JOI THE COOKBOOK Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma

In this episode we talked about Unpopular Opinions about baking, photographing food and about publishing a cookbook. 

Unpopular Opinion No. 1 - You don’t have to wait for a publisher to publish your own cookbook. We are proof that we/you can do it yourself. Self-publishing can be the fast road to getting your cookbook out in the market.  
Unpopular Opinion No. 2 - Baking doesn’t have to be an exact Science.  There is versatility within baking. 

Unpopular Opinion No. 3 - Cookbooks are as relevant as ever contrary to the popular opinion that cookbooks are becoming obsolete.  With the rise of online recipe platforms, cooking blogs, and video tutorials, some believe that the traditional cookbook format is becoming less relevant. They argue that people can find recipes for free online and that cookbooks are no longer necessary.

Unpopular Opinion No. 4 - Natural light for photography is the BEST LIGHT.  We learned to embraced the different types of lighting available during the day.  There is beauty in simplicity. 

Unpopular Opinion No. 5 - You don't have to trade your creative life for a professional life. 




www.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
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Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production

In this episode we will talk about digital fluidity, and how it influenced the design of our cookbook JOÏ: Baking and Photographing Northern European Party.
We can start by defining what Digital Fluidity is:
“Digital Fluidity refers to the ability to seamlessly navigate and adapt to digital technologies, platforms and tools in an ever-evolving digital landscape. It encompasses flexibility, agility and competence to interact, communicate and utilize digital resources effectively.
Digital fluidity has a large influence on how we live our lives today. We constantly flow into and out of the digital world. 
Examples of Digital Fluidity:
- Communication: Digital fluidity enables instant and global communication through social media, messaging apps and video conferencing. It has transformed the way people connect, share information and collaborate across borders.
- Information access: The digital realm offers vast amounts of information and knowledge, which can be accessed rapidly and conveniently. Digital fluidity allows individuals to find, evaluate and utilize information effectively, fostering continuous learning and empowering individuals with knowledge (Note: this has a lot to do with how I learned to bake and get new baking inspiration)
- Innovation and Creativity: Digital fluidity facilitates the exploration and experimentation of new ideas, sparking innovation and creativity. It enables individuals to leverage digital tools and technologies to express themselves, create content and pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.


What does digital fluidity have to do with writing a cookbook?
A traditional cookbook is not digitally fluid. There is a stack of papers, bound together with content. It may be a beautiful book with fantastic information that really stimulates the imagination, or teaches something valuable. But the experience ends when you close the book. That doesn’t fit today’s reality.
E-books are a digital alternative. Lets you use different devices to read your book, carry it in your pocket wherever you go, easily jump around or reference different sections of the book through links.
We wanted to make our book ‘more than just a book’.  The starting points for writing the book were the idea of sharing, taking people on a journey, and encouraging people to be creative. So thinking of ways to integrate the static content of the book with more dynamic experience in the digital realm was a logical next step. 

Examples of Digital Fluidity in JOÏ;
- Interactive elements: videos, step-by-step demonstrations to guide readers through recipes. It enhances engagement and provides a dynamic learning experience.
- Website: Companion website can enable readers to access additional content such as ingredient substitutions, links to buy ingredients or equipment, cooking tips. Blog with new ideas and variations on the recipes in the book, new ways to combine ingredients.
- Social media: Is a great marketing tool for the book but also allows people to share their baking experiences, photos, adaptations of recipes with each other. Inspire readers/followers/subscribers to try a new recipe. This fosters a sense of community and encourages collaboration and excha
www.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
Join our Private Facebook Community!
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Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production

In this Episode we will talk about the top 10 baking & photography props or tools under $15 you need to up your baking or pastry photography game! These were props or tools we continuously use in both our trades that helped achieve amazing results in baking & photographing the pastry featured in JOI. 

Photography Tools & their respective suggested links for purchase!
1. Step Tool $10 
2. Powder Sugar Duster/ Colander $10 
3. Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Etc) - Potentially Free if you pick it up from your garden. 
4. Mason Jars - $10 /Free if you save the ones from your Pasta Sauce. 
5. White Plates + Coffee Cups - Good will, Target, Amazon, Crate & Barrel, Your Aunt, Thrift Shops.  

_______________

Baking tools & their respective suggested links for purchase!

Electric Food Scale $10-25
(I use Escali, Etekcity works great too. Serious bakers measure with a scale for consistent results. Much more reliable than using measuring cups/spoons i.e. measuring by volume. Also fewer dishes and less math involved.)
https://a.co/d/ebvnlCh
Thermometers: 
Oven thermometer $10-15
(I like a linear one cause I think it’s easier to read and there is no dial that could get stuck. I have never met an oven where the built in thermostat was accurate. Get a thermometer to ensure your oven temp is what you want it to be. )
https://a.co/d/f0wcteA
Instant read thermometers $15-25
(worth having if you are doing some more advanced pastry projects that involve tempering chocolate or making candy. I like the kind with the probe on a wire.)
https://a.co/d/jbKqP0B
Bowl scraper $4 / bench scraper $7/3 items
(flexible plastic. Super simple, inexpensive tools that I use for all kinds of things - cutting dough, scraping a bowl, moving a raw pastry onto a sheetpan, loosening dough from a countertop, spreading a filling over rolled out dough, marking straight lines on my dough, etc.) 
My Oma had some made out of lids from plastic containers (yoghurt container) with the edges cut off. 
https://a.co/d/igv2U4Q
https://a.co/d/dCFeBiO
Cookiescoop (dishers) 1-1/3 tbsp, 3-1/2 tbsp $11 each
(Called dishers in the restaurant industry. Used to portion out food, like ice cream, mashed potatoes, etc. Great for scooping batter into a muffin pan or measuring out cookie dough, to get consistent sizes.)
If you already have an ice cream scoop, use that!
Large Cookie Scoop, Cupcake Scoop. 3 Tbsp / 45ml, 2 3/32 inches / 53 mm Ball, 18/8 Stainless Steel, Secondary Polishing
www.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
Join our Private Facebook Community!
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Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production

In this episode we talk about the growing pains of publishing your own Cookbook. We have already personally met quite a few people that are interested in creating their own cookbook. 

Something you need to be aware of is that a Cookbook is NOT a novel with just text. JOÏ: Baking & Photographing Northern European Pastry was created with the intent of being a beautifully designed coffee table picture book, as well as an inspiring and easy to use recipe book. 

As we got closer to the publication of the book, we encountered a lot of challenges and roadblocks that led us to have to move out our publication date. For sure there were plenty of other challenges on this journey over the past 2 years, but  oh boy was it frustrating at times to his these roadblocks when we were so close to the finish line. This podcast is our opportunity to VENT! We hope that it will help anyone else going through the process of publishing a book, so they can prepare for what’s to come and learn from our experience.
www.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
Join our Private Facebook Community!
Join our Newsletter!

Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production

In this episode we will talk about what makes a recipe special, and prompts you to save it, and bake it or cook it over and over again. . What are those sensory cues that connect you to a recipe. We also feature some of our favorite recipes from JOÏ: Baking & Photographing Northern European Pastry. 

Joanna has a small recipe notebook in her bookshelf where she has handwritten some of her favorite recipes. They are the ones she really wanted to make sure she didn’t forget because they are really awesome. It includes a recipe for an Indonesian marinade for pork shoulder chops that is amazing on the BBQ, an Indian egg curry that is an absolute favorite in her family, a salmon quiche with a parmesan crust that I got from a magazine years ago and is excellent, or her mom’s recipe for pavlova that her brother always asked for on his birthday.
One important reason she wanted to create a cookbook from the recipes she has developed is because she feels all of them are special to her in some way. Just the fact that she put in the effort to develop them: she researched the pastries history, tried other people’s recipes, created her own variations or interpretation and kept tweaking until she was happy with them. Some of them are family recipes, or recipes she has been making for years.  Many of them are inspired by pastries she ate during her childhood. All of them come from parts of the world where she spent her youth. Part of the fun of writing the book was adding the stories that made them special, the feelings or memories they evoke or the personal history connected to them. She hopes these little stories will help make the recipes special for the reader as well and encourage them to try it or make their own variations.


Some qualities of a recipe that has staying power in your life are:
- Emotional connection - The recipe reminds you of your childhood or has special memories associated with it. Something you cooked on a first date, something you ate every Christmas as a child...
- Practicality - The recipe is just familiar and easy. It’s your go-to when you can’t think of what to cook for a weeknight dinner or when you are craving a snack of some sort.
- Heritage or Legacy - The recipe that has been carried down over generations in your family and it is your responsibility ensure it lives on and is passed down to future generations. Your grandma’s secret recipe. Something typical from your culture or the region your family is from.
- Innovation - The recipe that you made your own, that is something you came up with yourself or that requires honing a special skill to make. The recipe you use to wow your friends or family
- Recognition - Your personal speciality. The recipe everyone asks you to cook on special occasions or for pot-lucks, the ones everyone always compliments you on.


Cyntia’s favorite recipes:
Christmas eggnog (her mom’s recipe) Wacky Cake (Canadian family recipe)Danish Coconut Almond Cakes (Drømmekage) from Joi the cookbook

Joanna’s favorite recipes:
Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (my birthday cake since I was 3 years old — Emotional connection, Legacy)Chicken witwww.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
Join our Private Facebook Community!
Join our Newsletter!

Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production

In this episode we talked about the Top 10 things any author needs to be successful when publishing a cookbook. Our intention is not to discourage you from undertaking this type of creative project, but instead to bring awareness as to what really goes into publishing a cookbook. 

Here are the top 10 things any cookbook author needs to be successful:

1. Define YOUR WHY
2. Come up with a UNIQUE Concept
3. Think of your cookbook's ‘concept’ 
4. Find a Sounding Board 
5. Make it Beautiful 
Consider the design of your book
6. Provide a Kick-Ass UX 
7. Maintain a Meticulous Review Cycle 
8. Find ways to market your book 
9. Research Print-on-Demand Options, ISNBs, Printing Parameters 
10. Make it Fun! 
Hope this podcasts inspires to think outside the box, and come up with a unique cookbook.

JOÏ: Baking & Photographing Northern European Pastry is now available for purchase worldwide through AMAZON. 


www.joithecookbook.com
IG: @joithecookbook.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joithecookbook/
Join our Private Facebook Community!
Join our Newsletter!

Executive Producers: Cyntia Apps & Joanna Struiksma-Facey
Podcasts Hostess: Cyntia Apps IG @cyntiaappsphotography
Joanna Struiksma-Facey IG
@brightspotbakeshop
Music: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production
Podcast Engineering & Production: Matt Jones, OceanSwim Production