Give Thanks

Thanks to everyone  who checked out my blog or bought a cookbook or some of Skiz’s Original Curry Powder in 2010! As you can see from the stats in the last post, it was a banner year and I’m hoping to make 2011 even better.

The year has already started off with a B ANG as I was offered a deal by Hippocrene Books in New York to publish a newly revised and expanded version of Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking. That means the book will finally be available worldwide at all fine bookshops  and Amazon as well (in hardcover, and eventually softcover). If you’re not familiar with Hippocrene I suggest you check out their remarkable catalog of cookbooks, which cover just about any world cuisine that exists. I think they will be a good fit for Rice & Curry.

soon to be available on Hippocrene Books

In  other news, I’m being approached by more stores and wholesale outlets who have heard about Skiz’s Original Curry Powders. The amazing Milk & Honey Market in Baltimore (816 Cathedral Street; 410-685-6455) just picked up a case of raw and a case of roasted, and a wholesaler called Buyer’s Best Friend, out of San Francisco, is going to list me in their catalog with 225 other gourmet food brands. Of course, Foodzie and Foodoro, two online food sites who have supported me from the beginning, continue to move my curry powder, and the best thing about all of this is that it has been word of mouth.

I’m also about to start another season of cooking videos on my YouTube series called “Pan Asian.” (Check out “ThaILLST” channel on Youtube). Last year I shot 21 webisodes of Pan Asian including dishes from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Korea, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Iran, and Trinidad–all of this with a little Flip HD camera and absolutely no help. This year, I hope to do even more.

And, I’m still trying to get Andrew Zimmern to go to Sri Lanka for an episode of Bizarre Foods. Now that the terrorist threat has been neutralized the whole amazing island is open for tourists. I was able to check out Jaffna in the north for the first time last May, and it was an incredible experience. So Zimmern, if you’re listening, it’s about that time, buddy. And for that matter, you, too, Bourdain. You owe Sri Lanka another look.

In fact, everyone needs to go check out Sri Lanka, and to that end I am working with Jetwing Travel in Colombo to put together a culinary tour of the island. It would be about two weeks in length, cover all the hot spots for food and otherwise, and be lead, of course, by yours truly. Send me an email at curryfiend@gmail.com if you are interested.

So that’s what’s happening on the Rice & Curry front. Thanks to all of you for your support, and I hope you keep coming back for more!