Are you an Instant Pot devotee too? I had the pleasure of testing the vegetable recipes* from Ann Mah's new cookbook, INSTANTLY FRENCH. Not only did I fall in love with the elegant simplicity of recipes for poached pears, braised peppers, and Moroccan chickpea stew, but I learned how to better use my Instant Pot in the process. With Instant Pot cooking, sometimes it's easy for spices to get drowned out, but Ann always gets the seasoning exactly right, and it makes cooking from (and eating) these recipes a joyful experience. The other thing I love about this book is that the recipes I … [Read more...]
3Ws – Louise Miller
What do you create? By day, I create desserts, and by night I create novels that I hope are funny and true. Why do you create? I have always turned to writing to figure the world (and myself) out. As a kid my diary was my lifeline—I didn’t understand how I was feeling unless I wrote it down. As an adult, I find writing fiction to be a wonderful way to explore questions I have without having to upend my life. The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living was inspired in part by my wrestling with the question would I be happy living in the country? I have always had a longing to … [Read more...]
3Ws – Dana Bate
What do you create? I write what some call “foodie rom coms” – short for food-themed romantic comedies. Other people have called it chick lit, lighthearted women’s fiction, and foodie lit. I just write the stories inside me and try not to label them. Why do you create? I like making something that can bring a smile to someone’s face, including my own. When I’m in a groove and write a scene that is working, it’s like a drug – I can’t get enough. But what’s even better is when someone else reads that scene and has a similar reaction. I recently received a message from a reader … [Read more...]
3Ws – Stacey Ballis
What do you create? I'm primarily a novelist and sometime cookbook author. I write "foodie fiction," novels with foodie heroines and recipes in the back. My current novel, Out to Lunch, is about a woman who loses her best friend and gains custody of her best friend's annoying widower. My next novel, Recipe for Disaster, is about a house flipper whose life implodes leaving her jobless, homeless and fiancé-less in one horrible day, forcing her to fend for herself while living in the half-finished ruin of her current construction project. And my new digital cookbook is Big Delicious Life, … [Read more...]
3Ws – Renee Swindle
What do you create? I create novels. So far I’ve written Please Please Please, Shake Down The Stars, and A Pinch Of Ooh La La, which came out in August. I create quirky and humorous characters--characters with foibles, who usually get in the way of their own best interests. Sometimes my novels lean more on the humorous, like with A Pinch of Ooh La la and other times they’re closer to dramadies. Shake Down The Stars, for instance, dealt with a woman overcoming a major loss and alcoholism, but there was also humor throughout because I can’t seem to help myself. It was nice to hear … [Read more...]
3Ws – Ann Mah
What do you create? I write and I cook—both activities centered around food! I've written a food memoir called Mastering the Art of French Eating and a novel, Kitchen Chinese. Both books use food as a way to explore a new country. I also write food-centric travel articles and create recipes for my blog. Basically, my work is a giant excuse to travel around and eat. Why do you create? My husband is a diplomat and a month after we got married, we moved to Beijing, China. At first I was adrift—unemployed in a new place where I barely spoke the local language. But … [Read more...]
A recipe (sort of) for @aracauna_man
I'm happiest about cooking when I don't have a recipe in front of me. I like to combine good, basic ingredients to taste and see what happens. I tweeted about my leftover lentil concoction today, and @aracauna_man pointed out that if I'm going to tweet about good food, I should at least offer up a recipe.I'm way too lazy to try to figure out how to explain my mad scientist approach to lentils in 140 characters, so here's an almost recipe for my new favorite meal. There are no amounts listed. I just eyeball the amounts for our meal needs and what I'm in the mood for.Veggies, etc.Precooked … [Read more...]
I think I might be done with gardening. Sort of. Maybe.
Last year, I gardened like crazy. I grew tons of peppers and tomatoes. I roasted and dried and sauced and froze. I spent most of my summer weekends cooking and weeding. I watered every morning and every night. When we went away, I enlisted one of my friends to come water for me. I was a gardening fool. This year, I watched my garden get invaded by weeds while I worked on my rewrites. And it was okay, because I was still getting a reasonable amount of cukes and eggplant, with promises of peppers and tons and tons of tomatoes. But then the tomatoes stayed green for a really long time. … [Read more...]