Book Review- Healing Herbs

I'm a big fan of foraging and using the things that grow wild around my neighborhood, so this is a book that I was very interested in reading.

Healing Herb's- A Beginner's Guide to Identifying, Foraging and Using Medicinal Plants is a lovely collection that's great for beginners because it covers easily identifiable plants and has recipes and tips for using them. Tina Sams has a blog and a magazine called The Essential Herbal and is very knowledgeable in her field. The photographs in this book are clear and gorgeous.

Starting with my favorite- dandelions, which are close to the end of the book.

The dandelion chapter is being used as my example of why this is a great book because I really love dandelions.

Each chapter starts with some history and scientific information about the plant, along with the medicinal uses. Then it gets into recipes! The recipes included are ways to incorporate easily found "weeds" into your skin care regime and diet.

Recipes include an infused skin care oil, dandelion fritters, dandelion root cocoa, a tea for PMS symptoms, green eggs and an infused vinegar.

I love the way this book is laid out, and the flowers and plants chosen for inclusion. There are recipes I've never tried before like gulkand, an uncooked rose petal preserve. The book includes things that can be found in your yard like plantain and dandelions, and a lot of things that can be easily grown or ordered if they don't grow wild in your area. For example, lavender doesn't grow easily here, but there is so much wild chamomile in my neighborhood that I've never even considered planting it in my yard. Raspberries grow wild up here, but I also have my own little thicket.

Chamomile

There were some things not included, so I'm hoping for a sequel that will have recipes for things like shepherd's purse and spruce tips, but I'm really happy with what is included.

If you're someone just getting into foraging and wild crafting, this is a lovely book full of great photos, information and recipes. If you're more experienced and have a good library already, this may not have any new information for you but it's still a very pretty book. 

On Facebook:

The Essential Herbal Magazine

Fair Winds Press

Shala's Beadwork and Printables (me!)

Amazon.com affiliate links don't affect your cost, and provide extra income to me personally, which helps support this site.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Effortless Bento

Wow. Seriously, just WOW. This cookbook is my favorite new cookbook for the year.

It's released by Vertical Inc., so as you can guess, it's a carefully edited English edition of a Japanese book. So this is the real thing. The bentos aren't cute, this isn't a how to make cartoon characters out of carrots, nori and rice cookbook. There isn't a hot dog octopus in the whole thing. The focus is attractive and delicious food that can be prepared ahead to pack into a lunch box and the recipes are just as appropriate for adults as for children. These are the lunches you pack to make your co-workers jealous, and to give you a good reason not to skip lunch.

So starting at the beginning, there is a very good overview of how to safely pack lunches so you don't risk giving yourself a case of food poisoning. It talks about the different kinds of bento boxes, how to keep things cool, and how to pack the lunches so everything is at the optimum temperature.

Then the recipes. 300 of them! Now, I know that some recipes aren't going to appeal to everyone. For example, my husband won't eat squid. My son will. My daughter is hit and miss with nori, and my son eats it toasted instead of chips. Well, actually I think every single recipe in this book is something my son would eat. He loves Japanese food. This cookbook has a lot of tasty options for Americanized tastes. You cook a certain number of servings ahead of time, and freeze or refrigerate them so packing lunch is fast.

Some of the ingredients can be tricky to find if you don't live in an area with great markets but a lot of the recipes are a lot more accessible. So you might not be able to find fishcake and lotus root- but pork cutlets and panko crumbs are easy to find. Some recipes you can make substitutes. Like if you can't find kabocha in your area, substitute butternut squash. The cooking methods are easy to learn.

The truth is, as much as I'm loving the recipes, the book is worth it for the tips, hints, and quick recipes sections which include furikake (rice seasoning), pickles, vegetables, instant soups and a nice collection of onigiri (rice balls) recipes.

I'm loving this cookbook, and happily recommend it.
Like Vertical Inc on Facebook to find out more about the cookbooks, craft books and manga they publish!


Amazon.com affiliate links don't affect your cost, and provide extra income to me personally, which helps support this site.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Deco Cakes

Junko has written several cookbooks with some of the cutest ideas and designs, well illustrated and explained to be easy to recreate in your home kitchen. Unfortunately, most of them haven't been translated to English. Just this one so far!

This was a great choice to translate, and I'm so glad to have it. There are a lot of fantastic designs. For Mother's Day, Christmas, Valentine's, and all-occasion cakes, this is a great collection. There are tips for decorating and packaging to turn your gorgeous cakes into gifts for friends. Believe it or not, the decorated versions are even better than the cover photos. The baked inlaid designs are impressive looking on their own, combined with themed decorations, it takes it right over the top into something that looks very professional.

To start with, you'll need a 25x25 cm swiss roll pan to make the cakes following the recipes in the book. Unfortunately, that's not a common size in the USA, but a 10x10 inch square pizza pan will work just fine. I imagine a 10 x 10 inch cake pan will work too, but it's easier to get the cake out of the shallow pizza pan than a deep cake pan. A 10 inch pan is just a tiny bit bigger than 25x25 cm.

The instructions are written originally in precise weight based measurements that are used commonly, and to get the exact cake recipe recommended, you'll also need a kitchen scale. However, US style volume measurements are included.

After that, it's just following the step by step instructions, which also include filling ideas. These cakes have lots of flavor and texture coming from the combination of cake, cream and fruit fillings. If your only experience with jelly roll cakes is the kind sold in supermarket bakeries, or worse luck, those chocolate dipped, plastic wrapped individual cakes- these will be a revelation. Great flavors using good ingredients makes a big difference.

The designs are fantastic, for the more complex designs, there are stencils to trace on parchment paper to follow. For the simple designs, they are well illustrated and the techniques explained well. You don't need to be an artist to make a fantastic looking cake using this method. It's nearly as simple as a coloring book. Some of the designs have elements painted on after baking, but most of the design is done before that.

I absolutely recommend it. If you have your own ideas, but just want to practice with the technique and get a good recipe for making these gorgeous confections- it's a good starting point. If you want to be able to make impressive looking from scratch cakes with minimal effort, it's a good choice.

Published by Vertical Inc., check out  their Facebook page!


Amazon.com affiliate links don't affect your cost, and provide extra income to me personally, which helps support this site.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- The Official DC Super Hero Cookbook

BAM! POW! CRASH!

Matthew Mead is a designer, crafter and theme cookbook writer with a great eye. You expect a book from him to be attractive with good photos and ideas, and this is a great example.

Done being all grown up now. It's DC SUPER HEROES! It's old school. None of this New 52 stuff, none of the angst of the 90s, it's Dick Grayson's Robin in green shorts with elf boots, it's the heroes you remember from Super Friends on Saturday mornings if your my age. It's retro and it's awesome.  Of course, I'm biased. I grew up on DC comics.

So what does my daughter say about the look? She's Batman the Animated Series, she's Nightwing and all about the modern comics.  She likes it, she grabbed this as soon as it arrived and gave it her seal of approval.

See? Right there. Her seal of approval.

So it looks great. The bright colors and layout are fantastic and I'm totally digging the retro thing. The whole book is in full color with tons of super hero goodness. So now about the recipes.

I have a fairly good collection of children's cookbooks, and what I look for is easy to prepare food, healthy choices, good safety tips, foods that will appeal to kids, and something that will teach them how to follow recipes and learn new skills. 

This is well done in that respect too, the recipes are rated by difficulty level, and that's explained in the introduction. So a from scratch pudding is rated 3 stars because it involves more skill. The pudding is Plastic Man's Pudding and one of my daughter's favorite recipes in the book because it's white chocolate and vanilla decorated to suit Plastic Man. The Kapow Punch is 1 star because it's very simple to make, but the glasses are cleverly masked to look like the Boy Wonder and the Caped Crusader. 

Healthy entrees include things like Seven Seas Saute which is a mix that grown ups will enjoy too, and features a nice amount of vegetables. The bright Plastic Man fettuccine has peppers for color and a fun, play with your food texture.

There are a lot of recipes for drinks and desserts, but also enough meal recipes to balance it out.

Where this book absolutely shines is in the decorating ideas. In the back of the book are card stock figures and stencils to use to decorate the food, and a lot of recipes that use food- like the Superman burger on the cover, or things like duct tape to create a super hero theme.

The heroes include all the classics, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and the Flash and some that you need to be more serious fan to know like Plasticman, Atom and Firestorm.

Do I recommend this? Absolutely. It's one of the best themed cookbooks I've ever seen, even when I put aside my total comic book love and consider the recipes. 

Full disclosure- I got a copy of this cookbook to review at no cost. This review reflects my honest opinion of the book.

Fuller disclosure- My family is full of comic book fans with a strong preference for DC. We can spend hours talking your ear off about the personalities of the different Robins, or why Aquaman is actually awesome, and you never want to get us started on Batman because we can talk about him forever. I have Wonder Woman sneakers and my husband has a huge collection of super hero comic shirts. 

Want this book right now? You can get it from Amazon using my affiliate link and help support this site.

U.S.A. U.K.

Book review- Soup Night

So I had this plan to review this book last week while Storey was posting all sorts of delicious recipes on their Facebook page (Storey posts lots of recipes, tips and occasional giveaways). Time got away from me while working on the coloring book and to do it justice, it needs reading.

I planned to review this after trying a few recipes. Then it became clear that it was going to take a bit longer.

The reason is that this book is a big part of this book is stories about how hosting a soup night can build a community and those stories need reading. They are warm, touching and inspiring. Being busy, reading those stories was a happy break. It's all about making a couple pots of soup- one vegetarian and one with meat and inviting the neighbors over on a regular basis or alternating hosting so that you have a soup night once a month. A time to catch up with the neighbors, form friendships and creating a true neighborhood. It reminded me a lot of when I was younger and always had a pot of soup on and people would just drop by for soup, coffee and company.

The recipes- I love making soup. It's one of my favorite things because soup is easy, it's warm and comforting on a cold winter night. The recipes aren't just for soup- there are some for breads to go with the soups, salads, desserts and other things to serve on a soup night. The soup recipes are fantastic and varied which is one of the best things about a cookbook that has lots of contributors. Creamy soups, cold fruit soups, hot minestrones, bean soups, and a bit of something for everyone.

Great recipes from the people and groups mentioned in the book, with gorgeous photography. Not every recipe is photographed, but a lot of them are.

Printed in full color, with a good index, this is one of my favorite cookbooks of the year. The recipes are clear and well written. There is a great tips section full of ideas for stocking your pantry to make soup on the fly, the pros and cons of dried vs canned beans and lots of other ideas.

I highly recommend this, both to read and as a cookbook.

You can get this book in  Kindle or paperback format at your local book store or by using the Amazon affiliate links below-

U.S.A. U.K.

Amazon affiliate links help pay for this site and my book addiction.
[The book reviewed was provided to me at no cost for the purposes of review. I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of this book.]

Book Review- Put 'Em Up! Fruit

If there is a book out there that has made me more eager for farmer's markets and for my own berry patches and rhubarb to be ready to harvest, I don't remember it. Put 'Em Up Fruit- A Preserving Guide & Cookbook. Creative Ways to Put 'em Up, Tasty Ways to Use 'em Up is by Sherri Brooks Vinton who also wrote Put 'Em Up.

Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and creative, this collection of techniques and recipes for preservation and recipes for using what you've preserved will inspire anyone. It's presented in a great way that can be understood by absolute beginners to canning, dehydration, and other preserving methods. There are great photos throughout the book as inspiration, illustration and instruction.

So what makes this book so great? The variety of fruits and methods is certainly one thing. She explains different methods for preserving everything from every day apples to things like quince. Berries, rhubarb, pears, citrus and my favorite stone fruits are all included. The methods covered create jellies, jams, sauces, gastriques, infusions,homemade vinegar, cordials, fruit leathers and compotes.

The recipes for using up your preserves are also a great reason to enjoy this book. You'd expect a lot of desserts, and you'd be right of course. Fruit lends itself well to desserts, but there are also a lot of savory recipes. Not just for cooking with your preserves, but also one for blueberry ketchup my daughter wants to make after we go blueberry picking later this year. There are main courses and side dishes included in the recipes. The recipes are good for entertaining and family dinners, mostly simple enough to make with great flavor and texture combinations.

The information is fantastic, the author explains the methods step by step in a clear and concise way. She also includes cutting instructions so people can learn the basic knife skills to really make things beautiful. The instructions include great, full color photographs for visual learners.

The book starts with a table of contents of course, but at the end also includes a resources guide and a very complete index.

Absolutely recommended to anyone interested in food preservation and canning. This is one that will be used extensively throughout summer as more things ripen and become available in both my garden and at local farmer's markets.

You can watch videos by the author right here- Put 'Em Up! Fruit - You will learn how to make a blackberry gastrique, how to can using the water bath method and a recipe for using the gastrique with downloadable PDFs of the recipes shown.
The author is also going on tour to promote her book and you can catch her all over the country at farmer's markets and book stores. Check out the schedule HERE.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Waffles

Waffles are the new cupcake, or should be. This book, Waffles- Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara is a great example of why.

The introduction shows someone who is very enthused about these moist, crisp, perfectly pocketed food. It also discusses the ingredients used in most of the recipes and how those ingredients can affect the final outcome and how to figure out baking times for your waffle iron to make the perfect waffle. It also talks about freezing and reheating waffles and tips for making waffles.

Then it gets into the fun part, the recipes. Chapter 1-Waffles Plain and Simple, those basic waffles that allow your choice of toppings to shine. Most of the recipes in this book use baking soda or baking powder to make them rise, but the Belgian waffle recipe in this section is one of two yeast waffles and it's my favorite recipe in this section. It takes a little time to make but it's well worth it. For quicker, also incredibly tasty waffles, the Golden Cornmeal Waffles are crispy and make a good base for savory or sweet toppings.

Chapter 2 is Fruit, Nuts and Not-So-Plain Waffles, and has those breakfast waffles that a treat. You expect something like Wild Blueberry-Buttermilk Waffles which would also work well with other small berries, less expected but also very good, Spicy Pumpkin Waffles or Cornmeal and Bacon Waffles.

Chapter 3 is Savories, my son's favorite. He always prefers savory to sweet, and gets very excited about things like Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche waffles. If you really want to go over the top, Fried Chicken and Waffles with Bacon Gravy is another recipe in this chapter.

Chapter 4 is Waffle Finales which are dessert like waffles, some with a gourmet touch such as my personal favorite in the whole cookbook, Waffles with Sweet Goat Cheese, Cherries in Port Syrup and Toasted Almonds which start with basic waffles, then get gloriously topped. My daughter likes the meringue topped S'morish Waffles.

Chapter 5 is To Top It Off is toppings for waffles. I've made honeyed cream cheeses before but never thought of maple syrup cream cheese which is simple, easy and good. Lemon Curd is more time consuming but an absolute classic with scones that works well with waffles as well.

The book has gorgeous photographs, well written recipes, and is hard cover bound. It would make a good gift as well as being a nice themed cookbook in your collection. A good index and table of contents make it easy to find specific recipes. Recipes have measurements both by metric weight and by American volume. I definitely recommend it to waffle enthusiasts.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- The Daily Cookie

The Daily Cookie - 365  Tempting Treats for the Sweetest Year of Your Life by Anna Ginsberg is wonderful collection of cookie recipes that would make a good gift for yourself or a wonderful birthday or holiday present for the baker in your life.

I was enthused about this cookbook with it's full color photos and all the cookie recipes. Many of those recipes are based on traditional favorites, some are old fashioned cookies, some are based on other classic desserts in a cookie form. Then my daughter saw it, and she loves it even more than I do. She's been reading it for pleasure.

Each day has a specific holiday or event listed, and sometimes the cookie recipes are themed for that holiday. November 11th, Veteran's Day features lemon rosemary shortbread because rosemary is for remembrance. Those sidebars frequently have a bit of information about the holiday, and sometimes other events that happened on that day.  That's the reason I think this book makes a great gift. Those little sidebars with an event for each day are charming and interesting.

The cookie recipes are great, they cover a really wide range of tastes, textures and types. Bar cookies, rolled cookies, shaped cookies and drop cookies. If you're stuck in a cookie rut of using the same recipes over and over (for me it's snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies), the variety will inspire you. There are fruity, chocolates, nutty, vanilla, candy, buttery and other flavors.

The other thing that makes this cookbook a stand out single theme cookbook is the various indices in the back of the book which list the cookie recipes by batch size, pan size, cookie type and even how easy they are to make. There is also a more traditional index by recipe name and flavor ingredients. The instructions are written in American style volume measurements, the end of the cookbook does has an equivalency table for people using metric which also includes Fahrenheit t to Celsius conversions and lists British gas marks.

This book does consider brownies to be a type of cookie and there are several brownie recipes for the people who love chocolate.

My daughter is simply charmed by this book, it's not just the cookie recipes, it's also the events and layout. I like the fact it has so many great cookie recipes that can quickly become family favorites, and that the recipes and instructions are well-written and easy to understand and follow.

Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Tiny Food Party

I'm going to be completely honest before I start gushing about the cute. I love tiny things, adore tiny foods, and love good food well made. It just delights me, well-made tiny foods are a joy to look at it and to eat.

Tiny Food Party! -Bite Sized Recipes for Miniature Meals by Teri Lyn Fish and Jenny Park is full of tiny, appetizer 1 and 2 bite versions of regular food. While the focus is on making things small, there is also a strong focus on making them well so they are as delicious as they are cute to make for truly impressive appetizers. A lot of the recipes could also be used in bento style lunches, tea party foods, or even a full meal for a dinner party which allows guests to try several different things.

The photographs are wonderful, the colors are bright and cheerful and the instructions are clearly written with American style volume measurements. A few of the recipes use common convenience ingredients, but most of them are made from scratch. The recipes have a nice gourmet/foodie flair with details and flavors like mini churros made with candied bacon in the batter and suggestions for 3 different dipping sauces.

Here's where I start squealing and clapping. Because those recipes? Are fantastic, clever and incredibly tasty. Shallots in a light, perfect batter to make tiny onion rings, perfect mashed potatoes piped in rosettes on tiny Shepard's Pies, miniature eclairs! If you look at the cover, you can see the little Caprese skewers with a Balsamic vinegar glaze. Under that are miniature toaster pastries. That recipe comes with a few suggestions for filling so you could make them to suit almost anyone's tastes.


One of my husband's favorite recipes, except for size (he feels like a giant when he eats tiny food) is the Country-style Eggs Benedict, I love that recipe too because instead of a Hollandaise sauce it uses a cheesy/garlic sauce that's a lot easier to make and that tastes fantastic.

There are also cocktail recipes for the adults. Little tiny mixed drinks served in shot glasses with gourmet twists and details to make them special and not just a miniature version of a grown up drink. Like the Bloody Marys use a Korean rice wine instead of vodka, and the glass is rimmed with bacon bits. It's a flavorful, spicy, gorgeously garnished mini drink. Adults with a sweet tooth will enjoy the Orange Creamsicles drinks with the honey and sugar garnish.

The authors worked small in very clever ways, and this is one of my favorite cookbooks this year. There are menu suggestions for various party themes, and lots of dessert recipes to go with all the main course and side dish recipes. The end of the book includes equivalencies for people using metric, and a good index to find things quickly.

Published by Quirk Books, you can find recipes and templates HERE.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- The Nepal Cookbook

The Nepal Cookbook by the Association of Nepalis in the Americas is a wonderful collection of Nepali recipes contributed by various people to help the Association of Nepalis in the Americas with their goal of being an information resource to continuing tradition.

The introduction includes the table of contents, the purpose of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas, a preface explains a bit of the food traditions and history of the region and a good special ingredients section to help you find those region specific ingredients. The special ingredients section also has a recipe to make your own garam masala from scratch.

The recipes are wonderful. There aren't any full color photos, instead the focus is on the recipes. They are separated by food types; snacks and appetizers, soups and lentils, vegetables, meat dishes, chutney and pickles, rice and breads, and desserts.

The recipes are mostly quick and easy to prepare, and a lot of them are very low cost. There are also a lot of very healthy recipes in here which make it a good choice for families like mine that are constantly busy but also really enjoy good food. The seasoning is what makes the food taste amazing and unique, there are a lot of spices and herbs used in the various recipes.

Curry lovers will enjoy the range of curry recipes which include all the seasoning ingredients. If you've never made your own curry from scratch, you're in for a treat. These are in both the vegetables chapter and the meat chapters. So if your a vegan, or choose to eat vegetarian meals occasionally, you'll enjoy the seasoning of the cauliflower and potato curry. There is also a super easy egg curry in the meat section which makes a great fast lunch.

My favorite chapter right now is the lentils chapter. I love soup anyway, and lately have really been loving lentils. The spicy spinach lentils are becoming a new favorite with all the flavors in them.

The pickles are cooked, and best kept cold and fresh. The breads are unleavened and quick to make.

My daughter of course went straight to desserts, then stunned all of us by deciding the recipe she wanted to make was for carrot fudge. We expected it would doughnuts or mango ice cream cones. She liked how that turned out, and wants to try almond fudge next.

Published by Snow Lion Publications, a part of Shambhala Publications.
Find out more about the Association of Nepalis in the Americas

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets

Abby Dodge's cookbook Mini Treats and Hand-Held Sweets: 100 Delicious Desserts to Pick Up and Eat is a collection of small desserts that can be eaten without using silverware. Perfect party desserts with more sophisticated palettes in mind.

An amazing collection of recipes with lots of flavors and textures, this book has desserts for every season. There is a lot of emphasis on fresh flavors with recipes that use fruits, berries and good dairy products for creamy flavor. Unlike a lot of collections, this one doesn't have photos of every single recipe because there are a lot of recipes! The photographs that are shown are gorgeously displayed, or they are photographs that help you learn how to do something specific for the recipe.

Some of the recipes use prepared ingredients like ice cream or everybody's favorite, Nutella. There are tarts, cheesecakes, cookies, ice pops and it's probably easier just listing the chapter titles than to try and list all the types of desserts.

Chapter 1 is Cookies- My chocolate loving daughter loves the Chunky, Chewy Brownie Drops. My personal favorite is the Lemon Meringue Pie Poppers which combine lemon curd, meringue cookies and a crunchy topping of ginger snaps. Combining 3 of my favorite things into one delicious, bright tasting sandwich cookie.

Chapter 2 is Mini Pies and Slab Pies- We are fans of a popular speculative fiction television show about 2 brothers who fight demons. One of them loves pie, so my daughter decided this was her favorite chapter, and that we should make pie for Wednesday nights as a new tradition. She wants to bake her way through this entire chapter. The Nutella Chocolate Hand Tarts are like toaster pastries for adults. So very good. This chapter has a lot of fruit, and includes turnovers and instructions for an easy puff pastry dough.

Chapter 3 is Whoopie Pies, Cake Bites and Mini Cakes- I haven't tried much from this chapter, but do recommend the Carrot Cake Cones with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting. Or even just the frosting, it's too good.

Chapter 4 is Bite Sized Treats - tiny 1 and 2 bite desserts like cheesecakes, tarts, mini scones and sliced roll cakes for pretty little pinwheels. My favorite in this chapter are the strawberries filled with a cheesecake filling. Like a mini-cheesecake with a strawberry crust!

Chapter 5 is Frozen Treats and includes frozen fruits, sorbets and pops, including a few just for the adults like the Tequila Sunrise colored Blood Orange and Creamy Tangerine pops which can also be made without tequila for younger people and people who don't drink. Easiest recipe that's a big hit with my family? Frozen Nutella Yogurt Bites which are dipped in chocolate.

Chapter 6 is Candies- this is a chapter I haven't gotten into at all. The recipes look fantastic, and I plan to make the homemade White Chocolate Peppermint Bark using my favorite white chocolate for the holidays.

There is a measurements equivalents table in the back for people using metric, the book is written using U.S. measurements. It also has a good index so you can find recipes based on ingredients fairly quickly.

I do recommend reading through each recipe before gathering supplies. Some of the recipes call for ingredients or suggest variations which are not covered in the basic ingredient list.

It's a great dessert cookbook.

Published by The Taunton Press


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Sweet Macarons

Sweet Macarons- Delectable French Confections for Every Day by Mercotte starts with the author explaining her goal in the book, which is to demystify the making of these wonderful treats.

The author does a wonderful job. If you've never made macarons before, or have no experience with piping, meringues or the basic fillings, she walks you through the steps in a conversational and reassuring way. Starting by explaining the ingredients and giving you tips and tricks for making the cookies including handy things like the best way to fill the pastry bag and how to space them on a cookie sheet.

Then she gets into more detail. Rather than having you go straight into working with meringue whipped egg whites and almond meal, she walks you through 3 cookies that help you learn how to pipe correctly, how to bake meringues and then finally, working with almond meal. After that, she explains how to make the batter for macarons. She gives 2 methods, the more involved Italian meringue recipe, or the simpler, easier French recipe for meringues, and how to turn that into macaron batter.

The next part focus on fillings, and the basic filling recipes given can be flavored many ways. Her basic filling recipes include buttercream, a couple thick creamy fillings, some ganache fillings, jam and praline filling.  Using just this section of the cookbook, and varying flavors and colors on the fillings, you could make a lot of types of macarons.

Then the recipes, which are fancy enough to impress anyone. Starting with salted butter caramel, then getting into lots of other flavors. I'm not a fan of licorice flavor, but even skipping the anise/fennel and the licorice flavored cookies, there are still a lot of great options. Some are fruity, some are spicy, some have tea or floral flavors. These are recipes that can be paired easily to echo the flavors of tea, coffee or wine for entertaining. The creme brulee ones are amazing.

If you like traditional cookbook formats, this one may not be your cup of tea. The tone is conversational, and the recipes aren't laid out traditionally. Instead of line by line ingredient lists, the ingredients are listed in a single paragraph separated by commas. The instructions are very well written with good detail. The recipes are also followed with tips for modifying that recipe to suit your own tastes. There are also ideas for things to do with failed macarons and tips on fillings for really quick macarons for when you have cookies in the freezer and just want a fast fix.

My 17 year old daughter is very excited by macarons, and the instructions are perfect for the way she learns. So I'm just thrilled with the layout and the detail. The only thing that would make this book better for my daughter's and my macaron adventures is a spiral binding so it would lay flat. The photographs are gorgeous, the recipes are good, and the step by step breakdown of the process of making macarons is well written.

Published by The Taunton Press.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review: Hot Sauce!

Jennifer Trainer Thompson knows her hot sauces. She's the creator of  Jump Up and Kiss Me Hot Sauce, and she's written a few cookbooks as well as doing some travel and interviews specifically about spicy foods and sauces.

If you love hot sauces and want to make your own, or if you just want to know a lot more about hot sauces, this is a fantastic book. It's written in a conversational, friendly manner with a history of modern hot sauces. Starting with Tabasco sauce of course, it's history and the products it inspired. Then it gets into the more edgy sauces with impolite names and funny graphics that are so searingly hot they have warning labels.

There is art, history and side stories about the quest for heat, and a great chart with photographs of the different types of peppers used in making hot sauces. All very informative for the novice hot sauce maker, this is better than buying a kit because this is the information that will help you truly create your own recipe. She also explains how to bottle it for different applications, like just for personal home use or if you want to can it so it's more shelf stable for gifts or sale.

The recipes cover a multicultural range of flavors with a bit about each sauce type to introduce the recipe. They start from a super simple recipe and get more complex with more ingredients. They have fruity flavors, other spices and bases of different ingredients. If your family loves hot sauce the way mine does, it's hard to pick a favorite. This part of the book is my favorite for 2 reasons. It gives you a good range of flavor profiles to get an idea of what you like and it has tips on creating your own hot sauce recipe. By trying the different recipes in the book, and developing your own feelings about what kind of sauces you like best, you can design one then based on what's regionally available.

Then there are food and drink recipes to pair with your homemade hot sauces. If you like the idea of a spicy cocktail but dislike tomato juice, you might really love a Spicy Pineapple Margarita or a more simple spicy martini. Lots of condiment recipes from salsas to ketchup. Then comes a fairly extensive range of food recipes that are good with hot sauce. All the recipes include suggested hot sauces including some commercially available brands.

The appendix has tips on developing your own brand if you want to make hot sauce for sale, and a resources list for the supplies and ingredients.

This is a book that I happily recommend, and both my teens really like it as well. We are planning an Alaskan themed hot sauce in the near future.

Published by Storey Publishing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Not So Humble Pies

My family is full of pie lovers. Savory or sweet, full size, mini or hand pies, we like pie.
This cookbook by Kelly Jaggers is full of pie recipes. This is a classic style cookbook, while there are some gorgeous color photos, most of the pages are used for recipes. Instead of having 50 recipes all shown in full page photos, this book has over 120 recipes. A lot of dessert pies, but there is a great chapter on dinner type pies.

It starts like all good pie books should with the basics.  The first chapter, pie crusts, offers tons of options. Pastry type crusts like the perfect flaky crust, butter crusts and options like a buttery, spicy cheese crust. Cookie type crusts include gingersnaps, pretzels. There are also shortbread type crusts which fall right between the two using a cookie type recipe to make a crust for a pie.  The second chapter covers toppings, classic crumb toppings, meringue, stabilized whipped cream, and sauces.

Creams, Custards and Chiffons.-Nothing as simple as a chocolate cream pie, these are things like cantaloupe cream, vanilla rum meringue and for people who prefer a more traditional flavor profile, white chocolate chiffon. I tried the Orange and Dark Chocolate Cheese pie which has a silky rich texture from cream cheese and a strong orange flavor from reduced orange juice.

Fruits, Nuts and Berries- Based on classic recipes, these up the gourmet and wow factor, an apple pie gets a savory cheddar crust to contrast the sweetness of the apples, peach and ginger combine in a hand pie perfect for picnics. I haven't tried any of these recipes yet, but I'm looking forward to making the Strawberry Silk Pie with strawberries from my garden.

Tarts, Tartlets and Rustic Pies- These are the "dressed up for guests" dessert pies. Fine ingredients, flavors and textures like apple rose, white chocolate ganache and praline cream.

Dinner Pies- The savory flavors that make a main course. There are lots of tarts in this chapter as well that would work well as a side dish like the spinach and artichoke tart. Lots of cheese based tarts and pies as well. I recommend the smoked salmon and dill recipe.

Spicy, Salty and Exotic Pies- This was my daughter's favorite chapter, she's got it all marked up with sticky notes to remind her which ones she wants to make first. All the chapters have exotic pies that put twists on familiar favorites. This chapter ups the ante by adding chilis, spice and salt to classics. My favorite is the salted chocolate meringue pie with it's chocolate custard base, light fluffy meringue and salt to set off all the flavors nicely.

Published by Adams Media

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- A Feast of Ice and Fire

If you love to cook, and you're a fan of the George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, than you probably already know about the blog Inn at the Crossroads. If you've only watched the HBO series,  Game of Thrones, then you've missed the wonderful descriptions of food in the series. A big part of Martin's world building is trying to make you experience things on a visceral level, which includes rich, detailed descriptions of meals that you can almost smell and taste.

The authors decided to try and cook their way through the books, and more than that, to do it as authentically as possible using modern ingredients and techniques. They also wanted to update the recipes for modern palettes as well and provide information about both versions. So that required carefully reading the series, then doing the research in old cookbooks, some of which were in other languages. As someone who has researched medieval recipes, I really admire their commitment and dedication. A lot of those recipes aren't exact, and a lot of the words for ingredients aren't commonly used anymore which requires even more research. They succeeded brilliantly.

I got my copy about two weeks ago, and have made a few recipes from it. They all turned out very well, the instructions and ingredients are accurate. A lot of the recipes use exotic ingredients that you may not want to try or that may be hard for you to acquire, the authors have included some recommended substitutions.

While the recipes are heavy on the meat, there are a lot of great side dishes as well including a buttery, cheesy turnip dish that is absolutely a favorite in my household, either the layered, baked version that's more authentic to the period or the mashed, creamy modern version.

The Sister's Stew is my favorite of the recipes I've tried out so far. Living in Alaska, most of the ingredients can be locally sourced and it's rich and delicious with bread on the side. It's one that I plan to make at least once a month come winter, just as a special treat.

My daughter was also very enthused about it, she hasn't read the books and dislikes the tv show, but has enjoyed the blog quite a bit. She sat down and read it like a novel, the recipe introductions read easily and conversationally. Then she grabbed a saucepan and made herself the iced honey milk which she declared is one of her favorite drinks.

There are recipes for fruit dishes, desserts, vegetable side dishes and breads.Main courses are made using all sorts of ingredients like different kinds of poultry, beef, bacon, rabbit, fish and even rattlesnake.

Gorgeous photos, well researched and delicious, impressive rustic food. I recommend this not just to fans of The Song of Ice and Fire, or of the show Game of Thrones, but to anyone who is interested in food history, cooking or medieval reenactment.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Norwegian Cakes and Cookies

My great-grandmother came to America from Denmark, and growing up, some of my very favorite treats were her recipes. I still have a weakness for Scandinavian desserts.

This collection of modern takes on traditional desserts is definitely for people who are more than casual cooks. It's well written with US style volume measurements with metric measurements offered in parenthesis, however there is a basic assumption you'll have a strong grounding in basic cooking skills. They are recipes, not step by step instructions.

That said, if you do have the grounding to follow the recipes, these recipes will impress. They are different, with amazing textures, appearance and flavors. The carrot cake for example is two moist layers with big, cloud like layers of a cream cheese and fruit whipped cream.

The title is deceptive in the best way possible. This is not just cakes and cookies, there are puddings, jellies, and candies as well. It's Norwegian desserts.

My favorite recipes are

• Marzipan recipe, with instructions for crystallizing marzipan pieces
• Vanilla Butter Cream is hands down my new favorite, go to butter cream recipe. It starts with a cooked pudding like cream then adds butter to make a frosting that's just amazing. Not too sweet and so good. 
• Ginger cookies- easy and wonderful. I love molasses and ginger cookies.
• Caramel pudding with cloud berries- this is a little fussy, but if you're a fan of custards and caramel, this pudding with any kind of berries is one of the best ever.
• Poor Knights with Dense Milk and Strawberries- this variation on sweet egg battered stale bread and cream is made with a sour cream- the author suggests kefir which is how I made it. It was a hit with everyone in my family and it's super easy.
• Sweet Rusks- a biscotti like twice baked cookie, this variation has both almonds and hazelnuts

There are some regionally specific ingredients like butters made with sour cream. A good substitute if you make your own butter is to use creme fraiche (cultured cream) to make butter, then use that in the recipes. Mix 2 Tablespoons of cultured buttermilk with two cups of heavy cream. Put in a jar with a lid and let it set for 4-8 hours. Then make butter using your favorite technique. For berries and fruit, use what is in season in your area. Cloudberries are from the same family as raspberries. They are tart, but in a lot of these recipes, raspberries could be used as a substitute. If you live in a colder region like I do, you maybe able to find cloudberries in the summer.

It's gorgeously photographed by Christian Brun and written by Chef Sverre Sætre. Hardcover with full color photographs, published by Skyhorse Publishing.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Edible Cocktails

Edible Cocktails: From Garden to Glass- Seasonal Cocktails with a Fresh Twist by Natalie Bovis proves once again that not only is gardening, working with compost, and going to farmer's markets a very sustainable way of life, it can also be very trendy and edgy. These recipes are sure to impress.

The introduction chapters are dense with information. You'll learn about the supplies you need to properly mix drinks, a bit about various alcohols, the types of spices you'll want to have on hand, and the sorts of things you can grow in your garden with gardening tips. It also talks briefly about farmers markets.

When I was tending bar, one of the other bartenders would make grow and pickle beans to put into Bloody Marys. That was a great idea, but this volume eclipses that by so much. There are savory drinks with specialty salt rims, sweet drinks that mix fresh fruit with good quality alcohol and drinks that combine flavors in wonderful ways.

It's not all alcoholic drinks though. There are also recipes for making different flavored syrups, jams, marmalade and other things using a garden bounty or what's in season at the supermarket. Agua Fresca and garnish recipes and ideas like candied limes can pair for non-alcoholic drinks for designated drivers and minors.

I love the creative flavors and ideas. There are several recipes for using meat in cocktails which is not something you'd ever expect, but bacon lovers would appreciate the novelty of the Bacon Cherry Creek Cocktail which combines a smoked bacon washed bourbon with a cherry cinnamon syrup (both recipes are in the book). For fresh, fruity flavors, you can't beat the peach puree Whiskey Bellini recipe.

If there is one thing that I don't like about this volume is that there aren't any mocktail recipes for non-drinkers.  However, there were recipes my daughter would like to try that are non-alcoholic. She's wild for Roy Rogers, and loves the idea of making her own grenadine syrup. The chapter on jams, jellies and purees starts with instructions for making your own pectin from scratch using apples and the recipes use homemade pectin.

This is a book that makes me crave a large kitchen, and several evenings with good friends.
Published by Adams Media.
You can get the book from Amazon.com using the affiliate link below.



I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Better Homes and Gardens Can It!

Now that it's getting time to start planting, it's also time to start planning canning projects. Can It! from Better Homes and Gardens is a book full of boiling water canning recipes with a few freezer recipes. No pressure canner recipes in the book at all.

If you don't know anything about canning, and it's something you're just starting to get interested in to take advantage of gardens or local farmer's markets, boiling water canning doesn't take expensive equipment. I do my canning in my biggest stock pot.

The book is laid out well with good explanations for people who've never canned before. It explains the equipment you'll need, how to follow a recipe, and how to process in a hot water bath.

There are also lots recipes that are easy to follow  for experienced canners who want to go beyond their usual recipes. Savory recipes, sweet recipes and seasoning and combinations that will appeal to foodies.

Fantastic photos, and a good index in the back of the book to find things fast. The chapters are separated by types of food. 

There are traditional recipes in here, like strawberry jam which is a staple for anyone starting to can, but where it shines are in recipes that appeal to people who are really interested in experimenting with flavors.

Adults will enjoy Strawberry Margarita Jelly made with Triple Sec and tequila, and people who enjoy savory sweet will like the herb jelly recipe.

There are a lot of recipes that will be in regular rotation here. My daughter really enjoys canning and is looking forward to making and canning the spicy roasted tomato pizza sauce. My son, who is wild for pickles of all sorts really likes the Asian Pickled Carrots. We plan our canning by what's seasonal as well as what is growing in our garden to take advantage of low prices on in season produce. 

Lots of types of vegetables and fruit are used in the recipes, so if you grow a great crop of beans, you have several options for canning them with different flavors. All the recipes are very safe, with acid added for low acid foods. 

I recommend keeping one jar out of anything you are canning for immediate consumption if your family is anything like mine. Canned food also makes a wonderful gift.

Great variety of recipes, a lot of which can become the basis for meals in the winter, and well written instructions make this the kind of winner you expect from Better Homes and Gardens. It's a book I'll recommend to my friends who can. 

Published by Better Homes and Garden, An imprint of Wiley.

You can get this book from Amazon using the affiliate link below.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Marshmallow Madness!

If you've ever had a fresh, made from scratch marshmallow, you know the flavor and texture is so different from the store-bought bags that it's like a different food entirely. The fresh one, that's what a marshmallow should be.

Shauna Sever starts her book with an introduction to the key ingredients, sugar, gelatin, water, salt, vanilla extract , coating and corn syrup. The corn syrup is used for consistent results in small amounts, substitutes can be tries and she suggests a few. I used an organic non-HFCS type that has worked well for me in the past, golden syrup would probably work as well. The coatings are the powders you cover the finished marshmallows in to keep them from sticking.

Then the tools, including tips on how to calibrate your candy thermometer and why you need a stand mixer.

She also explains how the recipes are broken down, starting with the "bloom" which is the process of blooming the gelatin, the syrup, which is what the candy is made from, and the mallowing, which is where you start mixing your bloom and syrup into a gorgeous mass of marshmallows, and the ingredients you might mix in at this point.

Then you get to the good stuff. The recipes. Almost all the recipes have variations listed as well.

She starts with nice, basic marshmallows. Vanilla, chocolate and filled marshmallows. She also includes a vegan recipe and one that uses egg white meringue. The meringue is my favorite for it's light, fluffy incredible texture. Also a recipe for the best marshmallow creme ever. It's the recipe I'll use most since it's very simple to make, and tastes amazing. She suggests it for frostings and fillings. I recommend it with peanut butter on crackers. She also has 2 recipes for graham crackers, one of them is gluten free and vegan.

The next chapter is fruity marshmallows which use purees, juices and essential oils for true to the original flavors. These can get some coloring from the juices used and would be perfect for parties.

Tips for shapes explains how to make very attractive marshmallows like the twisted ropes on the cover.

Happy Hour as alcohol infused treats for your next adult get together. Inspired by classic drinks with tips for mallowing with alcohol in the mix.

Then my favorite chapter. Gourmet treats. These are the marshmallow recipes that made me think of friends who would appreciate them, and this is the chapter that inspired my daughter.  I like the salted ones, caramel and peanut too much. She likes the maple-bacon and the spicy Aztec chocolate. She gives tips for gift giving in this chapter.

Kids in a Candy Store are the brightly colored, candy flavored puffs that will thrill children with fun ideas for presentation.

The last chapter is full of recipes that use marshmallows, rice crispy treats, hot chocolate, a spicy hot vanilla, and a wonderful s'more cupcake that's toasted with a kitchen torch.

If you've had an interest in making your own marshmallows, I really recommend this book. It's gorgeous, with a softly padded cover, bright pastel illustrations and lots of full color photos. It also contains a lot of great ideas that can be a starter point to your own creations.

Check out Quirk Books on Facebook for free downloadable recipe cards from this book.



I received a copy of Marshmallow Madness free from the publisher for review purposes.
My reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Quick-Fix Vegan

Quick-Fix Vegan : Healthy Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less by Robin Robertson turns cooking vegan foods into something faster ,healthier and tastier than convenience foods using no animal products. She's also the author of Quick Fix Vegetarian.

As a lot of my readers know, my family are not vegans, but we try to eat a vegan menu a few days every week. We've realized a lot of the reason we eat meat is because it's convenient and easy. It's a health choice for my family.

So I have a lot of vegan cookbooks. My test for a good vegan cookbook is to see if my cheese loving, bacon adoring daughter likes the meals enough that she doesn't make herself a sandwich to supplement the meal.

One of the big things that goes over consistently well is meals that don't have meat substitutes, the flavor and texture come from fresh ingredients without trying to simulate meat. A lot of vegan cookbooks tend to take the path of substituting vegan meat alternatives in traditional recipes.

This one has lots of recipes that use good ingredients, frequently canned or frozen for convenience rather than using lots of those substitutes.

The tomato tortilla soup for example. A wonderful chili inspired soup with lots of tomatoes, beans, corn, and flavor that comes from the chili powder and cumin.

The Korean hot pot is a recipe I'm looking forward to trying. It does call for tofu, but also a lot of good vegetables and looks to be a cold-weather favorite.

Today we've gotten just huge amounts of snow, and I adapted the recipe for stovetop fruit crisp. The recipe originally calls for peaches, a mix of strawberries and cherries was perfect for the weather. While the top didn't crisp up as much as baked crisps, it was good.

There are also some recipes in here that look great for warmer weather. Chesapeake chickpea sandwiches uses chickpeas and sea veggies in place of crab for patties. The salty-tart rainbow rotini salad has dried cranberries for bursts of sweet and tart.

This book doesn't have lots of color photos. It does have a lot of great recipes that are well explained, and it's  going to be my go-to cookbook for our vegan meals for a while, especially for the soups and desserts. Because everything is quick to make, on nights we have a big pot of soup, I can see making a fresh dessert as well for a special treat.

Quick note: When cooking anything that calls for chile, the one we use is El Gaupo's Chile California Molido. It's mild and flavorful, and the rest of my family ups the heat with cayenne or hot sauce if they want to. We also use their cumin because I've been happy with the flavor of it.

You can get the book directly from the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing,

My reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.