Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
It’s that time of year again! The weather is turning crisp and cool, leaves are changing to vibrant autumn colors, and the holidays are just around the corner. First up is Halloween, a favorite for the child in each of us, a magical and spooky night filled with delicious goodies, fun costumes, and frights galore. To help make the most of the holiday, pick up a copy of Halloween Delights by Karen Jean Matsko Hood. More than just a cookbook, Halloween Delights is a treasure trove of creative ideas to make your fright night celebration one to remember! The book is also packed with extras, like information on how to grow your own pumpkins, interesting facts about the history, folklore, and symbolism of Halloween, and a helpful glossary of cooking and baking terms.
I’ve been impressed with each entry in Hood’s Cookbook Delights series that I have seen so far, but this one honestly blew me away. From the clever to the creepy to the downright ghastly, each recipe is a masterpiece of ingenuity that will delight, scare, and gross out your Halloween guests in the best way possible. The variety of recipes is staggering, enabling you to choose just how ghoulish you want your party to be. The Halloween Haunted Forest Platter, for example, is a really creative way of dressing up the ordinary vegetable platter that will entice even kids into nibbling on healthy treats, and it’s a really cute idea. (Imagine a forest of broccoli trees haunted by egg ghosts and other creepy, edible creatures.) If you’d rather horrify your guests, there are recipes like the Boogers and Slugs Halloween Cake and Chocolate Slime, foods that may sound or even look disgusting, but are guaranteed to be delicious. The Bleeding Human Heart, a heart-shaped gelatin that oozes thick grenadine blood when cut into portions, is one of my favorites–there’s no doubt it’ll make an impression!
Halloween Delights is so full of fun and creative ideas that my kids literally could not stop poring over it. They had a blast helping me try out some of the recipes in the kitchen and have been begging to try out more ever since. We made Witch’s Hat Chocolate Cupcakes, Creepy Crawly Spider Cookies, and Jack-O-Lantern Cheeseburger Pie. All of the recipes were easy to follow and turned out fabulous, not just in taste but in visual impact as well, which is at least half the fun with a holiday like this. I was also pleased to find a number of recipes that are designed for feeding large crowds, which will make planning a party all the easier. This is the ultimate Halloween cookbook, crammed with enough ideas to see my family through all the spooky parties we will ever throw. Now the only problem is picking which recipes to use–and how to prevent my kids from wanting to celebrate Halloween all year long!
Halloween Delights Cookbook – Paperback ©2008
I have to admit the apple is one of my all-time favorite fruits, but I’m not very adventurous or inventive in the kitchen, so I rarely eat them unless they are raw or baked into a pie or cobbler. Apple Delights by Karen Jean Matsko Hood has changed that for me, and I couldn’t be more delighted.
The latest in Whispering Pine Press International‘s popular Cookbook Delights series, Apple Delights arrives just in time for the beginning of autumn harvest and baked cool weather treats. Like all of Hood’s cookbooks, it is packed with over 200 mouth-watering recipes that cover every conceivable type of food, from main dishes to soups and salads–and of course, desserts and everything in between. There is also valuable information about the history and folklore of the fruit, as well as a selection of Hood’s internationally published poetry. I especially appreciated the section on different types of apple, since there are so many varieties that it can sometimes be overwhelming when trying to select the right kind for a certain recipe.
My family tried out the Chicken Apple Curry with a side of Apple Dumplings and Apple Tart Cookies for dessert. As always with Hood’s recipes, the directions were clear and easy to follow and the results were fantastic. The curry was very tender, more of a Thai red curry than the traditional yellow curry I expected, with hearty flavors from the tomato and cilantro, and a bright, pleasantly tart and sweet note from the apples. The Apple Dumplings were absolutely delightful, deliciously sweet and juicy, and my kids thought they were a blast. The Apple Tart Cookies were chock full of many different flavors that complemented each other in unexpected ways–I’ve had chocolate with coconut, I’ve had apples with raisins, but never have I had all of them together before. It’s a recipe you have to try to believe–an absolute knockout. And of course, with Apple Delights there’s so much more to look forward to, recipes for traditional goodies like homemade cider, caramel apples, and old fashioned applesauce that I can’t wait to try out, and intriguing new ideas like Apple Cheddar Cookies and Apple and Potato Chowder. No doubt about it: Karen Jean Matsko Hood has penned another winning cookbook that will revolutionize the way you see this humble fruit.
Right now, Apple Delights is on sale for only $9.95!
Buy it today! Apple Delights Cookbook – Comb Bound ©2004
Blueberry Delights is the latest installment in Karen Hood’s ever-popular Cookbook Delights series. Crammed with delicious recipes and interesting tidbits, graced with the delicate, sure touch of Hood’s poetry, this cookbook is a gem. Cooks of all experience levels and ambition will be thrilled with the variety of recipes that use the delicious blueberry in creative ways, all of them with well laid-out, easy-to-follow instructions. Particularly sumptuous are the recipes in which the berry is used for a savory rather than sweet effect, as in the Blueberry Basil Vinegar or the many mouth-watering main dishes like Pastrami-Spiced Beef with Blueberry Sauce. Other dishes, like the Blueberry Oven Custard Puff Pancake and Blueberry Cheesecake Fudge, promise to be decadent enough to make an impression at the fanciest occasions. There is even a recipe for blueberry wine!
As with all of Hood’s cookbooks, it is the extras that make Blueberry Delights truly stand out. At the beginning of the book, not only will you find a selection of Hood’s themed poetry, but information about identifying different types of blueberry, which will be invaluable for those who like to go berry-picking; tips about growing and cultivating blueberries in your garden; and a fascinating introduction to the berry’s history and folklore. Also present are the helpful metric conversion chart and glossary that will provide excellent assistance for less experienced cooks.
My family tried out the Blueberry Chicken Salsa Torte, Multigrain Blueberry Pilaf, and Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies. Both the torte and the pilaf were longer, more involved recipes than we usually make on a weekday, but both were well worth the extra effort. The torte was simply amazing, the blueberry salsa a bright, flavorful twist that added the perfect touch. The torte recipe is very versatile and will easily accommodate delicious additions like roasted red peppers and pico de gallo for those who want to add their own flair. Although listed in the Appetizer section, it would also make a fun lunch item. The pilaf was equally tasty, and the blueberries added a wonderful burst of flavor to the rice that had even my children (who generally don’t care much for rice) scraping their plates. The wild rice and wheat berries in the recipe also make it very nutritious, a side dish that will please parents just as much as it will kids. The Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies that we had for dessert were quick and easy to make, and alot of fun for my kids to lend a hand. Adding a fruit other than raisins to an oatmeal cookie was a novel experience for my family, and it was a hit–we’ll definitely have to try it again with variations! As always, Karen Hood has produced another winner in her Cookbook Delights series.
Textures by Beverly Paramore is an autobiographical memoir of her experiences as a foster child. Written with simple grace and undeniable skill, her story evokes powerful emotional responses in the reader. Unlike so many authors today, who seem to delight in crafting the most horrific and depressing stories they can imagine, Paramore’s purpose in exploring such difficult and painful subjects is to illuminate and bring a better understanding to them, and ultimately to bring healing and catharsis to those who have experienced similar tragedies.
Paramore’s memoir is told primarily through vignettes that depict an event or time in her life. As she explores not only the events themselves but their impact on her, both good and bad, the reader is able to empathize with her and become part of the narrative. For foster children or former foster children, it will be easy to identify with Paramore in her journey to adulthood, making it all the more likely that they will be affected by the healing and peace she has found; for those who have never experienced the foster care system, it is a poignant look into an unfamiliar world that inspires compassion and understanding. In sharing such personal and profoundly life-changing experiences, from her failed suicide attempt at the age of nine to the death of her alcoholic, abusive mother, Paramore never dwells on the darkness alone. She demonstrates how these things shaped her and how she has received healing and strength through her relationship with God. The Bible verses sprinkled liberally throughout the book serve to illustrate and emphasize these points, offering comfort and hope for those who have experienced similar hardships.
With Textures, Whispering Pine Press will undoubtedly garner much acclaim and well-deserved attention, for it is books such as this that have a true and lasting impact on people’s lives.
Lunatics, Lovers, and a Poet is Thelma Homer’s first collection of poetry. Boasting over 80 poems and sonnets, this book touches on a wide range of subjects from treasured childhood memories to spiritual questions, the pain of loss and love to the moral dilemma of war, even reflecting on the trials of poetry itself. Readers will find themselves drawn in by the ease and confidence with which Homer writes, and each poem is easily accessible even for those not familiar with the genre. Homer’s love of Shakespeare and familiarity with his works shines through, and her poems resonate with deep emotion that readers can both relate to and learn from.
Poetry lovers will be delighted to know that Homer has revived traditional poetry forms that are not often seen today not only with her sonnets, but with the excellent use of rhyme and meter in all of her poems. This is serious, highly sophisticated poetry that takes time and care to craft, each word painstakingly selected to serve a special purpose. Her use of rhyme and meter is never clunky or heavy-handed, always flowing naturally and enhancing the poem’s meaning and emotional impact. Rarely have I seen a modern poet so confident and at home with these traditional techniques. One can only imagine what Homer would bring to the genre if she tried her hand at a sestina or a villanelle.
Lunatics, Lovers, and a Poet is sure to become a treasured part of any poetry lover’s collection, read again and again throughout the years. I would like to close with one of my favorite sonnets from this book, one that I feel displays Homer’s talent to its fullest.
~
Tempest
The west wind came, slashing rain against my garden wall,
Flattening the grass and laying the lavender bare;
But hear the wind I could not, nor feel the rain at all,
Knowing you and I today would not breathe the self-same air.
This irreligious passion a thousand reasons censure;
You who first possessed me, reprove me not!
For I am the one you left behind: Love’s forfeiture
From Duty’s ashes, colder than those once burnt in Camelot.
Let plummet all the stars! Let planets out of orbit spin!
Until the dawn-moon sheds its light, come lie with me;
Let us drown ourselves in Passion’s tides, wherein
All will be lost or won—no more loved, no less lost than we.
Love, well-shattered by Life’s rains and winds that blow,
And well-wearied though my heart, I still cannot let you go.
© Thelma Richie Homer 2011
Published by Whispering Pine Press