Thursday, January 21, 2010

A Cookbook in the Works and a Giveaway!


This is a picture of the dessert counter at Taggarts Grill in Utah. If you live near the Wasatch Front and haven't been there you need to go. It is near Morgan in Weber Canyon. They offer decadent Gluten Free desserts and my son's favorite hamburgers on gluten free buns. They are very allergen conscious and have many menu options for special diets.

Thanks to this comment by Hiit Mama:

Fantastic! I'm giving this a try. Are these your photos? If so, you should be a professional food photographer (unless you already are). They're beautiful and hunger inducing. Maybe a cookbook????

I am jumping in. A cookbook has been on my mind for awhile but Hiit Mama's encouraging words have convinced me to take the plunge. Right now there is just a lot of reading to do so I can understand all the options. Self publish? Size? Color or B&W? Theme? Binding?

What I would really like to know is what do you like in a cookbook?

Please leave me a comment with your thoughts/answers and I will randomly choose one winner to receive one 5 lb bag of almond flour shipped from Honeyville Grains, a $30 value (with shipping). Thanks for your help and good luck! Winner will be chosen and announced at 7:00 am MST on January 31, 2010.

What is your favorite cookbook?

What makes it your favorite?

How important is it to you to see a picture of a recipe before you make it?

How important is it to you to have basic methods described along with recipes such as broiling or sauteing?

Do you enjoy stories and trivia along with the recipes or a more straightforward recipes only approach?

Are you more apt to purchase a book that has Gluten Free, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or Grain Free in the title? In other words which one of these phrases would catch your eye?

Would you purchase a cookbook from a blog site?

Do you use Amazon.com to research cookbooks?

Would you purchase a book that reprints recipes from a blog or would you want all new recipes? or a combination?

Are you looking for a cookbook with basics (broth, yogurt, ect.) or more innovative ideas for the ingredients you can have?

Thanks for your help.....Karen

10 comments:

  1. A favorite cookbook would be one with lots of photos of the dishes and cooking process. I'd love to read little anecdotes from the author on the different recipes.

    I'm pretty good at cooking, but explaining basic cooking methods wouldn't bother me.

    I'd lean more towards a low carb cookbook, one that could possibly be free of using Splenda too.

    I'd be open to purchasing the cookbook from a blog site as well as Amazon.

    I'd prefer a combination of recipes from the blog (with more pics and stories) as well as new recipes.

    Again, I'd prefer a mix: basic recipes and ones that are more advanced.

    Best to you on creating your cookbook!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would buy a self published book from your site. A compilation of other's recipes would be great! Color too because your photos are beautiful. Paleo is my eye catcher, yet I am interested in all those diets.

    It would be interesting if you could take a recipe and show how to convert it to SCD, Paleo, etc.

    I am excited for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is great news! I'm so glad to hear you want to do a cookbook! I love this site. In a cookbook I would want whats on your site plus new stuff. That way I have lots of stuff in one book. Easy ideas for busy weeks and fancy stuff for when I have the time or company. I like all the basics plus fancy stuff. I think a low carb free of splenda would work well too, cover many bases (scd, gf, low carb, primal...why not put all on the cover?), just put tips on how to streamline it to a specific diet. I would love there to be more grain free cookbooks. As for photos:when we first started the scd most of what I cooked came from Elaines book or pecanbread, even though I had ordered every scd cookbook. What I did LOVE was that I could look at the gorgeous photos in some of these books and say to myself and Gordon "We can have that", it was a nice little luxery to have when your getting used to a new diet. I think it really helps Gordon to see photos of treats. I have always enjoyed reading all of the other stuff in cookbooks (facts, tips, stories, etc). I usually buy from Amazon but would also purchase from your site. You might get noticed more on amazon.

    I really think if this is what you want to do you should go for it. The rest of us would love to have a book of your work in our kitchens.

    Also, lots of good family casseroles, although they don't sound sexy, they sure are nice during the work week.

    I have always wanted to do a cookbook too, but it will have to wait awhile. I'm looking into becoming a teacher so I can be on my kids schedule and have time in the summer for gardening and a cookbook. In the meantime I look forward to yours!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What is your favorite cookbook? -- Cocolat by Alice Medrich and 125 Best GF Recipes by Washburn and Butt.

    What makes it your favorite? -- Cocolat - obvious. 125 GF - Many different recipes using different flours, plus they work out very well.

    How important is it to you to see a picture of a recipe before you make it? -- I love seeing beautifully photographed food. Pics make it more likely I would *buy* the book. Good recipes make it more likely I would *use* the book.

    How important is it to you to have basic methods described along with recipes such as broiling or sauteing? -- Not at all. Maybe in the back like Alice Medrich does in Cocolat and Bittersweet, just in two-column text with line-drawing illustrations.

    Do you enjoy stories and trivia along with the recipes or a more straightforward recipes only approach? -- Stories and trivia are nice, but make it 20% or less of the book. Otherwise, it's not a cookbook.

    Are you more apt to purchase a book that has Gluten Free, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or Grain Free in the title? In other words which one of these phrases would catch your eye? -- ...Gluten Free, but the others would make me look twice.

    Would you purchase a cookbook from a blog site? -- Yes, especially if there are secure checkout features. Anyone can open an Amazon shop, even if you self-pub. Also, E-bay has shops. Security would be my main worry. Paypal is safe.

    Do you use Amazon.com to research cookbooks? -- Yes. A lot.

    Would you purchase a book that reprints recipes from a blog or would you want all new recipes? or a combination? -- At least 50% new recipes. Otherwise, I'll just comb the blog. I'm cheap.

    Are you looking for a cookbook with basics (broth, yogurt, ect.) or more innovative ideas for the ingredients you can have? --

    Innovative ideas, definitely. I can buy GF canned broth and GF/CF soygurt. I want stuff I can't buy, like really good chocolate cakes and cookies and pizza crusts and pop-tarts and breads and buns and rolls and muffins. And different kinds of those, like normal bread vs. 13-grain bread vs. buckwheat bread vs. 20-grain bread, etc. Lots of different tastes.

    (I made a pop-tart last night. It was heavenly. I hadn't made one for about 4 years.)

    I have probably over 100 cookbooks, plus 3 3-ring binders stuffed full and indexed. I want to use almond flour and meal, buckwheat, amaranth, and other whole grains and good-for-you ingredients.

    Please, no starch-based recipes. Some starch is okay, but the less, the better, and please not as the main ingredient. Cheetos are 99% cornstarch, and they taste like styrofoam. I don't want to eat that ever again.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would love to have a cookbook with a lot of grain free recipes. I am the wheat-free one, but I want to cook meals and bake snacks that everyone can enjoy.
    Even though I do not follow the paleo or SCD diet, I try to serve less carbs. I love your site because your recipes always look and sound so delicious. My family enjoys the recipes that I have made so far from your site.
    What an exiciting opportunity!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The world needs more SCD cookbooks! I like cookbooks that are spiral bound so the book stays open nicely. I always like to make notes on recipes in cookbooks, so maybe a dedicated space for that. I also would love to see a picture of each dish when it is finished, not neccessarily pictures during the cooking process. Just wanted to share my toughts! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. yay! so exiting. I wish there were more primal friendly cookbooks out there, there are so few!my favorite cookbooks include Full Moon Feast, which incidentaly has no phototgraphs, and The Grass-fed Gourmet, also no photos there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favorite cookbook is the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. I eat low carb and I like recipes that are low in sugar as well as wheat free. I would gladly buy a book from your website although I usually research expensive books before I purchase them from Amazon. Some photos are nice but the text and content is more important to me because my attempts, even if they taste wonderful, rarely turn out looking like the photos in the book:-)

    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  9. What is your favorite cookbook? I don't have a favorite but those that are creative and full of inspiring pictures are the ones I go to first.

    How important is it to you to see a picture of a recipe before you make it?

    Very important - it is usually the picture that convinces me to cook the dish...especially so on many of the recipes I've tried on your blog!

    How important is it to you to have basic methods described along with recipes such as broiling or sauteing?

    This is helpful for me as I'm following the SCD diet but I'm a beginer in the kitchen. Any extra tips on how to cook, store or serve the dish are appreciated!

    Do you enjoy stories and trivia along with the recipes or a more straightforward recipes only approach?

    It's okay to add but not necessary.

    Are you more apt to purchase a book that has Gluten Free, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or Grain Free in the title? In other words which one of these phrases would catch your eye?

    Yes, I'd like to see the words Specific Carbohydrate Diet in the title as the legal and illegal items on the diet are so specific I'd hate to mess it up. Clarity is crucial.

    Would you purchase a cookbook from a blog site?

    I would so long as it was done through paypal or other trusted source.

    Do you use Amazon.com to research cookbooks?

    Yes.

    Would you purchase a book that reprints recipes from a blog or would you want all new recipes? or a combination?

    I would like to see mostly new recipes as I've spent many hours searching the blog for recipes already. :)

    Are you looking for a cookbook with basics (broth, yogurt, ect.) or more innovative ideas for the ingredients you can have?

    A combination of both would be great. Some recipes can become complicated when the recipes requires multiple other recipes. But creativity is necessary on the diet so it's nice to have new and unexpected things. Perhaps include some recipes that can be done quickly with the basics (brooth, yogurt) and others with more unique ingredients for those days when we have a littl more time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Karen! Just back from Hawaii - awesome, tho travel prooved interesting! Happy to hear you are doing a cook book. I love Jamie Oliver cook books - and I say yes to all of your questions! I love photos, stories, basics, and more elaborate recipes. An SCD cookbook is a great addition to all the cookbooks I have - there is always room for more learning and experiments in the kitchen. Can hardly wait till you have a cookbook of your own! Ina

    ReplyDelete