Holy guacamole, I wrote a cookbook!

And you can pre-order it now!

Isn’t she cute??

I've wanted to write a book since I was four years old (sorry Little Me, this one has approximately zero drawings of cats) & creating my first one with the talented designers, editors & photographer at Sasquatch Books was the best and biggest art project I've ever been a part of. IT WAS VERY FUN! It was also a lot of work but, honestly, I enjoyed every single part of the process. The work felt so natural, so energizing, I got a little bit emotional at times because I felt like I found my thing.

To my surprise, Sasquatch encouraged me to be completely myself, to add some personality to the page.

As a result, Isaac Mizrahi, who graciously wrote the forward for the cookbook, describes it as, “Slightly insane…but irresistible.” A phrase I plan to tattoo on my face immediately.

There are anecdotes about farts and sink holes and New Zealand and 1980s powdered dip packets and eating raw fish on airplanes, but also…a lot of tasty recipes, if I do say so myself!

Tasty recipes with TAHINI and SESAME OIL and SESAME SEEDS and BLACK SESAME PASTE!

If you've ever bought a jar of tahini to make hummus or salad dressing, used 1/4 cup and left the rest to languish in the back of the fridge...my book is here to help you empty. that. jar.

Chocolate Miso Whoopie Pies with Tahini Cream! Falafel-Spiced Tahini Deviled Eggs with Crispy Chickpeas! Tahini Feta Queso Nachos!

1. Pre-orders are open now! You can order Open Sesame here, forget about it, and find a fun surprise in your mailbox in November!
   

2. Pre-orders are important! They show the publisher how much interest there is in the book, influencing how many copies they’ll print and how open various retailers will be to carrying it.

3. The question I’ve gotten most often since revealing the book’s cover:
   Q: Is that your hand?
   A: It’s not! Those cute nails belong to the photographer. But my paws are inside the book along with a couple of friends’ who spiffed up with manicures for the occasion!

4. Open Sesame will be out in November & there will be book signing events & other fun things that you can find out about in this very newsletter!

5. If you have any questions about writing a cookbook, or about Open Sesame, drop them in the comment section & I’ll save them for a future Q&A.

There wouldn’t be a book without all of you staying interested in my work all of these years — THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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Gawd, Kathleen Hanna is cool!

The frontwoman for the revolutionary, punk rock feminist bands Bikini Kill (formed in Olympia, WA in 1990) and Le Tigre has a new memoir out, and I couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t the only one: Rebel Girl became an instant New York Times bestseller this week.

The first time Kathleen Hanna tried sushi, she cried. She’s also shed tears over birthday cake and gelato. Why does food make her so emotional? She breaks it down (but doesn’t break down!) in the new episode of YLM!

And in this week’s episode of The Leftovers — the new mini series I’m putting out every-other-Thursday — Kathleen tells me about her major, if accidental, contribution to a Nirvana record.

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Before I go, a few recent favorites:

1. This is the best book I’ve read this year, recommended by listener-turned-friend Ericka:

Does it feature a lot of Minnesotans? YOU BETCHA! Is it more of a really-great-story-about-people book than a food book? OH, YAH, YOU BETCHA! But there are culinary themes weaved throughout and the ending is oh-so satisfying.

2. The Internet showed me my new dream kitchen:

   

3. The seasonal asparagus-lemon cream cheese at Rachel’s Bagels & Burritos in Ballard

   

   Photo by Rachel’s Bagels and Burritos

   I haven’t had this bagel — a springy stack of lox, asparagus, sumac onion, capers, lemon-asparagus cream cheese and olive oil — but I grabbed a couple of their everything bagels with a side of lemon-asparagus cream cheese and, dang, that was a very good idea!

Enjoy your holiday weekend, friends!

Love,

Your Tahini Queenie