Food Books: Annual Round-Up!

I really enjoy reading books about food, and once a year or so, I post a round-up of several food-related titles that were fun, interesting reads. This year's round-up is quite diverse and covers a range of topics. (I will add 2 more in the coming days, so check back.) Here are the 2012 round-up and 2013 round-up.

The Dorito Effect: the Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzger. Simon & Schuster, 2015.

Ever wonder what makes Doritos taste like, well, Doritos? In this truly fascinating read, Schatzger outlines the lengths that big food companies go to in order to sell us their products. A shortage of vanilla beans caused companies to figure out just what panoply of flavors are required for a person to be convinced by artificial vanilla. Making chips taste analogous to tacos really can launch a new national craze. Schatzger doesn't end with any surprising recommendations for those of us in the Western world who are faced with tasty non-food substances other than to eat... real food. But it was eye opening to read nonetheless and begins to explain a bit of why lesser known varieties of, say, tomatoes really do taste better from a local friend's garden than the big box variety at the local supermarket (hint: it's not just that they're fresher).



Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan. Three Rivers Press, 2015.*

In a sea of serious, often alarmist food-related titles, Gaffigan sets sail in a rowboat of laughter. With titles like "An Eatie, Not a Foodie," "Doughnuts: The Circle of Life," and "Pastrami Playdate," commedian Gaffigan applies all his snarky, funny sense of humor to the stuff we eat and consume on a regular basis as Americans. Unapologetically unhealthy in his food interests and habits, Gaffigan brings the "real us" out in public, the "us" who likes to "eat our feelings" (because they taste good!), the "us" who are victims of changing food trends on basic commodities such as milk, and the "us" who--like Gaffigan--just might view ketchup as the universal condiment. Gaffigan offers up his food geography of the U.S., comments on his frequent travels and culinary experiences, and is consistently funny. The book is broken up into very short chapters which is helpful as Gaffigan is a bit long-winded at times. It's easy to skip around and read the chapters that pique your interest most.

Doritos Effect image from amazon; Food cover image from publisher
*I received Food: a Love Story from blogging for books in return for a fair review.

Cookbook Review: Bowl + Spoon

Bowl + Spoon
Sara Forte and Hugh Forte
Ten Speed Press, 2015

Flipping through cookbooks and "reading" them is something I do to gain new inspiration and just plain pass the time. It's fun. When a cookbook is about something I already enjoy, even better! I've talked about our "bowl" approach to meals before, so when I saw a cookbook that promised mea-in-a-bowl recipes, I sensed a perfect fit.

Sara Forte comes up with new recipes on her blog, Sprouted Kitchen, and her husband Hugh turns them into delectable photographs. With their background, this new cookbook promised to be inventive and beautiful. In that sense, it fully succeeds. On a first "flip through," I dog-eared several recipes that sounded especially delicious. Coffee table book success.

But for a "simple," weekday approach to meals, it doesn't work as well. Forte may believe these are simple, ordinary meals, but for me (and most of my friends), they are too complex for a simple weeknight dinner. I love vegetables, and I'm certainly not averse to the chopping and prepping a reasonably healthy and fresh meal takes. But when a recipe calls for multiple ("simple") steps, it's still multiple steps. Add in multiple dishes to wash, and I'll keep flipping the pages. I think of "bowl" meals as simple fair.

My goal is to try at least 3 recipes before rating/reviewing a cookbook. However, even though I've had this cookbook for a couple of months, I have only tried two. Both were delicious, and the oatmeal has changed the way I cook oatmeal! (Forte combines both steel cut oats and regular, old-fashioned oats for a delightfully creamy, hearty concoction.) I'm sure the rest of the recipes will be just as delicious when I get around to them. For now, though, I find myself trying new things from The Great Big Pressure Cooker Cookbook and others on my shelf.

Thanks to blogging for books for a review copy of this book in return for my fair review.

Cookbook Review: The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book

The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book: 500 Easy Recipes for Every Machine, Both Stovetop and Electric
Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
Clarkston Potter, 2015

If you've never tried one of the modern, electric pressure cookers, you're missing out! I got an Instant Pot for Christmas (2013), and it quickly became a workhorse in my kitchen. Brown rice is perfect every time, frozen chicken breasts become pulled chicken in a matter of minutes, and I can even program it to cook while we're out.

Not all pressure cookers are the same, so I was skeptical about a cookbook that could work for every machine. But The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book has worked like a charm for me every time so far!  Contents include Breakfast, Soups, Meat, Poultry, Fish/Shellfish, Vegetables/Beans/Grains, and Desserts sections. Some, like the Vegetables/Beans/Grains chapter are broken down into subsections.

The pressure cooker really shines in cooking whole grains (like the aforementioned brown rice), dried beans, and meats that benefit from long, slow cooking. So I eagerly tried some of those recipes; they worked well. And then I ventured into unknown territory: hard-boiled eggs (amazing!), ground turkey ziti casserole (kids loved it!), and mashed potatoes (yum!).

Each recipe comes with clear, specific directions for both stovetop and electric pressure cookers and testers' notes for possible substitutions, go withs, and tips. My biggest complaint is the binding of the book: it doesn't hold up well which is frustrating in a "working book" that needs to be able to hold its place and stand up to wear and tear.

All in all, if you're beginning to dabble in the vast pressure cooker trend, this is a worthy book to check out.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Cookbook Review: The Pizza Bible

The Pizza Bible 
Tony Gemignani
with Susie Heller and Steve Siegelman
Ten Speed Press, 2014

I'm no stranger to homemade pizza. We've been making it off and on for years, and I've been known to put such things as greens, squash, and all manner of ingredients on top. The Pizza Bible intrigued me; what is the secret to awesome crust? What's the perfect balance of crust to topping?

I confess: for the first time ever, I'm reviewing a cookbook without trying a single recipe. Nary a one. Why, you ask? If I'm such a pizza fan?

Simple: we're trying to simplify, and this cookbook--while it looks like an awesome tome on the subject of making pizza--requires too many special ingredients/steps for our stage of life right now.

That being said, let me tell you about this lovely looking book. It's very well organized, contains great photography, and really does look like a good resource for those wanting to perfect their at-home pizzas. The chapters are broken down by regional styles and types of pizza (Chicago, Sicilian, California Style, Grilled, Focaccia, and more). There is also an opening chapter titled "The Master Class" in which Gemignani goes into great detail about methods and ingredients for making good pizza crust. One of his secrets? A slow rise for the dough (and by slow, I mean a good 24 hours).

The recipes don't look unnecessarily complicated, but for a family who somewhat abruptly moved across country into a house half the size of their previous one, homemade pizza by the rules in this bible are not going to happen anytime soon. Still, if you're a homemade pizza fan, I encourage you to check this book out sometime. And we might try a few soon, too--just without the pizza peels and specialty flours.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Cookbook Review: My Perfect Pantry

My Perfect Pantry: 150 Easy Recipes from 50 Essential Ingredients
Geoffrey Zakarian with Amy Stevenson and Margaret Zakarian
Clarkson/Potter Publishers, 2014

I'm thoroughly enjoying being part of the Blogging for Books program through which I get some truly interesting (and tasty!) cookbooks to preview and tell my readers about. Today's cookbook is such a one.

I cook just like this book's premise: keep essential ingredients on hand and buy the fresh ingredients that look good and/or are on sale (or come in the CSA box!) each week as I need them. Zakarian's 50 essentials comprise a solid list that is surprisingly ordinary. Anchovies and espresso powder are perhaps on the exotic end (although certainly not hard to obtain) and flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder on the more mundane end.

The book is organized around these pantry stars, so it essentially has 50 short chapters: one per key pantry staple. Chapters are organized alphabetically. Zakarian showcases each pantry staple's particular strengths in three recipes which cover a range of functions (appetizers, entrees, side dishes, desserts, breakfast). In addition to the three recipes in each short chapter are an introduction describing the unique qualities of the ingredient and a gorgeous page of photos of the three recipes.

Are the recipes tasty? Good question! No cookbook can be truly rated without a sampling of its cuisine. According to my usual pattern, I set out to try three recipes: Sweet and Spicy Popcorn (from the "Popcorn" chapter), Cast Iron Burgers with Secret Sauce (from the "BBQ" chapter), and the Almond-Crusted Pork Chops with Apples (from the "Almonds" chapter). Um, yum!! I had planned to sample a few recipes, rate the cookbook, and loan it to a friend. The night I made the burgers, I called her and told her no such luck. I'm hangin' onto this bad boy a bit longer. The recipes aren't complicated or even truly innovative-sounding; just goes to show that perfect technique and blending of flavors makes the difference from ordinary to extraordinary.

This is not an all-purpose cookbook, so it won't hold that function in a small cookbook library. But for folks who enjoy cooking and are curious to see some new recipes using ordinary ingredients, this is one to check out. An index that included recipes listed by course/meal would be helpful as would page numbers on the photo pages, but as the chef becomes more familiar with the cookbook, these organizational details will seem less necessary.

Further information:

• More Info
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Cookbook Review: The Homesick Texan's Family Table by Lisa Fain

The Homesick Texan's Family Table: Lonestar Cooking from my Table to Yours
Lisa Fain
Ten Speed Press, 2014

The last cookbook I reviewed spoke to my mother's side of the family from Mississippi. But, y'all, I was born in Texas, so I come by this one honestly. My dad's from Texas, and we're right proud of that little fact.

The Homesick Texan's Family Table is a delightful cookbook to peruse. There are lots of recipes featuring the subtle heat from chipotles, some tried and true Texan favorites (chicken spaghetti and references to chicken fried steak--NOT "country fried"), and a host of true Tex-Mex recipes. I grew up eating burritos or tacos on a weekly basis and was rather shocked to find, when I got to college (out of the state) that not everyone had grown up eating similarly. Well done, tasteful food photography accents many recipes. Simplicity rules, and the organization follows suit. An index in the back as well as a mini table of contents for each section makes this cookbook easy to navigate.

Fain is a Texan by birth, but she lives in New York now. This cookbook springs from the work on her popular blog (Homesick Texan). The question is: does the cookbook work? Does it please fellow Texans? Do the recipes taste good? I've sampled three to date, but I plan to try lots more. So, yes, it pleases fellow Texans. The Cowboy Beans will be a regular feature around here. And the Caballero Cookies? YUM YUM. They remind me of the Ranger Dan cookies we ate at summer camp--in Texas, of course. Delicious!

If you know a Texan or enjoy Tex Mex, this is a fun cookbook to check out. You may also want to check out:

• More Info
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Cookbook Review: The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

The B. T. C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook
Alexe Van Beuren with recipes by Dixie Grimes
Clarkson Potter, New York: 2014.

Longtime readers of this blog know that I have me some Southern heritage. I may not cook up a mess o' greens with Southern cornbread every week, but boy, do those start my mouth a'waterin.' And a big pan o' okry? Bring it on.

I come by this heritage through a few different Southern venues. One of them is East Texas (yes, it's true! Those Dallas residents might give their loyalty to Texas first and foremost, but they will also tell you they are Southern--BIG Southern, as in everything in Texas is bigger and better). The other half of my family is from Mississippi and Memphis. Where in Mississippi, you may ask? One small town by the name of Water Valley.

Well, when I saw this cookbook up for review and read that it is from an old-fashioned grocery store IN Water Valley, MS, I had to request it for review! Southern cooking from that particular town had to be tasty. The subtitle hooked me completely: "Recipes and Stories from a Southern Revival." Bring it, sister.

Appearance of cookbook: perfect. Pictures have a nice, vintage feel. Recipes are laid out well with a nice introduction/story. Organization is intriguing (a whole chapter for Casseroles and one for Spreads and Sandwich Fixings! That second one means pimiento cheese to us Southerners.). There are stories and anecdotes sprinkled in, and they are great fun to read.

But appearance and organization aside, the big question for a cookbook is: "are the recipes any good?" In other words, Do they taste good? Are they doable for the home cook? (These are the kinds of things *I* want to know, at least.) I'm afraid, for me, the answer is "not so much." Oh, they're doable. There aren't many hard-to-find ingredients, and the processes are straightforward. Some recipes are a touch gourmet for my everyday standards ("Wild Mushroom Quiche"). I try to sample at least 3 recipes from a cookbook from different parts of the cookbook. We had the "Sriracha Coleslaw" and the "Roasted Green Beans with Sweet Peppers." I haven't tried any others yet because my dietary perspective just can't get over the quantity of butter/cream/mayonnaise and similar ingredients--and I'm a Southerner! I'm sure the "Chocolate Gravy" divine, but I just couldn't bring myself to use two cups of cream in it. The "Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Apple" is on my list to try this week, however, and it does indeed look delicious. I'll be reporting back. The first two recipes we tried were a touch salty or sweet for our tastes, so I may hold back when making the soup.

For now, though, this cookbook has been more of a browse-through-and-enjoy-reading cookbook as opposed to a "get-dirty-on-the-counter-from-constant-use" cookbook. If you have friends who are true Southerners, they will enjoy reading through this cookbook--and cooking some of the recipes, no doubt! If you are on dietary restrictions of some kind, this is probably not the cookbook for you. But for special occasions when we want to indulge, I'll be checking out "Honey Goat Cheese Frittata with Prosciutto and Arugula" or the "Chicken 'n' Dumplings."

For more information, check out these resources:

• The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook Press Release
• Facebook Link
• More Info
• Read Chapter One
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Cookbook Review: Brassicas

Brassicas

Laura B. Russell

Ten Speed Press, 2014

I was intrigued by this cookbook as soon as I read the description--it's full of recipes for vegetables in the brassicas group (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, greens of all sorts, Brussels sprouts, turnips, kohlrabi, etc.). These are often the vegetables that appear in our CSA box and are the new experiences for shareholders (especially the leafy ones) when compared with vegetables like green beans, tomatoes, and onions.

This is my new favorite cookbook. No doubt about it. Everything I've tried has been delicious!!! And, there is very little dairy added to cover up the taste of the vegetable; instead of heavy cheese sauces or casseroles, the vegetables are cooked in such a way that they really taste delicious on their own merits. For instance, I've tried Brussels sprouts several times over the years--even roasting them, but it wasn't until I roasted them the way this book instructed that I really liked them. Liked them enough, in fact, to make them a second time the same week. 

Broccoli is a regular feature around here, yet I still found that the manner in which it was cooked in this book raised the bar. Kale and Sweet Potato Saute is my new favorite breakfast. I can't wait to try the other recipes!

Photography is well done, organization is top notch, recipes are easy to read and follow, and recipes require little special equipment. Notations are provided for vegan, dairy free, and other dietary concerns. Perhaps the only downside to the recipes is that some of them require a fair amount of oil. Not more than an ordinary person uses, but if someone is on a diet like Weight Watchers where fat is penalized pretty severely, these recipes might be out of reach. 

If you want to eat more vegetables or are a CSA shareholder who needs some ideas for those mysterious brassicas in your box, check this cookout out.

For more information, check out the following links:

• Facebook Link
• Twitter Link
• More Info
• Read Chapter One
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this unbiased review.

Cookbook Review: The VB6 Cookbook

The VB6 Cookbook
Mark Bittman
Clarkson Potter, 2014


Some of you will think I'm off my rocker just to mention a cookbook with "vegan" in the title. But I've learned over the past few years that vegan cookbooks often are great sources for vegetable-heavy recipes (seems obvious, doesn't it?). When you eat lots of vegetables (like we do), you don't need or want every dish covered in cheese, butter, and the like. Sure, they taste good. But ultimately, that's not good for you, and you also will end up eating fewer vegetables because the heavier sauces fill you up.

Enter the VB6 plan: Mark Bittman's way to eat less meat. Essentially, you pick a meal of the day to eat a moderate amount of animal protein and abstain the rest of the day. For him, that's dinner, hence the title (which means Vegan Before 6:00). He wrote an entire book on the subject that is quite interesting (he wrote a similar book called Food Matters a few years ago that some of you may be familiar with). I read the VB6 book and decided to give it a whirl just for kicks. Amazingly, some health problems I had started to clear up. I've since come to the conclusion that that was due largely to my increased consumption of whole grains and lots of produce rather than eliminating most animal products. I'm no health professional, so who knows.

When I had the chance to review The VB6 Cookbook, I jumped at it. I'm a book reviewer in my other life, and I love getting books from publishers to review. Unfortunately, this cookbook is not as good as I'd hoped it would be. In the VB6 book, Bittman lays out a fairly approachable way of eating, mentioning very do-able breakfasts and snacks. In The VB6 Cookbook, however, many of the recipes seem a bit odd or out of reach for the average home cook in terms of simple appeal. There is also a 28-day meal plan demonstrating how to make the plan work. I've seen similar schedules in other "diet" cookbooks, and this one falls prey to the same pitfalls: every single meal in a given week is different. No one I know cooks (yes, cooks!) a different breakfast AND lunch each day of the week. For a change in eating habits to work, it must be easily accessible to the average person who is probably feeding a family on the side and/or going to work and/or has other commitments. A few repeats (perhaps the same breakfast every other day for one week) would make this far more doable, especially if someone is making slightly different meals for the rest of the family at the same time.

I've tried a handful of recipes from the book. Some of them were too big a change for my family to embrace (bulgur for breakfast, anyone?). And some were delicious. There is one delicious smoothie recipe in particular that I plan to put on this blog! Oh, and a quinoa salad recipe.....

The book is well organized. Like many of his other cookbooks, Bittman gives many substitutions and variations for the recipes--always a plus. He also includes many helpful charts for vegetables, grains, and beans; these charts show how to cook the ingredient, what it works well with or in, and similar types of information. If you're new to cooking whole grains, beans, and vegetables, this kind of information is very helpful. If you own several of Bittman's other cookbooks already, you will already have access to much of this information (although I'll admit it's prettier and easier to navigate in The VB6 Cookbook.)

All in all, definitely a library checkout to test drive before you buy.

For more information, check out the following:

• Read Chapter One (a great resource!)
• More About Mark Bittman (his bio and other books)

"I received this book for free from Blogging for Booksfor this review."

Cookbook Review: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Favorites

America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
America's Test Kitchen, 2010

I'm a fan of America's Test Kitchen (and related ventures: Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country). Their recipes work. And they often have recipes for ordinary dishes mixed in with their extraordinary. However, they also are often loaded with fat/calories or take a long time to make. Not so the Healthy Family Cookbook.

This is one of the cookbooks I turn to often for weekday meals and recipes for my family. I have the first family cookbook they put out, but I use this green covered one far more frequently. The recipes in here are not diet recipes, not by any stretch of the imagination. But they are lighter in calories and fat than the America's Test Kitchen standard recipes. This is not simply the red cookbook remade into lighter recipes, either. This book contains entirely different recipes and--nearly unheard of for America's Test Kitchen--contains nutritional information.

There are some great recipes for one pot meals using brown rice (so hard to find!), a good kid-friendly chapter that truly is kid-friendly, and the usual mix-and-match/substitutions features that make these cookbooks so user friendly. The recipes also seem to be a bit more time conscious than many of their other cookbooks' recipes.

All in all, if you're needing a healthy option for your family, check this one out from your local library and give it a test run. It's a great weekday option when it's just you and your family needing a nourishing, tasty meal. We're having stir-fry with one of their stir-fry sauces tonight!

Introducing Produce and Cooking to Kids

If you're a gardener, CSA shareholder, or avid farmer's market customer, your children have likely had exposure to more types of vegetables than the average American. If that's the case, this series of picture books by April Pulley Sayre will be lots of fun as your children recognize their favorites.

If you're about to venture into the world of a CSA or are contemplating making the farmer's market a regular weekly feature, then check out the books below to show your children what they might encounter. They might be less intimidated by kale, kohlrabi, or radishes if they've just chanted their way through a book on the subject! The books below are great for preschool through early elementary kids.

Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre. Beach Lane, 2011. 
This colorful picture book is exactly what the title says: a singsongy chant about vegetables is accompanied by photographs of the vegetables. Back matter provides a bit more information about the vegetables.

Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant by April Pulley Sayre. Beach Lane, 2012.
While the photography isn't quite as strong in this companion book, Go, Go, Grapes! is still a great celebration of fruit--and not just your typical apples, bananas, and oranges.

Let's Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat by April Pulley Sayre. Beach Lane, 2013.
This is a great introduction to the many seeds we eat: grains, beans/legumes, nuts. Photographs accompany the rhyming text and showcase seeds from around the world.


What if you have older children who are dying to actually cook? Then you might want to check out this new kids' cookbook:

ChopChop: The Essential Cookbook for Kids and Their Parents. Sally Sampson. Simon & Shuster, 2013.

Based on recipes from the magazine of the same name, ChopChop features very healthy recipes geared towards middle grades kids and up. Recipes are varied, and there are lots of base recipes with multiple variations given. Instructions are very clear--a big plus in a cookbook for kids. My biggest complaint is that the book is a large paperback; as any chef knows, these are hard to actually cook from because they won't stay open! I should note that I didn't actually try the recipes in this cookbook; many of them, though, look very similar to recipes I already know and love in other cookbooks. See if your local library has a copy!

My favorite kids' cookbooks for younger kids are the Pretend Soup and Salad People cookbooks by Molly Katzen.

What are YOUR favorite vegetable-related and healthy cookbooks for kids?

cover images from goodreads

Cookbook Review: World Vegetarian

Remember me? The one who promised to post a few recipes a few weeks back? The Lord had other plans for me than spending time on this little blog. I haven't forgotten about those recipes, but I first want to review a cookbook I've been enjoying--before I have to take it back to the library.

World Vegetarian: More than 650 meatless recipes from around the world
Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter, 2002

Whether or not you're a vegetarian (or vegan), if you enjoy vegetables, it's worth checking out and/or owning a few vegetarian cookbooks. There are so many interesting recipes for vegetables in them that you can easily make into a side dish for meat lovers (or add meat to--as in a stir fry--if need be). We enjoy lots of meatless meals, and we enjoy ethnic food. World Vegetarian was a win-win.

My library copy has lost the first 20 pages or so, so I don't even have a table of contents or the introduction to look at. So I can't speak to philosophy and organization as much. That being said, the index in this book is excellent, even including headings for countries represented. The majority of the book is Asian, Indian, or Middle Eastern in inspiration; there are a few Mexican, South American, African, and European recipes thrown in as well.

Jaffrey includes great information on specific vegetables in the "Vegetables" section, describing how to buy, store, and prepare (the basics). She also includes a small intro to each recipe, a feature I always enjoy. Many times she gives an extra preparation note or tells what the particular recipe would work well with.

One "test" I have for vegetarian cookbooks is the number of meat-substitute recipes they include and/or the number of heavy dairy recipes they include. This passes on both accounts. Because the recipes are ethnic in origin, they are not mere attempts to replace the standard "meat and potatoes" fare with "tempeh and potatoes." Instead, there are simply lots of plant-friendly recipes. There are definitely egg- and dairy-based recipes, but they are an appropriate number given the sheer size of the book.

I have only tried a small fraction of the actual recipes, but the ones I've tried have been outstanding! Even my kids ate the stir-fried bean sprouts. Impressive. If I were to buy this book, I'd have to give another cookbook the boot since my shelf is overflowing. But I've enjoyed it enough that I've actually been eying its competitors lurking on my shelf. It might be worth it.

To sum up: it's a great choice for those who, like me, enjoy vegetables and ethnic fare. In particular, when you belong to a CSA or have a garden, it's nice to have extra ways to prep some veggies when they're in season and you have exhausted your usual repertoire.

Food-Related Books to Check Out

Last year, I did some quick reviews of food-related books I'd read during the summer. I think I'll make this an annual feature! This year, I'm privileged to have sneak peaks at brand new books and they're very fun.

Dinner, A Love Story: It All Begins at the Family Table
Jenny Rosenstrach
Ecco, 2012

Rosenstrach began her quest for the family dinner table in blog form, and last year she published this charming book version. By turns memoir and recipes, Dinner chronicles her struggle to figure out how this whole family dinner thing works. Rosenstrach is a funny writer and walks us through her gourmet years with her husband as newly weds, the frantic baby years when takeout was what it took, and the beginnings of the years with kids who eat like civilized folks at the dinner table. If you're committed to the idea of family dinner but struggle to find the time or wonder if it's worth it, read this book! You'll be encouraged and you'll laugh in the process. Then go try some of her recipes (we're big fans of the Sweet Potato Chicken Pot Pie. Trust me.). You can probably check this book out at your local library, but you may want to buy it when you're done.

thanks to my local library for a copy of this book; cover image from goodreads

We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
Becky Johnson and Rachel Randolph
Zondervan, 2013 (August!)

Another memoir of food and time spent around the table together, We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook is a joint venture between a mom and her grown daughter. Together, they recount their food-related memories and share their favorite recipes. I enjoyed the honesty in this book, the recognition that food does indeed bring people together, and that grown children make new traditions that the parents can benefit from. Rachel, the daughter, and her husband decide to become vegan, and Becky, the mother, deals with it valiantly. The tone in this book is casual, much like Dinner, A Love Story and makes for a quick read. The recipes are not all vegan, but the ones Rachel does share definitely are on my "try this" list. So far, we've tried the vegan Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Bake (not sure if that's the precise title), and it was delicious! I can't wait to try some of Becky's recipes, too. Both Becky and Rachel are professing Christians, and they sprinkle in comments related to their faith throughout the book. However, it is not a spiritual meditation on food, and I think nonChristians could still enjoy it. Look for it in bookstores this fall.

thanks to publisher via netgalley for an ARC of this book; cover image from goodreads

Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunch on the Go
J. M. Hirsch
Atria Books, 2013 (September)

As we gear up for another school year, lunch box meals are back on the radar. I get SO TIRED of packing school lunches. I don't know why. But that explains why I jumped at the chance to review this little book. Will it help? I'm not sure, honestly, if it will help me pack my kids' lunches. But it will most definitely help me pack mine and my husband's, and it's given me LOTS of ideas of things to try for the kids. Hirsch began this book as a blog, too (like Dinner, A Love Story), and chronicled his son's school lunch for a year. The book is not full of recipes so much as it's full of ideas: pair this with that. Use leftover chicken in one of these two ways. Try toppings like this for that. Each page is a full color, full page photograph of a lunch based on the suggestions given on that page (similar to the cover pictured). There are also about 30 dinner recipes in this book with--get this--TWO leftover lunch ideas. Genius. That's the way I like to cook. He does this with breakfast, too, as in "pack a leftover popover with ham and cheese" for lunch (or something along those lines). This is a very fun book to look through; my copy from the publisher was a digital galley, so I'm not sure how big a book it will be. Regardless, it's colorful and will get help jumpstart your school lunch packing as the school year gets under way. Look for it in store shelves this September.

thanks to publisher via netgalley for a digital ARC; cover image from goodreads.

Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should be Good, Clean, and Fair
Carlo Petrini (Jonathan Hunt, translator)
Rizzoli Ex Libris, 2007

I got a digital galley of this book, and for some reason thought it was "new." I don't know if it's new to the U.S. or not, but those of you who follow this kind of movement/way of life already will probably find the content in the book to be familiar stuff. If you're curious about the slow food movement, though, this book is packed with all kinds of information related to it. Yes, there IS an official slow food movement begun by none other than the author of this book! (Check out the Slow Food USA site for more information.) While I'm generally in favor of cooking from scratch, and I very much enjoy my local veggies from the Colvins in our CSA box each week, I'm also a bit wary of heavy propaganda. Slow Food Nation does lean in that direction, but no more than so many current food documentaries and other literature out these days. This particular book is more academic than many books out there, so if you are interested in really finding out about the whys and wherefores of the movement, I recommend you check this one out.

thanks to publisher via edelweiss for a digital copy of this book; cover image from goodreads

Cookbooks for Christmas!

Oh, I do love reading a new cookbook. So. Much. Fun.

I spent a blissful 1 1/2 hours at Barnes and Noble yesterday morning sipping tea and perusing some cookbooks I'm considering adding to my Christmas/Birthday wishlist (all while pleasant Christmas music played at an appropriate volume over their speakers).



And then I came home and pondered.

• Do I need a "new" cookbook when an older edition might work better?
• If I have really good, truly all-purpose cookbooks, why do I need another, similar title? 
• I am reminded that wanting a new cookbook is not necessarily the answer if I'm merely bored with my current cooking experiences--in fact, since I trust my existing cookbooks, I'm better off flipping through them for new inspiration!
• So, I should make the most of the cookbooks I currently own!

There are still a few new cookbooks I have my eye on. Following my own advice, I now have them on hold from the library. I'm intrigued by some America's Test Kitchen offerings, notably the Cook's Country Lost Recipes and their main, large "heirloom" recipes book. But since I have such tomes as Joy of Cooking, How to Cook Everything, and the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook not to mention such cookbooks as Fannie Farmer (a great source for "lost recipe" type dishes) AND this blog which houses a number of my own family's old-fashioned favorites, I'm certain I don't "need" a new cookbook!

But perhaps you're in the position of gifting a cookbook and need to know which one to give... Here are some suggestions for the various foodies on your list (most of these are very down-to-earth and for real home cooks). Titles are linked to my reviews where available and to amazon otherwise:

• How to Cook Everything, 10th ann edition: hands down, one of the best all-purpose cookbooks for ordinary cooking
• Joy of Cooking (I prefer the 1997 edition): the standard with good reason, but a little more intimidating to navigate than H2CE for some reason. After a year with H2CE, I've settled back comfortably with Joy.
• The Betty Crocker Cookbook: know a recent college grad or someone who is needing a very ordinary all-purpose cookbook? Perhaps someone who has a small kitchen space and/or who might be intimidated by the sheer number of recipes in those first two books? This is a terrific option, spiral bound and compact, that provides a wealth of the basic kitchen/cooking info everyone needs to know--everything from cuts of meat to how long various foods keep in the freezer/fridge to recipe conversions to... Includes a lot of old-fashioned family favorites. Nutritional info also included.
• The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: the best recipes from years of the magazine. This is a multi-purpose cookbook for the chef in your family: myriad versions of recipes and a huge range from ordinary to exotic. Recipes are detailed, extensive, and fun to look through. The baking/desserts section is dynamite.
• America's Test Kitchen Family Favorites or Healthy Family Favorite Cookbook: pictures, trust-worthy recipes, wide appeal for most recipes; variations and such but not as all-purpose as those first on the list. Still, I turn to these cookbooks frequently. The "healthy" one contains nutritional info.
• Simply in Season: A great option for the home cook who wants to incorporate more veggies into his/her cooking and who enjoys simple food. A terrific gift for those who participate in CSA's or who shop regularly at their local farmer's markets.
• Make-a-Mix Cookery: a fun idea for those busy home chefs who enjoy from-scratch cooking but who don't always have time.

What cookbooks are on YOUR wishlist?

Cookbook Review: Make-a-Mix

Make-a-Mix

Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward, Madeline Westover
Running Press, 2006

My mother-in-law loaned me her copy of this book--but it's the first version which came out many years ago (she used her much-loved copy when my husband was a little boy!). It's been a huge timesaver this semester. I highly recommend it.

The premise is a basic one: create your own mixes for everything from homemade Bisquick to cake mixes to muffin mixes to meat-based mixes.... Then, you can create biscuits, rolls, muffins, pancakes, cookies, cakes, brownies, pretzels, soups, Sloppy Joes, spaghetti, and many, many more dishes much more quickly using your prepared mixes. There is a nice blend of sweet and savory, and baked good mixes and dinner entree mixes. To date, I've only tried the baked goods mixes, but I've used some of them A LOT (the cornmeal mix for cornbread muffins, the wheat mix for the BEST pancakes, the oatmeal mix for delicious oatmeal muffins, the gingerbread mix for gingersnaps and gingerbread men,...). I tend to substitute butter for shortening, so I store my baking mixes in the freezer. I have to chip away at them, but so far, it's been doable.

I've since checked out the newest edition (shown above) from my local library. I'd thought I might purchase it, but after looking at the latest edition, I'm going to hunt down a used copy of the original. Just goes to show: always test drive a cookbook from the library if you can before buying! What's different between the two? Some of the mixes I've used and enjoyed are NOT in the new one! (Wheat mix, oatmeal mix, and the ginger snap one). There are some new ones that look good (such as a whole wheat hot roll mix and the pork roast mix), but I think I may just photocopy the few new ones and stick with the old tried and true.

If you've never seen the older edition, though, you may be perfectly happy with the new one!

Cover image from goodreads

Some Food-Related Books...

I've read some very interesting books this summer that all relate to food--and three of them relate to feeding children in particular. All of these were available in my local library. Listed in order I read them, not in order of interest.

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

A GREAT book all the way around as far as encouraging you to reign in commitments, toys, and other cluttering items in your life. One part in particular discusses the importance of routines; the author mentions routines surrounding food as important for young children. Routines for food include relatively standard meal times/snack times, predictable menus (not the same recipe each week, but perhaps "soup night" each week), and things like that.

Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter


Explores how parents should (but often do not) feed their children, how to encourage children to eat more variety--particularly vegetables, and things like that. Her big push is the division of labor: parents choose when, what, and how to serve food-wise; children choose how much to eat. Much of this book is devoted to infant and toddler feeding needs/strategies/recommendations. I skipped those chapters. Worth reading, but I don't 100% agree with everything (isn't that always the case?! ☺).

French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon

Wow! This is my favorite nonfiction read of the summer (so far ☺). A Canadian woman married to a Frenchman; they decide to spend a year in Brittany near his family and their children are preschool and kindergarten ages. What follows is an unintended expose of some of the poorer North American habits and attitudes towards food (where children are concerned) and a fascinating comparison to the French attitude. Not rocket science, but very interesting and inspiring--in part because it reminded me of the general attitude toward food in Europe and so much of the rest of the world. Let's not focus so much on health, per se, but on enjoying and savoring our food rather than gobbling down "our money's worth" at an all-you-can-eat-buffet, on anticipating the next meal instead of grabbing a mediocre snack to tide us over, and on the social component of eating together. We're planning a decent afternoon snack, now, and that is the ONLY time we are eating outside of our actual meal. I've even tried the French idea of a first course that is mostly vegetable based (such as a platter of veggies and dip or a small vegetable salad or even gazpacho). And my kids ARE trying more things without complaining (and even liking things like gazpacho!!).

An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen

Another interesting, albeit slower, read. If you, like me, enjoy reading and discussing food-related issues (everything from finding a good ethnic restaurant to musing over the seeming tension between locavores and big agribusiness to celebrating BBQ to wondering why the American food scene is the way it is...), then you will no doubt find this book interesting. As a former English teacher, I think this book might be easier to listen to; he may write well for an economist but the paucity of punctuation at times and the general writing style sometimes gets on my nerves ☺.

Cookbook Review: Betty Crocker Cookbook

When I think of my earliest cooking experiences at home with my mom, I think of making cookies. I can still remember vividly the pages and pictures from one cookbook we used primarily for this task: a basic Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Almost a year ago now, I bought the Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, Tenth Edition for a friend and decided to get a copy for myself. It's been a great resource--even for yours truly who owns LOTS of cookbooks.

Why is it a nice addition to my collection? Because Betty Crocker gives you the basics. I have some great resources for vegetable-based recipes, ethnic recipes, showstopping company recipes, and the like, but when I just need a good, old-fashioned casserole, some Chex Mix, or a basic, predictable cookie recipe, this is one of the cookbooks to which I turn. It includes markers for low-fat and fast as well as frequent "lighter" versions of recipes. It's also compact in size and ring-bound--a big plus.

There has since been a newer edition than mine published (this past fall, titled Betty Crocker Cookbook: 1500 Recipes for the Way You Cook Today). I don't know how different it is; frequently newer editions make significant changes, but the Betty Crocker one I have currently seems pretty tried and true. Perhaps the latest edition is similar. As always, I recommend "test-driving" a cookbook from the library or, at the very least, getting a good visual survey in at a brick-and-mortar bookstore, even if you're planning to order online.

Simply in Season

(updated 1/19/12)  Simply in Season is a World Community Cookbook in the same tradition as More-with-Less and Extending the Table.  I think it's my favorite of the three. I've checked it out a few times from the library, and my mom just gave me a copy for my birthday! (Thanks, Mom!)

I appreciate the sentiments behind these World Community Cookbooks even though I'm not quite as die hard as they are (nor do I believe the ideas carry quite as much spiritual weight--certainly we are called to be good stewards, but they border on the mystical at times). At any rate, all three books encourage readers/chefs/eaters to be mindful of what they eat, how their food has been prepared, what they might be spending money on that's harmful to themselves/the environment/their budgets. All three stress home prepared foods, simple preparations, contentment with what's available--sounds good, right?

Simply in Season is my favorite because it's the most like the way I cook: LOTS of fresh produce, smaller amounts of meat, lower fat than many, and flexible.* This could not be my only cookbook because there aren't enough recipes for things like baked chicken or spaghetti; however, it's quickly becoming a go to source for quick, easy, and healthy weeknight meals. Variations are often given and substitutions are encouraged. A fruit pie recipe might include a crust recipe and then give four or five filling versions with different fruits. Recipes might not be company fare, necessarily, but they are wholesome, inexpensive, and tasty. The index is top notch, featuring not only the usual index by recipe title, but also each fruit/veggie/protein source/grain indexed in a clear, easy to read fashion.    *The others aimed for this same idea, but one was produced in the '70's and one in the '80's; we've come a long way in terms of grocery store availability for produce, ethnic ingredients, and even healthy ingredients such as brown rice. The older cookbooks just need aren't very up to date anymore.

The book is organized seasonally; there is also an "all seasons" chapter at the end. This means that, even if we aren't part of a CSA (which they advocate on nearly every page), it still ups our chances of finding the produce called for at such stores as Aldi. 

My only quibble with the book is that the recipes have clearly been gleaned from Northern and MidWestern inhabitants of our great continent: lots of recipes for rhubarb, persimmons, and the like that I won't really use. Not so many cucumber and tomato recipes (although, to be fair, there are several cucumber salads and a few tomato condiments for canning as well as lots of recipes that call for one or two tomatoes). It's more amusing, really, than a huge detractor for me. If a Southerner had produced this book, there would be a million variations for things like cucumbers and tomatoes and fresh basil--if anyone has a garden within 100 miles of my house, I can guarantee that they are overrun with these items at various points during the growing season. There would be recipes for red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, garlic pickles, fresh pickles, pickled okra, pickled watermelon rind, pickled jalapenos, and a whole chapter on how to prepare greens of all sorts and sizes and shapes..... I guess that's what I've tried to do on this blog: showcase recipes for the things I eat in this part of the country that can be done reasonably well at home without too much fuss. And I enjoy getting new recipes and inspiration from books such as this!