Happy New Year, and Happy New Book!

Hello fair friends, Happy New Year to all of you! May 2013 bring you all an abundance of good things.

And if we’re able to hop and skip our way through the post-Christmas nostalgia, leaving behind the tinkling bells and lovely smells as just a fading memory, hopefully we’ll find ourselves standing bright-eyed and bushy tailed and ready to take on the new year and all that it has in store for us. Just think, so many adventures to be had, so many memories to be made. A big blank canvas for us all to splash with colour and life.

As usual during the holidays, I seem to have been absent from my computer far more than planned. I had so many ideas for Christmas recipe posts (as always) that just didn’t even get cooked, let alone blogged about. So I left you with just one lonely (but delicious) tribute in the form of Roasted Brandied Clemengolds, which I hope you enjoyed.

I like to think that I had a nearly relevant excuse. You see, amongst the buzz of Christmas and holidays to be planned and then actually holidayed, for the past few months I’ve been pottering, and cooking, and dabbling, and plotting, and writing, and tasting, and feeding people food from my NEW BOOK. And then, on 4th January, after much hurry-hurry flurry-flurry, I delightedly wrapped it up and sent it off to the publisher. (Well, in my mind’s eye that is, with proverbial big red bow included, but in truth I just attached it to an email and clicked send).

So, here I sit, all that craziness behind me, and the huge expanse of a new year ahead of me. It’s almost dizzying, to have been that busy for so many months, and now to have days when I don’t have to test 7 or 8 recipes a day, or stare at my computer screen endlessly, thinking ‘why did I choose that stupid boring font’? Now the publishers edit and test and photograph and prettify everything, and then a year from now, it’ll land in bookstores all ready for you to gobble up. Figuratively of course. With figurative big red bow included. I can’t wait.

In the mean time, I’m off to re-acquaint myself with my kitchen after three weeks away back home in Zimbabwe and then at the beach in Mozambique with friends and family. Exactly what holidays were made for. I’ll be back soon, hopefully with something tasty for you all to cook up.

Cheerio

Sarah xx