ST. JOSEPH — Do you love trying out the recipes featured in “Off the Water” columnist Kat Barry’s weekly column, “Kat’s Hot Talk?”

If so, then you’ll definitely want to make your way to Forever Books, located at 312 State St., in St. Joseph this weekend.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Kat will be signing copies of “The New Chicago Diner Cookbook,” which she co-authored with Chef Jo A. Kaucher and The Chicago Diner Crew.

Kat became involved with The Chicago Diner—a vegetarian staple in the Chicago cuisine scene for more than 30 years—when co-owners Mickey Hornick and Jo Kaucher decided to open a second location in 2012.

Although Kaucher had published the first “Chicago Diner Cookbook” in 2002, it had been a longtime dream of Kat’s to assemble a cookbook, so they collaborated with the diner’s staff to create a new collection of more than 100 vegan and vegetarian recipes.

“I acted as the product manager on the book,” Kat explained. “We sat around and talked about what we wanted the book to be, and we compiled a list of our favorite dishes from the diner over the years. Then, we added other favorite recipes that we really wanted to include.”

After determining which recipes they would use, Jo, Kat, and the Chicago Diner crew enlisted the help of friends and other staff members to taste-test the recipes.

Then, Kat had to take recipes that were written to feed masses of people and scale them down to a size that would be more appropriate to a home kitchen.

“We had to scale them down to feed four to six people, rather than a diner full of people,” Kat explained. “You’d think it just involved a mathematical equation, but it can be a tricky thing to do. Luckily, scaling down recipes just seems to be a random skill that I have.”

Along with the recipes, the cookbook includes numerous full-color photographs by Del Nakamura.

It also presents other helpful information as well. For example, the introduction outlines the pantry essentials and tools of the trade that everyone should have in their kitchens.

“The book includes time- and money-saving tips on preparing parts of recipes in advance,” Kat said. “Restaurants do this to save money, and you can do it, too.”

In addition, many of the recipes include the same elements, such as mashed sweet potatoes, various tofu preparations, and a chimichurri sauce.

While all of the recipes are meatless, Kat recommends that omnivores give the recipes a try as well.

“A lot of people feel like vegan recipes won’t fill them up or that their husbands won’t like them,” Kat said. “I’m trying to make vegan food more accessible and show readers that they can make meals that their whole family will love. There’s something for everyone.”

One way that Kat plans to demonstrate that is by bringing along a selection of baked goods for visitors to sample at the book signing.

“I’m a local, so I’m excited to see some friendly faces,” Kat said. “The book-signing event will be kind of a ‘meet and greet.’ I’m really looking forward to it!”

If you can’t make it to the book signing, “The New Chicago Diner Cookbook” can be purchased at Forever Books, as well as from the restaurant’s website, www.veggiediner.com, and from Amazon.com.