By Chanda Temple
Can we talk about the power of manifestation for a minute?
About six or seven years ago, Jimmy Proffitt told himself he was going to write a book. He didn’t know when. He didn’t know how. He didn’t even know the topic. But he knew he was going to write one.
Then, he wrote it down and said it out loud. (Which are all ways to stay true to manifesting, which is believing you can do something, staying focused on it, remaining positive on it and working on it until it becomes reality.)
One day he saw an advertisement for a $10 one-time writing class near his home in East Tennessee, and he decided to sign up. While in the class, the teacher was impressed with a story he had written about how the late Earl Hamner Jr. , the creator of the 1970s TV show, “The Waltons” had influenced him, and she told Jimmy he should submit his story to something and do a blog. That night, Jimmy went home and started a blog.
After a few entries, Jimmy looked at his stories and knew right then that his book should be a cookbook. He also started meeting people connected to food-writing organizations such as the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He never knew such a group existed, but because he kept manifesting his desires, he continued to meet people from the culinary community, including cookbook authors, chefs and writers.
As Jimmy started telling people he was going to write a book, people started asking him when it was coming out. Again, he didn’t know when, but he reassured them that he was going to write a book. Through the years, he collected recipes connected to his Appalachian upbringing, tucking away the wholesome family stories connected to each one.
The turning point for him came in January 2024 when there was a heavy snowfall in his town in Tennessee and he decided to make snow cream and post it to Instagram. The sweet treat from his childhood included freshly fallen snow, mixed with sugar, vanilla extract and a can of evaporated milk.
Not thinking anything about it, Jimmy went about his day. But that video went viral, and by the next day, it had 32 million views. (And today, it’s grown to 36 million.) The video appeared on national broadcast stations and even made headlines as far away as Cairo and England. It caught the attention of TWO publishers wanting to talk to Jimmy, asking if he’d like to write a book.
Jimmy talked to both publishers, with one telling him he’d need about 75 recipes. No problem. He’d also need stories to go along with the recipes. No problem. Because Jimmy had been manifesting for years and building blocks for his cookbook, he was well prepared. He wrote the book in six months.
The book is called “Seasoned in Appalachia: Delicious Recipes from the Mountains & Hollers.” It has 74 recipes, including his mother’s meatloaf, a best friend’s mother’s zucchini bread, the snow cream, and buttermilk biscuits.
The book will be released on Oct. 28. But thanks to the Southbound Food Festival, he came to Birmingham this week for his first booksigning on Thursday at FarmStand by Stone Hollow Farmstead. He will return to Pepper Place Market today, Sept. 27, signing advance copies from 8 to 11 am in front of FarmStand, which is next to the cooking demo stage.
“I’ve always found with manifesting, just say it out loud,” said Jimmy, 56. “It’s not magic. But it just puts me on record. It puts me on task to start working towards doing that.”
He said he will do a second and third book, and he wants to do a TV show.
“I’m just putting these things out there,” he said. “Again, I don’t know how and I don’t know when. But I’ll be open to the possibilities.”
“And when things come up, I want to be ready to say, ‘Yes.’ ”
Savor This! So how does manifestation work exactly? Jimmy Proffitt said you just repeat what you want, you tell others so they know, you believe it, you put in the work and things will happen. Take Dolly Parton. At her 1964 high school graduation, she told classmates she was going to be a Nashville star. People laughed at her, and she couldn’t understand why.
“She was serious. She knew that was what she wanted to do,” Jimmy said, citing how she went on to become a big country music star. “You say it. until you believe it. Other people believe it. And then, things start falling into place.”
Before Jimmy started the road to writing his cookbook, he didn’t know anyone in the cookbook industry. And like Dolly, he continued to manifest what he wanted. Jimmy met one person that led to another and another.
“I cannot believe the day is here,” he said, after signing several books. “I see (the book.) I touch it. But it still doesn’t feel real.”
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
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