Just Checking In...#3

Hi, friends!  I thought I would check in to update you on a few things.  I try to update you once a month or so only when I have exciting things to share.  If I check out 64 cookbooks from the library and sit on the couch to read them all month long, I assume you don’t want to hear about that.

Thankfully, I have lots of fun things to share with you!

First things first:  I finished the photography for my cookbook—hooray!  Truthfully, the photography was the biggest thing hanging over my head.  I’m not talented enough to shoot a cookbook.  I fantasized about hiring a friend to do it for me many times, but my agent sold me as a package deal: cook and photographer.  I’m happy to say that 30% of the way into the book, I found my photography style.  For the last few years, I feel like I’ve been attempting to emulate those perfectly composed photos with a slice of pie in the foreground and the rest of the pie in the background.  However, I was never any good at that, and I was tired of forcing it.  I finally came out of my shell and realized that food looks delicious to me when people are in the photos.  Smiling people about to shove their faces with food!  You’ve been seeing a few photos like this on the blog lately because I just can’t wait to share it with you.  I feel like I’ve finally found my groove, and photography is fun now!  I want to go back and re-shoot the photos that don’t reflect my style, but we’ll see what my editors say.  There is nothing wrong with a photo of a slice of sweet potato pie on a plate (spoiler alert).  I just wish I could re-do it to show someone with a lovely smile about to take a bite around a Thanksgiving table.

I’m not sure if I formally updated you, but we’re aiming for a Valentine’s Day release for the book.  Dessert for two…Valentine’s Day…get it?  It’s the most romantic time of year!  So, men:  listen up!  Buy the book and put a ring in it, ok?  If she doesn’t flip to page 88 and bake you something immediately, let me know!

Second:  I said I would tell you all about my California trip.  I had a quick work trip out there with a company called Best Food Facts.  If you followed my instagrams, you saw me eating my first Elberta peach in the orchard, tasting wine at a biodynamic vineyard, riding a tomato harvester, and touring a Campbell’s Soup factory.  It was super fun!  I love food so much that I love to see exactly how it’s made.  If you have any questions about how your food goes from farm to table, check out their site and get all of your questions answered by experts in the field.   I had a blast, and I really enjoyed meeting everyone!

My first Elberta Peach at K&J Orchards; me shaking tomatoes off the vine at Rominger Bros. Farms 

I extended my trip and went to San Francisco for a bit.  I’ve been hesistant to admit this before now, but I’m a lone traveler.  I LOVE traveling by myself.  When I still lived in Cali, I would frequently go to San Francisco for the day by myself and check restaurants off my bucket list.  If I only I had a private jet to fly me home on a full belly!  So, if you see a skinny girl with chocolate smeared on her face walking around a big city alone and you think ‘hey, that looks like the Dessert for Two girl—YES, IT’S ME!’  Come say hi, and then point me towards your city’s best bakery, please ;)  Bonus points for ethnic food restaurants recs, too ;)

I finally indulged my pretentious little palate and ate $4 toast.  And yeah, it was worth it.  And technically, it’s $3.50…sooo…BARGAIN.  No, seriously.  I loved The Mill.  And I love Josey Baker Bread.  Amen.

While I was eating at Nopa, I was shocked to find myself setting next to Giulietta Carrelli (the inventor of the toast trend)I was sitting at the communal table and texting everyone in my world who would know who she is.  It was the highlight of my trip.  Too bad all I could manage to do was smile at her wordlessly a few times.  Although, I did drop my fork and she looked at me.  So there’s that.

Other places I saw and ate in SF:  The Mill, Bi-Rite, Humphry Slocombe, Miette, Tartine, Nopa, Hog Island Oyster Co., Acme Bread, Cowgirl Creamery and more.  I finally touched Heath ceramics in the flesh, and I fell hard for them.  I also put a list of best thrift stores in SF by Refinery29 to use, and scored some pretty cool stuff!  I’m having a zero-waste, one in=one out year right now, so I had fun shopping guilt-free!  Please don’t tell my parents I’m way into shopping second-hand.  Anytime they find out something I have is second-hand, they try to put money in my pocket.  My generation is 'into' owning less and buying used, ok, Dad?

Last, and definitely not least…I bought a dog…for my husband…and it likes me more.  I’ve resisted getting a dog for quite a while because I’m selfish.  I didn’t want a dog setting my sleep schedule.  I swore I'd never be one of those people in society holding their dog’s poo in a plastic bag on a leisurely neighborhood stroll.  I wanted to be cooler than that.  Well, I’m 10 days in, and I’ve already searched the internet for one of those ‘Who Rescued Who?’ stickers for my car.  Poor grammar aside, my rescue dog is my life.  I would gladly wake up at 5am every day the rest of my life for him, and I will (and have) hold an umbrella over him while he pees in a thunderstorm.  And the bags of shit?  Well, I bought designer bags that are vanilla scented.  So, compromise.

His name is Dovi…pronounced like the end of Mondavi wine.  He’s named after the Moto GP racer Andrea Dovizioso. And his paws smell like Fritos when he sleeps.  And of all the multicolored rugs in my house, he only pees on the white one.  Yay.

I hope you had a fabulous month.  Tell me all about it!  Especially if you’re one of those people tackling a big list of goals, let me know how it’s going!  If you’ve had an embarrassing celebrity encounter, please, make me feel better!  If you’ve found a way to get by on 2 hours of sleep each night, please, tell me your secrets.  And if you know how to get dog pee out of a white rug, I'm all ears.