Cookbook author speaks at The Cottage

Local author, hillary lauren, will hold a book

signing event at The Cottage Bread & Breakfast on

Friday September 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

366 Menus of Celebrations anthology is a chooseyour-own-adventure full of memories, joyful celebrations, and bright spots from those who earn

their living while playing with food. (Note that hillary prefers her name with lowercase letters.)

hillary lauren is a fifth generation chef with

a passion for seasonality, sustainability, and raising awareness of the impact of food security. Her

culinary endeavors developed over countless hours

perched on her grandma EdyeBelle’s kitchen counter scribbling notes, or cutting curly fries and syruping rainbows on snow cones at her family’s cafes

in Idaho.

This foundational joy was honed at the Culinary

Institute of America in New York and Napa Valley

and refined at the Bouchon Bakery and Swanson

Vineyards in Napa Valley. She currently supports

others as a certified nutrition coach and well-being

content creator for a large health care company,

forever curious to learn more about the healing powers of food. hillary established Pickle Pie Publishing to

self-publish her book, 366 Menus of Celebrations,

after learning more about the constraints, limitations, and expenses while comparing possibilities

within the established publishing system. She

hopes to help others self-publish their books and

share the joy of authorship with many.

hillary lauren is a newcomer to Wahkaikum

County, residing full time on Puget Island since

2020 after spending her weekends there since

2017. Nearly all of the book was compiled and designed from her East Birnie Slough living room

and she spoke often to Rick Nelson (her neighbor

and prior Eagle publisher) about writing. She

tends a rose-and fruit-tree filled garden that was

established before she was born and enjoys hiking

the local logging trails and riverside beaches with

her partner and their dog.

Although there are recipes contained within, it

isn’t a traditional cookbook. It is inspiration and

celebration and permission to explore expressed

in menu form by celebrating silly food holidays,

pop culture, and influential people alongside historical touchstones, traditions of yore, and the flavors dreams are made of.