Writing What I Cook

Since this is "write what you know" week, I've been pondering why I've made some of the choices I'm currently pursuing in my work-in-progress.

One choice is obvious: My current revision of A SECRET FAMILY RECIPE is full of recipes. It works, since recipes serve as a metaphor for other things happening among the Burnett family, but it also works because, as the mom of a large family, I've done a lot of cooking.

I'm one of those crazy folk who gets bored quickly with cooking and/or eating the same foods over and over again. Hence I've come up with all kinds of odd recipes and have tweaked them to fit my own and my family's tastes.

The experience as a mom, family member and cook has led me to a manuscript where every chapter begins with a recipe, and oh my, those recipes are varied! They range from naan (East Indian flatbread) accompanied by "yummy hummus" to non-vinegary tomato salsa to cool summer desserts to pasta carbonara.

My resident family members have had the fun of helping me tweak these recipes and taste-testing them all for me, too.

I'll keep you posted as to publication dates, but suffice to say, you too may soon get to cook and eat your very own American-style Goulash. Now, aren't you the lucky one?! :-)