What a great new cookbook this is!  I am very impressed by the latest book that I am reviewing.  Lately I haven't been very wowed by the cookbooks I've reviewed but this is a definite exception.

   The book is organized into the 4 seasons of the year according to the kinds of ingredients that are available to make your salad. The author, David Bez, decided to challenge himself to create one new salad every day using seasonal and healthy ingredients.  He wanted to eat more vegetables for lunch and this is the result. 

  What I particularly like about this book is that all the salads seem to be very easy to make. He also makes his own dressings.  I did not do that, but it is a nice touch.  My favorite part of the book is that he includes pictures of all the salads!  It's great to know how your salad will look when you are done.

   If you are looking for some new ideas to eat healthy and simple then try this book.  I think you will love it!  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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   Great Big Pressure Cooker Book is a Great Big Flop!

    I am reviewing another cookbook.  This time it is about a specific appliance and way to cook--the pressure cooker.  I remember my mom having one of these and her cautioning my siblings and myself to be careful around it.  She would even have us leave the room the first few times she would take  the pressure out of it so we were always kind of scared around it. 

   I had purchased one a few years ago, used it a few times, and haven't used it for a while so I thought some new recipes might be just the thing to liven up my weeknight meals.  Pressure cookers are great when you want a fast meal as they hardly take any time at all to cook so they really are a good thing to use when time is tight.

   This cookbook however has a lot to be desired.  It does indeed have 500 recipes but it is very uninteresting.  From the cover to the last page it is very plain and ordinary.  There is a small section in the middle of the book with some pictures of the completed dishes.  The lack of a picture for each recipe is a major flaw as far as I'm concerned.  Had I realized how few pictures are in this book, I would never have even been interested in reviewing it.  To me, a picture of what the dish will look like when completed is a must.

   The book discusses the safety issues I spoke of earlier and helps to reassure new cooks to the pressure cooker.  It is nicely divided into different types of foods and has more simple and more complex recipes.  It also has recipes that use more simple ingredients and more exotic ones.  If you don't mind very few pictures in your cookbooks than this is for you.  If you like pictures like me, then you probably will want to pass on this one.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review


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"Supermaket Healthy" not a keeper

   I  really enjoy Melissa D'Arabian's TV show on Food Network as her dishes are usually simple and no nonsense. I was, therefore, expecting the same thing  with her new cookbook. I couldn't have been more wrong.

  I do not really care for any of the recipes in this book.  Many of them are made with ingredients that I have never used and do not really want to start using.  Clams, lamb, and capers are examples of some of the things I don't use in my kitchen.

  I also believe that the lack of pictures in this book for each recipe is a huge mistake.  For me this is a deal breaker.  I most definitely want a picture of each recipe so I can have an idea if it's something my family and I might enjoy and also what to expect the dish would look like should I decide to make it.

  The title and wording on the cover are very misleading.  I do not see how the information in this book gives any specific guidance to "eat well without spending a lot" in a supermarket.  There is a very small introduction at the beginning but no where near the amount of information needed to cover such a topic.

  I was very excited to get this book and I so wanted to like it.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  For me, this book is a real dud.  I doubt I'll ever open it again.  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.















 

Exciting Non-Fiction Story

   I recently finished, "A Fifty-Year Silence." It is probably the first non fiction book I've read in several years.  I don't usually choose to read this type of book as I don't find them very interesting.  This book was a wonderful story and a definite page turner!

   This is a true story of a search by Miranda Mouillot for answers as  to why her grandparents separated many years ago eventually divorcing.  Her quest takes several years and goes back to the time of World War II.  In the process of her quest she also learns about and heals herself.

   I would definitely recommend this book.  It is a fascinating story.  Most of us probably have something in our family history that we have questions about.  The author actually became her own private investigator ultimately going to live in her "family home" in the South of France to go through family records and interview family about this issue.

   If you enjoy history, mystery, or love stories you will enjoy this book.  I had a very hard time putting this book down!   I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.









Perfect Coffee Table Book!

   I was very excited to receive this book and review it!  This book is a must read for anyone who is Catholic or interested in religious history.  There are 365 stories in the book--one entry for each day of the year.  So you could choose to read 1 story each day if you like, but I found it too interesting to do that.

   The book goes on to describe something that happened to someone on that particular date in history.  The person may or may not be famous and many of the facts are little known.  For example, did you know that Al Capone's tombstone reads, "My Jesus Mercy?"

   This book reminds me of the "Chicken Soup" book series from a few years ago.  You can pick up this book anytime you have a few minutes and read one or several stories.  You don't need to remember where you left off or what you read last.  This is a great book for someone very busy with little time to read that likes non fiction.  I think it would be a wonderful conversation starter and that is why I say it is the perfect book to set out on your coffee table.

   Happy Reading!   I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Life Apart

 

 

   I really enjoy historical fiction so I thought this was a good choice for me.  The story begins with an unplanned pregnancy in 1940 and then the start of World War 2 for America.  The story goes on to explore the choices that the main male character Morris makes throughout his life and how those choices ultimately affect his family and others that he cares about most.  It's interesting in that Morris often tells his family and others, "I didn't mean to hurt you."  Unfortunately, this is what he does to those he cares about over and over for the rest of his life.

 

   I wasn't a real fan of the writing style of the writer, L.Y. Marlow.  This is the first time I have read anything she has written. It seemed to me that there was a lot of redundancy in the book and it would have been a better story without it.

 

   The book is titled, "A Life Apart."  Morris did indeed spend his life apart from his family. He wasn't always physically absent from those he cared for, but he was most definitely emotionally absent from someone his entire life. Other characters in the story also unfortunately lived their lives "apart."

 

   Overall I would say this book is a good read for the perspective it brought me regarding several historical issues.  How it might have been for the unsuspecting soldiers that day at Pearl Harbor.  How Negro soldiers were not treated equally no matter what they did.  How difficult and dangerous it would have been for an interracial couple in that time. 

 

   I hope you read this book and enjoy it as I have.  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.