A (Pumpkin) Bun in the Oven

I'm excited to share some fun news....we are expecting another baby BOY! Ezra is excited to have a little brother. I am due in early January...can't believe I am already 6+ months along.

I was similarly pregnant with Ez when my first book came out, so it's been fun to make some maternity dresses again using my artwork, like I did for my first book tour. For my first book, I wore a dress with my orange tree photo printed on it to the launch party at Anthropologie in NYC, and I had the endpages from my book printed on another dress for a book party in Oakland. For my new book, The Forest Feast Gatherings, I made some dresses out of photos I took of bougainvillea flowers on a recent trip to Santa Barbara. I had the photos printed on fabric at Spoonflower and then had them made into dresses (Spoonflower actually sewed the dress below on the left!). See me wearing one at an event in NYC, here. For more on my pregancy style check out this  story Mother Mag did on me when I was expecting Ezra.

With Fall upon us, I am enjoying everything pumpkin and baking more than usual. Going to be popping a batch of these buns in the oven soon:

Happy Baking!

Clementine Cocktails & Book Launch Parties!

The past 2 weeks we have been celebrating with book launch parties on both coasts for The Forest Feast Gatherings! A week before the book came out, I hosted a preview party at the cabin for a small group. Then Jonathan, Ezra and I went to NYC last week for launch events at Paper Source in Manhattan and PowerHouse Arena in Brooklyn. Just this past weekend, the gift shop Emily Joubert Home & Garden (above) in Woodside, CA (where I live) hosted a big party for which I made appetizers for 100 (!), cocktails were provided by Women & Whiskies, and we sold out of books completely! Thank you so much to the friends, family and readers that came out on both coasts to support me, I am so grateful!

Jonathan interviewed me at the event at Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Ezra "helped" me sign books.

At Paper Source in Manhattan we did a watercolor crafting DIY from the book and I made lots of treats (like Strawberry Caprese Bites from the book) to nosh on at the signing.

A few more pics from the event in Woodside at Emily Joubert, the prettiest home and garden shop near where I live. If you're in the area, is so worth a visit!

Women & Whiskies was kind enough to provide whiskey for the cocktails, like this Clementine Cocktail from the book. To serve such a big crowd, I turned it into a punch, and we made pitchers of it. People loved it!

Stay tuned for more book events around the SF Bay Area throughout the fall (there will be several! I'll post them on the cookbook tab above). 

Cheers to many more gatherings!

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Photos of the Woodside event above are by Brian Silverstein and Martha Bixby.

Rosh Hashana Recipes

The Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana starts this Sunday and the baking at our house begun! It's traditional to eat dishes made with apples and honey to "sweeten the new year", plus other harvest-time foods like pomegranates and figs. I always make round challah and honey cake. Here are a few of my favorites from the archives. Shana Tova!

HONEY CAKE

APPLE & HONEY GALETTE

POMEGRANATE ROUND CHALLAH

STUFFED BAKED APPLES

WARM BRIE WITH FIGS & PISTACHIOS

Fall Recipes from My New Book

My new cookbook, The Forest Feast Gatherings, was released TODAY! I couldn't be happier or more excited about how it turned out. It's got 100 simple vegetarian recipes geared for entertaining, and set up in menus for all different types of occasions, from a brunch, to a wine & cheese party, to seasonal dinner party menus. Plus it's loaded with even more of my photos and watercolor illustrations and several DIY ideas for hosting.

I wanted to share a couple recipes from one of my favorite menus, the Fall Feast. Each menu starts with a page like this:

Testing was fun. Friends and family actually hosted gatherings for all the menus in the book, making all the recipes to serve in one setting and then sent invaluable feedback on how much time it took to make everything, how it tasted, if there were leftovers, etc. Here are a couple favorite recipes from the Fall dinner party menu: 

Thank you so much to everyone who pre-ordered! Your free gifts should be arriving soon. And thanks to everyone who came out to my launch events in NYC last week. Thank you to Powerhouse and Paper Source for hosting. We had such a fun time! More photos in my newsletter, here.

For anyone in the CA Bay Area, hope you can come to the west coast launch party this Saturday from 5-7pm in Woodside. More info here. Drinks and snacks from the book will be served (free event)!

Cheers and Happy hosting!

Zucchini Recipe Round-up

It's that time of year when, if you have a garden (or a friend with one), you've got zucchini coming out of your ears! Below is a little round-up of my favorite Forest Feast zucchini recipes.

Also, I am gearing up for my book launch events in NYC next week for The Forest Feast Gatherings! If you live in the NYC area, I hope you'll join us on Wed 9/21/16 in Brooklyn or Thurs 9/22/16 in Manhattan. 

This Vegan Zucchini Almond Bread is so moist and delicious! I've made this recipe so many times and it is consistently delicious. I make loaves and intend to keep them in the freezer, but they get eaten almost immediately.

This Zucchini Fan Quiche is easy, pretty and tasty and works well for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner. I serve it alongside soup or salad. It also does well when made ahead or packed in lunches.

These Zucchini Latkes are like little savory zucchini pancakes. Potato is mixed in to make them more filling. You can make mini ones for a party appetizer (or for kids) or larger ones for a dinner entree.

Use a peeler to make this Carrot-Zucchini Ribbon Salad. Feel free to skip the flowers if you can't find any. Serve the salad cold, or throw the ribbons in a big skillet for 1 or 2 minutes with some cooked fettuccine pasta and butter for a more filling dish. It's also great with pesto!

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Cheers to late summer cooking & baking!