Update on The Ghana Cookbook Saga

Since our book was released in November, it's been a busy few weeks. As I mentioned then in an article on the TED Fellows channel of medium.com my love affair with Ghana and its food has deep roots. 

Sunday, Dec. 6,   an article by Anne Quinn Corr appeared in our local paper, The Centre Daily Times, about The Ghana Cookbook, filling in some background and why I'm so passionate about celebrating Ghana's cuisine and culture. I was thrilled to see the article noticed by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, and also Mission Economique des Pays-Bas en Côte d'Ivoire. Going global, here! 

       
          
That was followed in the afternoon by an event at our local independent bookstore, Webster's Bookstore and Cafe.

It was fun to have volunteers from the packed house try their hand at peeling a green plantain and slicing strips, or cracking open a coconut, and we even had owner Elaine demonstrate (as instructed) how to make atwemo/atsomo (aka "twisted cakes"), while folks were sipping ginger beer or hibiscus iced tea (bissap/zobo/sobolo) or lemongrass tea, or snacking on akara (black-eyed pea fritters) with a peanut pumpkin dipping sauce/stew, or trying out a red bean stew with smoked fish, and coconut rice, or Ghana's yummy cassava one-pot dish called "gari foto"(aka "gari jollof"). I was somewhat surprised how many people showed up because of the gluten-free aspect of Ghana's cuisine.

Whew! It was a ton of work, but the audience was super enthusiastic. I would have been lost without the help my Happy Valley Communications team plating and handing out food and drinks, helping people discover their "day names," and still finding time to tweet during the event (@ghanacookbook). Once again, they were great! Also,  the staff at Webster's was wonderful in providing help with setting up and taking down.
 
In January I head to Accra, where Barbara Baëta and I will properly launch the book in Ghana at Flair Catering. We're having trouble keeping the guest list trimmed to a manageable size (Which Barbara says is 500). 

So much fun after so much work!

I also heard today from the publisher at Hippocrene Books that they may soon have to reprint the book as the first printing appears to be selling out! Great news.
Sincere thanks to each of you who has been helping to spread the news via word-of-mouth, twitter, and other social media. I look forward to hearing how you find the recipes.

(P.S. Please don't put off getting your holiday copies.)