Collaborating on the 4th Edition of Cooking a la Heart with Amy Myrdal-Miller, MS, RD, FAND

·48 min·4 clips

Amy Myrdal-Miller blurted 'I want to write a book' on a Zoom call, not knowing it would lead to co-authoring a 500-recipe heart-healthy cookbook.

In episode 298 of the Cookbook Love Podcast, host Maggie Green interviews Amy Myrdal-Miller, MS, RD, FAND, about her role as collaborator on the fourth edition of 'Cooking a la Heart'. Amy explains how she got involved after blurting out her desire to write a book during a Zoom meeting in early 2021, which led Linda Hackfeld to contact her following a webinar. Linda had originally created the cookbook in the mid-1980s as part of an NIH-funded study in Minnesota, later publishing it through her company Apple a Day Press. The fourth edition, published by The Experiment, required a full rewrite to update for modern cooking styles, ingredients, and equipment. Amy and Linda worked together for 16 months via Zoom, dividing recipe development and writing tasks, with Amy focusing on headnotes and chapters like pizzas and flatbreads. They tested recipes extensively, with Amy spending more on groceries than her advance. The book includes 512 heart-healthy recipes inspired by global food cultures, emphasizing plant-forward eating without being vegetarian. Amy discusses the challenges of recipe testing, such as a two-week struggle with a pork tenderloin recipe, and the emotional difficulty of cutting 50 recipes due to publisher constraints. She shares the joy of receiving the first printed copies in New York City and the meaningful coincidences linking the book to her personal health journey. The episode also covers practical advice for cookbook writers, including budgeting for ingredients and maintaining creative control. Amy recommends her favorite cookbook, 'The Book of Bread', and encourages listeners to connect via her website or social media.

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