exciting news and kitchen makeover progress

Classic Vegan Pecan Pie – I'm perfecting my recipe for the new cookbook 

Exciting news

I'm thrilled to announce that I am working on my third cookbook: "Pies and Tarts With Heart!" [Awesome new publisher: Quarry Books!] The book will feature original recipes for more than 60 sweet and savory – yes, savory – vegan pies. I'm even including a chapter featuring recipes for what I like to call "sPies," or non-pie foods posing as pies [Think Boston Cream Pie, Whoopie Pies, Shepherd's Pie]. I don't know how I kept this impending cookbook a secret for so long, but of course, I couldn't say boo until all the details were finalized.

In Amazon reviews, readers' had rued the fact that my first two cookbooks did not contain photos [This, incidentally, was my previous publisher's decision, not mine; photos cost money to make and to print.] The good news is that my new cookbook will overflow with colorful pictures of the pies, pie-making techniques, and ingredients/tools. F-stop, my talented boyfriend, will be taking the shots.

So, between working on the book and at my "day job," training for the fall half-marathon season, and redoing my kitchen, my life has been crazy. Crazy in a good way, but crazy nevertheless. Speaking of the kitchen...

Kitchen makeover progress

Gas, at last, after 8 years of a crappy, generic electric stove. 

On HGTV, kitchens are redone in 30 minutes. But real life moves at a much slower pace. I'd been without an oven for almost a month, until just a few days ago – tricky when working on a pie cookbook [Now you know why I made all those raw pies. I also used this oven-less time to perfect the  frozen and no-bake pie recipes]. Earlier this week, the plumber finally came in and moved the water lines for the new sink location, installed a water line for the ice-maker in my new 'fridge, and hooked up a gas line for my new gas stove [Yes, I'd endured a crappy electric apartment stove through 2 cookbooks and for the entire 8 years I've lived here]. 

My temporary-but-fully functional kitchen in progress.

Bruce installed nifty recessed lights above my counter area, so I can finally see what I'm cooking. After the plumber did his thing, Bruce was also able to install the sink, stove, dishwasher, hood, and a temporary plywood counter, which is actually prettier than it sounds. So once again, I am working in a functioning kitchen. Whee! Next week, the granite folks come to make their measurements. After the granite counter is installed a few weeks later, the tiles and new lights will be next, followed by oodles painting, a DIY task that I can actually complete myself. The white walls on my entire, 1600-square-foot loft also need to be repainted, so now's as good a time as any. [Sigh] It's a linear process; the only way out is through.

Another view. Next steps: cabinet doors, granite counter, tiles, then shelves.

Home remodeling entails a lot of "two steps forward, one step back." Most recent case in point: my new faucet. I'd bought a Tarnan Ikea faucet with pull-out sprayer, shown in this photo. When Bruce opened the box, he discovered that many of the parts were missing, so he picked up a new Tarnan, and I need to return the old one. But once installed, the pull-out sprayer just didn't work; there's not enough room under the sink for the extra-long tubing owing to the pipes and garbage disposal. So last nite, F-stop and I stopped at Home Depot, and with his help, I chose a new faucet, with a longer neck that encases a shorter sprayer tube. [Word of advice: don't buy the Tarnan. It's crap.] The same thing happened with my sink: I'd bought a nice, large one at Ikea, but learned from the plumber it was too deep for my set-up. I returned that, bought another one at Lowe's, then realized, too late, that I wanted an undermount sink to avoid the inevitable gunk-build-up that comes with overmounts. So I returned that one, and ordered a new one online. Sometimes, I feel like I spend more time at Lowe's and Home Depot than in my loft.

I'm hoping that next time I post, I'll have some brand-new, gas-fired food porn to share. Enjoy your week!