The REJECTED idea: A Cooking Book for One.
“Keep Cooking. Be Happy” is an approachable cookbook designed for those who think they can’t cook or feel overwhelmed in the kitchen, for the ones who lost their passion for it, and the ones who never even tried it!
Cooking is, and always was to me, an act of love. Cooking for others is something I really enjoyed. I lost the will to cook a few times in my life, for God knows what reason: busy schedule, cooking outside the house ( a problem many in my profession have), lack of money to get the ingredients I want, or just an overall feeling of being burnt out.
But even during those times, I had the will to make meals made completely of leftovers; born out of mere hunger, lack of money, and/or time: survival mode; that comes from my Mother’s genes.
And that is the book I wanted to write: how to survive your kitchen, gently teaching professional techniques and recipes to feed your soul on your budget and your time; so you can start cooking again, or for the first time. Sort of a guide on how to cook ingredients and turn them into something “pretty” for lack of a better word.
A little NOTE before I continue: I write how I talk. English is not my first language. I sometimes use the corrector to catch what I mostly consider: lost in translation, “gaffes”. Don’t expect a Pulitzer essay here!
If you love cooking, I want you to love it even more! And for the first timers, I want them to start creating food memories and flavor profiles, so they could be proud of their cooking too.
The book idea was not welcomed as I expected; I got rejected in long and short format emails: the answers ranged from “we cannot afford you” to “you need more followers”, “you should look for a writer” or “this subject won’t sell” and the nicer “we have something similar” or “you should stick to Latin American cooking”
I had been masticating this for a bit, listening to some really good friends who encourage me just to wait, but honestly, in 3 weeks I’ll be 57. I don’t want to wait.
This book might turn into videos, or a podcast, or maybe I just talk about my feelings here. You’ll tell me! Please Do!
Quizá este sea el lugar donde finalmente, después de 30 años, vuelva a escribir en español. Translation: Maybe this is the place where I finally, after 30 years, write in Spanish again! Don’t worry, I will always translate! 💚
I am bad at Paywalls; I cannot promise to create extra content to squeeze five bucks out of you so I can pretend that this is how I sustained myself.
I do not have extra help: editor, writers, assistants, co-writers, or someone who pays my bills. Maybe one day, but not today.
What you see is what you get.
This is a FREE Publication. I do have a SUPPORT ME PAGE where you are welcome to TIP ME OR DONATE any money you want, and you can read where your money goes, and my dream of creating a pilot of my Kitchen Organizing Show “SHOW ME YOUR KITCHEN”
Thank you!
Keep Cooking. Be Happy 💚
Gaby :)
Keep Cooking. Be Happy by Gaby Melian
