Two Words: Done Deal

It's funny.

I've been daydreaming about writing this particular blog post and making this particular announcement since perhaps day one of this blog. Every now and then, for the past four years, I'd catch myself staring off into space, quietly wondering and hoping:

Wouldn't it be cool if I were to write a...

One of these days I'm going to write a...

Man, I really think I could write a...

And then before finishing my thought, I'd shake my head and continue banging on my keyboard, posting Filipino recipes and just sharing a part of my life and culture with anyone who happened across this blog.

Eventually though, after a couple years of wondering and hoping, I sat down and got to doing and writing. A proposal was written, and re-written, and massaged, and fine tuned, and...

And now, now that I actually am writing this blog post and actually do have something to announce, I'm at a loss for words.

Or maybe I'm just nervous.

Here goes:

I've got a cookbook deal!!! A cookbook deal!!! A mother-effing cookbook deal!!!

Wow, it felt insanely gratifying typing those words just now (especially the mother-effing part).

Yes friends, I am so very happy to share with you that over the next year or so I'll be busy writing a Filipino cookbook. I've signed a contract with Tuttle Publishing, and my manuscript is due in January 2012. My cookbook is tentatively titled The New Filipino-American Cookbook (ooh-lar-lar) and is scheduled to land in bookstores, Amazon, and my car trunk by Fall 2012.

I can already see some people out there who may be decrying the title and asking "Filipino-American? Does that mean this cookbook is geared toward Westerners?"

The answer, NO. The cookbook is intended for ANYONE interested in Filipino cuisine and culture. I'm envisioning this cookbook to be an extension of this blog in the sense that I'll continue exploring what Filipino food is, as well as what Filipino food can be. There will be new recipes featuring some traditional dishes, as well as some recipes with my own wacky take on things--you know, business as usual here at the Burnt Lumpia Worldwide Headquarters.

I would also like to take this time to thank Jaden Hair, Andrea Nguyen, and Pat Tanumihardja--three brilliant cookbook authors and all-around wonderful women who have each provided guidance and advice to me for the past couple of years. Thank you all for being mentors to me. And thank you for being inspiring cookbook authors. Thank You!

And lastly, thank you friends and readers. This is really, truly a wonderful/scary/exciting time in my life. I couldn't have gotten to this point without making the connections I've made with all of you. I've got a long road ahead of me still, and I hope you'll continue on this journey with me, as many of you have from the beginning.

I can only promise you that over the next year I will pour everything I've got into writing this cookbook, this FILIPINO COOKBOOK!!!, and hopefully you'll find the time to flip it open.

Cookbook Rules Everything Around Me

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