Category: Uncategorized

Cooking out of Feast this weekend! Plus Roshani’s dal — she joined Silvia Moreno-Garcia and me for lunch.

I’m a little confused about ebook editions and updating. So, one thing that seems like I should be doing is when I bring out a new ebook (like Feast of Serendib), I should include links at the back to my other ebooks (like Vegan Serendib, the Marshmallows of Serendib, Perennial, etc.). That’s straightforward enough.

BUT. It seems like I should also upload new versions of those earlier books with links to the new ebook, yes? And my question is, does that ‘count’ as a new edition, in the eyes of librarians, booksellers, and academics? Do I need to change the ISBN? That seems sort of goofy, since I’m essentially just changing advertising copy, not the actual text of the original book.

Is there settled practice on this? Or are we just in a Wild West of chaotic ISBN-assigning? (Yes, I know a lot of ebook writers don’t even bother with ISBNs, but that makes the librarian and academic in me cringe — I couldn’t do that myself.)

Lori Rader-Day and I had a writing date this week, and we grabbed lunch at Delia’s Kitchen; I wasn’t very hungry, so I thought I’d just get a yogurt parfait. Well, it was HUGE — enough for two meals for me, and so beautifully served, I had to share.

(Note, if you’re planning to work there, they’re busy at breakfast and lunch, so I’d aim for mid-morning so as not to hog a needed table, and there’s only one table with an outlet.)

I’m still mopey about the makerspace sometimes, though I clearly (CLEARLY) don’t have time to do it properly right now. Talking to someone in a few weeks about whether they might be able to take over direction of it. It’s not dead, just sleeping.

I was recently talking with a former student, who’s interested in writing both fiction and nonfiction; I suggested some nonfiction pieces I thought she was well placed to pitch and write, that are totally in her wheelhouse. And she said (hope she doesn’t mind if I paraphrase her here) that talking to me, I made it seem easy, or possible — something like that.

Canada folks — I know shipping to Canada was outrageous, and so many people opted for ebook rather than print. But I’ll be in Toronto in the spring (date TBD), and I’ll be in Montreal in a few weeks — if you’d like to get a paperback or hardcover for pick-up, we can avoid the whole shipping issue.

I’ll be there for Scintillation (SF convention) Oct 11 – 13, staying at the Holiday Inn in Chinatown — if you or a designated friend can come pick up from me then, would love to give you a signed hardcover. 🙂 At this point, I think it’s simplest if we just figure out payment / delivery via comments, so let me know here if you’re interested, please! (Happy to also sell you copies of The Stars Change or Perennial.)

(Also, look what an adorable graphic Irene Victoria made for me for my book tour! So cute.)

Chocolate-Tamarind Scones with Candied Ginger and Fig

I was aiming for autumnal + South Asian, and this fit the brief nicely. I fed Stephanie and Karen when they came to work with me this morning, and Anand and Kevin ate the ones I left at home, and I took the rest to a department poetry reading this evening, and now they’re almost all gone. That was fast! 🙂

The scone flavors are subtle, letting the ginger and fig shine; if I were going to do these again, I might try doubling the tamarind and chocolate, for a punchier version, and also adding in a teaspoon of cayenne — I do like tamarind + cayenne! But that might tip it over the edge; this version is a very good all around scone.

(If you don’t have a mini scone pan, you can cut and shape these by hand, and bake on a regular baking sheet, placing them quite close together. If you pop them in the freezer for 30 minute before baking, they’ll hold shape better.)

Recipe below the images.

2 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 c. chopped candied ginger
1/2 c. chopped dried figs

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 T tamarind paste
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

1/2 c. chocolate chips for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray mini scone pan with Baker’s Joy (or butter and flour pan, which will be kind of a pain).

2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Chop butter in small pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter (or with your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. (It’s fine to have small lumps.) Stir in ginger and figs.

3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 5 scone ingredients, beating eggs lightly. Pour into dry mixture and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Cut into 16 equal pieces and press into the cavities of the pan.

5. Bake 20-25 or until medium brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely. Serve warm, with coffee or tea.

6. Optional: Chocolate drizzle. Melt chocolate in double boiler on stovetop or on low power in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Drizzle chocolate (spooning it into a pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip cut off makes it easier) over the top, and let dry until set.