It is official.

the contract, originally uploaded by shaunaforce.

Yesterday, something momentous happened.

The contract for my book deal arrived in the mail.

It is official. My book will be published next fall.

After doing a little dance around the sun-dappled living room — and calling the Chef as I did — I sat down and signed all eleven pages of all three copies of the contract. Then, I drove down the hill to the post office and put them back in the mail.

It's official.

Completing an entire manuscript — with 100 recipes — in only four months could be daunting. But not for me. Not right now. Now, I am simply kercited.

(Here, an explanation. My three-year-old nephew, Elliott, could not say the word "excited" for months on end. He could not wrap his little mouth around it. Instead, he said, "I'm kercited!" Everyone in the family has picked it up, including the Chef. He's family now too. In fact, the Chef and I have simply started adding ker- to the beginnings of all words. "I'm ker-happy!" he told me, when I called to tell him the news.)

I could say more, and I will, as this process continues. However, I have a book to write. Tonight, I am finishing the rough cut of chapter five. This is the chapter I am writing about all the gluten-free grains available to us, with stories of my horrible elementary-school education included. (You'll understand why when you read it.) I'm putting the finishing touches on the recipes tonight.

Would you like to eat....


date-pistachio amaranth pudding

warm millet gingerbread

quinoa summer tabouleh

roasted black cod in "forbidden" black rice flour

barbeque pork with aromatic jasmine rice

kalamata olive bread

sorghum rotis

roasted red pepper, sweet corn, and goat cheese quiche?


Well, you can — next fall, when you can buy a copy of the book!