one way to give this holiday season

As many of you know, Mondays are normally ingredient posts around here. What do you do with corn? How does the scent of strawberries inspire you? Are there olive oils you love better than others?

This morning, I thought I would be posting about celery root this evening. (Okay, it may not be the most exciting ingredient in the world, but what other food can you describe as knobbly and hairy and have it be delicious?) However, we'll have to talk about celeriac next week. (Start your celery root engines revving now.) This week, instead, I'd like to share with you a beautiful way to give to one of our fellow bloggers.

Kate runs Gluten-Free Gobsmacked, one of my favorite gluten-free sites on the web. Filled with recipes that work — roll-out Christmas cookies; sandwich wraps; and even gluten-free croissants! — Kate's website is funny, open, and very much her. When I met Kate in Olympia last year, we talked fast and with our hands as though we had known each other for years. I liked her immensely. But I knew that already. She's in her writing, in her fearless baking, in her kind words. And I'm pretty sure that her pepita sandwich bread can kick my sandwich bread's ass.

I want to share Kate's website with you for a particular reason right now. She's waiting to meet her daughter. And she needs our help.

Our Little Bean is asleep in her bed as I write this. Any time I want, I can duck into the bedroom and watch her sleep. (I do, often.) After only a few hours of her being asleep, I miss her. I cannot wait until the morning when she'll start cooing again.

Kate and her husband are adopting a girl, a daughter they already love. They have to wait a few more months before they meet her, though. The suspense is killing them. I cannot imagine the agony of not meeting our Little Bean until she is 8 months old.

Adopting a child costs innumerable dollars. This is a shame, since so many children need homes. Kate and her husband aren't rich. Most of us aren't. But I know, without a doubt, that they will be tremendous parents.

So they have found a way to involve the community in the effort.

As part of their effort to raise funds to raise their child, Kate and her husband have put a copy of my book up for auction. I feel a little sheepish about pointing your way to this ("buy my book" has always felt a little acrid in my mouth). This post isn't about me, or my book. It's about Kate and her daughter.

Many of you wrote in the comments on the last post that you have wanted to slow down this holiday season, and find a more meaningful way of giving than simply running to the store. May I humbly suggest that this is one way?

Please go here to see Kate's explanation. She has been far more eloquent than I could have been. And if you want to skip right to the auction (it ends on Tuesday, December 9th, just before midnight), then go here. Perhaps you wanted to buy a copy of the book for someone you love this holiday season. This is simply a way of giving twice.

Thank you for reading, everyone. May we all give kindness.