writing classes and recommendations

Hey there.

Some of you may be wondering — Shauna, didn't you just post last night? Why are you back, talking with us so soon?

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be around here more often again.

We're still in the middle of edits. Little Bean walks fast across the living room, straight toward the one dish cupboard we can't put baby locks on. We write another blog, three times a week, which occupies my mind, happily. I'm working on another book. Somewhere in there is sleep (sometimes).

So why write here more often?

Simple. Because I love it here.

I love talking with you. Telling stories. Coming up with recipes. Taking photographs against the dying light outside. Wondering how best to say what I feel. And mostly, the food. Oh, the food that feeds us, that occupies our minds, that keeps me and Danny talking late into the night. We're always bubbling with ideas.

We want to share.

So here I am. On Tuesdays, I'm going to share any announcements, plus a recommendation. Here goes.

I'm teaching a class on Finding Your Voice.

Next month, I'll be teaching again. And I'd love to have you in the class.

David Leite, of the incredible Leite's Culinaria, has assembled a respected group of teachers and writers to teach classes on the publishing world, writing a cookbook, pitching to magazines, and how to write the perfect recipe. I'm humbled and happy to be one of the group with David, Renee Schettler, and Dianne Jacob.

On Monday, November 2nd, I'll be teaching a lecture/seminar class on how to find your voice in food writing. We’ll convene by telephone for a 2 1/2 hour conference call. The class will be both lecture and discussion, with plenty of laughter, I'm sure. A private podcast of this class, available only to participants, will be posted online for one month at no additional cost.

To quote myself:

"Finding your voice will lead your readers to good food and shared meals. Voice is more than word choice, sentence construction, and punctuation, although those are important elements. Your voice conveys your personality, your decisions, and your biases that make you interesting to the reader. Think of this: would you rather share a kitchen with Anthony Bourdain or Laurie Colwin? Jeffrey Steingarten or Ruth Reichl? If you knew which writer with whom you’d like to chop onions, it’s probably because you like his or her voice."

If you'd like to find out more about the class, and register to be part of this invigorating discussion, come on over here.

I really would love to have you in class.

I've been nominated for a Food Buzz award.

I'm also honored to announce that this site has been nominated for a Food Buzz award: Healthy Living blog.

Now, I have to admit, I sort of love the fact that a site that applauds butter, pork, baked goods, and sugar (among other foods) has been nominated for this award. Thank you!

But there are also some wonderful folks in this category, websites I found through the nominations:

Carrots ‘n Cake
Eat, Live, Run
Healthy Tipping Point
Kath Eats

They are all inspiring sites, all deserving of the award.

If you should wish to vote for this site, however, please click here.

You need some silicone financier molds.

There's a reason why I put a picture of polenta on top. Want to know why? Click on over to Gluten-Free Girl Recommends to find out.

That site has been on summer hiatus. But now, it's back!