Sweeten Up Your Life: Win The New Honey Book on the Block

Get the buzz on honey and the honey bee!
--Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

Very odd how I fell into the world of cooking and baking. Well, maybe not so strange. At different stages of my life I have been found in the kitchen--not following directions and like a mad scientist experimenting with ingredients. And now, it's unbelievable but I am one of thousands who are members of Foodie Blogroll and there are treats...
Ironically, as I sit here writing and watching "Food Network"'s "Chopped" I gobble up all the competition, especially when the chefs get flustered and are critiqued by the judges. I flunked the baking contest in junior high. My Boston Cream Pie got kudos from but the Mocha Yule Log was the winner. I survived, sort of. But I felt bad (like the contestants on "Food Network" do win the other chef wins). The winner's prize cake looked store bought. It was perfect. My homemade entry was lopsided (just a tad) but it was a complicated dessert with decadent layers.
Tomorrow, "What's Cookin' at Callie's Cabin" is in the Friday edition of Tahoe Daily Tribune, like it is every Friday. What's more, I dream of shifting gears and opening up a Mediterranean bistro in a coastal town. How weird is that? It's not happening in the winter of 2012 as I can see images of my cabin buried in the Tahoe snow--and two dog nights.
Meanwhile, Foodie Blogroll is offering my new book The Healing Powers of Honey (published by Kensington and purchased by OneSpirit bookclubs including The Good Cook Book Club) to 8 winners, one a week. Other foodie bloggers are simply paying it forward and mentioning my book on Twitter, Facebook, or their blog. (You can do that, too, on Facebook: Just type in Cal Orey and scroll down to see my post Sweet November.)
All this food chat has got me thinking food. As the temperatures drop, the appetite soars. But if you're savvy, you can still eat your fave fall edibles and stay lean and happy. True, I did munch on salt water taffy (last night but my excuse was pre-Northern California quake jitters). Tonight I'm thinking semi-homemade Apple Turnovers with a taste of the whimsical wildflower honey. Or maybe Cranberry Croissants with notes of orange blossom honey. The kitchen is calling out to me. And I do have a pantry stuffed with honeys from around the globe (yes, each one has a long shelf life). Honey power! What about Gingerbread with a Lemon Honey Glaze?