July 09, 2008And Now a Few Words About the Next BookI meant to address this yesterday but was pulled away by a sleepy baby! I've been working on the second Yellow Rose Recipes, which had tentatively been titled Yellow Rose Family. However, I decided a few months ago that the book will not be targeted at families; there are already several excellent books that fill this niche. (The Vegan Family Cookbook and Vegan Family Favorites, just to name a couple.) Right now, I'm still thinking of the book as "Yellow Rose Recipes II," but finding the right title isn't my chief concern. It's finding the right audience. For the first book, I knew exactly who my audience was: me. I have dozens of wonderful vegan and vegetarian cookbooks on my shelf, but most of them consist of recipes that are either: so time-consuming that I would need to spend over an hour on prep work, which is impossible on a weeknight since I have a full time job; full of costly ingredients that make it actually more expensive for me to cook at home than it would be for us to eat out; or containing so much calories and fat that if I ate like that on a daily basis, I would steadily gain weight. I still love these cookbooks, but they are special occasion recipes, perfect for weekends, for dinner parties and birthdays. I wanted a cookbook for me: someone who cooks a healthy dinner for her family almost every night, hates repeating the same recipe twice in six months, has to shop frugally, and doesn't have a whole lot of time in which to do it all. So I wrote that cookbook! However, I still have so many more recipes to share, and I'm creating more every day. But I've lost sight of my target audience. I've put the cookbook testing on hold temporarily while I do a lot of testing, recipe creation, and refocusing. (A wonderful bonus of having a friend as a publisher: I emailed Josh asking for six more months, and he said: "No problem! Take your time!") Please do me a favor and leave a comment and tell me about yourself and what you want out of a vegan cookbook. Unless what you want is vegan meringue. You need to take your ass over to Julie Hasson or Hannah Kaminsky for that.
posted by joanna @ 11:25 AM
27 Comments:
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I think you've already hit on it for me...
simple directions, simple ingredients that don't break the bank, and don't take over an hour to put together. With a family I don't have time to do the BIG recipes Monday-Friday. I just need to get it on the table before the kids are too hungry that the meltdown starts. I do look for new recipes that are healthy but don't "look" healthy so my selective 7 yr old will dive into the new dish without a big production.
i'm a college student in a small iowa town, so i usually looks for cookbooks with relatively quick, filling meals with ingredients that i can afford and find in a place with not too many grocery shopping options. but a really big factor for me is recipes that aren't too obvious about being healthy and being vegan, because i make a lot of food to share with other people to convince them that it can be as satisfying as non-vegan food. so really, what you already focus on.
Yeah, what they said! Seriously, though, it would be really cool to have recipes that have ingredients I can find at my local supermarket, and that I could serve to my omni parents without them turning their noses up. Your first book definitely did both those things, and as a result, it's my favorite cookbook EVAH! The main thing I find with vegan/vegetarian cookbooks is exactly what you said: the recipes take a long time to prep and/or cook, and yeah, with a fulltime job, that just ain't happening. :D
You have already provided what I want out of a vegan cookbook. Basically, I want simple (and healthy but still delicious) ingredients that are generally supermarket available and/or do not cost an arm and a leg. I shop at a regular grocery store most of the time and can't always find speciality stuff, so when recipes call for general ingredients and lots of fresh produce, I am happy. I tend to get annoyed with cookbooks that have millions (oh, hey, hyperbole!) recipes that are basically smaller recipes in itself. Basically: you rock! And so does Wendy McClure!
You pretty much mentioned the things that I love about YRR: low fat, cheap, quick, and TASTY. I often have tae kwon do classes in the evening that leave me about half an hour to make dinner, if I'm lucky, so having some quick dinners is really important.
I also just love your taste; I love the occasional spiciness, and I think your amount of herbs and salt are spot on. I haven't ended up adjusted any of the spicing, which is really rare for me.
Hey, this is my first time reading your blog, so I don't know anything about what was in the last cookbook, but the way you described it was great, and I think that you should keep the second one for the same thing: "someone who cooks a healthy dinner for her family almost every night, hates repeating the same recipe twice in six months, has to shop frugally, and doesn't have a whole lot of time in which to do it all."
I think this is most people. I know it is me, minus the family and repeating recipes.
I agree with what others have said. Quick and easy, nutritious, whole food. I also dig menus to give me ideas for complete meals. Stuff my kid would like, but yummy for us, too. I'm not big on baking lately, for some reason, so I tend to gravitate towards raw cooking somewhat, even though I'm not raw. I love new ideas for cooking simple things like beans, greens, grains, etc.
I'm a 30ish writer and a total foodie. I love spice and ethnic foods and crazy combinations that I've never tried before.
I work a lot and have a limited amount of time, so I need things that will get a meal on the table fast. At the same time, I love to cook and will spend hours on the weekends making homemade pasta or bread or chile rellenos, because I know it's worth it.
I also want the food to be delectable enough to satisfy my live-in omni boyfriend and feed my friends, who like to pop by spontaneously at meal times.
I also live in the desert and it's 115 degrees right now, so as of THIS VERY SECOND I need recipes that won't heat up my kitchen. Oven = bad.
my face, not just my hands, on the cover!
heh...
no, umm...vegan marshmallows?
ok, that was a joke too...i'm not helpful. i'm just really not an idea person. i think you do well with what you have been doing. i'm always looking for more cold "deli salads" (like the one that uses a grain and then with veggies/beans/etc).
i think you and the people above already hit on what i'm looking for.. quick, easy, healthy dishes that taste great. i love YRR, and would like to see more of the same. i'm a stay at home momma to 3, and feeding my kids healthy meals is the most important to me.
A second cookbook with more of your quick, simple, tasty, affordable, healthy recipes would be awesome. That's a terrific niche for you to continue in. I just want more Joanna! "Yellow Rose Recipes Strikes Again" -- I'd buy it in a split second!
But if you are really looking for a more specific niche, it would be easy to market your books as lowfat, or healthy home cooking, or unprocessed/whole foods. Like "Yellow Rose Recipes Lowfat Home Cooking" or "Yellow Rose Recipes Cooks Whole Foods" (though you'd probably have to nix any white flour and processed sugar in that second case.)
Just my random thoughts. Good luck! xo
i want more gluten free recipes than are in the average vegan cookbook...
I'm pretty much with everyone else: simple, delicious and healthy. I'm a college student with a tiny kitchen and not a lot of free time on my hands. However, I'm also kind of crazy about nutrition and the quality of my food taste wise.
I echo all the above comments. Yellow Rose recipes is my very favorite cookbook and I want more of the same. Easy to make, tasty, "like mom used to make" recipes with normal ingredients that I can find at any chain grocery store are what I am looking for. My husband and I are new to veganism and I look for recipes that remind us of the foods we used to eat. You are awesome and I can't wait for YRR II.
Pretty much everything you said. Basically, I am a poor actress, just out of college, on a very tiny budget. So lots of recipes with ingredients that are normally found around the kitchen would be great. Also a big thumbs up on the low-normal calorie range. Really, what I'm looking for is a cookbook that showcases ways to love the healthy stuff - the greens, the veggies. It seems like so many vegan cookbooks are really meant to impress omnis that think vegan food tastes like crap, so they are decadent and rich. I just want recipes that I can use on a daily basis that are healthy and VEGETABLE based. We are freakin vegans, after all.
I love your book, and how excited was I to open my copy and find that you had signed it! I say keep up the good work. I know how it is: kids, job, budget, easy to find ingredients. Thank you!
I'm 35, work full time+, and like to cook seasonally, in an hour or less(well, actually I'd prefer to cook all day, but that's not happening) and without a lot of "fake" type ingredients. I love your 1st book and echo what others have said about more of the same. Tex-mex is my favorite type of food ever, so I hope you continue to do some of that(black bean flautas=dream come true)
I basically just want YRR2. I want tasty and vegan, but not super complicated and not involving random ingredients I'm not likely to have.
AND I want it to a bigger dessert section than the first one did.
nooooo kfan, i don't do desserts. really. the ones in yrr are my standbys when i'm not cooking someone else's recipes! you should buy "vegan cupcakes take over the world" and "my sweet vegan." they actually know what they're talking about.
I am with you. I love simple, low-cost vegan meals, never the same. I would also like to try some simple desserts, I'm not a baker, but every now and then I would like to have something!
I love mega comfort foods too!
I don't know if I'm in your target audience or not, but sure hope to be. I'm 40, work full time plus spend mornings and evenings caring for my horses, so much of my food prep is done on the weekends. In short, I am looking for healthy (low fat, low sugar) recipes that can be prepped or cooked ahead of time and are not time/labor intensive. I know that is a lot to ask, but that's my lifestyle. Also, if you need another tester in the future, I would love to test and photo for you.
I also work full time and love the recipes I find where I have time to stop at the grocery store after work, get home, prep and cook and be eating by or even before 8pm (I work until at least 6:30 most nights).
Also not having to pick up much from the grocery. Some fresh veg or some tofu and not having to track down strange ingredients that you may never use again.
I agree with all the other comments. I would like to add that I would like some recognition for the childless. Most cookbooks have the standard 4 serving per recipe minimum, and include discussions on how to successfully double recipes. When I make a recipe for 4 servings, my partner and I eat it for most of the week. I would appreciate a discussion/ notes on how to cut down recipes to feed one or two.
I just found your blog and will definitely return -- your ideas about recipes are exactly what I'm looking for after a long week spent cooking elaborate meals that shouldn't have been elaborate (veggie burgers, stir fry, etc) and spending a fortune on food. Yep, I used Vegetarian Times (which I still love).
I'm looking for: seasonal, especially with it being summer and wanting light (but not nutrient/protein starved) meals that don't take a lot of time in the kitchen. Most cookbooks seem to be organized by type of food (pasta, breads, etc) but I want what I'm finding at the farmer's market now. I'm also tired of stir fry and pasta -- variety!
While cooking for a family is what many people do, it's just two of us. Some recipes are easy enough to divide by, but others call for 2/3 cup for 4 servings. That makes things difficult since we don't freeze much. So, easily dividable recipes.
Finally, we don't freeze much. Because it tends to come out unappetizing. So stuff that works great reheated and can be used in a different capacity. (We just made confetti stir fried rice and then reused it with another stirfry a few months later and it was great!) More attention to how you can use up the scraps after cooking. In short, a focus on how to reduce waste in my kitchen.
I live with my boyfriend and I cook dinner probably about 6 nights a week (one night of take out). I also cook for my grandpa two nights a week.
Here's what I like in a cookbook: interesting flavors (enough with all the bland vegan food in the world!), protein options besides soy (especially beans and seitan!), one pot meals, low on processed ingredients like margarine and soy cream cheese, veggies! (duh!), and on average not too time consuming. THAT would be my dream book! I don't mind a few exotic ingredients or high-intensity recipes, as long at they're more exceptions than the rule.
First of all: I can't wait for book II. Book I is all I've been cooking from as of late & the reason is because the ingredients are easily found in a grocery store, inexpensive, and easy to prep.
We are a single income family of 4 with a baby in the house, which means things need to be cheap & fast, yet nutritious. Low fat is always a plus, too.
Things that can be tossed into a pot on the stove & simmered awhile, like the Northwest Meets Southwest chili, are excellent because they don't need babysitting even if the cooktime is a little longer than usual.
Oh yes, oh yes. It sounds like you're writing a cookbook for me. I LOVE Veganomicon and VWAV, for example, but Isa is liberal with the oil and the frying of things, and her recipes are GREAT but take a long time. Give me quick(er) and healthy(ier), and I will buy a copy of your book!