Category Archives: Cookbooks

Cooking for Two

cover of Cooking for Two by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

Did I own any cookbooks when I came in to this relationship? I would say so, but we haven’t talked about any yet. Maybe her taste is just better than mine.

As you could guess this is a Natasha book. It contains a surprising variety of recipes that feel like they were made for two people, instead of larger recipes that are cut down in size. Many are quick (though there are some for those longer nights), and it has treated us well so far. I would recommend it for someone who wants to learn how to cook a decent meal for themselves or (of course) for one other person.

Number of recipes in the book: 120 (so says the front cover)
Number we’ve cooked: 3 (Note from Natasha: As of 15 June 2010, this is the most used cookbook.)… Continue reading →

Asian Cook by Terry Tan – GIFTED

Cover to Asian Cook by Terry Tan (unknown edition)

I think I got this book at Williams-Sonoma, but I’m not sure. It might have been a similar place (a small business in Santa Fe or Los Alamos, if not WS). All I recall is that I rarely bought things at that store, but loved to look. So when I saw this book marked down to $8.00, and filled with gorgeous photos of food I really wanted to eat, I snapped it up.

I haven’t since managed to cook out of it. It’s a little challenging at places, because it has normal pages, as well as pages that fold out (I’m always a touch concerned about tearing them). Furthermore, I don’t have the equipment for a lot of it.

Oh, but I want it. This book really breaks it down and talks about various styles of cooking in Asia, and the tools needed and the techniques used.… Continue reading →

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Another that Natasha brought in. I was dubious at first due to the goofy fonts and layout, but it’s a cute book, and at least some of the dishes we’ve made from it have been good. It’s a source of nice healthy vegetarian food.

Note, we have the second edition (linked with the picture), but the third edition (The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest)
is probably what you want if you buy a copy. Our 1995 one is nice and cheap used though!

Number of recipes in this book: 208 (estimated)
Number we’ve cooked: 2

As always, you can click on the “enchanted broccoli forest” tag below to see what we’ve made from this book.… Continue reading →

Cook Once Eat Twice

Cook Once Eat Twice Recipes

Interestingly, this isn’t the only “Cook Once Eat Twice”. We actually expected to be getting Cook Once, Eat Twice Slow Cooker Recipes, published in 2006. Instead we received the book linked above, Cook Once Eat Twice Recipes (Favorite Brand Name Recipes). Whups! That was our fault in not buying the right book, not Amazon’s fault in sending us the wrong thing. We didn’t know about this mixup until we started to write this blog entry. Angelique, if you’re reading this, now you know what Natasha’s confusion about the book is 🙂

However, now that we have it, well, we’ve got to cook from it! This book (and presumably the one we expected) is about cooking a big meal, then turning the leftovers into another meal.… Continue reading →

The Little Black Apron – GIFTED

the cover of The Little Black Apron

The Little Black Apron

Natasha brought this book into the relationship. I’m not really the “A single girl’s guide to cooking with style & grace” (the subtitle) type. Because, you know, I don’t do style.

The few things we’ve made from the book before the website started were all good.

Number of recipes in this book: 116 (estimated)
Number we’ve cooked: 0

You can click on the “little black apron” tag below to see all recipes from this book.

27 May 2014 note: I am pretty sure we gave this one to our friend Siana. Because, you know, she does style and Bill doesn’t. Also, it’s a good “cooking for one” book, which she needed more than we did.… Continue reading →