Category Archives: Cookbooks

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Cover of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Oddly, I don’t have a great deal to say about this book. I purchased it for our household fairly close to the beginning of this challenge. This challenge wasn’t the driver for the purchase, but I’ll admit I wanted to get this cookbook before the rules kicked in (there’s a couple of those lurking about this house).

The main driver for this book, however, was that I would like Bill and I to be eating more vegetarian meals. I think Bill doesn’t care one way or the other about whether or not our meals contain meat. He loves meat, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not nearly as meat-fixated as I am. I think, thus, he doesn’t worry about how to incorporate more vegetarian eating into our lives.… Continue reading →

Big City Cooking by Matthew Kenny and Joan Schwartz

Cover of Big City Cooking by Matthew Kenny and Joan Schwartz

New bookstores are fabulous. Used bookstores are fantastic. The places that combine both are amazing. The place that is an “entire city block”:http://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books/ is beyond words. At least, that’s how I felt being there. I think that while we were in Portland, OR we visited Powell’s City of Books and/or “Powell’s Technical Books”:http://www.powells.com/locations/powells-technical-books/ at least twice. We were only in Portland for about three days, so that should give you an indication of how much we enjoyed the place.

In truth, I think I like used bookstores better than new bookstores. I truly love all bookstores, and new bookstores show me what’s just come out or what’s on the horizon. But used bookstores offer up old-time gems that you might never otherwise encounter at a library or in a friend’s home, which is just lovely.… Continue reading →

Simply Organic, by Jesse Ziff Cool

Cover of Simply Organic, by Jesse Ziff Cool

A fairly new cookbook to enter our house, and one that is quite treasured already.

This is not, I should say, because we’ve made many recipes out from its pages yet. We have not. At the time of this writing, we’ve made one. Last night. It was pretty amazing, even with the modifications we had to make to it, but one stellar recipe does not a cookbook make.

No, I cherish this one due to it’s origins[1].

This book was a gift from good friend, Judy. We met via a shared online haunt, and hit it off at one of the get-togethers that come of such things. I have no idea why she’s taken such a shine to me, but I’m glad. She’s funny and really quite wise.… Continue reading →

Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook

cover of Cook With Jamie

This is, as far as I can tell, an awesome cookbook. It’s part recipes, part concepts (“here’s how to match things together so they taste good! Here’s how to use a knife properly!”) and part stories about the students he works with. All of it is written conversationally, and if you’ve heard Jamie Oliver speak on TV (or in his TED talk, which I recommend), you can imagine him reading it. I love that there are full page pictures of every recipe so that you can know what you’re expecting when you make a dish.

As you can tell from the title, it’s a book about learning to cook. As such some of the recipes are loose. “A large knob of butter”, “a few bay leaves”, “a good glug of olive oil” and “a splash of red wine vinegar” are some of the ingredients I see flipping through a few pages.… Continue reading →

The Super Smoothies Deck – DONATED

Cover of The Super Smoothies Deck

_The image at right links to the Amazon Kindle version of this “book”. The physical deck appears to be out of print._

This set of smoothie cards is not going to see any play for at least a month, I am sad to say. Bill and I don’t own a blender. Well, we own an immersion blender that Angelique, Marty and Mike were kind enough to give me a long time ago, but that’s not going to cut it for these smoothies.

Frankly, that’s kind of a bummer, because some of these recipes look delicious! Of course, the ones that look most delicious are going to require me to ask my cousin A.J. to cover the eyes of our dear grandmother, because the best looking ones have names like _Libido Lifter_ and _Honeymooner’s Tonic_.… Continue reading →