books

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (Book Review)

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:  A  Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

I knew author, Barbara Kingsolver, as a fiction writer, having previously read her book The Poisonwood Bible.  I had first started listening to the audiobook version of this book, narrated by Kingsolver and her family several years ago.  I had not finished listening to it before it was due back at the library and hadn’t attempted to finish it until now.  For those who have read Plenty (see our review here) this book will seem familiar.  Kingsolver and her family move from Arizona to a farmhouse in the southern Appalachians, with the goal of eating locally for a year.  Kingsolver and her family use the land to grow vegetables and raise chickens and turkeys.  If they can’t grow or raise it themselves they choose to buy it from someone local who does. This book differs from Plenty, in that it is a family undertaking.  Lily, is just eight, when the family underwent their year of living locally.  The family also allowed for some luxury “cheat” items, including coffee, hot chocolate and dried fruit. Although Kingsolver’s teenaged-daughter, Camille, was away at college for the majority of the year, the book includes occasional excerpts in which she shares her thoughts on the experience.  She also provides recipes and seasonally appropriate meal plans.  Kingsolver’s husband, Steven, also provides additional commentary and information on current food issues.   The book is not all serious and preachy.  I found Kingsolver’s chapter on turkey mating to be humorous and interesting.

Some critics of this book feel that Kingsolver gets a bit preachy and they are not wrong.  For many of us, it is unrealistic for us to grow our own food, make our own bread, can fruits and vegetables, raise chickens, etc.  But I agree with Kingsolver that tomatoes in January, transported to the grocery store from across the country (or world) do not taste as good as the fresh tomatoes grown in our garden in the summer.  Just because we can get any type of produce throughout the year, doesn’t mean we should.  However, while making homemade cheese sounds fun it is realistically not something that I see myself doing.  My husband is not home to make fresh bread daily (and that’s not something that I am undertaking!).  Reading this book will make you think about the food you’re eating in a new way.  It brings up the importance of eating locally and seasonally and the effects that industrial agriculture has on small farms.   I am almost positive everyone who reads this book will learn something new.

*I borrowed this book from the library.

 

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

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Garlic and Sapphires:  The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

I first listened to this book on CD many years ago.  I only recently picked up the book to read again and loved it as much as I did listening to it the first time.  This memoir follows Ruth Reichl from 1993 through 1999 while she was the restaurant critic for The New York Times.   Well-known, and recognizable, Reichl realizes even before she officially starts her job that she’s going to need to disguise herself while dining out.  Through this book we meet several of her different personas including Molly, Miriam, Chloe and Brenda among others.  Reichl discovers that when dressed in “character” she actually becomes a different person, from her behavior and mannerisms, to her speech.  I found it fascinating to get an inside peek at the life of a restaurant critic.  I’ve always said that a restaurant critic is my “dream job.”  However, reading this makes me see that it isn’t always that glamorous.  We see that recognized restaurant critics get preferential treatment over the everyday diner.   Reichl has had to eat many less than stellar meals and sometimes experience horrible service when disguised.  She would dine at restaurants like Le Cirque five times before writing a review.   She isn’t a food snob though and enjoyed little hole-in-the-wall restaurants as much as the fancy ones.   I also realized that restaurant critic isn’t such a great job for a mother, when Reichl’s young son wishes his mommy could eat dinner at home with him every night.   This book is not focused much on cooking but you will get some of Reichl’s recipes and amazing descriptions of foods that she’s eaten in the many restaurants that she’s reviewed.

*I borrowed this book from the library.

The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden: A Review

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The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden by Karen Newcomb
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Spring is here and it’s time to start thinking about planting a garden!  If you saw the size of our backyard, you would know why I would need to request a book titled The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden from Blogging for Books.  My dream is to one day have a yard large enough to have a gigantic garden.  Until that day, which will hopefully come, I will attempt to garden…..AGAIN.

This book is actually a revised edition of a book previously published forty years ago, with added information on heirloom vegetable gardening.  It’s sold over 500,000 copies and I can see why.

In the whole scheme of gardening I am definitely a novice.  This book is a great resource for novice gardeners like myself.  Chapter 1 begins with planning out a garden.  It covers everything from where you should plant your garden to how many plants you will need based on the number of people you plan on feeding.  It also provides sample garden plans for different sized gardens using different types of vegetables, flowers and herbs.  Other chapters include creating an optimal soil mixture, when and how to plant different vegetables and watering the garden once you’ve planted it.  Newcomb also provides information on plants and herbs that work well together as well as pest and critter control.  The majority of the book consists of detailed information about specific vegetables.  Newcomb rates the vegetables, noting which ones work especially well in small-sized gardens.  She also gives information planting the specific vegetable, recommended varieties, typical problems you may encounter growing that vegetable, and harvesting and storage tips.

This book provided a wealth of information to me, as a beginning gardener.  Although not necessary, I think photographs would have enhanced the enjoyment of this book.   After reading this book, in lieu of an actual garden, my goal this year is to have success with container gardening.  Stay tuned for updates as I start planning!

*Disclosure:  I received this book from Blogging for Books.  However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

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An Appetite For Murder

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An Appetite For Murder by Lucy Burdette
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

*This post contains affiliate links.

I’ve recently been on a food-related cozy mystery reading kick.   Cozy mysteries are usually quick, easy reads for me and I especially love that there a ton of books related to my favorite subject, food.  These books allow me to combine the best of both worlds, reading and food! I first started with On What Grounds, the first in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.  I then read this book An Appetite For Murder by Lucy Burdette.  This is the first book in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series.  In this book, Hayley Snow leaves New Jersey to follow her boyfriend, Chad to Key West, Florida (we know how that always works out, don’t we?!!).  But soon after moving to Key West Hayley finds Chad cheating on her.  Jobless and sharing a houseboat with her friend Connie, Hayley is hoping to land a job with new style magazine, Key Zest as their food critic. But then Chad’s new girlfriend, and Hayley’s possible new boss at Key Zest ends up dead, and Hayley is pinned as the main suspect.  The book takes us through Hayley trying to prove her innocence and catch the real killer.  Burdette gives the reader a good feel of Key West and its culture and food.  The book includes a quirky tarot card reader, Lorenzo, Hayley’s cat, Evinrude, an eclectic houseboat community and good food.   If I had to choose a dream job, food critic it would be!  So, I really enjoyed getting an inside look at the food critic profession.  The book also includes three recipes that were mentioned in the story.  Author Lucy Burdette also writes the golf lovers mystery series and the advice column mystery series under the name Roberta Isleib.  I enjoyed this book so much I’ve already started the second book in the series, Death In Four Courses.

*I borrowed this book from the library.

Supermarket Healthy

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Supermarket Healthy  by Melissa d’Arabian
Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

I first became acquainted with Melissa d’Arabian when I saw her win Season 5 of the Food Network Star.  As a mom of young kids, I could relate to her.  Being budget-minded I also appreciated her show “Ten Dollar Dinners.”  So I was excited to see her new cookbook Supermarket Healthy on the Blogging for Books site.  For those unfamiliar, Blogging for Books is a site that gives bloggers free books to review on their blogs.  (You can check out the site and sign up here.)

Supermarket Healthy starts with an introduction of “Hot-Button Issues” like GMO’s, eating organic and allergies.  d’Arabian then provides a “Pantry Must-Haves” list.  The cookbook has eleven chapters including Breakfast, Snacks, Soups and Stews, Salads, Wraps and Sandwiches, Veggie Mains, Pasta, Fish and Seafood Chicken and Turkey, Beef, Pork, and Lamb, Sides and Dessert.  I like that d’Arabian offers several “Blueprints” throughout the cookbook, in which she gives an outline of a recipe and different variations to make it.  For example, for a frittata, she outlines a way to make it with meat or without, different preparations of vegetables and different cheese variations.

Prior to receiving this cookbook I had never cooked any of d’Arabian’s recipes.  I first tried the Moroccan Slow Cooker Chicken Legs and Chickpeas, since I love using the slow cooker on busy days.  The recipe called for ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend), which I did not have and didn’t plan on buying for this one recipe.  An alternative spice blend is provided, but no measurements are provided.  Overall, this recipe was just okay.

I then tried making the Raspberry-Banana Morning Boost Smoothie for the kids for an after dinner “treat.”  They have given up treats for Lent, so I’ve been trying to come up with healthy alternatives.  I think this recipe included too much of the healthy stuff.  These smoothies had old-fashioned rolled oats and chopped cucumber.  And I didn’t even add the white beans!  I do not like smoothies, but the kids love them.  They did not enjoy these though.  I agreed with their complaint that the smoothie tasted overwhelmingly of cucumber, even though there was only 1/4 cup.  The oats also didn’t break down very well in the blender, so the smoothie wasn’t exactly smooth.

Overall, I thought this cookbook was just okay.  Not many recipes jumped out at me as being new and interesting and I felt like the ingredient lists for many of the recipes were rather long.  I’d recommend this cookbook to beginning cooks who would like to eat healthier.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  However, all my opinions are my own. 

 

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On What Grounds Cozy Mystery

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With all of the cold and snowy weather we’ve been having, I’ve been spending a lot of time curled up in front of the pellet stove reading.  What’s more perfect reading than a cozy mystery on a cold day!  Cozy mysteries differ from the regular mystery and thriller type reads in that they often feature an amateur detective who helps solve the mystery and often take place in a small town, where everyone seems to know everyone else.   I haven’t read many cozy mysteries, but of course the ones I have been interested in are the ones that revolve around food.

This book, On What Grounds is the first of fourteen in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.  The series is written by Cleo Coyle, a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi and her husband Marc Cerasini.  In this first book, Clare Cosi, manages the Village Blend, an historic coffee house that’s been in her ex-husband’s family for years.  Clare has been managing the Village Blend for several years and has just moved from the New Jersey suburbs to the apartment above the coffee shop, which is located in Greenwich Village, in New York City.  When opening the shop one morning she finds the body of one of her assistant managers, Annabelle, at the bottom of the basement stairs.  Of course she has to get involved in trying to help the police figure  out who did this to Annabelle and there might be some possible romance rekindling with her ex-husband in future books?!

This was a light, fast read but it’s definitely not a suspenseful page turner, if that’s what you’re looking for.   I enjoy my daily morning cup of coffee, but I’m no coffee aficionado.  I learned a lot about coffee, different types of coffee beverages and different methods of brewing.  At some points, the author may have even gone a little too into detail about the finer points of coffee.  Recipes from the story are included in the back.  Overall, this was an okay mystery and this is a series that I wouldn’t mind continuing to read.

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

*I borrowed this book from the library.

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Foodie Read: Plenty

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Plenty:  One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally
By:  Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From goodreads.com:

Like many great adventures, the 100-mile diet began with a memorable feast. Stranded in their off-the-grid summer cottage in the Canadian wilderness with unexpected guests, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon turned to the land around them. They caught a trout, picked mushrooms, and mulled apples from an abandoned orchard with rose hips in wine. The meal was truly satisfying; every ingredient had a story, a direct line they could trace from the soil to their forks. The experience raised a question: Was it possible to eat this way in their everyday lives?

Back in the city, they began to research the origins of the items that stocked the shelves of their local supermarket. They were shocked to discover that a typical ingredient in a North American meal travels roughly the distance between Boulder, Colorado, and New York City before it reaches the plate. Like so many people, Smith and MacKinnon were trying to live more lightly on the planet; meanwhile, their “SUV diet” was producing greenhouse gases and smog at an unparalleled rate. So they decided on an experiment: For one year they would eat only food produced within 100 miles of their Vancouver home.

It wouldn’t be easy. Stepping outside the industrial food system, Smith and MacKinnon found themselves relying on World War II–era cookbooks and maverick farmers who refused to play by the rules of a global economy. What began as a struggle slowly transformed into one of the deepest pleasures of their lives. For the first time they felt connected to the people and the places that sustain them.

For Smith and MacKinnon, the 100-mile diet became a journey whose destination was, simply, home. From the satisfaction of pulling their own crop of garlic out of the earth to pitched battles over canning tomatoes, Plenty is about eating locally and thinking globally.

The authors’ food-focused experiment questions globalization, monoculture, the oil economy, environmental collapse, and the tattering threads of community. Thought-provoking and inspiring, Plenty offers more than a way of eating. In the end, it’s a new way of looking at the world.

*** Could you eat only food that was produced within a 100-mile radius from where you live?  This is the food experiment that authors Smith and Mackinnon undertook for an entire year.  Between their cottage in the Canadian wilderness and their apartment in Vancouver, the reader is taken on a culinary adventure with the authors.  The authors alternate writing chapters, which gives the reader both of their perspectives on this food experiment.  The book also provide several recipes, none of which I think I’d actually make though.

Through reading this book, I learned more about the history of agriculture and our food distribution system.

While I myself do not think that I could undertake such an experiment, this book did make me more aware of where my food comes from.   What this book ended up showcasing is how difficult it can be to eat “locally.”

Additional research discovered that there is a spreading food movement of people partaking in a 100-mile food challenge as people see the importance of eating locally.  In Canada in 2009, Food Network Canada aired a reality television series “The 100 Mile Challenge” based on the book. Authors Smith and MacKinnon helped six families eat a 100-mile diet for 100 days.  As the popularity of the 100-mile diet grows, we are sure we will be seeing and hearing more about it.

 

 

 

My Perfect Pantry Cookbook Review

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My Perfect Pantry by Geoffrey Zakarian
Rating:  3 stars (out of 5)

We recently received My Perfect Pantry by Geoffrey Zakarian to review from Blogging for Books.   We are familiar with Chef Zakarian from the Food Network television show Iron Chef and were looking forward to receiving this cookbook.  The concept of the cookbook is great.  Zakarian takes 50 ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens and then provides three recipes using each ingredient.  The only ingredients that we didn’t have in our kitchen out of the 50 were anchovies, dried lima beans, pine nuts, and gelatin.  Before the recipes, Zakarian gives a brief introductory description of each ingredient, as well as tips for storing and cooking them.  He also provides a variety of recipes using the ingredients including drinks, appetizers, salads, snacks, main dishes, side dishes and desserts.  We made the “Sweet and Spicy Popcorn” which we posted here.    We made the “Mushroom Soy Turkey Burgers” but found that they lacked flavor and weren’t worth posting.  We started to make the Elbow Macaroni with Crispy Bread Crumbs and Broccoli, but were going to substitute cauliflower, and then didn’t feel inspired to make it and ended up making a cauliflower macaroni and cheese instead.   There’s a decent amount of family friendly recipes in this cookbook including “Magnificent Meatballs” and “Family Chicken Fingers.”  My daughter was browsing through the cookbook and bookmarked the “Cinnamon Cupcakes, “Apple Cider Doughnuts” and the “Maple Candied Apples”…….all treats of course!

We’re not sure who exactly the targeted audience is for this cookbook.  While it appears that the goal of the cookbook is to use ingredients from your pantry, we found the majority of the recipes called for other ingredients that one would have to buy.  Most of the recipes also called for some type, if not multiple types, of fresh herbs. Overall, we were not impressed with book. Although the recipes seem promising, the concept falls short. Having all of the 50″essential ingredients” doesn’t get you very far toward actually cooking the dishes.

We received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  As always, all opinions are our own.