Cooking up the Words

Keith at Utah County Fair 2000.
Cooking alone, he took first   

By Keith N Fisher

I was having a dinner with an editor, her husband, and other writers at a conference in May. I was asked about my writing and what I’m working on. I talked about my fiction and the different books I’m shopping. "But," I said. "I’ve got three publishers interested in my cookbook."

The Editor, who works for an LDS publisher, and has been my friend, perked up and asked if I was a cook. I said, "yes, I’m a former world champion Dutch oven cook." Her jaw dropped and she asked for the particulars. The conversation ended with her telling me she’d been waiting for someone to submit a Dutch oven cookbook and I’d just become the new Dutch oven guy for her company.

I’d always planned to write a cookbook, but I’ve put it on the back burner, trying to perfect my fiction. Needless to say, I was flattered to be the Dutch oven guy and I went home and worked on the cookbook.

As I’ve mentioned on other blogs, I thought all my recipes were in the same format. I discovered that in all the years of competition, I’d used many formats so I asked the editor. She told me she didn’t care what format I use, but they need to be in the same one. After reformatting, I gathered everything I’d written on the subject and rewrote that, too.

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to remember recipes I invented over the years, but never wrote down, and I’m creating new dishes. It’s going to be a good cookbook, and I hope to provide links to explanatory information in the electronic version.

While formatting, memories of cooking certain dishes and the events associated, began to surface. Little things I’d forgotten about cook offs and other events. Some of them were painful, some were happy. I hope you can develop your own memories as you read through my cookbook. It will include all of camp cooking, not just Dutch oven and its tentative title is The Camp Cook in your Backyard.

Which brings me to the point . . .
 In my quest for publication of my fiction, I’ve neglected this blog. I originally created it to post a weekly article for Your LDS Neighborhood, but I developed a following, who I’ve neglected, and I’m sorry.

With the prospect of the cookbook, I will be posting here again. Stop by, get advice, kick-back, relax, and enjoy yourself. I’m almost done with the book, so be waiting with hungry hearts for the release.