Introducing Brown Eggs and Jam Jars {giveaway}

by Aimee

In the beginning there were a thousand little ideas, two notebooks filed with scribbled recipes, and a title I just couldn’t get out of my mind. Now, after nearly two years of writing, recipe developing, food styling, photographing, editing, and designing…we have a cookbook.

In the early stages, it felt like Brown Eggs and Jam Jars was writing itself in my head. Memories from my past intertwined with experiences in the present and fused themselves into headnotes and essays. It’s not that writing over seventy thousand words was easy, but they flowed naturally. I had a string of recipes to share and a story to go with almost every one.

Fortunately Penguin Random House Canada gave me an opportunity to write this book. They embraced everything from the title to the theme, and even made room for a collection of my father’s original illustrations. The end result is a cookbook I am immensely proud of and thrilled to present to you, all jitters aside.

Today, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites is released into the world. In a nutshell, it follows a year of seasonal eating on my urban homestead — with family at the centre of it all. I share more than one hundred of our favourite recipes that have a touch of nostalgia, feature natural ingredients, and boast plenty of love.

And because I love practicality as much as storytelling, each chapter offers two extra features: one on urban homesteading and one on kids in the kitchen. This book is packed, let me tell you.

My hope is that in between the covers of this cookbook you will connect with the stories shared, discover a host of new favourite recipes, and be inspired to take your first steps into homesteading – no matter where you live.

You can head to my book page to see what people are already saying about the cookbook, as well as follow the #BrownEggsJamJars hashtag on Instagram to read the first feedback from home cooks around North America.

About the photography

Brown Eggs and Jam Jars features a blend of lifestyle and food photography, all with family at the center.

I brought in friends and local photographers Tim & Angela Chin to shoot my food and it was the best decision ever. I’m such an amateur behind the camera and I loved being able to focus on the food preparation and styling exclusively. It was immensely fun to cook every piece of food and style each image. My goal was to make this a waste-free project, so the crew also ate well – and Tim took home dinner most nights.

It was amazing to have two photographers around to document our family through the seasons, from the sugaring off in the forest to apple picking in the orchard. They did an outstanding job.

Here are several of my favourite images from the book, with a few outtakes thrown in for good measure.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Brown Eggs and Jam Jars book tour!

The rumours are true. I will be making a book tour of sorts, beginning in Canada and eventually getting all the way down to Texas.

• TORONTO: All the Best Fine Foods. 1101 Yonge Street. Thursday, February 12, 5-7PM.
• VANCOUVER: Barbara-Jo’s Books for Cooks, Saturday, February 14, 2-4PM
• SMITHERS, BC (my hometown): Two Sisters Cafe, Sunday, February 15, 2-4PM
• AUSTIN, TX: Métier Cook’s Supply, Saturday, February 21, 1-3 PM.
• MONTREAL: Appetite for Books: Coming soon!
• BROOKLYN: Coming soon! (week of March 3-6)
• OTTAWA: TBA (weekend of March 21, tentatively)

I’ll try to post updates on Instagram, so follow me there @aimeebourque for the latest.

Giveaway!

Thanks to my publishers at Penguin Random House, I have FIVE copies of Brown Eggs and Jam Jars to giveaway to you, dear readers.

To enter: Please leave a comment. That’s it!

Bonus entry #1: Follow @aimeebourque on Instagram (and say hi if you want!).

Bonus entry #2: Tweet about this giveaway using the hashtag #browneggsjamjars. Example:

“I want to win one of five copies of #browneggsjamjars by @simplebites from @PenguinCanada: http://bit.ly/1uzw3JB ”

Please leave an additional comment saying you tweeted.

Winners will be announced on the Simple Bites Facebook page, as well as here on this post.

Giveaway ends Friday, February 13 at 11:59PM PST. Good luck to all!

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