Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Title:  Eat This Poem Author:  Nicole Gulotta Publication Date:  March 21, 2017 Rating:  4 Stars Synopsis:  A literary cookbook celebrating food and poetry, two of life's essential ingredients. In the same way that salt seasons ingredients to bring out their flavors, poetry seasons our lives; when celebrated together, our everyday moments and meals are richer and more meaningful. The twenty-five inspiring poems in this book from such poets as Marge Piercy, Louise Gluck, Mark Strand, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Jane Hirshfield are accompanied by seventy-five recipes that bring the richness of words to life in our kitchen, on our plate, and through our palate. Eat This Poem opens us up to fresh ways of accessing poetry and lends new meaning to the foods we cook.  Review:  I love cookbooks and have a bad habit of collecting some of the interesting ones I come across. This one will be added to my collection (got a digital copy to review). ...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads Book Tite: Green Smoothies: Recipes for Smoothies, Juices, Nut Milks, and Tonics to Detox, Lose Weight, and Promote Whole-Body Health  Author: Fern Green Publication Date: December 29, 2015 Description: (From Goodreads) A collection of 66 illustrated smoothies, juices, nut milks, and tonics to kick-start metabolism, fire up the mind, and promote whole-body health.  An easy-to-follow and informative guide, this book pares smoothie-making back to its essence. Each recipe is presented in a highly visual spread, and grouped ingredients are displayed opposite finished smoothies and juices, providing at-a-glace instruction. Recipes like Dandelion Tonic, Popeye's Juice, Coconut Kale, and Pineapple Twist provide a simple introduction for the new smoothies making, as well as new inspiration for the experienced blender. A seven-day detox plan with straightforward recipes energizes and invigorates.  3 Little...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads Book Tite:  Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101  Author:  Sara Moulton Publication Date:  March 8, 2016 Description:  (From Goodreads) In Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101, Sara helps answer that eternal question, "What's for dinner?" This must-have resource combines 150-plus all-new recipes with time-tested methods that elevate meals from everyday to extraordinary. Sara guides readers every step of the way, from including detailed instructions in every recipe to ensure the dish comes out perfectly every time to tips about selecting ingredients and balancing flavors. Bright color photographs and straightforward techniques show how easy it is to build flavors in a pan for a one-dish dinner, bake seafood in parchment for a quick healthy meal, and turn fresh seasonal produce into scene-stealing side dishes. Readers will find recipes to please every palate, including a whole chapter of vegetarian and ve...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads Every year I try to change up the calendar hanging in our kitchen. Just before Christmas we were in Bed, Bath, & Beyond and I saw this really neat looking calendar that had a recipe for each month.  Christmas morning it was under the tree for me! January was: I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder, a too big pinch of salt, and had to switch pots half way through (started out with one that was too small) but I have to say it turned out really yummy.  Since it was a lot for just me I stored it in a mason jar and enjoyed hot cocoa a few days and then mixed it equal parts with coffee for a few days of mochas. 

Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way through Great Books by Cara Nicoletti My rating: 4 of 5 stars Cara Nicoletti loves food, you could say it's in her blood. She comes from a family of butchers and is herself a butcher and a baker. As much as she loves food, Cara also loves books.  She's been an avid reader since childhood. As she reads, she finds that in books as in life a lot of things happen around food.  This book takes a look back at some of her favorite books and the food found between the pages.  Each book is paired with Cara's version of food based on or inspired by the book. The books/recipes are broken up into three sections: Childhood, Adolescence and College Years, Adulthood. Since it is currently August and I participate in Austen in August (run by Roof Beam Reader) I'm going to focus on the two Jane Austen novels that appear in this book. Pride & Prejudice  White Garlic Soup As any reader of the novel knows and as Nicoletti points out,...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads My cookbook collection rests on the foundation of two cookbooks, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook and James Beard's American Cookery.  These two books were so overused by my father that they easily open to some recipes.  These are the cookbooks I learned to cook from and ones I go back to when I want basics. As much as I love these cookbooks this version of The James Beard Cookbook feels like a simplified version of the one I own.  This book is filled with the same writing style, a conversational tone that feels like a friend teaching you a favorite recipe. The format is simply broken down into sections. He shares a basic recipe and then variations. As someone who loves pasta, I paid special attention to the pasta section in the cookbook.  He broke this section down into the pasta and then the sauces.  First you make the homemade noodles and then you can pick from a number of sauces to accompany your creation...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads I'm a hoarder when it comes to pins on Pinterest . One board that has a ton of pins is my Recipes to Try board and I very rarely try some of them. In my collection is a pin that links back to a blog that followed a year of cooking in a crockpot for a year (back in 2008).   Since then the blogger, Stephanie O'Dea , has turned her 365 days of cooking in a slow cooker into a book. I haven't looked at the book but the list of her recipes from that year has caught my attention and I've been wanting to try some. It's Superbowl Sunday and there's the report of snow in our future. We're staying in but I wanted to cook something appropriate and the blog has a really easy chili recipe and honestly can you ever go wrong with chili.  So today I'm cooking Basic Chili CrockPot Recipe . As is typical in my house, we made modifications to the recipe. Here's what I used: --1 lb ground meat (I used 80/20) --...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer My rating: 4 of 5 stars The obvious choice for this meeting would have been for someone to make Potato Peel Pie, but if you've ever looked at the recipe or read reviews of the dish you would probably veto the option just like we did and stick with our normal choices of baked goods, picky foods, and wine. I felt like we needed to have something potato related to discuss this book and looked around online and found a number of mashed potato pie recipe ideas.  I picked this one : Ingredients  instant mashed potatoes  1 teaspoon garlic powder  2 eggs, beaten  1/2 cup Parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup Romano cheese  1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese ( divided)  paprika  Directions  Make mashed potatoes according to package directions for 7-8 servings.  Stir garlic powder, eggs, Parmesan and one cup of the ...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads I love Chopped. It's one of my favorite shows, but I was a little nervous about the cookbook.  I wondered if it would be a cookbook of weird food combinations. But thankfully it's full of recipes I can't wait to try.  I have a sensitive stomach, so a key test for me when picking new cookbooks is finding out how adaptable are the recipes.  I went through the book and marked a few that looked good and looked like I could make the slight changes I would need and still have a good meal. I chose the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Parsley Pesto. The adjustments I made were small and just dealt with the seasonings.  We cut the 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in half (it was still a little too spicy for me) and did away with the 1 teaspoon lightly crushed fennel seeds. The sandwich was really easy to make and was really good. The pesto was delicious but was nothing compared to the toasted buns.  ...

Anna @ hearding cats, & burning soup writes: A twist on the traditional Christmas Card Exchange! This time we'll be sending recipes (in the mail) instead of just cards. Recipes that are old favorites, or special to your family. Maybe one you've seen and thought looked amazing but haven't had a chance to try yet. Snacks, main dishes, side dishes or desserts...  They can be on recipe cards, in handwriting or typed out, decorated or left plain and simple. Include notes on why you love it or just go for the straight recipe. It's really up to yall however you'd like to make it special for your recipient. You can include a Christmas card as well or just send the recipe. For me, it's too early for Christmas. In reality, we do need to start realizing it's going to be here before we know it!  This sounded like a fun way to expand on my holiday recipe list (which is kinda small). Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to share! If you're in...