Around the table with Sandi Patty

(CBS) Singer and author Sandi Patty stopped by CBSNews.com to talk about her cookbook, "Around the Table with Sandi Patty," some of the creative decisions in putting the book together, and - of course - the fun in being together at the dinner table with family.

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Patty tells CBSNews.com, "I've been singing for a number of years and in the last few years I've written some books. But as my kids have gotten older, as a mom you always want to talk about your kids a little bit. And I thought, how could we do this in an interesting way?

"So we came up with the idea of doing a cookbook that the whole family would participate in. With eight kids - at one time when we first got married they were 11 and under - you always have to be creative with what you feed them. And there's a lot of things in the cookbook that are great for young kids and easy to make. As our kids got older, there's a lot of really fun stuff in there that has a little more adult flavor to it. The stories and pictures I think are what makes it really fun."

Patty says that one of her kids' favorite meals was a spaghetti she made when they were younger. "It's really easy," she says. When the kids grew up and Patty suggested trying different recipes, the kids told her they liked her original spaghetti best. It's in the cookbook as the recipe she made when her kids were still kids.

"I suppose spaghetti is one of those things that never gets old and the kids love it even to this day," she says.

There are also some ways to curb some of the fat and calories from some of the recipes in the book. "All my life, I've been kind of that chubby kid. I've had a love-hate relationship with food. I've gone to it to soothe some hurts or wounds," says Patty. "In the last several years I feel in a sense I've come to peace with food. I'm learning to embrace it as a friend and not an enemy. The cookbook is twofold. It's a celebration of food rather than trying to run from it - but that's the only thing you can think about is food."

Patty says she's lost 75 lbs. in the last three years - she uses the word "released" instead of lost "because if you lose something you're going to want to try to find it again" - and added instructions to the book to make some of the recipes more calorie conscious.

It's not entirely calorie-conscious, though. There are some tasty treats, including in the dessert section. "My mom, for years, made a chocolate bundt cake. It's called 'Tunnel of Fudge.' And the way - when you finish cooking it - there's this ribbon of gooey fudge all throughout the middle so when you cut a slice of it there's cake around and the icing in the middle. And that is my absolute favorite with some homemade ice cream and hot fudge on top."

She laughs. "Are we done with this interview? Because I'm a little hungry right now."

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