There are so many exciting things going on today, I can hardly contain myself.
First, I’m happy to reveal the official Canadian cover of my cookbook at long last!
What do you think? As you may know, I have a long, passionate history with parfaits so I think it’s quite fitting. I love how fresh, healthy, and colourful the cover is. The U.S. cover, while super fresh and colourful too, is completely different. I’ll be showing you that cover in a future post.
Some fun facts about the book:
- More than 100 vegan recipes – including over 95 gluten-free recipes!
- Around 100 full-colour, full-page photos
- 8×10 inch trim size
- Very nice paper quality and thickness
- A huge vegan pantry section detailing all of the main ingredients I use
- 10 recipe chapters: Breakfast; Smoothies, Juices, and Tea; Appetizers; Salads; Soup; Entrees; Sides; Power Snacks, Desserts, and Homemade Staples
For more info on the book and where you can pre-order online, please see this page. I’ll be updating it with other retailers soon!
A little story for you – this cover photo wasn’t the original parfait photo. When my editor told me that they were selecting my parfait photo for the cover, I panicked a little. You see, when I shot the photo I wasn’t planning on it being the actual cover photo and even though I liked the shot, I would’ve spent more time styling it had I been shooting for a cover. It’s like your significant other telling you that you are going out to a nice restaurant and then you find out you are actually going to dine with the Royals. No matter what you had on, you probably still feel underdressed. You feel me? So, I persuaded my editor to let me reshoot the cover, even though I knew they were in a big time crunch. Promising it would be back by the end of the day, I raced around town to assemble my props and ingredients, baked the granola, meticulously styled the parfait, and spent a long time trying to get the perfect angle I needed for the cover.
I had a laptop tethered to my camera so I could see the incoming shots and another laptop next to that one with the original parfait photo on the screen. If it wasn’t the perfect angle with the right amount of space for the title (after being cropped to 8×10” trim), I knew it wouldn’t be accepted. I also took the same shots with about 4 different spoons because I couldn’t decide which one looked best. Some things never change!
Thankfully, we all ended up loving this photo more than the original so it was worth the extra effort.
This concludes my Canadian cover story. :)
As it turned out, I ended up re-shooting tons of recipes in the book, especially the photos that I shot early in 2012. My photos have changed a lot in a year so the ones I shot in 2012 stuck out like a sore thumb and were driving me crazy. If I write another book, I’ll try to shoot the photos as close together as possible (probably near the end since I ended up re-testing many recipes anyway) so my style doesn’t change too much.
5 Years
Today also marks this blog’s 5th birthday! Oh how they grow up so fast. My very first post, Boo, was written on October 31, 2008. Here is the very first thing I said on my blog 5 years ago:
“Am I ever glad it’s FRIDAY!!! What a long and exhausting week.”
and then I talked about the weather. Oh boy. Some things never change.
It’s hard to believe I’ve shared almost 500 vegan recipes since then. I’m often asked by friends and family if I’m ever sick of creating recipes and taking pictures, but if anything, delving into something so much has only increased my interest for it. Sure, some days I want nothing to do with it, but thankfully that’s rare. I can honestly say that I love what I do and you, my lovely readers, are a huge reason why. It’s been really fun to get to know many of you and be a part of this community. Even if we’ve never met, I hope that some day we do.
Each year, I feel like I can trust my instincts in the kitchen more. This is something I rarely did when I started out. Everything felt much more rigid and intimidating, but I’ve noticed a real shift in recent months. I thank the cookbook for really pushing me out of my comfort zone. It’s starting to feel more enjoyable, especially with photography. I’m learning to trust myself (and the food) and this doesn’t just apply to the kitchen, but in many areas of my life. So my advice is not to get discouraged if you are new to cooking (or photography) and feeling overwhelmed, it takes time to feel comfortable!
Eric and I have many fun things planned for the future of this blog, starting with our very first vegan recipe app that will be launching soon. Eric is building it on his own and I am helping with the design work and recipe uploading. It’s going to feature the popular recipes from this site as well as totally new recipes you won’t find on this blog. We’re hoping to release it by the holidays, but I won’t make any promises yet!
Aside from some new projects, I want to keep growing as a writer, recipe developer, and food photographer. The saying, the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know, rings true. And that’s exactly why I don’t get bored with it. Most of all, I want this blog to continue to be a place of inspiration for a compassionate plant-based lifestyle. Every time I hear from a reader who has fallen in love with a recipe or got their meat-and-potatoes dad hooked on veggie burgers, it really makes me feel like I’m on the right path doing what I should be doing. Who knows what I’ll be doing in 10 or 20 years down the road, but for now this feels right and I couldn’t be happier to be here.
I’ll leave you with this…
We decided to go with a cat theme this year. Sadly, I can only take credit for the gut-scooping. Eric is the master carver (and crazy cat man, obviously).
If you are looking for last-minute Halloween recipes, see this page. I have lots of recipes from vegan candy (think homemade Twix, Rolos, etc) to dips, soups, and everything in between!
Happy Haunting!
Congratulations on your cook book! I’ve never commented before but I just wanted to say I absolutely love your recipes and cannot recommend them enough to my friends and family – vegan, vegetarian or otherwise. I have yet to make something of yours that I haven’t liked!
Congratulations Angela – on the book and the 5 year anniversary! Time flies. I’ve been an avid reader for years and have loved watching the blog grow. Your book has been pre-ordered. Can’t wait :)
I am SO excited for your book and I am thrilled to see that so many of the recipes in it will be gluten-free!!! Your blog has been my favorite for about 2 years and I have NEVER made a bad dish when following your recipes.
Your food showed me that veganism can be delicious before I went vegan and now that I am vegan, I use it to show those around me how good it can be.
Once again, I can’t wait for the book!
Best,
Helen
I love it. Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait for the book. I am so happy to have found your site and hope you continue to make this your passion so that I can be the happy and appreciative recipient of your tasty and healthy creations!!
Congratulations Angela! Pre-ordered my copy today and can’t wait to check it out. I absolutely love all the recipes on your blog!!!!
Congrats Angela! Your blog has been my saving grace and online foodie inspiration/companion since I stumbled across it in 2009 which began a series of major life changes for me. I’m so proud of your progress of soon publishing your first cookbook! Your passions and dedication stand true through time and seep through and come across off my computer screen with more inspirations to get back into the kitchen to enjoy, cook, and eat plant-based food! Xo
Happy 5 yr blogiversary!!! Your blog is amazing, and so are you. I CAN’T WAIT for your cookbook to come out. Gorgeous cover, btw. Can’t wait to see the US version. Keep up the fantastic work – you inspire me!!!!!
That’s why your blog and your recipes are such a joy…it’s obvious you put your heart and soul and boatloads of effort into it! I used to do graphic design and editing, so I feel your gotta-get-it-perfect pain, but it’s always worth it in the end. :)
Congratulation hugs to you and much gratitude for all you share! Happy Halloween!
I love the cover! And vegan recipe app!??! So fun and exciting! I always cook with my iPad in the kitchen so I am all over that idea!!!
Happy Blogiversary and Happy Halloween!!!
Gorgeous cover! I preordered the US version on Amazon…so that is not going to be the book cover that they show?? Can’t wait to see the index!
What a beautiful cover! I can’t wait till we can pre-order the book in Europe! If you need someone to translate it into Dutch, just let me know ;)
Awesome cover shot! Definitely worth the extra effort. And happy blogiversary!
Angela, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BOOK!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Are you planning on releasing a European version? It’d be handy for the measurements; otherwise I hope you will host a giveaway/competition on your blog for a few lucky readers.
I can’t remember for how long I’ve been reading your blog now, but I’m sure glad I found it years ago. It was a big help when I first became vegan. Thanks for sharing your scrumptious recipes with us. <3
You go girl! You are such an inspiration! I am rooting for you all the way! I recently began eating a vegan diet and discovered your blog. I can really identify with your story. You have given me confidence that the positive changes that I’m trying to make in my own life will work out. I wish you the best of luck in selling your new book!
So happy to hear about the changes you are making in your own life. Thanks for your kind words!
Ange, please tell me where you go prop shopping! I love that old wooden cutting board and that spoon! I’ve been looking for spoons like that everywhere.
Congrats on 5 years of blogging and your cookbook! I will for sure be buying one.
I’ve been silently following your blog for a few months (hope that’s not creepy?) and I just wanted to thank you for helping make my vegan lifestyle easier. Also your openness with eating disorder has helped me to begin to overcome my own. Honestly I can’t thank you enough for being so awesome! x
Not creepy at all. :) It’s hard to find the time to comment on all the blogs I love, so I can totally relate. I’m happy you left this comment though! Best wishes with your recovery, Rebecca. I’ll be sending you lots of positive vibes.
Hi Angela, I am so excited for your cook book! Looking forward to seeing the US cover.
Wow Angela, so much to be excited about! 5 years of amazing inspirational blogging comes to a head with a beautiful cookbook! I think I’ve been following Oh She Glows for a good 3 or 4 years now and only hope you carry on for many more.
If I ever make it to Canada I’d love to meet you :)
P.S. Will the UK be getting the US or UK edition? Please tell me it’s coming to the UK?!!
Will the book be out in time to make my Christmas list??
Hi Angela, I started reading several years ago, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. Congratulations on all of your success! You are an inspiration! I can relate to the anxiety and stuff, and I’m glad you write about it. It helps to see someone who deals with similar feelings going for their dreams! I really love your blog and thought you should know that I happen to have not one but two of your recipes on my menu this week! Butternut and black bean burritos (which we’ve had many times) and Not Your Average Potato Soup, which I made for the first time on Mon and it was FANTASTIC! I thought it was pretty cool when I realized that, after planning my week :) I’m not vegan but I do love your recipes! Thank you!