The Dish Is...I'm an Author-Phone Psychic

By The Writing Gourmet

The Full Moon cycle is paying us a visit this week (and the first day of autumn) and I'm still retrieving phone calls from people around the globe. On September 1, an article I penned was published in Oracle 20-20 Magazine. Yes, "Confessions of a Phone Psychic" (page 24; on the cover, too) was the first time I came out of the closet of crystal balls, so to speak. And this week I was a guest on "X-Zone" to talk about my second shift as a phone psychic.

More news: I'm done writing the book about honey. My final words were input and the process of proofing is in working bee mode. I am elated as a honey bee on its fave flower. And, beeswax furniture polish and honey lovers' candy landed on my doorstep. Not to forget the honey varietals--one from the Islands is arrived today--I'm still tasting and receiving. (Healthy chocolate is paying me a visit on Wednesday!) And that's not all...

Come October 15 the honey bee book will fly to New York and I will begin to nest in the sierra. Read: The wood is stacked; the flannel sheets and shirts are working; winterizing the cabin is in the works; swimming at the resort pool (off season heaven) is this week's treat; and maybe even savoring a Lake Tahoe snow flurry (or two) come next month--and make that first crackling fire. What's more, I'll be baking savory nut breads, pies, cookies and scones. (I whipped up a surprise for the Tribune for this week's column.)

The bottom line: Fall is near and I am excited. It's my season--a peace-loving Libra and am sensing positive changes are in the air. That big, bright Full Moon this week should bring out plenty of emotions in women and men on Earth. One more thing. My sensitive black cat Kerouac and two Brittanys and I? We're still sensing that the Pacific Northwest and Northern California--including Tahoe--is in for a cold fall-winter season.

Special Autumn Horoscope...A Taste of Fall

By The Writing Gourmet

I feel fall. It is coming around the mountain...At Lake Tahoe seasons hit sooner than other regions. One of the aspen trees in the front yard is turning golden and the leaves--like the pine cones that the squirrels are fattening up on--are dropping. At night, my furry children are sneaking under the comforters. This weekend I'm fixing on baking a fish casserole--but I will swim on Sunday afternoon...

I just tried out baking an Old World cheesecake--I'm glad I did. It flopped. If you saw Julie & Julia, the scene where she dropped the stuffed bird on the kitchen floor or when she burnt a stew and had to do a redo? Well, that was me this afternoon. Not fun. I had to give the ancient wonder a New World twist...and just may have to tweak one more time.

On the upside, today my hard work was splashed BIG like a whopping whale on the cover of Complete Woman magazine: Your Special Autumn Horoscope; in Health magazine, Sept. issue (now on the stands) I was interviewed about the fat-burning power of vinegar--I haven't seen it yet, though.

So, it's back to Honeyland... Just thought I'd journal my thoughts on this Friday night, one that I am craving an overdue beach holiday (that the tourists will enjoy next week). Ironically, a beach is two blocks away. Yeah, I must have been a dedicated worker bee in my past life. I should have been a carefree whale. But writing the honey book is close to closing time and I can see the light, like that.

P.S. The whale photo? That's me reading the fall horoscopes that I penned.

Here Comes the New Fall Chocolate Delights

By Cal Orey

The Writing Gourmet

I miss Chocolate Heaven. Each day I go to work on the honey bee book, I feel like I'm in Honey Bee Limbo and I'm forgetting my last love--chocolate. It's still summer, the season touted for its fresh fruits, salads, lemonade and iced tea. Chocolate isn't a big deal during hot days. But I'm feeling the beginning of fall at Lake Tahoe, and that means baked breads, muffins, casseroles and homemade pies. Best of all, it means chocolate...

Don't get me wrong. I adore healing honey and its healing byproducts. I enjoy working in Honey Land. It's intriguing. But I do miss the day of chocolate, sweet dark chocolate packed in pretty little boxes left by the UPS man on my doorstep, rain, snow, sleet, and shine. No worries. Boxes of honey varietals are still keeping me happy. Tonight I worked on a chapter while nibbling on honeycomb (and sweet memories of chocolate truffles teased me).

Come fall, when The Healing Powers of Honey book is out the door and in flight to New York, I'll remember this night--without chocolate. It is a time of fall hints (it will be 38 degrees tonight and leaves are beginning to turn amber) and the warm day air of summer. It makes me feel like I'm in a wasteland--something like being in between Chocolate Heaven and Honey Land.

I'm thinking the perfect Rx to get me out of this worker bee funk is chocolate--the good stuff like I've savored throughout the seasons. Think New York's Christopher Norman's to San Francisco's Michael Recchiuti's Confections.

Or perhaps I'll bake Cal's Earthquake Cake (the recipe created by Gemma Sciabica--complete with ricotta cheese is in my book The Healing Powers of Chocolate, Kensington 2010). It seems timely as our golden state has been shaking a bit, from the 3.9 south of Gilroy to the 3.5 north of Truckee near me. So, while I'm coping with Earth changes (my dog Seth sensed the last shaker and jumped up into my lap!) and working and talking with passionate and hardworking beekeepers in the midwest and around the globe, a slice of dark chocolate cake with an Italian flair may be the cure. Its feel-good compounds, like serotonin to PEA, page 39, may make this worker bee continue onward. It's time to buzz off and see if I can find a chocolate pistole in the file cabinet.