I stole a book from the library once. Though I didn't know I stole it. I found it years later and noticed stamped inside was the name of my high school library. Oops. That book was The Field Guide to North American Birds. I am still not sure why I would have even checked out a book like that. Not the field guide part, but the bird part. So I had a bit of a flashback when Anita's (Dessert First) cookbook arrived in the mail. For there in the mail was the best field guide I had every seen, a field guide about cookies! Now surely if my high school library had that this cookbook in it, it would have totally made sense that I would rip it off (though really I must say I do not condone stealing...buy the book instead!). Anita Chu's first cookbook Field Guide to Cookies, or How to Identify and Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imaginable, packs an enormous amount of cookie recipes and cookie information for such a compact little book. I had a myriad of cookies to choose from but the minute I saw … [Read more...]
Sweet Melissa Baking Book
While going through my Google Reader one day I ran into gorgeous looking cashew bars on Bake or Break. I notice that they were from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book. Oh my, how good those looked. And then all I could think of was, where is my copy? Hurry up stupid mail. Then, as if someone was listening, there in my mail that day was my copy. Ah. I quickly thumbed through it as I do with all cookbooks and I write down right away what sticks out at me. Those cashew bars(Butterscotch Cashew Bars to be exact) did. I will make them. Granola Breakfast Cookies, which I will be making next. Bee Stings which are Melissa's answer to doughnuts...she has no fryer at her bakery. The Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze sounded very Pacific Northwest so I flagged that one too. But the one I knew I wanted to make right away were the Chestnut Honey Madeleines. You see, ever since I bought those pans I am always looking for a good madeleines recipe. I found one. What caught my eye was … [Read more...]
Easy Peasy…
I will admit that next to pies, cookies are my least favorite thing to bake. They didn't used to be until I married mister no variety. In the beginning, I would make him all types of different cookies and would he appreciate it?...no. He would simply ask why didn't I make chocolate chip cookies. Grrr. And so my cookie making for the most part has been dwindled down to three types: chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar. Oh sure if I am going somewhere I will make a different variety, but sadly if I am just making for him, that is what I bake. So when I was presented with the opportunity to review 101 Easy Peasy Cookie Recipes, I thought, yes, I am going to put the variety back into my husbands unexciting cookie life. Not wanting to send his body into total shock, I eased into one that I thought he would enjoy, Colossal Double Chocolate White Chip Cookies. And enjoy he did. The only thing I changed from the recipe was the nuts. It asked for walnuts. I measured out walnut. I sat them … [Read more...]
My Sweet Vegan….
I am always amazed at the variety of readers I get, from international to gluten free. But no one is more surprised than me with all the Vegan readers I have. I mean, I think bacon should be the 5th food group. I sometimes feel that my Vegan readers see my creations as a challenge, a challenge to see if they can “veganize” it. And when they do I am always in awe, just like I am in awe when the gluten-free Daring Bakers make bread. So when I was presented the opportunity to review Hannah Kaminsky's(you might know Hannah from her great blog Bittersweet) new cookbook, My Sweet Vegan, I thought heck ya! Here is my chance to give my Vegan readers some love back. I was most excited to see how far the Vegan world has come. About a decade ago I dated a Vegan, and I will admit I hated cooking for him. To this day I dread eating anything with lentils because that is all we seemed to eat. So the idea of a cookbook dedicated to the world of Vegan sweets sounded like a good idea to … [Read more...]
