Celebrate Every Day with Jaime Richardson + Giveaway
As part of my ongoing author series, today I am interviewing my friend Jaime of Sophistimom about her new book, Celebrate Every Day: Recipes for Making the Most of Special Moments with Your Children. I love how she approached cooking and family life as a whole, suggesting music, books, and activities that are both beloved and educational for children in each chapter. Not only were her recipes mouthwatering, she reminded me of a lot of the books I enjoyed as a child as well as a few new ones I need to check out for my daughter. Be sure to enter the give away below so you can win your own copy of this amazing book!
1) I love the idea of everyday celebrations. How did you come up with all of these little holidays in your house?
When I was in high school, a friend of mine hosted a dinner party. All the guests acted very adult. We brought out best food, wore our best outfits, and listened to classical music while we ate. As a parent, I guess I have always thought that would be cool to do with my kids—have little dinner parties with them. When they’re little though, you really can’t get that fancy, so we started doing other kinds of parties, like picnics or other simple things. I guess it just started from there. Writing the book gave me a chance to really get creative and expand the idea. With each of the parties in the book, I also tie in children’s books to inspire great conversation and music recommendations to set the mood.
2) How do your kids think of holidays? Do they anticipate them as they get older?
My kids love the holidays, especially the fall and winter holidays. My oldest, who is now thirteen, still looks forward to Halloween. We have a rule in our house, though, that no one can start nagging me about costumes until it’s September! And then Christmas, of course, is their favorite holiday.
3) What is your personal favorite holiday? I am sure it is hard to pick just one!
Christmas is, and always has been, my favorite. But I’d have to say Thanksgiving is probably now tied with it. Sometimes I’m with my kids, and sometimes I’m not, but when I celebrate the holiday with friends instead of my own kids, it never feels like I’m out of place. It’s a much more relaxed holiday for me, which I love.
4) How was the process of writing and photographing your first book? It is so beautifully done!
Thank you, Kelsey!! I’d been toying with the idea of entertaining your own family for ages. Like I said earlier, it may have started with that dinner party I had at my friend’s house all those years ago. But when I first had the idea to write a book about it, I hadn’t established myself as writer or a person who could create recipes. Starting a blog was the best thing I could do for that. As I wrote and photographed things for my blog, I was able to have this huge portfolio of recipes and photographs that I could show to an agent and say, “You know, I was thinking it was time I wrote a cookbook.” That’s a simplified version of how I got my agent, of course, but it was a pretty easy transition, since I had something concrete (er, something in cyberspace) that she could see. She guided me through writing a proposal, which she then submitted to a several publishers. When we got a deal that we liked, I signed a contract and got to work. From the time I got the contract, to the time the manuscript was due, I had about six months. My editors were great with helping me shape what I would write, but I was really able to be creative with the recipes and with the photographs.
5) Now that summer is here what foods and menu are you looking forward to the most?
Watermelon. I would live off it if I could. I kind of like the lazy non-cooking of summer. Nothing fancy . . . just food in its simplest form. I love to eat really good bread with some brie, berries, and grapes.
6) What is next for Sophistimom?
A healthy cookbook! I hope! Seriously, when I flip through the pages of the book, I remember all those recipes that I cooked, baked, tested, and tasted. I swear, I gain five pounds every time I think about it! So I hope I can do something with food that is better for eating every day.
To enter to win a copy of Celebrate Every Day:
1) Leave a comment sharing your favorite child hood recipe or seasonal tradition.
2) Contest runs from June 18th at 7:00am to June 25th. Winner will be announced in the June 28th newsletter. Good luck!
18 Responses to “Celebrate Every Day with Jaime Richardson + Giveaway”
Making peanut clusters with my mom to share with family and friends at Christmas time. I’m excited to start cooking with my son in the coming years and this cookbook looks great.
My Mom made the best stuffing at
thanksgiving. She made it in balls, put it in a pan and bakes. When almost done, she covered them with gravy and baked a bit more
we had a fig tree growing up (in CA), and my mom would make this amazing fig cake every summer… whenever i see figs– for a fleeting time here in CT– I think “oh, I wish I could recreate that recipe for my own children”. hmmm, i should!!
We make a breakfast casserole the day before and put in the oven on Christmas morning while the children are opening their gifts so we can have an easy hot breakfast without mommy having to miss a thing!
My favourite childhood recipe was my grandmother’s pumpkin scones. Smelt delicious and tasted even better but best of all they remind me of being safe and loved.
Making peanut clusters with my mom to share with family and friends at Christmas time. I’m excited to start cooking with my son in the coming years and this cookbook looks great.
I love my aunt’s lemon cookie recipe. I make them every Christmas
I love building traditions with my kids. My favorite childhood recipe is my dad’s home made pancakes on Sunday mornings.
love my dad’s rhubarb desserts with rhubarb fresh from his garden!!
I think my mom’s sweet potato casserole at Christmastime was always a favorite!
My Mom made the best stuffing at
thanksgiving. She made it in balls, put it in a pan and bakes. When almost done, she covered them with gravy and baked a bit more
we had a fig tree growing up (in CA), and my mom would make this amazing fig cake every summer… whenever i see figs– for a fleeting time here in CT– I think “oh, I wish I could recreate that recipe for my own children”. hmmm, i should!!
My fave seasonal tradition is baking in the winter
We make a breakfast casserole the day before and put in the oven on Christmas morning while the children are opening their gifts so we can have an easy hot breakfast without mommy having to miss a thing!
I loved grilled cheese with tomato soup
I loved it when we went to the coast as a child. We always went crabbing and then had a crab boil with all the blue crab we caught. It was magical.
I loved watching the thanksgiving parade and then making brownies for our thanksgiving dessert.
Favorite childhood recipe? Making charoset (chopped apples, walnuts and sweet wine) for Passover. It makes the whole kitchen smell like a holiday.
For the first time last Christmas I made goodies for my neighbors, and they loved it! This is going to be my new holiday tradition.
My husband’s family makes homemade egg rolls as an appetizer for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So random and so much fun!
I love ozoni soup, which is a special Japanese New Years soup is one of my favorite childhood recipes! 🙂
My favorite seasonal tradition in the summer is having fresh tomatos from my garden with mozzarella, and fresh basil.
My favourite childhood recipe was my grandmother’s pumpkin scones. Smelt delicious and tasted even better but best of all they remind me of being safe and loved.