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Category Archives: Books & Cookbooks
Well, Happy New Year! We had a wonderful Christmas up in Seattle, and after Christmas we came home and geared up for G’s fourth birthday which is on New Year’s Eve. We continued our tradition of heading out for a birthday hot chocolate, followed by lunch with Kyle at the brewery, and then she gets to choose her birthday menu. She chose to have “rainbow veggie pasta” (pasta tossed with lots of different colored vegetables, olive oil, and lots of Parmesan cheese, and a made-from-scratch Rainbow Chip Cake from my friend Ashley’s cookbook, Date Night In!
Somehow I managed to come down with a weird low-grade fever that’s persisted throughout the week just enough to make me tired and chilly, so other than enjoying Gigi’s birthday we’ve been laying pretty low. My laying low has been aided by watching lots of wonderful movies. As a member of SAG-AFTRA I get lots of movie screeners to watch this time of year, so we’ve been indulging in many movie nights these past couple of weeks. So far my favorites have been: St. Vincent, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything. Have you all watched any of those? We’re also rounding out our binge watching of House of Cards. ’Tis the season for watching snuggling up and watching movies.
Other than G’s birthday, movie watching, making ramen, fever fighting, and polishing off the last of the Christmas treats we hauled home, I’ve been browsing a new favorite cookbook: Sunday Suppers. I tend to keep a cookbook on my bedside table along with whatever novel I’m currently reading, and Sunday Suppers has been so lovely to read through. There are so many recipes I can’t wait to dive into: Naan with Rosemary and Thyme (pg.62) , Mushroom Toast with Soft Cooked Eggs (pg.105), White Bean, Warm Radicchio, Crisp Bacon and Saba (pg.218). The only problem with reading in bed is that I often get really hungry before I switch out the light, knowing that I can’t get up and make a Fig Tart with Honey (pg. 51) as a quick midnight snack. If you’re looking for a great new cookbook for the New Year you should check this one out.
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I hope you all are having a great start to the new year. I’ll be back in a couple days with a recipe for Kettle Corn with Fried Sage!
I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
Kyle and I are still pretty new to this whole canning thing but we love it! We have already done lots this year: spiced pickled carrots, dilly beans, chile dilly beans, tarragon beans, and dill pickle slices. Tonight we are gearing up for pickle round two of the season. We will be making more dill pickle slices, bread and butter pickle slices, and pickled red onions… I bet our friends and family can guess what they’ll be getting for Christmas this year! What’s really amazing this year as that everything, even the garlic and dill, are from our garden!
Pickling is easy because it uses high acid vinegars which means it can be done with a hot water bath method (as opposed to pressure canning). You need very little in the way of supplies to get started. I’ve been asked about this a number of times so I thought I’d put together a simple checklist of what you need to get started with canning and pickling! These are the books and supplies we bought to get going…
PICKLING BASICS:
Canning Pot with Rack
Kitchen Scale
Jar Lifter
Mandonline
Canning Funnel
Tattler ReUsable Lids (optional)
Magnetic Lid Wand
Ball Jars and Lids (available at most stores)
BOOKS:
The Pickled Pantry
The Preservation Kitchen
Canning for a New Generation
Food in Jars
The Art of Fermentation (this is more of theory book that Kyle is using)
You will also need a few big bowls (for holding cut up veggies), a big pot with a lid (for your pickling solution), and lots of absorbent kitchen towels that you don’t mind getting stained!
In total the whole basic pickling/canning set up will cost around $120 for supplies (not including the towels, jars, and bowls/pots), and about $85 for the books but you could get started with one (we love The Pickled Pantry).
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them! Happy canning!
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In the summer of 2012 when we traveled to Sweden to visit my brother, we spent a day in Stockholm and spent the majority of that day at the beautiful park called Rosendals Trädgård. It’s one of the things about Sweden (many) that I continue to dream about. It’s truly an extraordinary place. When we were there we wandered into their shop where you could buy cookbooks, freshly baked bread, kitchen gadgets, utensils, etc. This children’s book, Majas Lilla Gröna by Lena Anderson, caught my eye because of the beautiful cover art. I asked one of the shop owners if they had any copies in English, which they did not. I took a snap of the book cover on my phone, thinking I’d be able to find it online when we got home. But, despite searching everywhere I couldn’t find it! Since gardening, and eating, are such a big part of our days, I try to find things for the kids that portray growing, preparing, and consuming food in really positive, magical ways.
Last week a little care package arrived from our friends in Stockholm. Their was a nice card, and a few Swedish children’s books, including this one! I have no idea what the words say but it’s just beautiful, and it’s easy enough to make up a story to go along with the lovely illustrations. Flipping through this book makes me so, so excited to get our garden planted. The tone of the book is so magical, peaceful, and creative, which is exactly how I want our backyard, and my children’s memories of their childhood to be… and I can’t help but hope I look a bit like this lady when I grow older.
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Gigi is totally ready to be a big sister. We got her this wonderful book called, I’m a Big Sister (there’s a version for big brothers too) and G has been reading it to her baby doll a lot. It was actually surprisingly hard to find a completely thoughtful, positive book about becoming a big sister. A lot of them portrayted the big sibling as getting spoiled and bribed, and frankly, being awfully bratty! So, if you’re looking for a sweet one, this is it. It mentions ways she can be helpful, what she can do, and points out how very special she is.
PINThe other day she asked to get in the baby’s crib with her doll, tucked her in and proceeded to read the book to her. It was heart-melting. My favorite is when she reads, “Look at me! I’m your big sister!” She’s going to be such an amazing sis. We also have a few little presents tucked away for her from her baby sister. One thing she can use to “play” with her sis (an old school Fisher-Price doctor kit), and something just for her (a Melissa & Doug sticker book), and something silly (a bright purple calculator since she loves “doing calculations with my Dad”)!
She’s been cuddling my belly, and is more and more interested in feeling the baby move. And at our doctor appointment this morning they let her find the heartbeat all on her own, her eyes lit up and she was so excited and said, “That’s a silly baby!” She plays “midwife” all the time at home. Using a measuring tape to measure my belly, listening, and she even gets a little towel wipe the imaginary gel off my tummy… and today she put on her (imaginary) gloves and said, “Okay, Mama, I need to check your ‘gina!” Maybe she’s come with me to one too many appointments…
As ready as we are to welcome this little one, I’m also enjoying all of these moments.
The BabyLit Board books by Jennifer Adams are Gigi’s favorite books, and they are among my favorite gifts to give kids. There’s something truly wonderful about hearing Gigi talk about the Mad Hatter, Darcy, Romeo, and Governesses. She had Pride and Prejudice (my favorite), Alice in Wonderland, Romeo and Juliet, and Jane Eyre. The illustrations, by Alison Oliver, are whimsical, bold and bright, and she has loved them.
So, you can imagine my excitement to discover that Jennifer had written more wonderful books! She sent the new ones right over for Gigi to enjoy. The new books are Moby Dick, Sense and Sensibility, and Wuthering Heights! They contain fun quotes from the stories, help teach about opposites, and weather. Gigi hasn’t put them down for the past two weeks.
PINPINPINPINPINI am so intrigued by these books, and just love them. I asked Jennifer a few questions…
Q: I absolutely love every classic novel you’ve adapted into these children’s books and it’s obvious you love them too. What inspired you to do this series?
A: I do love the classics! I first wrote a book called Remarkably Jane: Notable Quotations on Jane Austen. It’s a book about what famous writers had to say about Austen–those who love her and those who don’t. Then I wrote Y is for Yorick: A Slightly Irreverent ABC Book for Grown-ups, which is a playful take on Shakespeare’s plays and characters. Those two books spurred a discussion with my editor of what else we could do with Austen and Shakespeare, and classics for babies grew out of that.
Q. Are there plans for even more BabyLit Board Books? What other books do you dream about adapting?
A. Yes! We have more BabyLit board books in the works. This fall we are releasing Sherlock Holmes (a sounds primer), Jabberwocky (a nonsense primer), and Anna Karenina (a fashion primer).
Q. What does it feel like to know that little kids, like my daughter, know and ask for Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, etc. at bed time, and that they’re sharing these well loved stories with their parents who love and enjoy them too?
A. I have to say that is my very favorite thing about authoring the BabyLit books. One mom wrote and said how happy it makes her to hear her little daughter say “Pemberley.” One of my best friend’s little girls just spent an elaborate amount of time telling me that Colonel Brandon is sad because his girlfriend won’t marry him. I love the fact that when these adorable little people grow up and it’s time to read the real classics, rather than being daunted or overwhelmed, they will turn to them as old friends.
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