Deliciously Ella Every Day: Quick and Easy Recipes for Gluten-Free Snacks, Packed Lunches, and Simple Meals Review

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Kristen

Deliciously Ella Every Day: Quick and Easy Recipes for Gluten-Free Snacks, Packed Lunches, and Simple Meals by Ella Woodward (Scribner, April 5, 2016)

Deliciously Ella Every Day opens with hope: �Healthy living has totally transformed my life and I think it will transform yours, too� (7). Ella Woodward (Deliciously Ella) gave up gluten, dairy, refined sugar, processed food, and meat to heal chronic postural tachycardia syndrome; eighteen months later, medication-free, Woodward had become happy and healthy, and her new habits were a lifestyle. Instead of approaching a plant-based diet as restrictive, Woodward believes �it opens up a whole new world of delicious ingredients, amazing tastes and unique textures and truly makes you feel fabulous from the inside out� (8).

Woodward admits she is a �lazy cook� who prefers quick preparation and clean up, so, in her world, staying healthy is �all about organization.� Breakfast is Ella�s favorite meal — recipes like Sweet Beet Overnight Oats and Chili-Avocado Toast set a healthy tone for the entire day, providing steady energy and a positive attitude. Ella hopes to reinvent how we approach salads, celebrating texture and flavor with recipes like Chickpea and Squash, and Wilted Spinach and Black Bean Salads. Easy Weekday Dinners are intended to �soothe and energize� so you feel like a whole new person by the time you finish your plate� (123) — Honey and Mushroom Lentil, and Comforting Mashed Potato Bowl satisfy this goal. And Simple Sweets like Coconut and Raspberry Mousse, and Summery Strawberry-Banana Crumble replace refined sugar with raw honey, date syrup, dried fruit, and maple syrup, which are actually nutritious! Deliciously Ella proves every day can be a healthy celebration of flavor.

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for helping me find this book!

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My Mother’s Kitchen: Review

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Kristen

My Mother’s Kitchen: A Novel with Recipes by Meera Ekkanath Klein (Homebound Publications, November 17, 2014) 266 pages

First Line: Kashi’s day follows the rhythm of the sun.

Review: For book clubs that like to pair refreshments with the text, for readers who love to cook as well as read, and for those of us who love to be immersed in faraway cultures and lands, My Mother�s Kitchen will be a welcome find.

Meera Ekkanath Klein expertly weaves narrative, lush imagery, fully realized characters, and tempting recipes into a tale of family and friendship set in India. The story opens with Kashi — a 15-year-old girl promised in marriage to a man she does not love by her father who is bound by traditional ways. Motherless, Kashi escapes to her neighbor (her father’s employer) and finds solace and freedom. But Kashi is only one of many strong female characters in Klein’s debut novel and her expert characterization is only one of many strengths as a storyteller.

Throughout the decades-long story, food plays a prominent role and Klein generously shares recipes after tempting her readers with lush descriptions of the dish.

Here is just one example of Klein’s sensuous prose:

My mother’s kitchen is a miracle-working spot, a place of transformation. Here a handful of rice, a punch of turmeric and a splash of fresh lemon juice are magically transformed into mouth-watering lemon rice. A slice of cucumber and tomato with a sprinkle of salt and pepper becomes a tangy relish. This special place not only brings about change in food but in people too.

A few pages later, a recipe for Mother’s Lemon Rice appears — with an attainable list of ingredients and straightforward directions for preparation. Any book club could prepare most of the recipes without difficulty, adding the lush aromas and palate of the novel to the discussion.

Book clubs that appreciates beautiful prose, rich culture and tempting treats will love My Mother’s Kitchen!

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How to Love Wine Review

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Kristen

How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto by Eric Asimov (William Morrow, October 16, 2012)

love wine

Eric Asimov, chief wine critic of the New York Times, believes great wine is “a true expression of a terroir� [with] a story to tell about where it came from, both geologically and culturally, and about the people who shepherded the transformation of grapes to wine and that year in history.” How to Love Wine follows this same spirit, exploring the influence of Asimov’s own “terroirs”–New York City, Paris, Chicago and Austin–on his passion for food and wine on the path to his perfect job.

Before beginning the autobiographical aspects of his memoir, Asimov first explores the subject of “wine anxiety,” hoping to replace this fear with a sense of ease and joy. But even when he’s talking about his own story, he includes frequent detours covering why he believes this is the Golden Age of Wine Drinking, and why blind tastings, tasting notes, shelf talkers and scores are limiting conditions that undermine an experience that should be purely pleasurable.

Asimov describes his memoir as “a gathering of impressions through experience,” yet provides so much more, imparting confidence to freshman oenophiles through a concrete plan for learning to love wine. Just as the best wines reflect their roots yet resonate with the drinker, the best memoirs rise above one person’s experiences; How to Love Wine not only fulfills its titular promise, but is an engaging peek into a world so many already love.

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for bringing this book to my attention!

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Sweet and Easy Vegan Review

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Kristen

Sweet & Easy Vegan: Treats Made with Whole Grains and Natural Sweeteners by Robin Asbell, photography by Joseph De Leo (Chronicle Books, September 19, 2012)

sweet and easy

In Sweet & Easy Vegan, Robin Asbell presents a cornucopia of healthy, guilt-free vegan treats, taste-tested and approved by omnivores, with nutrient-dense calories sure to please every palate.

In Asbell�s kitchen, eggs are replaced with flax seeds and butter with coconut oil; she spends 40 pages explaining why replacing artificial and refined sweeteners with anti-oxidant-rich alternatives like maple syrup (with 54 beneficial compounds), is easy and nourishing. Natural sweeteners, when combined with whole grains and healthful fats, nuts, seeds, and fruit, help to stabilize blood sugar and reduce stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease as well as lower blood pressure and reduce gum and inflammatory diseases, including colon cancer and asthma.

Asbell also explains how to adjust traditional recipes and includes resources for where to find common vegan ingredients like flaxseed, palm sugar, and egg replacers. Even traditionalists will embrace Asbell�s healthy alternatives to past favorites.

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for bringing this book to my attention!

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Monkey Mind Review

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Kristen

Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith (Simon & Schuster, July 2012)

monkey

Prior to the first chapter of Daniel Smith�s memoir of an anxious mind is a section titled �why I am qualified to write this book� which describes his walk to a therapist�s office: a mental flagellation that ends with the therapist asking if he can tape their session, presumably as a case study of just how bad anxiety can become.

Smith then explores what he believes may be the cause of his anxiety: the loss of his virginity involving a dysfunctional coworker and an unfortunate threesome. The images are startling and repugnant, but the reader, thoroughly disarmed by Smith�s humor in the first section, is reassured that even during his darkest moments, redemption is possible.

After the first chapter, the memoir is loosely chronologically, moving from hilarious moments from Smith�s childhood with his psychotherapist mother (It was not unusual, when I was young, for a procedure as routine and noninvasive as a strep culture to set me off like a pig in a barn fire) into his hard-earned successful present life as a writer, husband, and father who has learned to live with his anxiety as an amusing, if not entirely welcome houseguest (If this all sounds melodramatic, well that, too, isn�t a bad metaphor for anxiety � as a kind of drama queen of the mind).

Beyond the entertaining vignettes, Monkey Mind is a serious exploration of an affliction that affects most people to a certain extent and provides helpful insights as well as the reassurance that even the most neurotic are in good company.

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for bringing this book to my attention!

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