Hi every­one, I’m so so so excited this morn­ing to share with you a bit of news that’s been in the works for awhile (no, I’m not preg­nant, mom).

It’s the Hon­est Cook­ing tablet mag­a­zine!!

A lit­tle more than a year ago I started con­tribut­ing to the Hon­est Cook­ing web­site, a forum for food writ­ers and blog­gers from around the world to share fun recipes and inter­est­ing food sto­ries. Last sum­mer, it was announced that Hon­est Cook­ing would be releas­ing a food mag­a­zine — and all con­tribut­ing writ­ers were wel­come to sub­mit. Up until that point, I had been work­ing on writ­ing pieces for rel­a­tively unknown expat mag­a­zines and tiny blogs. Some­how I had to get seri­ous about turn­ing writ­ing into a career, and here was the per­fect opportunity.

I pitched two pieces, one of which got picked up. Truth be told, I think I was on the B-team, as the email received told me that some­one else had backed out and I was cho­sen to fill in last minute. The email asked if I could do it.

Umm, let’s see. Fly back to Cal­i­for­nia last minute for four days, spend­ing half of what I would make for the arti­cle, to make a dead­line that was due within a week? YES, PLEASE!

Half a year later, I’m so excited to report that my work is in print — er, on the screen. The tablet mag­a­zine was released today, and it’s 100 pages of glo­ri­ous food sto­ries — about rogue arti­sans, local crafts­men, inter­na­tional cuisines, and nitty gritty pro­files, all tes­ta­ments to why food and din­ing rock.

Down­load the tablet mag­a­zine, FOR FREE, in the Apple iTunes store today!

Also click here to check out all the images from my trip to the orchard!