Lemon Rice Soup from ‘Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats from Around the World’

UPDATE! Contest extended until May 25th, 2013. Thanks everyone!!

So, that second cookbook I was working on this past year has finally released, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

It’s a strange thing to write a cookbook, in that you spend an immense amount of time with every intricate detail of each sentence, each photograph, each ingredient… and then all the attention ceases, and it is passed back into the trusted hands of the publisher where they work their magic transforming your Word doc and uploaded files into an actual, tangible object. This takes about 6 months to a year, and then suddenly the book that you grew to know and love so intimately–but vanished so suddenly–is back in your life again. By the time it is all printed and bound, it’s so much more realistic, so much more commanding. And the pages are much easier to flip through.

When I received my advance copy of Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats from Around the World, I admit, I was nervous. What if it looked strange? What if there were mistakes? What if nobody liked it? But, when the book arrived all snuggled tightly into its mail-friendly packaging, I tore into it and was instantly smitten. All the love I had poured into the creation of this book came rushing back to me again–and I didn’t care if there were mistakes (there will be, and that’s what Errata pages are for), or that certain people won’t like it. I am proud of the hard work I had invested to create this book. Plus, my publisher did a bang up job; I just adore the look of Fair Winds’ books.

The cookbook, as you may have gathered from the title, is a culmination of worldly eats, 100% free of gluten and animal products. Also, it’s chock full of color photos to show the end result of most of the recipes. I had such a great time writing this book, and an even better time testing the recipes (along with my amazingly helpful crew of testers). It’s available from Quarry Books, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books a Million, and similar booksellers. There will be digital copies also available very soon for Nook, Kindle and iTunes as well.

To celebrate the birth of this little book baby of mine, I’m sharing a favorite recipe from the text with you today. I chose soup–because as much as I’d like to say that my chocolate recipes are the biggest hits around this blog, I’d be lying. It’s soup. You guys love soup, so I’m giving it to you. Plus, this is by far one of my favorite soups of all time: a play on the popular soup from Greece called Avgolemono (Greek Egg and Lemon Soup).

Oh, and because I love you, I’m giving away this lovely rice cooker from Krups today as well. Since there are quite a few recipes in Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats from Around the World that call for rice, I thought it apropos. The contest will run until May 18th. See entry rules following the recipe.*

From Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats from Around the World–Shared with Permission from Fair Winds Press

*Contest open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on May 18th. To enter, please leave a comment letting me know your favorite dish from anywhere around the world; comments will close midnight May 17th EST.  One entry per person, please.