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With my late winter and early spring travels behind me now (and I’m still standing, but barely!), here’s what’s coming along next:
April 12-14, New Paltz, NY: Mohonk Mountain House — Healthy Living: Culinary Tips for a Plant-Based Palate, a weekend of food demos and tastings with Nava Atlas, Fran Costigan, Leslie Cerier, and Whitecliff Winery. My demos will feature recipes and tips from Wild About Greens.
May 24-26, Portland, OR: Vida Vegan Conference — I’ll be speaking on several panels at this annual vegan food and lifestyle blogger’s event.
June 15, Guilderland, NY: Guilderland Public Library — Demo and discussion featuring Wild About Greens as part of Guilderland LIbrary’s Tastes Good/Get Healthy Series. 11 am
July 3-7, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA — Vegetarian Summerfest, at the grande dame of Veg Conferences, I’m a mere part of this amazing line-up of experts in the field of veg cuisine and nutrition.
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I was invited by the wonderful and prolific Robin Asbell to participate in this game of cookbook author tag, in which we each choose a few of our colleagues and answer the same questions about our foodie lives. Such fun to be in this great company! Aside from working on a new cookbook, I’m also traveling around like a crazy person, still promoting my previous two cookbooks, Wild About Greens and Vegan Holiday Kitchen; working on some juicy art projects which include my limited edition artist’s books (I’m excited and honored to be speaking on the subject at Duke University’s Perkins Library later this month); I just relaunched The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life web site; and when I’m finished with my next cookbook manuscript I want to get back to an engrossing nonfiction project I’ve been working on forever.
What is the title of your upcoming book?
It’s titled Plant Power: How to Practically and Joyfully Transform Your Kitchen, Plate, and Life. It will be both a guidebook and a cookbook for people who want to adopt a more plant-based way of living, starting with their own kitchen. The recipes will be vegan, of course, but we’re aiming for those who want to rethink their eating habits in a more plant-strong direction, even if they don’t go fully vegan.
Who is publishing your book and what is the expected release date?
HarperOne in San Francisco; it will come out in the summer of 2014. I’m in the throes of it now; the manuscript and photos are being worked on as we speak. It’s being gorgeously photographed by Hannah Kaminsky, who I’ve chosen to tag on this blog hop!
How long did it take you to research and write this book?
I usually take a full year or more, but this one has a tighter deadline. All told, about 8 months.
What inspired you to write this book?
I was actually approached by the executive editor of HarperOne who came to me with this almost fully formed concept, title and all, and thought I’d be the right person to do it. I was flattered, and accepted!
What is your favorite aspect of writing a cookbook?
I think it’s the challenge of finding new ideas and new food concepts, after having done this for so long. It’s amazing how every year, there seem to be new ideas about food, cooking, and health, to wrap one’s head around.
What is the hardest aspect of writing a cookbook?
Same answer as the previous!
What interesting things would we find in your refrigerator right now if we were to open it?
Nothing all that interesting; there is, however, an explosion of greens and other leafies: Kale, collards, baby spinach, romaine, pea shoots … when it comes to greens, I really walk the talk.
What is your favorite sound in the kitchen?
That’s odd, I would have asked what is my favorite food aroma in the kitchen. But in either case, I have no idea at the moment.
What three ingredients can’t you live without?
With a vegan diet, I feel like our repertoire of foods is so diverse that it’s hard to choose three. One food group I’m never without in the fridge, no matter what the season, are the aforementioned leafy greens. I tried to give up coffee, but I’m seriously addicted. And I’m also an avocado addict as well. Other than these, I enjoy diversity from one week to another, one season to another.
So do you have an agent?
Oh yes, the lovely Lisa and Sally Ekus of the Lisa Ekus Group.
Which actors would you chose to play your main characters in the rendition of this book?
I wouldn’t want to cast a cookbook, but I am working on a creative nonfiction book project that’s on hiatus at the moment while I work on Plant Power. But I can totally see Kate Winslet as the female lead. The male lead is tougher because of his very unusual self-identification; but I’m thinking Matt Damon. The actress who played Julia Child’s sister in Julie and Julia would be a good Eleanor Roosevelt. And Angela Bassett would be good in the role of the male protagonist’s beleaguered first wife. Of course, in answering this, I come off like someone quite delusional, and perhaps I am!
I’m tagging the following lovely ladies to continue in this blog hop, as I know they are all working on their next big thing, and as they post their answers, I’ll turn these into live links:
- Hannah Kaminsky
- Kathy Hester
- Ricki Heller
- Allyson Kramer
Others who have already participated in this hop include:
- JL Fields of JL Goes Vegan
- Robin Asbell, The New Vegetarian
- Charmian Christie, The Messy Baker
- Tara Mataraza Desmond, Crumbs on my Keyboard
- Sandra Gutierrez, Sandra’s Kitchen Studio
- Holly Herrick
- Ivy Manning
- Victoria Moran, Main Street Vegan
- Jill Nussinow, The Veggie Queen
- Robin Robertson, Global Vegan Kitchen
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This spring you will find me all over the map, traveling to various venues to speak about my personal work as well as to demo the joys of healthy plant-based food. Please join me if you are in the California bay area, suburban NYC, Raleigh-Durham NC, slightly upstate NY, or Portland, OR:
February 10-13, Richmond, CA: Codex International Book Fair
March 3: NY VegFest, NYC (past)
March 10, Great Neck Library, Great Neck, NY: A plant-strong plan for the spring holidays — a demo and discussion of Vegan Holiday Kitchen and Wild About Greens- 2 pm. (past)
March 23, Raleigh, NC: Wild About Greens — food demo, discussion, and potluck, co-sponsored by the Kadampa Center and the Triangle Vegetarian Society. 6 pm.
March 25, Durham, NC: Presentation and talk for the academic community and public at Duke University: Clarissa Sligh and Nava Atlas in Conversation: Race, Gender, and Identity in Artists’ Books. 6:30 pm, Perkins Library, room 318.
April 12-14, New Paltz, NY: Mohonk Mountain House — Healthy Living: Culinary Tips for a Plant-Based Palate, a weekend of food demos and tastings with Nava Atlas, Fran Costigan, Leslie Cerier, and Whitecliff Winery. My demos will feature recipes and tips from Wild About Greens.
May 24-26, Portland, OR: Vida Vegan Conference — I’ll be speaking on several panels at this annual vegan food and lifestyle blogger’s event.
June 15, Guilderland, NY: Guilderland Public Library — Demo and discussion featuring Wild About Greens as part of Guilderland LIbrary’s Tastes Good/Get Healthy Series. 11 am
July 3-7, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA — Vegetarian Summerfest, at the grande dame of Veg Conferences, I’m a mere part of this amazing line-up of experts in the field of veg cuisine and nutrition.
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This spring you will find me all over the map, traveling to various venues to speak about my personal work as well as to demo the joys of healthy plant-based food. Please join me if you are in the California bay area, suburban NYC, Raleigh-Durham NC, slightly upstate NY, or Portland, OR:
Feb. 10 – 13, Richmond, CA: Codex International Book Fair — I will be exhibiting my limited edition books (including Sluts & Studs, Dear Literary Ladies, Mislabeling Hillary, Postal Angst, Why You Can’t Get Married: An Unwedding Album, and more), as well as the trade editions of The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life, and Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife.
March 10, Great Neck, NY: Great Neck Library — A plant-strong plan for the spring holidays — a demo and discussion of Vegan Holiday Kitchen - 2 pm.
March 23, Raleigh, NC: Wild About Greens — food demo, discussion, and potluck, co-sponsored by the Kadampa Center and the Triangle Vegetarian Society. 6 pm.
March 25, Durham, NC: Presentation and talk for the academic community and public at Duke University’s Rubenstein Library with Nava Atlas and Clarissa Sligh, tentative subject: gender, race, and identity in artist’s books. Time TBA
April 12-14, New Paltz, NY: Mohonk Mountain House — Food and Wine Festival -”The Plant-Based Palate,” a weekend of food demos and tastings with Nava Atlas, Fran Costigan, Leslie Cerier, and Whitecliff Winery. My demos will feature Wild About Greens.
May 24-26, Portland, OR: Vida Vegan Conference — Speaking on two panels at this annual vegan food and lifestyle blogger’s event.
June 15, Guilderland, NY: Guilderland Public Library — Demo and discussion featuring Wild About Greens as part of Guilderland LIbrary’s Tastes Good/Get Healthy Series. 11 am
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It just dawned on me that VegKitchen.com went live in January, 1996 — seventeen years ago, and ancient history in internet terms. Of course, it started small, but that’s how things usually start, right? And it has changed and grown ever since. I remember chatting with Mollie Katzen back then, comparing notes, as we seemed to be among the first food authors to go online with our own sites. We marveled at the prospect of having 500 visitors per day; now VegKitchen receives more than 5,000 visitors per day on average, and much higher in the fall due to the popularity of the vegan Thanksgiving area. The numbers continue to mount as interest in healthy, plant-based eating grows.
The biggest change to VegKitchen happened in November 2010, when we switched to the WordPress platform and went from vegetarian to vegan (lagging way behind my actual lifestyle change, as I had gone vegan in 2001). Not that I’m doing a commercial for WordPress, but it made it so much easier to grow the site rapidly and edit at will. We also began incorporating a lot more contributors from the food world, who share articles and recipes on the site, adding other voices to this fast-growing area. And by the way, when I say “we,” I’m basically referring to myself, my webmaster Allen Jezouit at Berkshire Direct, and my assistant, Rachael Braun, who tends to the site almost daily. I thank them for their contributions to VegKitchen’s recent growth.
VegKitchen is but one of three major careers I juggle simultaneously — the others include writing cookbooks and other non-fiction; and visual art (mostly text-driven — I guess I really like words!). It has become a great way to connect with others in the healthy food and vegan communities, and a platform for sharing information that people are seeking these days. It still boggles my mind that VegKitchen is seventeen, and I look forward to celebrating twenty years online in just three years from now.
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In this tasty “down home” style dish, bits of tart apple add a delightful flavor twist.
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I have a good supply of Vegan Holiday Kitchen on hand, so I’m putting them on sale here for the same price you’d pay on Amazon, with the shipping. In addition, I just received a batch of my 2009 book of humor, Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife, at a bargain price. These orders go securely through PayPal. You’ll see a space there for a message, where you can list to whom you’d like the books inscribed, or if you want them simply signed. So, here’s what’s on sale! These prices include shipping on U.S. orders; for Canadian orders, please add an additional $5.00 for shipping.
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Vegan Holiday Kitchen: More than 200 Delicious, Festive Recipe for Special Occasions
With more than 200 mouthwatering recipes, Vegan Holiday Kitchen is your go-to resource for recipes and menus for major holidays. Vegans can at last celebrate the holidays with gusto and enjoy every course of the meal—from appetizers to desserts. What’s more, these lovingly crafted dishes will satisfy everyone who loves great food, no matter what their culinary preferences. There’s no reason to wait for a special occasion to enjoy these recipes—they’re healthy and uncomplicated enough for everyday fare. Read more about Vegan Holiday Kitchen.
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Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife: All the Dishes You’ll Need to Make from the Day You Say “I Do” Until Death (or Divorce) Do You Part
Flavored with frustration, simmering with rage, and iced with affection, these “recipes” will make you laugh as you multitask your way through the challenges and joys of matrimony. Enveloped in them are the secrets — delicious, distressing, and everything in between — that accompany women on their marital journeys. Please note, this is NOT a real cookbook! But it IS a perfect gift for newlywed, newly divorced, and those in it for the long haul. And for anyone who loves retro art and imagery. Read more about Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife.
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Tropical Cucumber Cooler Cocktail
This has been my summer of discontent. That’s not to say that there haven’t been moments of contentment, but it’s simply been almost unrelentingly too hot and humid. And in the midst of all this sweltering, most of you will know what I mean when I say working 24/7 is the only way to make a real living these days!
It’s not often that Iím tempted by tipsy indulgences, but when I ran across this rum-spiked cucumber cocktail on the In The Raw site, I was intrigued. I love all manner of cucumber drinks, and the idea of combining the ultimate cooling veggie with pineapple juice, mint tea, lime juice and a splash of rum sounded divine. Now that August has brought some relief in the way of lovely evenings, this gentle cocktail sounded like a nice way to celebrate having survived this season by enjoying it with dinner out on the patio.
I’ve been trying to use more Stevia as a sweetener for some time now, and the fact that it’s used to sweeten this cocktail sealed the deal for me (for anyone unfamiliar with Stevia, it’s a sweetener derived naturally from an herb stevia rebaudiana, native to parts of South America. Its sweetness is super-concentrated and practically calorie-free). While I donít have a huge sweet tooth, I appreciate a little something sweet as a treat once in a while. To that end, I prefer natural sweeteners in modest amounts, including natural granulated sugar, agave nectar, and, of course, Stevia.
If you’d like to learn more about these natural sweeteners, one good place to do so is In The Raw, where youíll find information, recipes, and even coupons. In The Raw has generously offered a chance for VegKitchen visitors to win a $100 Cooking.com Gift Card — all you need to do is leave a comment on the post, telling us which recipe on the In The Raw site youíd most like to make. See sweepstakes rules at the end of this post.
You can also tempt your all-natural sweet tooth at In The Rawís fun Hot In The Raw photo gallery, where cooks everywhere have shared their most enticing In The Raw creations. Share your own recipes and photos as well! The Au Natural In The Raw app lets you pixelate your photos to make them even more visually interesting when sharing!
Getting back to the point of this post — the Tropical Cucumber Cooler Cocktail didnít disappoint! My husband and I enjoyed it with a simple outdoor meal of spicy cold peanut butter noodles and fresh corn — in all, a lovely antidote to a challenging summer. I’m not one for regular cocktails, but I’ll definitely be keeping this incredibly refreshing cucumber drink in my beverage rotation, usually minus the rum; the virgin version is just as delicious. Cheers! Here’s to a cool, comfortable, and less challenging fall.
Tropical Cucumber Cooler Cocktail
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup cucumber juice
- 1/2 cup peppermint tea
- 2 packets Stevia In The Raw or 4 teaspoons granular Stevia In The Raw
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 ounces white rum
Fill two 12-ounce tall glasses halfway with ice cubes. Pour into each glass, half the pineapple juice, cucumber juice, mint tea, and lime juice. Add 1 packet Stevia to each glass, and the rum, if using. Garnish with the rosemary and mint. Serve immediately. Note: To make cucumber juice, peel and cut 2 Persian cucumbers or 1 medium cucumber into 1/2-inch slices. Whirl in a blender with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer, pressing firmly on the solids. Tightly covered, refrigerated cucumber juice keeps for 2 days.
Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post. b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post. c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post. d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 9/10/12-9/30/12. Be sure to visit the In The Raw page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
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