Operation Blessing Recipes From Around The World Book Review and Giveaway

Operation Blessing (OB) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to demonstrating God’s love by alleviating human need and suffering in the United States and around the world. They have served in every state and over 90 nations. For over four decades OB has been working on programs such as disaster relief, health and medical care, hunger relief, and clean water with the support of their generous partners. They help those in immediate need by providing physical relief and equipping them with new knowledge to create sustainable solutions to combat poverty. They listen to the community's needs they serve, instead of telling them what they think they need. They address the core issues behind poverty, rather than only treating the symptoms. Go here to see their global impact.



Operation Blessing Recipes From Around The World is a wonderful softcover booklet of 34 international recipes. These range from breakfast, side & main dishes, breads & desserts and drinks. The recipes originated from 15 countries namely Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Israel, Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, China, and United States. Along with the recipes OB has a relief story for each country of how they helped a situation and made those people's lives better. These stories are just some of the wonderful things OB does to reach out to those in desperate need.

What We Thought:

Operation Blessing is a fantastic organization. We are so glad that they are helping those in desperate need. They have already blessed the lives of so many.

This cookbook that OB has put together is beautiful and inspiring. The stories and pictures are so heartwarming. I love that it has color pictures of each finished dish for each recipe. I love international cooking and foods. This assortment of culinary delights from across the globe brings so many different dishes to the table and the warmth from each country they are created from. I have fond memories of my childhood friend making rice and beans and fried plantains when I would come to her home to visit her. The Pastelitos de Carne and Imam Bayildi recipes sound so good! These are among the recipes in this book. I can't wait to try all of them.

I highly recommend this cookbook! This would be a great gift for someone who loves to cook a variety of foods. It is a wonderful cookbook to expand upon your taste palate and explore other global cuisine from home.

 Complimentary Offer for Operation Blessing Recipe Cards:

We are pleased to offer four (4) recipe cards inspired by international recipes from Operation Blessing’s latest cookbook, “Recipes From Around the World.” Anyone can sign up to receive this free gift after which, requests will be processed and delivered straight to their mailbox.

Get offer here:  https://www.ob.org/mc/recipecards/

  
BUY IT

My readers can get their own copy by giving a donation of any size here!  https://www.ob.org/give/recipebook/

WIN IT

• Prize: Win a copy of Recipes From Around the World
• Host: Operation Blessings and FrontGate Media.
• Who Can Enter: Open to US Residents 18 years or older.
• Selection Process: Winner will be selected on 2/16/2020 and notified by email.
• Where to Enter: Go to this link https://www.blessedfreebies.com/recipes-from-around-the-world.html and fill out the form to enter.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this complimentary product to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Broth & Stock from the Nourished Kitchen: Wholesome Master Recipes for Bone, Vegetable, and Seafood Broths and Meals to Make with Them Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

You may know Jennifer McGruther by her award-winning traditional foods website, Nourished Kitchen, and her first book The Nourished Kitchen. She is also a food educator that teaches workshops on traditional foods, fermentation, as well as food activism. Jennifer lives with her husband and son in Washington State. I personally have enjoyed reading her website and own her first cookbook which I use quite often for her farm-to-table recipes that are sustainable, traditionally prepared, unprocessed, unrefined whole foods.

In her second cookbook she focuses on one area, making and using broth and stock, that is briefly touched on in her first cookbook. In Broth & Stock from the Nourished Kitchen: Wholesome Master Recipes for Bone, Vegetable, and Seafood Broths and Meals to Make with Them she delves deeper into the foodie trend that is making a comeback in popularity with households who want to get back to their roots with their cooking.

Broth & Stock is well laid out and easy to navigate. It starts out with an introduction that introduces the history of broth and stock and why you would want to make it at home. The book is then divided into 6 chapters: The Broth Maker's Kitchen, Master Broths and Stocks, Poultry, Meat, Fish, and Vegetables. The first chapter is an in depth look at what broth, stock and bone broth is; choosing bones to use in bone broth, using wine or vinegar, which vegetables to pick for the broth or stock, herbs & spices, equipment needed, and how to store it. Chapter 2 has many master recipes for use as bases in other recipes. Chapters 2-6 each start out with a brief introduction on the chapter then they have the recipes. Each recipe has the name of the recipe at the top and servings under that,  ingredients along the left side, a gorgeous full-color photo of the completed dish, a paragraph about the dish, and instructions on how to make it. She also include tips and tricks throughout the cookbook as well. Then at the end of the cookbook you have Where to Shop, Bibliography, Measurement Conversion Charts, Gratitude, and an Index.

For myself, who has only made a few broths or stocks in her lifetime, I treasure the contents of this cookbook. This will help me, in my opinion, make better homemade meals in my kitchen. With this cookbook I can make all sorts of soup bases and not only that, I have delicious sounding recipes right at my fingertips to use them in. Also I love that she includes recipes from different countries. These will help me grow my repertoire of meals and give them a good boost. I always love to try exotic things. My favorite sounding dishes from this cookbook are: Thai-Style Chicken Soup with Lemongrass and Coconut Milk (tom kha gai) and Springtime Risotto with Asparagus, Green Garlic, and Chive Blossoms.

I highly recommend Broth & Stock by Jennifer McGruther. Whether you are new to making broths and stocks or a natural, I feel that you will enjoy this cookbook like I have. It is sure to become a family favorite.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Everyday Homemaking Everyday Cooking Cookbook Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Everyday Homemaking is a website designed by Vicki Bentley. On this website she has created practical tools to help parents and caregivers teach life skills like: managing time, cooking, cleaning, planning, organizing, home education, etc. She is the author of a handful of books that teach these skills to others. These include Everyday Cooking and The Everyday Family Chore System. Vicki is a mother of eight children and a foster/adoptive mom of almost fifty. Her family knows well how to work with their busy lifestyle and still get things accomplished.

Everyday Cooking is Vicki's cookbook that she has just newly revised and expanded to include even more of her family's tried and true favorite recipes and helpful tips. Everyday Cooking is book one of the Everyday Homemaking Series. This book emphasizes whole foods and also contains pressure cooker basics, low-carb staples, sample menus, shopping and equipment tips, and even a few of Vicki's kitchen mishap stories. This comes either as a physical book with a glossy cover and coil bound pages or a digital e-book PDF. Both have 198 pages, except the print book has black and white pictures and the digital has color. You may choose from two different colors of cover (red or blue), though the content is the same.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Introduction
• Time Saving Tips
• Breakfast Ideas
• Appetizers and Dressings
• Bread and Grains
• Main Dishes & Soups & Sides
• Desserts and Snacks
• Homemade Vanilla Extract
• Low-Carb and Gluten-Free Pantry Helpers
• Basic Measurements and Helps
• Meal Planning and Shopping Hints
• Sample Menus & Menu Planning Masters
• Basic Cooking Skills Checklist
• Basic Kitchen Accessories
• Kitchen Equipment
• The Tortoise and the Hare
• Pressure Cooker Tips and Favorites
• Index of Recipes
• Index of Practical Tips

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
We received the digital PDF version of the Everyday Cooking. I like color photos for the dishes so I opted for this version rather than the print that had black and white photos. I wish both had the color pictures because the print would have been nice for having instead of going back and forth to my computer (my printer is out of ink). I like the thought of having the coil bound pages and glossy wipe able cover so that it can be used right where you are cooking.

I like the layout of Everyday Cooking. It is pretty straight forward and has similar things lumped together in one chapter. After each chapter there is a section that you may write your own notes. I do wish there were more pictures of the recipes because I am very visual. However, the book does say you can visit their website and social media sites and see more of the color pictures of many of the recipes if needed.Some ingredients are also italicized so you know that they have a recipe in the book to make them from scratch as well. There are also "broken eggs" pictures throughout the cookbook that tell "oops!" moments that Vicki experienced and wanted to share. Grey boxes throughout the cookbook mention time saving or budget-stretching tips too. I love that she puts meal planning masters and checklists in the back so you can print them out and use them. There is also a Food & Nutrition Mini-Unit Study (1-2 weeks) towards the end for junior high/high school students as one portion of a home economics credit that uses the Basic Cooking Skills Checklist.

There are a lot of very simple recipes in Everyday Cooking. My teenagers and even my 9 year old could make a lot of these recipes themselves without any trouble. I like that most of these can be made in 30-45 minutes or less. I didn't know what parboiled or converted rice was and a lot of her recipes that call for rice call for this specific type. This is described in the Basic Measurements and Helps section. This type of rice is NOT minute/instant rice and has higher nutritional benefits than regular white rice and much closer to nutritional value of brown rice, I learned. Some recipes also called for margarine and canned mushrooms...I do not use that stuff, instead I use real butter and real mushrooms which seem to work just fine as an alternative. I like that she has how long to cook recipes with and without a slow cooker or pressure cooker. If you haven't done a lot of homemade breads this is an awesome cookbook for this because it has so many to choose from. It also has multiple ways you can make the main bread recipe into other breads, for example, sweet rolls. I also love that there is a recipe for homemade ricotta cheese, noodles, and pie crust...these are recipes that I would like to try some day.

Everyday Cooking Kielbasa with Kale & Potatoes

We made the Kielbasa with Kale & Potatoes in Everyday Homemaking one night for dinner. I had all the ingredients at home except for the red sweet pepper and McCormick’s All-Purpose Seasoning. I used a green sweet pepper and I looked up the ingredients in this seasoning and added a little bit of each to the pot. The kale we picked fresh from our garden. It had come back from last years planting and taken over almost a whole raised bed. I didn't know a lot of kale recipes and so because we have so much of it this year I wanted to use a bunch of it before winter hits. This recipe sounded really good and hearty. The only thing I would have added was the setting on the stove top when cooking (like high, medium, or low). It cooked fine, but I would have liked to know to make sure I had it on the right heat setting while it cooked. I am so glad I tried it out though because it was delicious! Even my daughter who does not really like kale loved this meal. I will be making the Kielbasa with Kale & Potatoes recipe again and trying it next time with the red sweet pepper!

I will be making more from this cookbook. We are excited to make the Chicken Cordon Bleu because it sounds so good with the alternate smoked Gouda cheese. I will be making this in the next week or so. There are a lot of recipes that sound like they would be wins for my family. These are all easy to prepare & make and don't take that much time to do so. I like cookbooks like this that are not too complicated, but also focus mainly on the healthy foods. I will probably use this as a credit for homeschool home economics for my teens as well. We can not wait to use it more.


Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/everydayhomemaking  Tag:  @everydayhomemaking
Hashtags: #hsreviews #homemaking #cooking

BUY IT
Get 10% off The Everyday Family Chore System and/or Everyday Cooking (print or e-book) through Labor Day! The code to use is TOS10books -- apply it to as many books in your cart as you'd like, but make sure to shop first and apply the 10% discount code last. This expires Sept 5th.
  
Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Everyday Homemaking...

Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook Kickstarter and Review

My mother used to bake bread all the time. Her Honey Whole Wheat Bread and sweet roles were my favorite growing up. I loved to watch the dough rise. That heavenly smell and taste of fresh baked homemade bread from the oven always made me happy.

Fast forward to now and I confess that the only bread I have made is sweet quick breads like banana or zucchini and Amish Friendship Bread. Making more breads has been something that I would like to do, but I have made excuse after excuse in doing...my kitchen is super small, it will take to much time, what if the yeast doesn't work, what if the dough doesn't rise, what if I don't knead it enough, etc. These doubts have stopped me from making more breads at home.

Enter the Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook by Laurie Neverman of Common Sense Homesteading. This cookbook is on Kickstarter right now and needs your support to be funded! I received it free in digital format to review.

This bread cookbook is far more than just a cookbook with recipes. In the beginning it has helpful Troubleshooting Tips for Bread Baking. These tips help the hesitation, reluctance, and uncertainty to become confidence and clarity. These tips include the: list of tools/equipment needed to bake bread, flour that should be used and why, water and ingredient temperature for bread making, yeast to use, amount of yeast per package, proper way and order to add ingredients, temperature needed for bread to rise, reasons for bread not rising, reasons for dough being too sticky, position in the oven to place the bread for cooking, amount of loaves that can bake at a time, reasons for overly dense bread, amount you should knead your dough, reasons why your dough smells sour like alcohol, reasons why bread didn't brown, and reasons why your bread collapsed. There are also storage tips, recipes for some of the author's favorite things to eat with bread and recipes that will help you repurpose leftover bread in new ways.

I love that these recipes are all simple, straightforward healthy breads that I can make myself. These recipes don't have additives, preservatives, or ingredients that I cannot pronounce in them. They do have whole ingredients that are both healthy and delicious. I also discovered that my sister that has a gluten intolerance can eat many of these too.

Recipes Included and Some Other Tips:

• Basic Sandwich Bread
• Easy Sourdough Bread and Cultivating Sourdough Starter
• Potato Bread
• Cinnamon Swirl Bread and High-Altitude Bread Baking Tips
• Crusty French Bread
• Pretzel Bread
• English Muffin Bread
• Homemade Seasoned Croûtons
• Betty’s Buttermilk Rye Bread
• Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
• Swedish Limpa Bread
• Dark Pumpernickel Rye Bread
• Green Garden Dip
• Duncan’s “Meat in a Loaf ”
• Duncan's Favorite Sloppy Joes
• Coconut Flour Bread and To Gluten or Not to Gluten?
• Brazilian Cheese Bread and Refrigerating Raw Dough
• Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
• Gluten Free Flatbread and Freezing Dough and Par-baked Breads
• Gram Irene’s Cornbread and Storage Tips for Baked Bread
• Southern Style Cornbread
• Flavored Butters
• Classic Beer Bread
• Beer Cheese Fondue
• Top Secret Banana Quick Bread
• Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread
• Basic Flour Tortillas
• Basic Biscuits
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Pancakes
• French Toast
• Popovers
• "Wheat Thin" Style Crackers
• Kolache and Filling Recipes for Kolache
• Polish Doughnuts
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Monkey Bread

The Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook is the perfect addition to my cookbooks! It is a great resource for everyday breads, quick breads, yeast breads, gluten free breads, & holiday and special occasion breads. I can't wait to try out these wholesome homemade breads and other recipes. I want to start making my own bread at home so that I will never have to buy bread that is bland or preservative-laden again. This cookbook is perfect for someone like me who was intimidated by the whole bread making process. It is also for people who want to save money and avoid the harmful additives and chemicals in most store bought breads.

BUY IT
If you would like to get a copy of your own you can by supporting and backing the Kickstarter for the Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook! Only $10 gets you a digital PDF copy and $25 for a spiral bound print copy of the cookbook! There is only 7 days left to go so hurry!!!

 
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Good Fast Eats Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

“Good Fast Eats” Summary:
Ready to eat in just under an hour, these recipes are healthy, delicious, and easy to make! With recipes like Eggs in Purgatory, Moo Shu Pork, and Cajun Spiced Cod, you won’t have to spend a fortune or a lot of time cooking or cleaning up. Your family will love these fresh one-pot meals perfectly balanced with amazing ingredients and spices. Cooking has never been easier or more satisfying!

About The Author:
Amy Flanigan is a food blogger at bellyfull.net, recipe developer, video maker, mommy, dog owner, baseball fan, lover of cookies, and constantly craving pie. She has been featured on Huffington Post, Calphalon (a cookware producer), Babble.com, BlogHer, Macy’s Culinary Council, Skinny Mom, and HerLife Magazine.

Our Thoughts:
The Good Fast Eats Cookbook has a great layout! It starts out with an introduction about why Amy wrote the book and some tips that help get food on the table without the fuss. It then gives a list of things needed to have on hand to make the recipes from within this book in the Stock Up section. After this it has the recipes in these categories: Chicken, Pork, Beef, Seafood, Meatless, Soup, and Sweets. Each recipe has a title, a description, serving size, preparation time, cook time, total time, ingredients, and directions. Each recipe comes with a mouthwatering photograph of the finished dish. At the end there are Cooking Measurement Equivalents, Metric Measurement Equivalents, an Index, Acknowledgements, and a bit About the Author.

This cookbook is great to have on hand when you need homemade dinner in a pinch. Most of these one-pot/pan/dish meals only take 15-30 minutes to complete. The recipes are hearty, comforting foods and delicious desserts that satisfy. The Beef Stroganoff looks very similar to my recipe. I am looking forward to trying the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Black Bean Enchiladas, Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet, Greek Meatball Pockets with Tzatziki, Cranberry-Almond Chocolate Bark, & Ricotta Blintzes. All the recipes sound so yummy!

BUY IT

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this cookbook for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking With an Adult Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking With an Adult written by Mike Berenstain has 40 delicious recipes that cater to different American holidays around the year. Join Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear as they share 40 of their favorite Bear family holiday recipes. These include traditional favorites like Hot Apple Cinnamon Cider, Cozy Hot Chocolate, and Pumpkin Pie to fun and unique recipes like: Candy Corn Punch, Creepy Crawly Pasta Salad, and Gobbler Apple Muffins.

This hardcover cookbook is laid out well. At the beginning there is a contents page with a list of the recipes in each section and their page numbers. It has 6 sections for different holidays: Valentine's Day, Easter, Forth of July, Fall Festivities, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Each section has 6-8 recipes. Each section starts out with a scripture, a short story, and a poem. Each recipe has a title, what is needed, and directions along with a photograph of the finished food or beverage. At the end there is a page of Kitchen Measurements in both standard and metric.

A peek inside The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook.

I remember The Berenstain Bears' book series from my childhood. I love them and have ever since I was very young. These books teach children how God want them to live everyday. The Berenstain Bears' book series teach children good character traits and values. I love the simplicity of the illustrations and country town feel that the Bear family has.

I adore The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook! My kids love to help me cook and bake and this is a great cookbook just for that bonding experience. I can't wait 'til we can make the: Christmas Holiday Pinwheels, Valentine's Day Pizza, Krispie Easter Eggs, or Forth of July Freedom Trifle! There are so many other fun recipes as well. It has wonderful kid-friendly recipes that are perfect to make with your children or grandchildren for the holidays.

BUY IT


You can also purchase The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook: Cub-Friendly Cooking With an Adult at Zondervan for $12.99.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Make Ahead Kitchen Cookbook Review

Cedar Fort Publishing & Media has provided me with a complimentary copy of this cookbook free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

 Annalise Thomas is from the big city and married to a man that is from a small town. As she learns to love small town life she enjoys sharing her foodie passions with others. Annalise is a wife and mom, a baker, a cook, and a blogger. She is also the author of The Make-ahead Kitchen.

The Make-ahead Kitchen: 75 Slow Cooker, Freezer, and Prepared Meals for the Busy Lifestyle by Annalise Thomas is a gorgeous picture-filled cookbook with simple recipes of delicious, healthy, and easy-to-prepare make-ahead dishes. No more kids asking what's for dinner and having to dig around the fridge, leftovers, or pantry for a last-minute meal. These family friendly foods, drinks, and desserts are just the ticket for less stress and no hassle.

The contents of this book are well laid out and easy to navigate. They start out with acknowledgements and general notes. The general notes are basically helpful tidbits of information about her recipes and way of cooking/using ingredients. In the notes she lets us know that their are symbols for those recipes that are gluten free (GF) and the ingredients that can be gluten free alternatives (GFA). The introduction is next with a little history of why the author wrote the book and a some background of the cookbook. The middle of the cookbook has recipes in 7 sections: Breakfast, Soups & Salads; Appetizers, Snacks & Sides; Main Dishes, Cookies & Bars, Desserts, and Drinks. The book ends with a wonderful index and about the author page.

The layout of each recipe is quite simple and each one has beautiful photograph of the completed meal, dessert, drink, etc. to accompany it. At the left side, each recipe includes the title, if it is GF or GFA or not, background of the recipe, and notes. On the right hand side it has the ingredients, directions, notes on what you can do ahead of time and freezing, and how many it serves.

All in all I believe this cookbook is a lovely addition to my cookbook library. It will be treasured in my kitchen. I am excited to make the recipes inside its pages for my family and friends.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review from Cedar Fort Publishing & Media. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Awesome Herbal Recipes for Kids (and Kids At Heart!)

I have something really cool to share with you today…

The Herb Fairies are offering a free download of their herbal cookbook!

This cookbook has 13 fun herbal recipes you can make with kids (or kids at heart!), from chickweed grilled cheese to REAL marshmallows and dandelion flower cookies.

To get the cookbook, all you have to do is opt-in for their free Herb Fairies video series, which is pretty awesome, too!

Get it here now:
http://bit.ly/healthconsciouskids

So, why not go out in the yard, pick some dandelion flowers, and make some cookies?!

Also,  when you sign up, you won’t JUST get the cookbook… You’ll also get access to a new video series that includes a yummy smoothie with stinging nettles!

Check it out now:
http://bit.ly/healthconsciouskids

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes For Cooking With Pleasure Cookbook Review

I received this cookbook free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Alana Chernila is a writer, cook, teacher of cheese making, and blogger at EatingFromTheGroundUp.com. She lives with her husband and daughters in Western Massachusetts. She is also the author of two cookbooks, the first one being The Homemade Pantry and her newest one being The Homemade Kitchen.

The Homemade Kitchen is a gorgeous, inspirational cookbook. It has beautiful pictures of Alana's delicious sounding recipes and her in her kitchen, garden, at the market, and outside; with family and friends or just by herself. The inviting nature of her narrative is delightful and friendly. Alana feels like kindred spirit as she offers up her thoughts on life and collection of homemade dishes that make one's mouth water.

I love how Alana puts this cookbook together. Every chapter starts with an encouraging phrase that she has taped on her fridge. These makeup the framework of her philosophy and this cookbook. Te recipes start with a title and how much it makes or how many it serves. Then a narrative from Alana usually follows with the ingredient list and instructions listed below. Most of these recipes with a few exceptions have beautiful photos of the dish to represent them. There are also pages of narrative and tips throughout.

CHAPTER CONTENTS:

• Start Where You Are - Introduction about Alana's thoughts of why we cook, and who we are.
• Be a Beginner - How to section of: cooking eggs, cooking vegetables, making jam, pickling things, making salads and dressings, roasting a chicken, making other dairy products out of milk, cooking grains, making piecrust and pie, using fresh herbs, and making pasta. These are all things of which we should all learn how to do in my opinion.
• Feed Yourself - Wonderful dishes to cook for just yourself. Since I am to be growing radishes in my garden this year I will definitely try the Bread with Radish Butter!
• Put Your Hands in the Earth - Recipes with fresh edibles from the garden. The Queen Garlic with Chèvre and Tomatoes look divine.
• Be Active - Making fermented things using vinegar, kefir grains, starter culture, or yeast & making other delicious things with them. I love a good Kimchi! The Kefir Banana Cake and Chèvre Cheesecake with Mint and Berries also sound so yummy!
• Use Your Scraps - How to make use of food waste, reuse in the kitchen & help foods last longer. Includes recipes that make use of these bits and scraps. I never knew that peach pits were so useful!
• Do Your Best, and Then Let Go - Good advice about choosing what you eat. In this chapter, Alana acknowledges how her family really eats, "Organicish. Locenough. Homemade when I can. Fresh. Good. Mine." I love this because this is more my style than fretting over every last little thing. Tips and recipes on buying: cow, chicken, fish; making tofu and its alternatives, using pastas, making homemade snacks and a popover recipe everyone will love.
• Be Helpful - Wonderful dishes to feed the soul, when there is a birth, death, or anything big in between. I love when Alana says, "When we bring dinner, we say: I'm in your community. I'm here for you. Eat."
• Do the Work - This chapter is all about breads that are beautiful and practical to make. Alana reminds us that homemade bread is actually easy to make and many appliances can do most the work for you. To quote her, "Bread , like so many other staples, is one of those foods that we imagine to be more of a project than it really is."
• Slow Down - Alana reminisces about her quiet time outside in her orchard, hanging clothes on the line, or looking for beautiful flowers to put in a vase for the table. I, myself love having me time with nature or a cup of herbal tea. It gives me calm before the chaos kicks in. In this chapter the recipes focus around this concept.
• Eat Outside - I agree with Alana so much that, "Everything just tastes better outside". I happen to believe that picnics are a perfect way to celebrate the outdoors. The recipes in this section are great to make and take for a lovely spread.
• Invite People Over - I love to entertain guests, family, or friends at my home. Being LDS, I occasionally invite the missionaries into my home for dinner. Making food for others is a wonderful pastime. I love the idea of "Social Tuesday", which Alana's friend thought up. It centers around a single family in a group of friends or neighborhood community, hosting a themed potluck of sorts, where everyone invited brings a dish for a dinner together on a Tuesday night. I've been involved in work parties and love doing service for friends or family, then filling my belly with good home cooking. When we lived in Reedsport we used to go over to a great chainsaw buddy's house and sometimes he would make sushi packed with a number of interesting, but delectable ingredients. I learned how to make my own sushi from him and love to make it for my friends that are a bit adventurous. I was surprised to find a sushi recipe, Maki Rolls, in this chapter, yet it was obvious to me why it was included...like tacos you can make-your-own and have your guests do so as well. With so many options for fillings this is a no-brainer why it is great for parties. I also love that there is a great chili recipe with corn bread because this is also my go to food of choice for company.
• Don't Be Afraid of Food - Oh yes...Alana saved the best for last. Last, but certainly not least...the scrumptious, delicious, delectable desserts! I love trifle and Alana's Summer Trifle looks so fabulous. I will definitely have to try it as it gets to be berry picking season. The Plum tart...you know, the one on the front cover... is what lured me to review this cookbook in the first place. I love tarts, but admittedly have not made one ever myself, so maybe I just might when the plums on my tree are ready.

In the end she has Acknowledgements, a very nice Bibliography filled with books that I now have to check out, and an Index to help you find your way throughout this cookbook.

The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes For Cooking With Pleasure is a wonderful cookbook that I highly recommend to anyone that would love to get back to home cooking from scratch without the fuss. The author, Alana Chernila is such a pleasure. This cookbook is a treasure indeed.

BUY IT

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Ann McCallum Books Eat Your Science Homework Cookbook Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Eat Your Science Homework cookbook by Ann McCallum Books from the Eat Your Homework Book Series for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Ann McCallum is a teacher and writer of educational books for kids. She has written a number of books about math like: Rabbits, Rabbits Everywhere: A Fibonacci Sequence, The Secret Life of Math, Beanstalk: The Measure of a Giant, and Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds. In the Eat Your Homework Book Series she has written three books: Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes For Hungry Minds, Eat Your Science Homework: Recipes For Inquiring Minds, and Eat Your US History Homework: Recipes For Revolutionary Minds. These three books are all Illustrated by Leeza Hernandez.

Have you ever tried doing homework on an empty stomach? The growling and rumbling of your tummy and hunger pains are very distracting. They sure don't help you focus on the task at hand.

The Eat Your Science Homework cookbook helps turn your kitchen into a laboratory, recipes into experiments, and food into science. It is a 48 page paperback book that teaches bits and pieces of science while making stuff to eat. The book starts off with an introduction with a page on safety in the kitchen. Then it goes into six science themed recipes for children ages 7-10 to make with adults. Recipes range from popcorn balls to lasagna that has pizza ingredients. Each recipe has a page about the science, what ingredients and equipment you will need and the directions on how to make it, and lastly a page or two of science facts and a science sampler which gives more activities and experiments to do. After the recipes there is a section in the book that is a review of the science learned, a glossary, and an index. On the website you can also download an Educators Guide to expand upon the science concepts even more and give the student extra activities to do. Not only do you get to do fun science experiments, but you get to eat them too! This edible science will get your student thinking and make their tummies less grumbly.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

My girls who are 5 and 7 years old made the Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna recipe from this book with me for one of our dinners. We had fun tuning our kitchen into a science lab, making this meal for our family, and learning about the science behind rocks while we baked it. My kids love helping in the kitchen and researching all things scientific, so this was the best of both worlds. We learned about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rock properties, what a mineral is, and the Mohs Scale of hardness while making this delicious food. The recipe turned out perfect and it was super yummy as well.

Making Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna from the Eat Your Science Homework cookbook.

Eat Your Science Homework is well written and the illustrations are adorable. The approach is easy to understand, even for my 5 year old. With help from parents or other care giving adults kids can have fun in the kitchen while learning key scientific ideas.

With Eat Your Science Homework I found that my girls understood the scientific concepts better than just telling them because it is makes the learning very hands-on. Besides the science it teaches, it also shows the student how to read and decipher recipes and how to use the equipment properly in the kitchen. I believe that all children should be able to know their way around the kitchen and recipes. My girls got to mix, stir, measure, layer, pour, spread, etc. The skills involved in preparing food, cooking and baking are skills that all children should acquire so they can grow up eating homemade, healthy well-balanced meals. This is the reason I involve my kids in the kitchen as much as possible.

Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna...look at the layers!

I highly recommend the Eat Your Science Homework cookbook for anyone who wants to help teach science in a fun, positive way with something more than just a science experiment in the end. We absolutely love this book by Ann McCallum and we are planning on purchasing the rest of the series.

BUY IT
You can purchase Eat Your Science Homework for $16.95 on the Charlesbridge books website.

Follow Them on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annmccallumbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eathomework

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Ann McCallum Books...

Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day Cookbook Review

I received this book, Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day by Tara O'Brady, free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

You may know Tara O'Brady from her extremely popular foodie blog, Seven Spoons, which focuses on crowd-pleasing recipes that she want to share with the world. She was one of the first food bloggers to enter the foodie realm in May of 2005. Her readers love her warmth and love of cooking that emanates from her writing.

In her newly released and very first cookbook she takes inspiration from her blog by creating brand new recipes. Just like her blog she shares her stories, recipes, and traditions which fill the pages of this cookbook. This cookbook is a wonderful extension of her blog.

The Seven Spoons cookbook is a gorgeous hardback published by Ten Speed Press and Appetite by Random House in April 2015. It has 296 pages of delicious looking recipes that span from American to Mexican to Middle Eastern to East Asian cuisine. This is a fabulous treasury of recipes with a wide range of culinary and global influences.

The contents of this book are well laid out and easy to navigate. It starts with an introduction that goes into a little history of the author and her experience, about the cookbook, how to use the cookbook, and stocking the pantry. Then there are chapters pertaining to different parts of the meal which has an introductory page for each in Tara's warm tone. Each recipe also has an introduction to it after its name. Then it tells how much it makes or serves along with the ingredients, directions, and variations. It also has notes along the side to help you more with each recipe.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Breads & Breakfasts
• Chapter 2 Lunches
• Chapter 3 Soups, Starters & Snacks
• Chapter 4 Suppers
• Chapter 5 Vegetables & Sides
• Chapter 6 Sweets, Treats & Sips
• Chapter 7 Staples
• Acknowledgments
• Index

I love the Seven Spoons cookbook. It has a wonderful selection of delicious sounding recipes that I am very excited to try out. I am very visual, so the recipes that have pictures appeal to me more. I love the Stocking The Pantry section in the Introduction because it is very informative and a great reference. I know I will be going back to this section a lot. My favorite recipes from this cookbook are: Savory Steel-Cut Oats With Cheese and Spinach, Fig and Ginger Cluster Granola, Chia Pudding With Fruit and Golden Honey Elixer, Chaat Tostadas, Mushrooms and Greens With Toast, Avocado Toast, Pickled Strawberry Preserves, Hummus With White Miso, Halloumi in Chermoula, Trail Mix Snack Bars, Everyday Yellow Dal, Slow-Baked Salmon and Butter Beans, Moussaka, Turmeric Fried Okra, Baked Irish Mash, Rhubarb Raspberry Rye Crumble, Coconut Kheer With Bronzed Pineapple, and Fig Toasts With Buttered Honey. I will be trying to find alternatives to the alcoholic beverages to make them virgin so that I can partake in them. I will also be trying my hand at some of her Staples because I have always wanted to make my own cheese, butter, yogurt, ghee and pie crust.

I love this cookbook and am glad I picked it for review. The wonderful recipes are inspiring and I am so excited to try them. I recommend this to anyone that loves variety with their cooking.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Janet Fletcher is an experienced food writer in Napa Valley that loves all things cheese. She is author or coauthor of more than two dozen books on food and beverages, including Cheese & Wine, Cheese & Beer, and The Cheese Course. Her weekly email newsletter, Planet Cheese, is read by cheese enthusiasts internationally, and she is also a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. Her love of dairy didn't stop at cheese; however, because she recently just authored a cookbook called Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner is a wonderful cookbook that takes yogurt to all new levels. This yogurt-centric hardback cookbook gives us more than 50 recipes for breakfasts, appetizers, salads, soups, meaty meals, vegetarian meals, sauces, marinades, desserts, and beverages.

The contents of this book are well laid out and easy to navigate. This book starts with an introduction telling some history, science, differences, health, and some notes on recipes behind yogurt. Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner then goes into making your own yogurt at home with topics on choosing: milk, starter, and incubation method. It also goes into making different kinds of yogurt, like: drained, Greek, yogurt cheese, and using whey. After this main section on homemade yogurt it goes into the recipes. The recipes are broken up into these categories: Yogurt for Breakfast, Appetizers & Salads, Soups, Mostly Meat, Vegetables & Grains, Desserts, and Beverages. The end of the book has a bibliography of references to read in addition to this book, resources to find some of the harder to find ingredients and equipment needed for some of the recipes, an about the author page and her acknowledgements in making the book, and an index for finding things easier throughout the book. There is also handy measurement conversion charts inside the back cover of the book.

The layout of each recipe is quite simple. At the left side of each recipe includes the title, how many it serves, ingredients and how much. On the right side there is a small paragraph where the author introduces it, and the directions on how to make it. I do wish that all of the recipes were accompanied by the photograph of the completed dish, but not all of them are. Having photographs of each completed recipe would have been more helpful to people like me who are very visual and love to see what the food should end up looking like before making the recipe. The recipes that do, have gorgeous photographs that represent the dish well and complements the recipe page nicely.

I love this cookbook. Even though yogurt is a staple in my household, I have not tried to make it myself and I would love to someday. This book tells me how to make it homemade even without an electric yogurt maker. I love yogurt and I love experimenting with it in recipes of my own. The Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner cookbook gives me even more inspiration to add it to foods and beverages that I might not have thought of.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

You may know Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) from her extremely popular foodie blog, My New Roots, which focuses on healthy recipes that are plant-based natural whole foods. Sarah Britton is the Copenhagen based holistic nutritionist, writer, and photographer behind both her blog and cookbook that shares the same name. She is also a seasonal eater and lover of organic and super foods. She has won many accolades and awards for her work, been on TED talks and featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Bon Appétit, and Whole Living. If you've seen her blog you have seen her fantastic wholesome recipes gorgeously presented with photographs that she herself took. If you've seen her TED talks (you can on YouTube if you haven't) you have seen her lovely infectious spirit and enthusiasm for nutritious food. She is, in my opinion, a vegetarian culinary goddess.

In her newly released and very first cookbook she takes inspiration from her blog by creating brand new recipes that also are plant-based natural whole foods. The book is divided into seasonal chapters: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Autumn, and Winter which then are each divided into recipe groups: Mornings, Small Measures, Mains, and Sweets. In the Introduction, before the recipes start, she introduces herself, her blog, her food philosophy, why eating in the rhythm of the seasons and connecting with the cycles of nature makes so much sense, and the use of symbols in the book. After the Introduction and before the recipes she shares Essential Techniques of cooking dried legumes, cooking grains, making ghee, making seed and nut milks and butters, growing sprouts, and flavoring food with the use of salt (sea salt, Himalayan rock salt, soy sauce, tamari, miso), sugar (raw honey, pure maple syrup, barley malt, brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, dates, fruit juice, applesauce), and acid (citrus juice, vinegar - raw organic apple cider vinegar is healthiest).

This cookbook has whole foods, super foods, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free recipes inside. Sarah Britton does use goat/sheep/cow cheese/yogurt, ghee (which in most cases can be substituted with coconut oil), honey (although she says you can substitute with maple syrup), bee pollen, and eggs in some of her recipes, so this book is not completely vegan, but it does have quite a few recipes that are and they are clearly marked with a v at the top of the page under the recipe title. Besides the v symbol for vegan, there is a gf  symbol for gluten-free, a clock symbol for when the recipes need planning ahead, and a moon symbol for when it will take 8 hours or longer to do a task that is required (like soaking legumes, fermenting, etc.) in the recipe. Some of these recipes are great for paleo and raw food diets as well.

The layout of each recipe is quite simple. At the top of each recipe includes the title, serving sizes or how much it makes in both US standard and metric units, and symbols. Each recipe also has a small paragraph where the author introduces it. I love her down to earth tone and kindred spirit feel of her writing as well. Then she has listed ingredients and detailed directions to each. Sometimes you see a paragraph within the picture or pages to give more information, facts, or background about an ingredient or a note, tips, and tricks to help you in the recipe process.

Just thumbing through the pages in this cookbook is so satisfying to me. There are things in My New Roots that are revolutionary in my opinion. I wouldn't have thought on my own to make "bacon" from coconut, try celeriac, or poach radishes. I can tell you that I couldn't help but drool a bit when looking through the My New Roots cookbook. What I love about this, verses other cookbooks that I have on my shelf, is that just about every recipe in this cookbook has a photo of the finished dish to go with it. The photos are beautiful and mouth watering just all by themselves!

At the end of the My New Roots cookbook there is a section on stocking the pantry, a gratitude section where she thanks people, and an index to help you find things easier. I love that with the section on stocking the pantry you can get the ingredients in your kitchen closer to healthier and more holistic.

For me the My New Roots cookbook is fantastic! I love the presentation and everything looks and sounds so delicious! I cannot wait to dig into this deeper and try all the food and drinks within. I recommend this to vegetarians or anyone willing to try the lifestyle that need inspiring and motivated cooks who would like to be a little adventuresome with their palate.

Watch for a sneak peek of her cookbook...


Follow Sarah Britton and My New Roots
Her Blog http://www.mynewroots.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MyNewRoots
Twitter: @mynewroots
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mynewroots/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mynewroots/

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Simply Ancient Grains: Fresh and Flavorful Whole Grain Recipes for Living Well Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Maria Speck is an expert when it comes to cooking with grains. Her Greek and Germanic background gives her an edge with Mediterranean food that one can only get by actually being immersed in the culture and food. Her two cookbooks focus on Mediterranean flavors and cooking styles while creating delicious meals with whole grains and seeds that cook up like grains. Simply Ancient Grains is her second cookbook.

Simply Ancient Grains: Fresh and Flavorful Whole Grain Recipes for Living Well by Maria Speck is a collection of delicious recipes that use grains. These recipes are arranged in a hardcover book that is 272 pages long. This cookbook shares a lot of tips and tricks to get nutritious whole grains on the table quickly so you can enjoy them without all the time spent and fuss. Simply Ancient Grains also shows you how to make delicious complete meals: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and even desserts with grains. The ingredients Maria uses are chosen in their most natural state to enhance the nutrition and flavor of each recipe. She introduces a two-step method for cooking grains, a simple yet effective approach that helps take the stress out of everyday cooking with grains.

The layout of the book is fairly straightforward. Contents of this book start with the acknowledgements, an introduction, and an ancient grains 101 section which lists grains from A to Z and describes them, tells how to cook and bake with them, what equipment is needed, a grain cooking table, and menu inspirations for the week ahead with "Pick Your Grains". Then the middle of the cookbook has chapters that are filled with the scrumptious recipes.

Here is the chapter layout:

• CHAPTER 1 breakfast Warming Bowls for Busy Mornings 
• CHAPTER 2 slow mornings Brunch, Lunch, and Breakfast-for-Dinner 
• CHAPTER 3 salads and sides For Every Day and for Holidays 
• CHAPTER 4 soups and stews For Busy Nights and Slow Weekends 
• CHAPTER 5 pasta From Ancient Grains to Modern Heirlooms 
• CHAPTER 6 simply mains For Busy Nights and Slow Weekends 
• CHAPTER 7 simple and sweet Desserts for Every Day and for the Holidays

The recipes are easy to prepare and have ingredients that even the novice cook can cook with. A lot of the recipes have lentils and beans, vegetables and greens, grains and nuts with small portions of meat or fish, if any meat/fish is present at all. The recipe starts with the title at the top of the page with a story as to why the recipe was picked under that. It also states if the recipe is truly gluten free or has an option to be. Then down further on the page is the directions with the ingredients, serving size/amount and how many it serves on the side. Lastly on the page there are "fine points" which are indented and tell you tips, tricks, variations, and substitutions you can try. Sometimes the "fine points" are in the side bar of the page under the serving amounts and they might also have things to do ahead of time to make the recipe even easier, so I recommend reading this section first, even though it is last. There are also pages with text surrounded by a box. This is extra information that you may have not known and is good information to have. I do wish that all of the recipes were accompanied by the photograph of the completed dish, but not all of them are. Some instead have pictures of one ingredient or no pictures at all. I am a visual person so the completed pictures help me know what the end result is supposed to look like. All the photographs in this cookbook look fabulous and mouth watering. My favorite yummy sounding recipes in this book are: Burgundy Bulgur with Blueberries and Orange Blossom Water, Baked Feta Fingers in Saffron Quinoa with Tomatoes, Minted Summer Couscous with Watermelon and Feta, Chicken Stew with Honey-Balsamic Squash and Farro, My Mac and Cheese with Greek Yogurt and Leeks, Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Hazelnut Buckwheat Stuffing, and Light Lemon Custard with Blackberries and Pomegranate Molasses.

At the end of the book is Ingredients and Techniques, Sources, Bibliography, and an Index. The Ingredients and Techniques section gives ingredient descriptions and techniques that a novice cook might not have heard of or tried. The Sources section gives you a list and description of companies and products that you should familiarize yourself with while using this cookbook and cooking with grains in general. The Bibliography gives you other books and sources that you can read to enhance your experiences with grains. The Index is very helpful with helping you find your way around this book. There is also handy Measurement Conversion Charts to help you with volume, temperature, length, and weight.

Even though I am familiar with quinoa, barley, couscous, bulgur, rice, etc. and keep some of these in my kitchen pantry, I find that a lot of people don't know about these yummy ancient grains. Although, they are getting more and more recognized as time passes, especially to the health conscious. I love that there is still even more about grains for me to learn and the Simply Ancient Grains cookbook is definitely a great start for anyone willing. Before this cookbook I had never heard of Freekeh, Teff, or Farro and even though I had heard of Amaranth and Kamut, I have yet to try them. I am excited to try all the nutritious recipes and the new ingredients for myself within Simply Ancient Grains. I am sure they will become staples in my home as I lovingly dogear the pages of this cookbook.

BUY IT:


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon Cookbook Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

You may know Sara Forte from her popular foodie blog, The Sprouted Kitchen, which focuses on making recipes using whole foods that are also in season. She and her husband have compiled two fabulous cookbooks: the first is called The Sprouted Kitchen after her blog and the most recent one is called Bowl + Spoon. Her recipes are sumptuous, nutritious, and easy to make if you have the ingredients at hand. She doesn't over-complicate anything and uses ingredients that help us get back to eating healthier. Her husband, Hugh Forte, is the talent behind the camera. He photographs all the gorgeous photos on her blog and in her books. They also have a little boy named Curran, who I think has a very adorable name!

When I think of bowl foods I think of; breakfast foods like: hot oatmeal, other hot and cold cereals, and yogurt with fruit and granola; comfort foods like: soups, chili, stews, and chowders; and others like: salads and stir-fries. One of my favorite places to eat out is Chang's Mongolian Grill in Portland, which is a restaurant where you create your own stir-fry in a bowl using a variety of meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, sauces, and spices. I have come up with many a yummy combination with the ingredients they have on hand. Bowls are my favorite vessel to put food into at home because usually my meals are foods that go well mixed together anyway, in my opinion. I love making one pot meals, casseroles, and quiches that lend themselves easily to a bowl as well. My favorite desserts to make tend to be fruit crumbles, crisps, and cobblers which also are great in a bowl dolloped with ice cream.

The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon cookbook is a hardcover book by Sara Forte which focuses food around the use of a bowl. The bowl has become a beautiful vessel for all types of foods not just the popular ones that come to mind. Sara's take on bowl foods is refreshing and enlightening. She creates meals and desserts that are somewhat unique to the regular bowl food repertoire, yet are easy to fix while also being wholesome, nourishing, and delicious.

The layout of the book is fairly straightforward. Contents of this book start with an overview, a list of tools needed in the kitchen, and pantry staples. After these pages it has categories of bowl foods split into: Morning Bowls, Side Bowls, Big Bowls, and Sweet Bowls with recipes throughout. Then it has a section that covers Dressing and Sauces with recipes for those. The end of the cookbook is a lovely epilogue of thankfulness from the author to people that helped her with the making of the book, an "about us" page that tells about the author and photographer, an index to find things easier and some handy measurement conversion charts on the inside of the back cover.

The ingredients in this cookbook are a menagerie of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and/or lean proteins that are nestled against each other to create a distinctive blend of flavor and texture. This is not a strictly vegetarian or vegan cookbook. There is use of dairy, chicken, turkey, eggs, seafood, etc. in this book. Some of the ingredients are not what I usually have at hand in my kitchen pantry, but I am reassured by the author that I can find them all easily at a "farmers' market, heath food store, or wellstocked grocery store". Put together in a bowl these ingredients are very visually appealing, and perfect to serve to: guests when entertaining or your family while sitting on your sofa.

The recipes in this book are easily executed. The instructions are simple to reproduce and the directions are uncomplicated. Some of these recipes do call for more time than most care to invest, but in my opinion they are worth it because they are a lot healthier than the average food faire. I do wish that all of the recipes were accompanied by the photograph of the completed dish, but not all of them are. Instead some have pictures of the author, her family, entertaining, and/or part of the ingredients of the recipe displayed in a pleasing manner. I do love these photographs too, but having photos of each completed recipe would have been more helpful to people like me who are very visual and love to see what the food should end up looking like before making the recipe. Every recipe in The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon cookbook has a title at the top, how many it serves, a story with tips, ingredient list, and directions on how to prepare and make. I love that Sara puts her personal touch in each recipe with a short story that goes along with each. My favorite yummy sounding recipes in this book are: Baby Potato and Asparagus Tangle with Green Harissa and Eggs, Winter Fruit Salad in Ginger Lime Syrup, Mixed Greens with Beet and Walnut Puree, Za'atar Roasted Carrots, Seared Albacore Niçoise, Coconut Sorbet with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce, & Dark Cherry Hazelnut Salsa. I also love that she adds a Building a Bowl guide to building your own bowl meal from scratch.

All in all I believe this cookbook is a lovely addition to my cookbook shelf. It will be treasured in my kitchen. I am excited to make the recipes inside its pages for my family and friends.

BUY IT:


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Portlandia Cook Book Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

If you are a fan of the hit satire TV series Potlandia by the Emmy-nominated stars and writers Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein or if you just love Portland Oregon you will love the companion cookbook which is aptly named The Portlandia Cook Book. It features local cuisine and delectable dishes from all around the Rose City.

Portland a.k.a Rose City is a food mecca! As well put in the cookbook, "The city is home to community gardens, breweries, farmer's markets,  brunch spots, salt stores, backyard chicken coops, food cart pods, artisanal ice cream parlors, co-ops, mixologists, olive-oil-ologists, ice cube artists, butcherariums, designer doughnut shops, and an unreasonable amount of thoughtfully named coffee shops." This is so true and is also why Portland is so great to catch a bite to eat especially if you love unique food fare and drinks.

Since I live moderately close to Portland Oregon I try to visit when I can. I have been to many of those thoughtfully named coffee shops, farmer's markets, food cart pods, artisanal ice cream parlors, and even some kombucha breweries. I love Portland because of all the interesting things to do, see, and eat. I am very thankful to have many friends that live in and around Portland too. After all the city hustle and bustle I retreat back to my home in Rainier to be with my horses, mini pony, llamas, bunnies, dog...and my very own backyard chicken coop (although technically it is in the front yard) with two chickens. I am a farm girl at heart and as much as I also love the city, I need my wide open spaces and rolling hills to come back to.

If you want to bring a little bit of Portland Oregon's cuisine home with you wherever you may be The Portlandia Cook Book is the perfect cookbook to get. With 50 delicious recipes for every food lover a.k.a. foodie, freegan, organic farmer, and food truck diehard this fun cookbook has something for everyone. The recipes are made up of five sections; Small Plates, Main Courses, Desserts, Drinks, and Brunch. Given at the beginning of most of the recipes is serving sizes, prep time, and total time till done. The recipes are accompanied by mouth watering full-color photographs and illustrations. Tucked into the pages there are also funny stories and sidebars from the characters of Portlandia (such as Mr. Mayor, Peter and Nance, and even Colin the chicken).

My kids and I had fun shaping Pretzel Knots from The Portlandia Cook Book.

I had so much fun reading this cookbook! I laughed and laughed so much. Besides humor The Portlandia Cook Book has a lot of yummy sounding recipes. We tried the Pretzel Knots which is not really a recipe, but more of a work of art. My kids had fun shaping and baking them. Next I think I would love to try the Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Tagliata with Artichoke Salad, Fruit Semifreddo, Mango Lassi Smoothie, and/or Red Flannel Hash with Poached Eggs, Smoked Salmon, & Horseradish. I admit that not all the ingredients in this cookbook are readily found, especially if you do not live in Portland, but substitutes can be made. I have made this a honorary member of my kitchen and plan to use it often. Great as a coffee table book as well for a conversation starter piece. This book is a must have if you want to cook like a local!

BUY IT:


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Blogging For Books for sending me this book for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

12 Days of Christmas with Six Sisters' Stuff Review and Giveaway

We received this product free from Shadow Mountain to facilitate this review, an opportunity to host a giveaway and participate in the blog tour. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

One of my favorite blogs to read is the Six Sisters' Stuff blog. This blog was created by 6 biological sisters: Camille, Kristen, Elyse, Stephanie, Lauren, and Kendra that wanted to stay in touch and share recipes, crafts, projects and neat ideas with each other while apart. Growing up with just sisters and no brothers in my family I can relate with this blog a lot...even though I only have 2 younger sisters. These sisters also share another similarity with me...they are all of the LDS/Mormon faith. Their blog is also in the "Why Are YOUR Favorite Bloggers Mormon?" list of blogs that I frequently visit.

Six Sisters' Stuff is back for the holidays with their third book, 12 Days of Christmas with Six Sisters' Stuff. This book is loaded with creative ideas for Christmas. There are 144 recipes, DIY crafts to Deck The Halls with, homemade and handcrafted gift ideas, party ideas, ways to serve, family traditions, tips, and more. This book is split up into 12 topics having 12 different fun ideas underneath each. It definitely is a great way to organize the book. It has 143 pages packed with full color easy recipes, crafts, projects and ideas similar to the ones on their blog. These were all compiled as a collection of their family favorites. You can make all kinds of things from it that are simple to create and easily affordable too. Both their blog and the book reminds me of the many creative things we made at Young Women activities and still make in Relief Society. A table of contents in the front and an index in the back keep it simple to find everything. I will definitely be keeping this book on hand as a go to book for helping me: create yummy meals and desserts quickly, decorate my home for the holidays, and create unique one of a kind gifts for friends and family.

The recipes in this book look so delicious! I can't wait to try out these desserts: Cherry Chocolate Muffins, Nutella Banana Bread, Eggnog Gingerbread Trifle, and Almond Joy Bars! Yummy! Again the Six Sisters' Stuff does not disappoint when it comes down to slow cooker meals. I love my Crock-pot and use it a lot! I will be trying out the Slow-Cooker Chicken Fajita Soup and the Slow-Cooker Ham and Pineapple Sandwiches soon.

I love that this book makes it easy to make so many neat things for the home and others. I love to throw together cookie plates for neighbors and friends and this cookbook makes it easy to do so because it has 12 to pick from! Not only that, but the 12 Days of Christmas with Six Sisters' Stuff has wonderful ideas for gifts that are inexpensive and easy to make. I love the Burlap Handprint Tree Skirt, the Wood Photo Blocks, and the Christmas Monogram Hanging.

This book is wonderful to get us in the holiday spirit, deck the halls, and get together with family and friends in "The Most Wonderful Time of Year!". Celebrate the joy of the season with the Six Sisters' Stuff.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
12 Christmas Cookies
12 Days of Christmas for Your "True Love"
12 Family Traditions
12 Christmas Brunch Recipes
12 Sanity-Saving Christmas Tips
12 Christmas Party Ideas
12 Spectacular Christmas Treats
12 Ways to Give Back
12 Gifts for Neighbors
12 Quick and Easy Family Dinners
12 Homemade Christmas Gifts
12 DIY Christmas Decorations

Buy the Six Sisters' Stuff Books:



WIN IT
Prize: 4 entrants will win a signed copy of The 12 Days of Christmas with the Six Sisters.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!