Toffee bread pudding from chef Jon Stevens of Stock & Barrel. Photo by Kay Goodman
Neighbor Kay Goodman had the idea this past April to make a cookbook as a Christmas present for her friends.
That idea grew into a massive project to self-publish a hardback cookbook with QR codes linking to instructional videos for each recipe. Goodman compiled 63 recipes from friends, including four professional chefs. She took all but a few of the photos herself and produced all the videos. Not only that, but Goodman also taught herself Adobe InDesign by watching youtube videos so she could design the cover and lay out the entire book herself.
She paid for it to be published out of her own pocket.
The book, “Thyme with Friends,” features recipes from about 14 Oak Cliffers, including chefs Jon Stevens of Stock & Barrel and Daniele Puleo of Cibo Divino. It costs $39.99, and all of the profit, at least $5 per book, goes to the North Texas Food Bank. With $5, the food bank can provide 15 meals. “Thyme with Friends” is dedicated to Goodman’s 90-year-old mother who volunteered for several decades with the Interfaith Ministry food pantry in Hillsboro.
Goodman owns a software implementation business with her husband, Jason Diamond. But she is a Julia Child-level home cook who years ago did a weeklong workshop at the Culinary Institute of America. She also once owned a chocolate truffle business.
Creating this book and publishing it was a lot of work, and she is still finishing up some of the videos.
“It’s been so much fun,” she says. “Every single facet of this project has been so much fun.”
The book is only available directly from Goodman at thymewithfriends.org.
Shrimp bisque from Kean Songy. Photo by Kay Goodman
