Category Archives: Cookbooks

The Recipe Deck: Quick & Easy

Cover of The Recipe Deck: Quick and Easy

Okay, this one definitely entered this relationship with me. Where did I get it? Did I purchase it or was it given to me?

I really just don’t know. However, it’s ours now, and so into the “books” pile it goes.

I like it, in concept. One card, one recipe, one huge and gorgeous photo on the front. What’s not to like? And with recipe names like _Peaches & Berries in Toffee_ or _Tuna & Golden Onions_ it’s hard not to think this could go well for us.

Also, the _Mediterranean Spinach_ photo makes me drool.

Number of recipes: 52 (from the outside of the box)
Number we’ve made: 0

You can find all the recipes we’ve made from this deck by clicking the “Quick & Easy Deck” tag below.… Continue reading →

Quick & Easy Thai by Nancie McDermott

Cover of Quick and Easy Thai by Nancie McDermott

It feels like we’ve been here before, doesn’t it? Except, I have no idea the providence of this book, so I can say with confidence that Bill *definitely* had it before we started dating.

It’s a Thai cookbook. It’s surprisingly large for only 70 recipes, and there are some gorgeous photos. Again, though, not as many as one would expect from all these pages and only 70 recipes.

However, Bill is welcome at any time to make _Spicy Fish Cakes with Green Beans and Wild Lime Leaves_ or _Chicken with Fresh Basil_. I’ll probably cry as I eat them, but they sound tasty.

I wish I could say more, but I just don’t know much about this cookbook. Maybe Bill will wander in and add some edits about it.… Continue reading →

The Everything Thai Cookbook by Jennifer Malott Kotylo

Cover of The Everything Thai Cookbook by Jennifer Malott Kotylo

Wasn’t Bill just beginning to wonder if he owned any cookbooks coming into this relationship? Is it a trick answer if I say, “yes”, but the first one discussed was given explicitly to him, but after we started dating?

I’ll leave that question to the philosophers.

Either way, while this cookbook is definitely “ours” now, it started out as his. Joe & Patty, if you’re reading this, he was SUPER thrilled to get it (and the tequila that came with it). I think, though I can’t swear to it, he even has cooked a thing or two out of it. Though he hasn’t since I got back from Kenya.

This could well be because we’re eating out a lot. Or because I’m a little shy regarding spicy foods (though they are growing on me).… Continue reading →

The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil, M.D., and Rosie Daley – DONATED

Cover of The Healthy Kitchen, by Andrew Weil and Rosie Daley

As occasionally happens, I had a very long entry typed up regarding this cookbook, and then accidentally managed to erase the whole damn thing. The worst part? I use Firefox, had the Lazarus add-on installed for just such an occasion, and was still unable to recover it. Good job, Lazarus.

Anyway, I’ll try to recover it from memory to the best of my ability, but these things always end up far shorter than the original. Some of you might even think this is no bad thing, but I’m bummed.

I first heard of “Dr. Weil”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Weil back in the days when I was a “Prevention Magazine”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005NIOO?ie=UTF8&tag=metaco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005NIOO subscriber. He often writes for them, or did back in the early 2000s (I still don’t know what to call that decade/this decade if you’re one of Bill’s or my more pedantic friends).… Continue reading →

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

_How to Cook Everything_ has been on my shelf for many years (so many that I can’t remember when I bought it), and I’ve made a few recipes from it. Not, actually, that many relative to the number of recipes it contains but being as I’ve made more than one recipe from it, it’s infinitely more recipes than some cookbooks we own.

Mark Bittman taught me how to make roast chicken via this book. And, as anyone who’s had my roast chicken can attest, I’m full of awesome at it. Now, anyway. I did used to attempt to make roast chickens prior to using this book. Bill can tell you about the disastrous attempt about six years ago, long before we were dating, to make a roast chicken while he was visiting.… Continue reading →