Making Noises

My cookbook proposal was turned down.  Here’s the email I received yesterday from the editor I sent it to at Whitecap Books:

I’ve taken a look at your proposal; thanks for sending it to us. Although I do think this is a good idea, and I certainly think you could launch a successful blog on the topic, it is not right for our list at this time.

 

I do wish you the best of luck, and encourage you to look at continuing to pursue this topic in a blog!

So that’s what I’ve decided to do. I’ve launched a new blog exclusively for this.  The address for this blog is:

http://chronicinthekitchen.wordpress.com/

I’m still in the process of getting this up and running.  For now it will be hosted by WordPress.

My latest recipe for “Make it Once, Eat it Twice” is:

Cheater Chili and Taco Salad

Meal #1 – Cheater Chili

One, 642 ml jar of chunky salsa, as hot as you like

1 1b. ground beef

1 19 oz. can beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. garlic

1 – 2 T. chili powder

Brown ground beef than add salsa, beans and spices.  Simmer about 10 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with buns or taco chips.

Take the leftover chili and turn it into Meal #2 – Taco Salad by chopping up some tomatoes, green pepper, shredding some lettuce and cheese and placing all of these ingredients in individual serving bowls.  Re-heat the leftover chili.  Assemble the salad by starting with taco chips, chili, the vegetables and the cheese.  Serve with additional salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

OLE.

I’m becoming a huge fan of this cooking style, particularly when I’m time-strapped or energy-depleted.
Enjoy!

Each meal serves two and both are minimally prepared

First Meal

Salmon with a Maple Soy Glaze, Rice and Frozen Vegetables

Prepare rice – I use a rice cooker –
Fill bottom of rice cooker with water.
Add 1 cup rice and 1 cup water each to the basket that is placed inside the cooker. Stir. Plug it in and set the timer to 30 minutes.

Salmon:

4. frozen salmon fillets (no need to thaw first)*
2 T. each Soy Sauce and Maple Syrup
1 tsp. each ginger and garlic

Preheat oven to 450. Lay salmon fillets in a large casserole dish. Combine soy sauce, maple syrup and ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Pour over salmon. Bake in oven for approximately 18 minutes.

The rice and salmon dishes each provide four servings. Serve with steamed stir fry vegetables.

Meal Two

Reserve half the rice and two of the salmon fillets. Cut the salmon fillets up into small pieces, combine with the rice, and add some stir fry vegetables – place in a non-stick frying pan with some water, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until the vegetables are thawed and the rice and salmon are heated through.

*Thawed chicken breasts would also work; cook until no longer pink inside and the juices run clear.

My cookbook “Chronic in the Kitchen — When You’re in Too Much Pain to Cook Too Much” which contains over 100 recipes that are easy, tasty, and healthy has been pitched to a publisher, Whitecap Books.  An acquaintance of mine, Julie Van Rosendaal, helped me tremendously with the “pitch letter.”  Julie’s  a  cookbook author, chef, caterer,  blogger  www.dinnerwithjulie.com, writer, TV star and intrepid traffic reporter.  Whitecap’s published her cookbooks and Julie helped me with the pitch letter and gave me a contact at Whitecap to direct my inquiry to.

Here’s the “pitch”:

About Me

Allow me to introduce myself – I like to eat, cook and bake.  I’m also a person who happens to have a chronic pain condition.   I’m a former administrative assistant who now has a home based writing and web design business with my husband.

 

Previous publishing credits include acting as a reporter for a non-profit organization’s bi-weekly publication, and the publication of a short story in a local writer’s magazine.  I’ve been writing since I was in my teens and blogging since 2008.

About My Cookbook

I found that a lot of recipes – while tasty – had a lot of preparation and were quite time- and energy-consuming – to make. To help people in the kitchen who, like myself, cope with chronic pain, I’ve written, adapted, compiled and developed “Chronic In the Kitchen – When You’re in Too Much Pain to Cook Too Much,” which contains over 100 recipes.  Recipes that are easy, healthy, and time-saving, designed for those who suffer from extreme fatigue, pain and low energy.   Those who experience pain in their hands from repetitive strain injuries, arthritis or fibromyalgia will appreciate the small amount of preparation required. Most recipes take 30 minutes or less counter-to-table.

Granted, there are many cookbooks that have fast, easy to prepare recipes.  However, with my cookbook, I’ve tried to minimize the amount of processed foods used as it’s possible that, for some people, certain preservatives or additives can exacerbate chronic pain.     It’s also chock full of tips to help those with chronic pain be awap (as well as possible.)

Regarding photographs, while I have a high end point and shoot digital camera, I am not sure that it is up to the task of photographing the quality images required for a book.

Note, too, that I stand ready, willing and able to handle the promotion of this book via media appearances and other marketing as necessary to help this cookbook succeed!

About Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 6 months.

According to www.iasp-pain.org:

1 in 5 adults and 1 in 3 seniors suffers from chronic pain.  The prevalence of chronic pain increases with age.

Statistics from the Canadian Pain Coalition show that 13 – 30% of Canadians cope with chronic pain.

(Statistics included to show that there is a market for this cookbook.)

Let’s hope this pitch is a home run!

Note – if anyone would like purchase copies of this cookbook, please contact me at kathyatbignoise-enterprises.com.