Dear readers,

Kim O’Donnel has finished recipe-testing and writing for her soon-to-be-book, Licking Your Chops: A Meatless Guide for Meat Lovers. I e-chatted with Kim about what that multi-month project has meant for her own diet. “I definitely have less of an appetite for meat,” she says. “Get a craving about once a week these days — and when I do eat it, it tastes GREAT. Looking forward to roasting a chicken this weekend.”

Many months ago, Kim and I talked about the idea for her book, something for people (like her own mother) who really like meat, but just want to eat less of it. From the sounds of things, Kim’s managed just that. “I had no idea vegetarian food could taste that good,” wrote one of her testers.

Are we beginning to see a shift — not only to less meat, but to different meat? Yesterday, in my hometown newspaper, The Oregonian, Leslie Cole wrote about a new kind of meat-eater: “Conscious carnivores, ethical butchers are changing food culture.” Definitely worth a read.

What about you? If you’d like to talk about your meat-eating or meat-avoidance — or even just whether you think the new iPad will be good in the kitchen — leave a comment over on my Culinate blog.

Kim Carlson
Editorial Director

P.S. On the subject of meatless eating: Join Kim O’Donnel on Table Talk tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET to discuss that very topic.