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Friday, October 05, 2012
"Really, Really, Really Good" Sums This One Up Perfectly
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
If you love to cook, you've no doubt visited Our Best Bites, an enormously popular recipe blog written by young LDS moms, Sara Wells and Kate Jones. If you're a fan of the site, you probably know that the pair published their first cookbook, Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen, in 2011. If you've experienced its fabulousness, then you've certainly been looking forward to the newest offering from the Wells/Jones team. I certainly have. I may have even let out a squeal of delight when it landed on my doorstep courtesy of the kind people at Deseret Book. Like its predecessor, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites is a beautiful, hardcover cookbook chock-full of scrumptious-looking recipes. As indicated by its title, the book is divided into four sections: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Each section contains recipes appropriate for the given season as well as full-color photographs and helpful hints. One of my favorite features from the last cookbook—the Rollover Ingredients list—is also present in this one. Savoring the Seasons offers a new feature called Crafty in the Kitchen, which gives step-by-step instructions for creations like Peppermint Fudge Cupcake Jars, Thanksgiving Oreo Turkeys, and various Halloween party foods. Just flipping through this gorgeous cookbook made my eyes pop and my stomach grumble—you better believe I'll be making tons of these fun recipes!
If you're looking for holiday gift ideas or a little something-something for a birthday girl or bride-to-be, look no further than Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites. It's a lovely, gift-quality cookbook. Retailing at around $17, the price may seem a little steep, but I really believe it's worth it. I love both of my Our Best Bites cookbooks—they're beautiful, durable and packed with excellent, easy recipes that turn out wonderfully every single time. No matter how many cookbooks you own, I guarantee you'll keep coming back to Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites and its sister, Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen.
(Readalikes: Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen by Sara Wells and Kate Jones)
Grade: A
If this were a movie, it would be rated: G
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites from the generous folks at Deseret Book. Thank you!
(Makes 2-3 dozen cookies)
2 cups flour, spooned lightly into measuring cups and leveled with knife
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled until lukewarm
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
1 cup coconut (toasted or untoasted)
1 cup roughly chopped, toasted macadamia nuts
1/2-2 tablespoons grated lime zest (1-2 limes)
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl; set aside.
2. Combine butter and sugars with electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add white chocolate chips, coconut, macadamia nuts, and lime zest and stir to distribute.
3. Scoop cookie dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set around outer edges, yet centers are still soft and puffy and appear slightly underbaked, about 9-10 minutes. (All ovens are different, so keep an eye on them!) Cool cookies on cookie sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
My thoughts on the recipe: Um, yum! All of us liked these. My husband even pronounced them "really, really, really good." And guess what? Since I'm kind of an airhead, I didn't even make them right. Somehow I ended up buying lemons instead of limes, so I used 3 teaspoons of lime juice instead of the fresh lime zest. Didn't matter—the cookies were still delicious! Unfortunately, macadamia nuts are not the cheapest or easiest nuts to buy, so this isn't a recipe I'll be making super often, but still, they're delish.
Since food photography is not my specialty, I decided to go with "cute kid eating food" instead. The cute kid in question was way more interested in eating her cookie than in posing for her mother, so it took a few tries—
—but, we finally got this one, which is pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself:
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Sweeping Southern Mystery Begs to Be Read
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Hendrix, a tiny backwater town in northern Florida, holds its share of secrets. And more. Jolie's heard the whispers and rumors all her life. She's a Hoyt, after all, and thus aware of her family's sometimes unsavory history, if not privy to the details. As tight-lipped as the rest of her kin, 18-year-old Jolie knows better than to go blabbing about skeletons in the Hoyt Family closets. Then, Sam Lense comes along. A Jewish graduate student from Miami, the 24-year-old is, without a doubt, the most exotic person ever to stroll down the streets of Hendrix. It's not long before Jolie and Sam are getting cozy in Sam's cramped RV, not long before she's introducing him to the relatives, only a wee bit longer before he's getting a little too close to secrets the Hoyts would just as soon keep buried. Forever.
Twelve years after Sam leaves Hendrix, vowing never to return, a black businessman comes to town, stirring up the kind of trouble Sam never could leave well enough alone. Before he knows it, he's back in Hendrix. He's older, wiser, but still vulnerable to the town's peculiar brand of magic. Jolie's not keen on having a bunch of outsiders sticking their noses where they don't belong, especially since it's her family that's under investigation. Still, in spite of herself, Jolie finds that she needs to know the truth behind one of the biggest, ugliest, most notorious events in the history of the Hoyt family. Even if it gets all of them killed. And it just might.
Although American Ghost (available October 9, 2012) by Janis Owens is many things, the adjective that comes to mind most readily is atmospheric. All good Southern novels are, of course, and usually charmingly so. This one? Not so much. Its Southern folk are quirky, alright, as is their one-horse town, but in a way that's more sinister than sweet. Hendrix, as Owens makes perfectly clear, is not the kind of place you want to live in or visit or even pass through. Which, of course, makes it the perfect setting for a tense, haunting story like American Ghost. The really weird thing is, the more time you spend in Hendrix, the more it seduces you, too. Because, despite its scabbed-over appearance, the town just might become a place where two misfits can find truth, redemption and maybe—despite insurmountable odds—their own kind of happily ever after. Engrossing and memorable, American Ghost is one of those books that just begs to be read.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell and a bit of A Time to Kill by John Grisham)
Grade: B+
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, sexual content and violence
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of American Ghost from the generous folks at Scribner (an imprint of Simon and Schuster) via ELLE magazine's Reader's Jury program. Thank you!
Twelve years after Sam leaves Hendrix, vowing never to return, a black businessman comes to town, stirring up the kind of trouble Sam never could leave well enough alone. Before he knows it, he's back in Hendrix. He's older, wiser, but still vulnerable to the town's peculiar brand of magic. Jolie's not keen on having a bunch of outsiders sticking their noses where they don't belong, especially since it's her family that's under investigation. Still, in spite of herself, Jolie finds that she needs to know the truth behind one of the biggest, ugliest, most notorious events in the history of the Hoyt family. Even if it gets all of them killed. And it just might.
Although American Ghost (available October 9, 2012) by Janis Owens is many things, the adjective that comes to mind most readily is atmospheric. All good Southern novels are, of course, and usually charmingly so. This one? Not so much. Its Southern folk are quirky, alright, as is their one-horse town, but in a way that's more sinister than sweet. Hendrix, as Owens makes perfectly clear, is not the kind of place you want to live in or visit or even pass through. Which, of course, makes it the perfect setting for a tense, haunting story like American Ghost. The really weird thing is, the more time you spend in Hendrix, the more it seduces you, too. Because, despite its scabbed-over appearance, the town just might become a place where two misfits can find truth, redemption and maybe—despite insurmountable odds—their own kind of happily ever after. Engrossing and memorable, American Ghost is one of those books that just begs to be read.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell and a bit of A Time to Kill by John Grisham)
Grade: B+
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, sexual content and violence
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of American Ghost from the generous folks at Scribner (an imprint of Simon and Schuster) via ELLE magazine's Reader's Jury program. Thank you!
Monday, October 01, 2012
Volcanoes and Cannibals and Kale Farms, Oh My!
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Ashen Winter, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Ashfall. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)
It's been ten months since the supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park blew its top, smothering the nation in a thick layer of ash. After a long, dangerous trek from his home in Iowa to his uncle's farm in Illinois, 16-year-old Alex Halprin is finally safe. He's not living in luxury, by any means, but he's found a permanent place to live, he's helping to grow the kale that's keeping people alive, he's surrounded by family members—his aunt, uncle, cousin and younger sister, Rebecca—and he's sharing a bedroom with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Darla Edmunds. If it weren't for the fact that his world's turned into a post-apocalyptic nightmare and his parents are lost in it somewhere, life wouldn't be all that bad.
But the world has gone to pot and his mom and dad are still unaccounted for and Alex won't rest until he finds them. He doesn't want to leave the only family he's sure he still has, but he has to know what's happened to his parents. So, Alex and Darla gear up for another hike across the Midwest. They're headed back to Cedar Falls, Iowa, across 140 miles of barren terrain. Every mile will be a battle against hunger, thirst, snow, fatigue and, of course, ragtag groups of dangerous, desperate Midwesterners. Letting their guard down for even a second can mean death or worse—being eaten by cannibals. It will take every last ounce of their courage, cunning and craftiness to make it to their destination alive.
Like Ashfall before it, Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin (available October 16, 2012) tells a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled survival story. In fact, it rarely stops to take a breath. It's all action, all the time. Character development doesn't suffer for it, though, as Alex and Darla continue to get fleshed out, making them more sympathetic and compelling with every page. Ashen Winter does take the whole cannibal thing to a new level, which got so nauseating at times I considered putting the book down altogether. I couldn't, though, not without knowing what became of Alex and Darla. If you have a weak stomach, you might want to steer clear, because once you get into this series, there really is no getting out. Like I've said before, it's not the most original YA dystopian or the most brilliant, but there's something about it that keeps me reading—even when my grossed-out stomach is screaming, "Stop! Please, for the love of all that's holy, make it stop!" Ah, cannibals. They're just so compelling that way.
(Readalikes: Ashfall by Mike Mullin; also The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Last Survivors trilogy [Life As We Knew It; The Dead & the Gone; The World We Live In] by Susan Beth Pfeffer; and a little like the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear] by Michael Grant)
Grade: B
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 (possibly R) for violence/gore, sexual content and language (no F-bombs)
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Ashen Winter from the generous folks at Tanglewood Press via Netgalley. Thank you!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Girl Power Self-Help Book Empowering, But Not Earth-Shattering
7:52 AM
(Image from Tribute Books)
How do successful women turn their personal challenges and tragedies into victories? That's the question that plagued life coach Annmarie Kelly in February of 2011 as she waited for a call from her doctor, telling her whether or not she had cervical cancer. Although her problem turned out to be much less severe than cancer, Kelly never forgot the deep pondering she'd done during that topsy-turvy period between receiving alarming test results and waiting to get a possibly life-threatening diagnosis. These thoughts led Kelly to write Victorious Woman!, a book about women who have overcome serious obstacles in life. As she talked with each of these ladies, she paid special attention to what tools they used to turn their hardships into victories.
Nine women are featured in the book. Each has a unique story. Some have dealt with serious illness, spousal abuse, homelessness, heart-wrenching problems with their children, legal battles, career struggles, depression, addiction and much, much more. How did they deal with it? With tears, initially. Then, they got to work. They left abusive situations, sought higher education, demanded better jobs, got treatment for health problems/addictions, and, in myriad other ways, fought for what was important to them. Along the way, they each found an inner strength they never knew they possessed.
Kelly uses each vignette to illustrate tools all women can use to turn their own hurts into helpful lessons that push them toward achieving the goals they've set for themselves. Things like courage, proactivity, goal-setting, and planning are demonstrated by each of the women featured in the book. After each story, Kelly includes a "Stepping Stones to Victory" section, which offers thoughtful questions for the reader. She encourages readers to write the answers to the questions in a journal, allowing them to think about what each woman's story has taught them. Kelly's hope is that this kind of deep self-reflection will help women make positive changes in their own lives, leading them to their own victories.
Victorious Woman! isn't really my kind of book. I knew that when I agreed to be part of its blog tour. Still, I thought I'd give it a try, thinking, hey, maybe I'll learn something. I mean, we can all use a little encouragement and inspiration in our lives, right? And this one definitely provides that. Although the book gets long, it's better written than I thought it would be. Very readable. Still, I got bored with it, especially since all of the stories seemed to be demonstrating the same principles. Overall, I didn't relate to most of the stories, so while they were inspiring, I didn't find them all that relevant, if that makes sense. My conclusion? If you like girl power-type self-help books, you'll probably like this one. If you don't, you won't. If you're kind of so-so about them, then you'll probably feel as I did about this one—it's just okay. Empowering, but nothing really Earth-shattering or special.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't really think of anything. Can you?)
Grade: C+
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and (brief, non-graphic) discussions of adult subjects like domestic abuse, sex, etc.
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Victorious Woman! from the generous folks at Tribute Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
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