Oh me, Oh my, Oh Pie!

You know when you work, and work, and work (and work and work and WORK!) on something and then, suddenly, it's done, finished, fully completed? And it feels so, so very good, right? Well, that time has come.

I am over the moon thrilled today to share with you a little sneak peek of my new book, A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies (Lark Crafts, 2012). The idea for this book was presented to me when Huxley was only 6 weeks old. I started writing it when he was 3 months, turned in the manuscript when he was 9, polished off the last of the photo shoots when he was 13 months, and now, have a real world, in-my-hands copy to show you today, when he's just over 1 1/2 years old. Clearly, the growth of this book paralleled my growth as a mother and my son's growth from newborn to infant to toddler.

And what an amazing journey it has been. This book is such a joy to me. Not only does it cook as I cook, through the calender year, but in it you'll also find contributing recipes from 8 of my favorite blogging buddies, including Beatrice Peltre, Aran Goyoaga, Amanda Soule, Jenna Woginrich, Kate Payne, Tim Mazurek, Jessie Oleson, and Tricia Martin. There are sweet and savory pies. There are hand pies and galettes. There are lattice-top and double crust and freezer and fridge pies. There's truly something for everyone, including 3 gluten-free offerings. The book publishes August 7th, but is available for now pre-order (and it's discounted some kind of crazy on Amazon!).

I can't wait to share more with you closer to the publication date. For the time being, though, know that this book was made with lots of love, lots of baby giggles and shenanigans underfoot (and oftentimes, on hip, as in, he was on my hip while I was prepping pastry dough or mixing fruit with sugar in the mixing bowl), and lots and lots of butter. I hope that that love pours off the book's pages and into your home, a little slice of light and laughter and bliss, from me, to you.

Almost forgot, I've got two more bits of pie-inspired writing for you! On Verve, I'm chatting about how pies have shaped my life and on Mrs. Wages, I've got two berry-centric recipes up. Enjoy!