This just in: There is sunshine in Oregon! The kids are outside playing horseshoes on the lawn with Russell. It’s been a looooooooong winter.

I’ve received many emails recently about cooking clubs. Keep them coming! Literally within days I heard from cooking clubs in Alaska and Tennessee! I love knowing that even though these clubs live on opposite sides of the country, they are still sharing the same experiences of food and friendship. Thanks to Jodi and Christine for sharing their stories and emailing me.

Jodi, from Alaska, sent pictures even! Now in the interest of full disclosure, Jodi is my cousin. Her Dad and my Mom are siblings. She flew in for a visit last October. I think it was the first time in a decade that we’d seen one another. Our cousin Amy came too and we had a great time touring Portland and cheering Jodi on in the Portland Marathon.

Check out the pictures of Jodi and her cooking friends in Alaska! Thanks ladies, for agreeing to let me post them on my blog.

This is Jodi (above) sporting her onion goggles. Can you see the resemblance? No? Here are some clues: we’re both slaves to fashion eyewear, site our coffee makers front and center in the kitchen, and have huge plates of Pumpkin Muffins on the kitchen counter. Love it!

Here’s her cooking club! I’m hoping to meet them and lend a hand during one of their cooking sessions when I visit (hopefully next summer).

Here’s how they mark the mailbox so the club can find the right house. A pink chef’s hat–what a cute idea!

No need for coolers in Alaska!

Teamwork! Thanks again, Jod. Luv ya!

My husband and I decided to buy a house! (It’s a long story.) House prices have only declined about 10-15% in our part of the country and I still think it’s overvalued. But a number of things made this the right time for us to become home owners once again.

Our “new” house was built in the 1970s and needs some updating and remodeling. So far we’ve built up the sunken living room floor, taken down walls, put up sheet rock, removed all common area flooring, and all kitchen appliances. And painted. Lots and lots of painting. I’ve been a busy girl!

Today I’m working on cleaning and painting the pantry. Next week I’m moving on to the lower kitchen cabinets.

Check it out. This checkerboard vinyl was under the floating floor my husband removed. Do you think we should leave it?

Happy New Year!

Last weekend I heard about a local group of women who were preparing
make-ahead meals for three colleagues who are battling illnesses. I was
compelled by their selflessness, especially during the busy holiday
season, so I asked them if I could pop by and see what they were up to,
take a few pictures and hear their story.

Jan, Nancy, Shari, Peggy and Laura

These women are some of the staff at Fairhaven Middle School. Two of their
colleagues are battling breast cancer and another is also ill. On a
blustery Saturday, with a sky threatening snow, they gathered at Nancy’s home to prepare several entrees spanning six different recipes.

Lest you think this is simply an endorsement of our own book, it is not!
Of the six recipes the group used, only one is ours: Chicken Broccoli
Bake. The rest were from various sources, Scallop Chowder,
epicurious; South of the Border Quiche, recipezaar; Apricot Chicken, Don’t Panic it’s in the Freezer; Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork, an internet source not cited; and Basic Marinara, Cooking Light.

Besides their compassion, what I loved about this group is how well they
adapted - several decisions had to be made about adapting a recipe or
ingredient and they took it all in stride. When they discovered they had
no cider vinegar, they substituted balsamic and rice wine vinegars. Yum!
The quiche recipe had an odd assembly technique; they modified it so the
filling and crust were frozen separately rather than try to transport and
freeze the filling in the crust (what a mess that could be!). The chowder
recipe had a redundant and unnecessary middle step that they forfeited
altogether. This is exactly the kind of thing that encourages Kati and I
so much when we hear about it. We were happy to give detailed description
about our method when we wrote our book, but we never want it to be so
prescriptive that cooks don’t feel like they have room to adjust. Good
work, ladies!

I was thrilled that this group would allow me, a virtual stranger, to come
in and hang around while they worked. Thanks to these generous women,
three Whatcom County families will have an easier time feeding their
families this holiday season. As Nancy said, “there isn’t anything we can
do about their illnesses, but we can cook for them!” I commend these women for their hearts of compassion and the blessing they have brought to their friends.

Merry Christmas!

Do you ever feel behind? No, I don’t mean that you feel LIKE a behind. I mean feel unable to keep up.

I’m definitely feeling overextended lately. To manage I’ve been eating down my freezer inventory. It’s time for a big cook fest.

Speaking of cook fests, Stacy a reader from Minnesota sent some fun, inspiring photos from her family cooking event. Early this year, Stacy succeeded in recruiting her family members to come and cook with her for a morning.

Her dad, sister, and brother were initially skeptical of Stacy’s proposal. But now they’re regularly cooking together. She even sent photos! Check them out:

It’s fun to look at Stacy’s pictures. And you’ll be amazed by what her family accomplishes together. Here’s what Stacy wrote:

“We ended up doing 30 meals (10 for each family) in less than 4 hours. Since the manicotti recipe and the lasagna make 4 the extra was our lunch after a morning of hard work. We were all home before 1 and had the rest of our day to ourselves.

Thank you again for creating such a great cook book. My parents tried the pork goulash for the first time this week and called me right away to tell me it was wonderful. I’ve tired other freezer meals but yours have such great flavors. You’ve inspired us to try some of our own family recipes in the tray pack method.”

I haven’t checked in with Stacy in a few months. But I’m looking forward to an update to hear how it’s going. Thanks for sending me your photos, Stacy!

Q: Why do you love Costco Canada?

A: Because they’re selling our book this holiday season! Yes, we have it on good authority that Fix, Freeze, Feast will be available in all Costco Canada stores very soon. How cool is that? So email, call, and write your Canadian friends and tell them to check it out. And be quick about it, because Lindsay has already told ALL of her family and friends!

Q: When is your next book giveaway?

A: Be sure to listen to our podcast on Sunday. Lindsay will outline how to enter to win: 1 signed copy of our book, Fix, Freeze, Feast and one copy of Cookie Craft by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. We’re working on more book giveaways that feature other authors from our publisher, Storey Publishing, too. So be sure to sign up for our blog and subscribe to our podcast. And tell a friend too. The more subscribers and listeners we have, the easier it is to get giveaway goodies.

Q: When are you going to be on Facebook and MySpace?

A: Recently I described myself as, “charmingly 20th century.” But guess what? Fix, Freeze, Feast has pages on Facebook and MySpace now. So come be a friend… er, fan… er, ummmm… check it out!

Q: Are there any upcoming book signing? I really want to get a book signed to give as a gift.

A. Yes, we are both working on scheduling signings in our local areas for the holidays and will post details on our site as they become available. But for those of you that don’t live in Bellingham, Washington or south of Portland, Oregon, we have just received book plates. Simply send us a self-address, stamped envelope to:

Fix Freeze Feast Book Plate
c/o Kati Neville
PO Box 451
Wilsonville, OR 97070

Be sure to tell us whom the book is for and to print clearly. We will send you the free, signed book plate as quickly as possible.