My Summer and Fall reading list and Olympic re-cap....

I think my whole summer got gabbled up by my new job, new business venture and of course the Olympics! I must say I think that is the best Olympics I have watched over the years. The Brits really know how to host and did a great job with every aspect. What was your favorite moment? I think mine was the story of Marathon runner Guor Marial. His story was really what the Olympics is all about and I am happy the IOC let him run under their flag so he could compete because the US could not get their act together and get his citizenship papers passed through(they had them for over a year and p.s. they have 120 days to process them, so they are way over due). You can read about him if you click on his name above. IOC paid all his expenses and got him a new pair of running shoes as well. Bravo IOC!!!!! That is the true Olympic spirit.

Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas did not get much press coming into the games besides being apart of the Fab Five. Everyone was betting on Jordyn Weiber, but boy did they capture some serious metal. I was behind Aly since the beginning she was just too calm and ready for battle. Gabby had that "why not" mentality that I just loved about her. She had that "I am here and the Russians really suck right now and I am going to take it" and you know what she did! For once the US gymnast actually where a team and boy what people can do when they become a team and believe in each other and that was proof with Jordyn Weiber after loosing the all around qualification. Yep, she cried, yep she was mad, but she came back and said screw it WE(not me) are getting a Team Gold tonight and they did!

Great games from watching Misty May and Kerri Walsh get their third gold to seeing a man run without out real legs(Oscar Pistorius) it was an amazing couple of weeks and sad to see them go I cried, I cheered, I jumped up and down the whole Olympics just amazing.

Along with getting into a new groove and enjoying the Summer, with its' 100 degree plus temperatures, I of course had my list of books that had to be read and I started to make my Fall list as well.

The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir

I loved this book. It really made things very clear of what it takes to take your passion and turn into a business and at what cost to your personal life and life in general.  

Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health

This book will blow your mind. Just amazing! I fact checked a lot of the info and man was it dead on with standard chemistry, biology that I learned in college. Just amazing! Also he has put out a second book with new information and it is easier to read for someone that is not a big science person called Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

If you are a Downton Abbey fan like Mother and I are you have to read this book! My Mom gave it to me and I could not put it down. It is the real story of the Abbey and all the little juicy tid bits that go with it. 

The Dukan Diet: 2 Steps to Lose the Weight, 2 Steps to Keep It Off Forever 

This book changed my life. I lost almost 20 pounds with it and tell any body who will listen that this is it. Look no further  Dr. Dukan has really done his home work and it works and lines up with the research in the book Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Jewish Cooking in America: Expanded Edition (Knopf Cooks American)

I love me a cook book especially anything written by Joan Nathan. I love a well researched and written book it makes it so much easier to alter a recipe into a Grain Free version when recipes are so well written and tested like Joan's. 

My book picks for the Fall are as fallows:

Thinking, Fast and Slow

This Side of Paradise

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen

Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor

What are you putting on your list this Fall? Any great books read over the summer?

**When you click on the links to the books I DO NOT get any money from the clicks or when you purchase the books from the links. I just added the links to make it easier for you to find them. 

 

 

My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow

 Yes, another celebrity cook book. I have to say this one is not bad at all. When I get any new cook book I try and cook my way through it and I read it cover to cover just like a novel, especially if I am going to blog about it. I pretty much made everything in this book some recipes where not in my budget to attempt but mostly I could do.

Gwyneth like most celebrities had famous friends, but hers are foodies and chefs more then actors and Rock Stars(even though she is married to one). She has for sure had help from all her famous chef and health guru friends with learning how to cook, but it looks like her parents could cook as well and has included a good amount of family recipes in this book. Her Farther(Bruce Paltrow the producer and writer of the 80's hit St. Elsewhere) was a real foodie and so like any girl that adores their Father would also want to take an interest that they could share to spend more time together. Loving, making and eating food was a huge bond for the two of them. Most certainly Gwyneth is a Daddy's girl and loved, respected and cherished him very much and wanted to create a tribute to their shared hobby, food. Some people do not know this but Gwyneth's father was Jewish and she shares a few of her favorite Jewish Family Holiday recipes in the cook book. Her Mother, Blythe Danner, was not left out though. She includes some wonderful recipes from her as well in the book. 

  So over the years she has traveled and eaten at many great restaurants and has befriended many Chefs and Foodies. She not only enjoys dining out but really enjoys sourcing her food, researching and appreciating where it comes from and from who, making it and yes eating it. Now, I was on amazon last year and I saw her original cook book and then zap it was totally gone and then this came on the market. She has laid out the book to go with the same theme and similar look of her famous blog GOOP. It is a great food, travel and product review blog. She also shares beauty and fashion tips. She also has her famous friends add to the mix as well with guest blogging.Check it out it is worth the look.

On with the review:

Book Overall: Very Good
Organization: Very Good
Ease of use: Very Good
Photography and overall look: Excellent
Recipes: Fair to Very Good
Skill level required: Medium to Advanced not for beginners
Readability: Very Good
Who would find this book most useful: Women or Men that have generous grocery budgets who like to cook and have children.
Recipes can be converted to GF: Yes, for sure, no problem.
Can a Vegan or Vegetarian get anything out of this book as well: There is a lot of meat photos in this book so a Vegan may be offended. A Vegetarian would get something out of it and for sure a Flexitarian would get a lot out of it. 

Recipe Stand Outs:

Can easily be converted to Gluten Free. Also omit the corn oil(big no no any more in baking) and use butter or 1 large ripe banana, or 1 cup of apple sauce.

This is awesome for sure. Just remember when you do this in your coffee grinder it will temporarily leave a red color in it.

This is a great idea. I use them for everything from making dressings to adding to baked chicken. Supper easy and you will never waist a tomato again.

Sabbath(Black Sabbath) wanted to get

in on the Photography session in the back yard too. She is our backyard cat.

Peas and thank you

 

Now for Vegans out there you all know this book and Sarah's blog very well. Sarah Matheny writes the popular blog Peas and Thank You. She is married and started out practicing law, then started a family and now has a Vegan cooking and baking fallowing that may rival Rachel Ray soon enough. She just published her cook book and semi-autobiography Peas and thank you, and refers to her self as "MamaPea". She has similar nick names for her children, Husband and family. I am not sure where that came about and it may be buried in her blog some where as to how that started, cute non-the-less.

She is writing a second book because there is such a shortage for this style of Vegan cook book. I really like her blog and get a lot of use out of it especially on the two days a week Ben and I eat Vegan.  Isa Chandra Moskowitz, of the Post Punk Kitchen blog and well known writer of many Vegan cook books is still my favorite of Vegan food writers, but Sarah has a different spin. Her audience is Parents of small children, especially stay at home parents. She is a great representative for stay at home parents in every way. If you start to read her blog you will find out why, so you should after you read my review, and then log on to Amazon.com and buy her book to!

Now for my review of the book:

Book Overall: Very Good
Organization: Excellent
Ease of use: Excellent
Photography and overall look: Very Good
Recipes: Good to Excellent
Skill level required: Beginning to Medium skills required
Readability: Very Good and entertaining for sure, but sometimes a little long where some personal stories where concerned.
Who would find this book most useful: Singles, Families and Empty Nesters that have normal to generous grocery budgets who like to cook or want to learn to cook Vegan dishes.
Recipes can be converted to GF: Yes, for sure no problem with a few exceptions.
Prior knowledge: If you are new to being Vegan or are a Flexitarian, like Ben and I, this is a good intro to Vegan cooking over all and something for seasoned Vegans to. She gives a lot of short cuts to making things fast especially on a busy week night.
Ease of finding ingredients required: Easy to Hard. She uses a lot of things from Trader Joes, and of course you can find everything at Whole Foods, but most can be found at major super markets.  Some things may have to be ordered from the Internet if you do not live near a Health Food store like a Whole Foods, Wild Oats or Elliot's.

Recipe stand outs:

The Thai veggie burgers where great using cabbage leaves for the buns. I just used GF oats and they turned out great. I substituted the cilantro for basil because I did not have it. Worked out fine.

The peanut butter cookie dough balls worked out great with my GF flour mix that I always use for sweet backed goods.

.

These where un-expected and very good. Great use of chickpeas.


If you would like to buy the book go to Amazon.com
or 
go to Peas and Thank You
I highly recommend joining Sarah's blog as well!!

Skinny Italian

This review is long over due, but just in case I thought I would throw my review out into the blogosphere. Now, I know some are big fans of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Some are not fans of it at all and would love for the whole reality RHW franchise to disappear. Just hear me out because there is a few positive things that have come out of the RHW franchise and this cook book is it. Like it or not Teressa, from the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast, can cook and keep it lower in fat and in low in empty carbohydrates to boot.

To me this book is a great guide for anyone new to Italian cooking and canning for that matter. She really goes into how to save money, be eco friendly, healthy and keeps it approachable at the same time. This is not a simple feet in the cook book world. I have seen many celebrities and professional chefs alike try to create a book like this and fail. Pick it up give it a read cover to cover. You may have to just float over some of her more "colorful references" if you are sensitive in that respect, but well worth the purchase and time spent reading it. Last summer I literally cooked my way from the first page to the last.

The book is organized into twelve sections:
1. Salute! -
Basically explains who Teresa is and how her family came to the US, how she became to be a good cook, food knowledge and her views on food and diet trends, etc, etc.

2. The Cornerstone of Italian Cuisine(Things Not Found at the Olive Garden) -
self explanatory;)

3. Blessed Virgin: Olive Oil -
this is actually a really good section to read and understand how to properly use Olive Oil and why Canola oil is just down right awful and should never be in your kitchen ever!

4. Italian Seasoning: What's What and Who's Who-
This one is really great too. Simple ideas and great ideas on how to use basil all year long. This section will help you really make your meals home runs.

5. Fresco E Naturale -
This section has my favorite super simple recipe in the whole book. This will be on your table everyday all summer long. Great recipe and will turn any anti zucchini fan into a lover for sure!!!


6. And God Said, "Let There Be Pasta" and There Was: And it was Good -
She really explains how to eat pasta and portion size which is helpful for typical Americans.

7. The Secrets In the Sauce -
Love this section. I grew up with a Italian family in Houston so I learned the secrets of making perfect Italian Sauce and Pesto from the real deal, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that opportunity. Teresa does an excellent job at making Sauce and Pesto from scratch approachable.

8. Pizza! Pizza! -
Now since I am a Celiac this section is more for toppings recipes then the dough recipes, but I did get some ideas on how to make better Gluten Free pizza dough from this chapter.

9. Scratching It Up In the Kitchen -
This is the canning section. Again she does a great job at making and canning your own tomatoes and sauce easy and approachable.

10. The Art of Eating -
This is your entertaining section with recipes for large dishes, cocktails and deserts.

11. Italian Dressing and Delicious Shoes -
This is just Teresa being Teresa with some great lighter fair recipes that she uses when she wants to slim down for a big event in a hurry.

12. Love-Love-Love -
These are her sexy recipes:) Teresa is big into Women feeling sexy and wonderful and sexy food is for sure included on the Sexy list! These are her most loved recipes.


Nutritional Information-
This is awesome. I love that you can flip to this and see the calories, fat, carbs, protein and cholesterol of each dish. Missing the sugar amounts though:( O, well, you cannot have it all.

Index-
Is organized well. Sometimes with cookbooks the index is useless but the editor used a combo of key words, ingredients and recipe names. Sometimes you just get one or the other.

Cook Book Review

I have a lot of cookbooks. Not just a few but a lot! I do a lot of online recipe hunting too, but I am still stuck on buying cookbooks. I have vintage cookbooks as well and I love regional cookbooks, but nothing beats a good old fashioned "soup to nuts" type cook book. From all my reading I have only found a few really good comprehensive educational how to cook and organize your kitchen type cookbooks. Lucinda Scala Quinn's Mad Hungry is one of those great kitchen tools that you should have on your shelf as a reference and for great recipes and ideas.

The book is organized into five chapters. Plus, a great introduction into who she is and how she got there. Plus a great opening to set the tone for the book called "The Ten Tenets" which gives a road map on how to get started with organizing your kitchen and creating a action plan to fee the troops.

This leads you into the Tools, flavors and theories Chapter which goes into what you need in your kitchen to get a head start. There is a great A Guy-Friendly Pantry list and tips on shopping with Kids. Even the importance of teaching boys how to cook and clean up the kitchen.

There is a handy Conversion Chart in the back of the book. I am always shocked that most cook books now-a-days do not include this.
The book design itself is very cute as well with some very nice quotes from some famous chiefs reviews of the book and Lucinda her self.
I have made quite a few recipes from the book. The Fat Girl Red Rice is a must try also her Chicken recipes are very good. The Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges are out of this world!!! She gives a broad array of recipes, but keeps it pretty healthy and guy, kid friendly. I found it quite easy to convert a lot of the desert recipes to Gluten Free.

You can find her book on Amazon.com
and fallow her on her blog
also catch her show on the Hallmark Channel
or on PBS for our non cable friends.

Lucinda has also written two other cook books besides Mad Hungry. The first book is based on Rustic Italian Cooking and the other is Jamaican. She was also the main food writer and recipe creator for most of the Martha Stewart Cook books as well. She is the executive food Director for Martha Stewart Omnimedia.