck with stacks of unsold books. And I’d have total creative control (I admit it, I like being in charge) and it would be faster than the usual 18 months it usually takes. I spoke with other authors who agreed that self-publishing didn’t have the stigma it once had and that new authors have to self-promote and market their own books anyway.

You are probably wondering what the book is about by now! I’d like to keep the details under wraps for now. But I will tell you this: it’s a cookbook for parents and kids and it’s going to contain my most popular recipes that have gotten rave reviews over the years. Each recipe will have clear instructions and have been tested multiple times (which isn’t always the case for many cookbooks on the market now) using simple, healthy ingredients. All these years, I’ve been doing the “simple” thing and it’s nice to see that simple is now a “trend” (according to Janet Helm at nutritionunplugged.com – great blog.) I love cooking and teaching complicated, intricate recipes. But over the years, I’ve found that the most rewarding feedback I receive from students was that they still cook recipes from my classes – and they loved the easy, simple ones best.

So, this is first of many installments:  I purchased a self-publishing package at authorhouse.com after researching several different sites (which I will blog about later). And lately, I’ve been testing recipes and taking photos. And let me tell you, I have a lot of respect for food photographers now! It’s not easy but I’m really enjoying the creative aspect of cooking, creating, and photographing. This book is truly a labor of love.

Over the next few months, I will be sharing my experiences with you. My goal is to have it ON sale by the end of 2009. You heard it here first. I have to go now and start cookin’….

I went to a great cookbook event on Tuesday night presented by Kim Ricketts Book Events with my friend who was visiting from New York City. I was proud to show off the fantastic food writers we have here in the Pacific Northwest. For a very reasonable fee, we were offered a cocktail, vegetarian paella, roasted chicken, and sourdough bread (I had to mention the food).

The authors then sat as a panel and regaled us with never-before-seen scenes and stories. They graciously fielded questions from the audience  and the evening ended with book signings. For a group of writers, they were very comfortable in front of a crowd and had us laughing for most of the night. It was real treat to see them in person and hear about their experiences as writers.

I own a couple of these books but haven’t had a chance to read them yet (when do non-New Yorkers read books? I’m at a loss now without long subway rides) but I’m determined to find the time  now. I’m especially excited to read the recently published Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton. It sounds hilarious (the passage he read had the crowd in stitches) and I’m curious to hear what happened when he fed his baby gourmet food.

So, if you’re looking for a new food book to dive into, read on:

Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back by Shauna James Ahern

Read this if you need some inspiration to make a shift in the way you eat. Many of her delectable dishes are what we should be eating anyway: meals made with whole foods from the farmer’s market.

“The theme of Shauna’s writing isn’t gluten-free, it’s gluten freedom. She focuses much more on the delicious world of what she can have rather than fixating on what she can’t. Her enthusiasms for exploring the world of gluten-free cooking is infectious and her knack for communicating her experiences to the reader is heartfelt, inspiring, and informational.”

—Heidi Swanson, author of Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

Read this if you love Orangette’s unique writing style found on her blog – it’s more of the same and each chapter ends with her delicious recipes.

A review, “An A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table”, Molly Wizenberg recounts life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother’s pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won’t be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story  or head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients  for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.”

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton

Read this just published book if you are a parent, a soon-to-be parent, or just like to laugh.

“Since becoming the proud father of a little girl, I’ve found myself quickly morphing into Bill Cosby–minus the sweaters. One of my greatest fears is imagining my daughter insisting on nothing but crustless grilled cheese sandwiches and “chicken” McNuggets. Hungry Monkey goes a long way to allaying that concern. I finished the last page and immediately set about making her Thai Shrimp Curry. A very timely and excellent book.”
—Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

This is the only fiction book in the mix. Read it if you want to lose yourself in the story of a cooking teacher and the lives of her eight students – and the magic that’s created when strangers cook together (which is why I love being a cooking teacher).

A review, “The School of Essential Ingredients” follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear,  however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen….Brought together by the power of food and companionship, the lives of the characters mingle and intertwine, united by the revealing nature of what can be created in the kitchen.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less you Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Finn

Read this if you dream of going to culinary school or doing something equally adventurous – or what other people would consider reckless – at a point in life when you’re not “supposed” to take risks.

“I can never get enough of true stories about people who stop in the  middle of their life’s journey to ask, ‘What do I really want?’ and then  have the guts to actually go get it. Kathleen Finn’s tale of chasing her ultimate dream makes for a really lovely book – engaging, intelligent and surprisingly suspenseful.” -Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Cheap Healthy Good also mentions some other great food books – Five Fiction Books for the Frugal Foodie – check them out.