with Mary Anne Mohanraj
15 days ’til launch. Eep. I was thinking maybe for the last two weeks, I do ebook giveaways here? How would people feel about 3 ebooks / day, starting tomorrow, posted on my Facebook wall, comment to enter? Exciting, yes? 
Tell me if you want me to do it!
Chicago folks — anyone know what happened to Read It & Eat, our cookbook store? I stopped by yesterday, hoping to schedule an event with them, but there was a ‘for rent’ sign in the window! The website looks completely normal still, very confusing.
Scheduling a book tour isn’t as easy as you’d think…
Super-happy with this Neapolitan confection experiment! I had some bowls of chocolate left over from the Valentine’s fruit-dipping, and I didn’t want to waste them — had the brainwave that I could do a layered set of chocolates. And they are SO SO good. Luscious, creamy. The kids love them, and so do I.
I just melted the chocolate at 1/2 power in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirred, and then poured it into the molds. First white chocolate, let it set (30 minutes or so?), then ruby chocolate, then milk chocolate. (I wish ruby chocolate were more widely available; my local Trader Joe’s carried the chips for a bit, but don’t anymore. I buy big bags of couverture chocolate from Callebaut on Amazon now.)
At first I planned to carefully wipe up any drips on the inside of the mold — but then I had the brilliant idea of leaving them, so that it would look like the chocolate had dripped down — just like Neapolitan ice cream! I love the effect. 🙂
The colors are very appropriate for spring coming, don’t you think? They’re going to look fabulous on our Easter table, esp. if we do natural dying of eggs again this year; they’ll blend beautifully.
And the best part is that they’re also delicious; the gentle natural fruitiness of the ruby chocolate is so reminiscent of the strawberry in Neapolitan ice cream, it all just works. Honestly, if I had the energy, I’d figure out how to copyright this thing, so no big food manufacturers start making them. 🙂 But you folks, please, go ahead. Enjoy!
(They came out so well, I’m planning to make a few more batches, so a set of four will definitely be included in the first Serendib Kitchen Patreon subscription, woot! I’m not quite sure when I’m sending that out, since it’s already February — I’m thinking I might send one out in March, just for people who sign up at that level in February.
That would be a dramatic discount ($20 instead of $30, which includes shipping) on what is already a pretty great deal, but hey, that’s what you get for being an early adopter. If we send out by end of March, then they should arrive everywhere in good time for Easter. 🙂 Patreon link in comments. If we can manage it, time-wise, we’ll also do a flash sale sometime in March, but March is a little crazed with launch, so we’ll see. Maybe I can convince my assistant Stephanie that she wants to join the chocolate assembly line.)
Four quick things, folks, as we countdown to our March 6 launch (just 16 days away! Eep!): GIVEAWAY, REVIEWS, TREAT SUBSCRIPTION, SAN FRANCISCO
1) Woot! I’m running a hardcover cookbook giveaway on GoodReads for US folks — enter to win (look for the Enter Giveaway link, a little down the page). An international ebook giveaway will follow shortly.
https://www.goodreads.com/…/sh…/51332647-a-feast-of-serendib
2) If you’ve already gotten a copy and are inclined to review Feast (reviews are WILDLY helpful for helping to make the book visible; a simple sentence or two is plenty, and would be MUCH appreciated), you can do that here:
a) GoodReads (link above)
b) Books-a-Million review page is also now live, we think. https://www.booksamillion.com/…/Mary-Anne-Mo…/9781645432753…
c) Amazon will be live on launch day March 6, so please set your calendar reminders. And if you’re planning to buy a book and haven’t yet, buying on March 6 would be VERY much appreciated — if a bunch of people buy (or review) on the same day, it bumps a book’s visibility dramatically
3) I’ve added a subscription option to my Patreon (US-only, sorry), where you can sign up to get edible treats and other goodies mailed to you once a quarter for $30 (sign up at the $10 / month level). Details at Patreon here (which is also where you can join the cookbook club): https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj
4) I’m delighted to note that I’m coming to San Francisco, to cookbook store Omnivore, 3885 Cesar Chavez, to talk about A Feast of Serendib! Tues, March 24, 6:30-7:30pm. Expect me to do a 20-minute talk about Sri Lankan history and cuisine, plus Q&A & signing. Save the date!
I’m trying to schedule some more Bay Area events in March, so do watch this space; when the full schedule is finalized, I’ll let y’all know!
Whew! I think that’s it for now. More soon…
Hey, it looks like people can post reviews on the Books-a-Million site now? Maybe? If someone is kindly inclined and wants to get the ball rolling (and let us know if it works), that would be GREAT.
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Feast-Serendib/Mary-Anne-Mohanraj/9781645432753
Adding another SF event on 3/24! (Starting to finally feel like a book tour…)
12:30 – 1:30, lunch with me at The Writers’ Grotto. (This event is for Grotto members only — join the Grotto at their website.) https://www.sfgrotto.org.
Having a rough night, but mango-chocolate chip crepes with whipped cream did help briefly.
Hey, folks. Quick check — we’re setting up a Patreon subscription, so that people can get treats from me reliably. (Sadly, food treats can only be shipped in the U.S. right now — anything else is beyond my capacity!)
Here’s the current description — how does it look? Any thoughts?
$10 / month tier:
“Once each quarter, I’ll mail a present to you in the mail! A selection of homemade edible treats, a piece of domestic creative writing, and a tiny extra surprise.”
So it ends up being $30 / quarter, which includes shipping. Does that seem reasonable, pricing wise?
I’m being super unspecific about what the edible treats will be, because I don’t know yet, and as we’re figuring this out, it gives me the flexibility I need. Down the road, we might offer other tiers, and more specificity, but I think that’s more than I can mange at the moment. Thoughts?
I’m not sure how to manage allergies and food preferences — I think I can reasonably easily do nut-free / vegan / gluten-free on request, with the provision that I can’t guarantee a completely nut / gluten-free environment in the kitchen overall.
Bay Area peeps — trying to schedule book tour. TWO QUESTIONS:
1) I’ll be there March 4-8 for FogCon in Walnut Creek, and may have time for a book event. What bookstores / libraries would you recommend in: Marin / Sausalito / San Francisco / Oakland / Berkeley?
• I’m going to contact Omnivore, the cookbook store, later today
2) I’ll be there March 23 – 29, visiting family and friends for spring break, mostly in South Bay, but also up in Marin. What bookstores / libraries would you recommend in: South Bay and Peninsula?
• Jed mentioned Kepler’s?
Contacts particularly welcome, if you happen to know people on staff.
ALSO: If you’re willing to be part of my Bay Area book tour crew (I need a jazzier name for this!), helping to publicize and round up people to attend, would love to know that too! I’ll be sure to send you details so you don’t miss anything, and I may even be able to bring along some special treats for you. I’d love to speak to a packed room. 🙂
[goes off, brainstorming ‘book tour crew’ names. Something with a Sri Lankan mythical beast? Garudas, makaras. Won’t mean anything to most of y’all, though, so that’s a shame. Something with food? Oh, naming things is hard.]
Content note: diet & exercise.
Today I finally started the morning with 30 min. walking on treadmill (at 2.0 speed) while doing recipe posting (instead of sitting on couch). I’ve been meaning to get back to that for weeks, and somehow every morning I just didn’t. But today I did.
And I’m now making a batch of sherried mushrooms with Swiss for an omelette this morning + egg bites for the rest of the work week. Going to grill some shrimp later today, to toss into caesar salads, etc.
I’ve been so harried for months that all my healthy habits fell by the wayside, but am determined to get them back, esp. as clothes are getting a bit tight. Bah.
Also, this is yummier than grabbing random carbs just because they’re easy and fast, and I feel physically better if I start the day with walking — more energy throughout the day, sleep better.
Just need to slow everything down a little bit overall. Breathe.