Reviews

From the Cookbook Library–Recent Reads and Reviews

It’s no secret that I have a cookbook problem…in that I will never, ever have enough. However, I am also guilty of being lazy AF when it comes down to meal planning for this circus. Rather than taking the time to go through my library of cookbooks throughout the week for inspiration, I often spend Sunday mornings scrolling online for fast ideas so I can get my grocery order in on time.

Well, as this year-of-improvement trucks along, I realize that expanding my culinary skillsets also means that I really need to spend a little less time on my phone, and a little more time amongst my bookshelves. So, I’m slowly attempting to build into the routine time to look to my books each week when it comes to meal planning and experimenting. Since I also vowed to cut down on my phone usage (a wee bit harder than I thought), this goal is doing double-duty for me.

Here are a couple of books I cooked from this week, or dove into for future planning:

The Woks of Life Cookbook Cover

The Woks of Life came to me via my Hardcover Cook subscription, and dang if I wasn’t the last to know about the authors’ fantastic food blog. I absolutely love every part of this book, from the family history and stories to the recipes that feel completely accessible to home cooks. On my first pass, I flagged at least 20 recipes I can’t wait to try. This weekend, I made some pork dumplings and chicken curry pockets, along with the ultimate dipping sauce. I wanted to keep going, but alas, we were all full at that point.

My dumpling assembly technique remains woefully inadequate, but everything was still dang tasty and I have plenty more dishes that I want to make soon. This book is a welcome addition to my library, and you should totally check it out at least the blog. I foresee pork buns in my future very soon.

I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve been baking up a storm, but picky eaters are still gonna pick. So, in addition to cake and pie experiments geared toward broadening my culinary skillsets, I’ve also been working my way through this King Arthur Essential Cookie Companion. This book has PLENTY of cookies that are easy to make and frequently utilize items I already have in my pantry. More often than not, I can flip through and find a new cookie recipe to crank out in a pinch before one of the boys gets home for the weekend. So, while I toiled away on a 2-hour caramel frosting that could not save a bone-dry caramel cake (from another cookbook I won’t mention), I at least whipped up a back-up bunch of chocolate-peanut half-moons (post-dip in chocolate not pictured).

Yeah, I am definitely putting some miles on this one, and I also recommend it if you like easy cookie recipes with clear instructions that have been thoroughly tested. I just finished up a batch of Chocolate Wake-Ups in between typing this and working on this weekend’s sourdough.

So, I technically have not tried any of the recipes in this book, but I still think it’s worth a look before summer’s bounty starts rolling in. I cannot for this life of me remember where I heard about it, but I am always on the lookout for books to add to my canning/preserving/skill-building library. This volume covers a lot of bases, from water bath and pressure canning to meat curing and beginner cheesemaking. I have been wanting to branch out into pressure canning for a while, and after reading this, I feel a somewhat less intimidated to get started. Also, after perusing the chapter on curing/smoking, I am about to start the process of turning a lovely pork belly I got at the farm into bacon, so I’ll follow up in a later post on how that goes. Overall, this book is very well-written and thoughtfully laid out, so check it out if you are so inclined.

Well, that about covers it in the time I have before the dough needs more attention. Hopefully, Operation Cook the Books continues, because my habit for acquiring new cookbooks will probably never be tamed. In fact, I wonder what’s new at the bookstore this week……

Checking in on Those 2023 Intentions- A January Review

It’s already February 1st y’all, and for the first time in a hot minute, I ended January on a very high note. I don’t know what lit the fire under my ass this year as opposed to the past several, but I’ll take it. I’ve seriously settled in to my 2023 intentions, and I feel like a new penny as my grandmother used to say. So, let’s take a look back at this month and review:

Health/Personal

  • I’m trucking along on this one and the results are evident. I did Dry January, and the improvements in my energy, sleep, anxiety, and mood were off the charts. So, it looks like a 90-95 percent reduction of the hooch is the plan going forward.
  • I worked out 5 days a week (except once when I had to support my neighbor during a hospital stay), and watched/recorded what I ate. As a result, I lost 11 dang pounds!
  • I reduced my phone/scrolling time by about 50 percent, and I think there still room for improvement there.
  • Finally, I stuck to my “Three to Thrive” and hit my target every day. I defined these as skincare, hitting my water goals, and taking my meds and vitamins every day. Good times, all around.

Kitchen 

I have been rocking it in the kitchen, which is making the Husband and Heathen’s very happy.

Books

I read six books this month, (not pictured is a romance, Twisted Games that I read on my Kindle).

  • When in Rome-Cute, lighthearted, low-stakes romance loosely based on the movie Roman Holiday, but with a happy ending. Fluffy beach read.
  • The Comfort Food Diaries-a memoir of recovering from toxic family and alcoholism by travelling to friends and extended family, cooking, reconnecting, and letting go. Kind of an Eat, Pray, Love vibe. I liked it overall, but felt some parts were rushed/glossed over that made the pacing a little uneven. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
  • Heart Bones-I thought this was ok, but not my favorite by this author. Damage childhoods and coming of age romance typical for this author, but uneven character development in my opinion.
  • Other Birds-I’m biased because I love Sarah Addison Allen novels. A little magic realism, uncovering secrets of the past, finding a place to call home, beautiful settings.
  • Abandoned in Death-Despite how formulaic these books have become, I’ll always come back to them. This one, however, was better than some recent volumes.
  • Twisted Games-Steamy princess/bodyguard romance, ’nuff said. It was the second book I’ve read in this series. It was ok enough that I’m on the third, so take that for what it’s worth. Not shouting from the rooftops about it though.

Fiber Arts

  • Still working on that damn sweater, but I am about 30% through the second sleeve, so the finish line is in sight. I also wound the yarn I ordered to hopefully finish my Shift cowl once the fu%&ing sweater is complete. So, that fits under my intention to finish at least two WIPs this year.
  • I got my spinning wheel set up and tried to practice with the Malabrigio Nube fiber I ordered, and promptly felt like an abject failure. I watched dozens of videos and could not figure out why I was struggling so much. Well, a little time on Ravelry promptly educated me as to why this particular fiber needs to be pre-drafted into submission. Because if the dyeing and prep, parts were damn near felted, and the rest was compacted like crazy. So, pictured above is how it arrived, versus several hours of pre-drafting. It also shows that the dye only hit the outer layers of the fiber, and there was a lot more undyed than the braid would lead you to believe. Now that it’s (in theory) workable, I’m going to try again later this week.
  • Made progress on the Christmas stocking, but will need to pick up the pace if I want it done in time to submit it for finishing, thus making it ready by the holidays.
  • Best part? We booked our hotel for Rhinebeck, aka New York Sheep and Wool Festival in October! This means I’ll have to miss DFW Fiber Fest this year, but I’ll somehow survive. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it.

So, that’s the January Recap. I’m using my Commit30 planner to its fullest, which helps me keep track of how I’m doing. Highly recommend, as always. Now, I need to keep the momentum going.

So, wrapping it up, it’s February, and we are deep into Mardi Gras season, and crawfish are coming on (though it’s still a little early so prices are a little high). I better pick up a King Cake before Friday, because the Heathens may riot soon, and we have a crawfish boil/oyster roast fete to attend this weekend. Now, if I could just figure out what I need to bring, but that’s a conversation for another day.

Off the Shelf–Recent Reads and Reviews

Alrighty, here’s a roundup of my recent reads:

 

Nonfiction–Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss

I really enjoyed Paperback Crush. It’s a deep dive retrospective of the teen fiction novels I devoured in the ’80s and ’90s. Divided up into a thematic approach, it explores the evolution of popular teen fiction and the history of the most iconic series. While it primarily focuses on the titular decades, the author has done her research and mentions how certain themes can be tracked back through the decades. Just browsing the classic artwork brought back memories, and the author’s humorous and sometimes wry tone made it a fun read.

Overall, pure nostalgia made me buy it, but I’m glad I did. Series like The Baby-Sitters Club and Fear Street made me catch the reading bug, which I still have today.

Nonfiction–Hooked by Sutton Foster

This book is basically a memoir from Broadway and television star Sutton Foster. It follows her extensive career and travels as a rising stage talent to mother and TV star, while also describing the tumultuous relationship with her problematic agoraphobic mother. While she does incorporate how her crafting projects served as touchstones throughout her personal journey, this book is still very much a memoir at its core, with crafting as thematic tool for the stories. Overall, it was a good read, but I was already familiar with and a fan of the author. Because it’s mainly a memoir with crafting as an ancillary topic, it could be misleading if you don’t read the jacket or reviews.

Nonfiction–Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off

I’d say this book is solidly for knitters. It’s a fun, whimsical and funny look at the knitting community, including how specifically diverse, strange, and neurotic we can be. As a prolific knitter who fits many of the author’s descriptions, I found it to be an entertaining, lighthearted read. So, if you are a knitter, it’s great. If not, it’s not for you (unless you live with a knitter and need a guidebook to our world).

Fiction–The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

This novel brings together a diverse cast of characters as they take a cooking class at a local restaurant. The chapters focus on their backstories, while weaving together the lessons from the class into their personal journeys and future goals. It’s beautifully descriptive, and a short, easy read if you like novels with food/cooking as a backdrop to the story. I will say that, while I enjoyed this one, I was slow to finish it. I appreciated it as a whole, but it was more of a pickup-putdown read for me.

So, there’s the recap (excluding the trashy romance novels that get me through carpool). That puts a respectable start to my embarrassingly tall TBR pile, I hope.

Yarnbox Versus Knitcrate–Which One I Like and Why

******UPDATE MARCH 2018*******

Hey Y’all. I am going to leave the below post as is, but I wanted to update and let you know that, unfortunately, I have become unhappy with the direction Yarnbox has taken over the past few months and am cancelling my subscription. There’s been a lot of changes in the company (under newer management), their practices, customer interactions, and Ravelry community culture. They also have consistent logistical problems with the site and shipping. I’m not going to go into particulars, but there is extensive discussions about these issues in a few Ravelry groups. My decision to cancel comes from the recent trend of populating new boxes with their overstock from previous months or their other subscriptions. I wanted to update you, because if you are researching a yarn club treat for yourself, I can no longer recommend Yarnbox at this time. I hope they get past the hiccups they are experiencing. In the meantime, I may reconsider giving Knitcrate another try, but if you have a yarn subscription you’d recommend, I’d love to hear about it. Remember, my opinions are my own, no one pays me or gives me free stuff, and I got no skin in the yarn business game. I just want to update you that, for now, me and Yarnbox are breaking up.

So, earlier this year, the husband and the Heathens gifted me a 3-month subscription to Yarnbox, which is a monthly box subscription for knitters/crocheters. I love yarn, and I love getting packages, so this was the absolute perfect gift. After my three months was up, I wanted to branch out and see if other subscriptions were just as satisfying, so I gave Knitcrate a try for a couple of months. Ultimately, I cancelled that one and went back to Yarnbox.

(Note, I subscribe to Yarnbox classic, and since cancelling my Knitcrate, they have changed their plans so my old subscription would now be considered the Artisan crate, which looks like it has come down in price since then.)

So, what’s the appeal of a yarn subscription? I get to try new yarns that are not typically at my LYS, and discover something new every month. However, before I go into why I favor the Yarnbox, here’s the points of comparison I started with because all of us fiber geeks are as diverse in preference as it gets:

The Yarn–I want to see quality and quantity for the price, and I think Yarnbox wins out (see below). I like variety as well. Yarnbox lets you set some preferences about colors, yarn weights, etc., so you can better tailor what you will get to your taste. For example, you can say “never send me brown yarn,” if you have a hate on for brown. To my knowledge, Knitcrate does not let you set any preferences, but this could have changed since I cancelled. I believe both boxes sell any leftovers so you can snag an extra hank if you love something and want a bigger project’s worth of yarn.

Patterns–Both boxes come with a couple of patterns. For some, this is part of the value, but not for me. I am super picky about patterns, and I don’t waste time knitting a pattern I’m lukewarm about. Ravelry is my playground when it comes to pattern hunting. If you place a big emphasis on the patterns that come in these boxes, you should check out their respective groups on Ravelry to get a feel for them.

Extras–Knitcrate Artisan came with a small extra or two each month. Yarnbox typically does not, though they did include a Soak sample (wool wash) in last month’s box.

Cost/Value–They are about the same (now, not when I had Knitcrate), though Yarnbox offers discounts for pre-purchased subscriptions, rather than month-to-month, but this is immaterial to me since I do month-to-month.

So, let’s take a look at some of my Yarnboxes:

These are just a few, but each month, I feel like I’m getting introduced to new yarns, new companies, and the quality and yardage for the cost is great. I’ve only been disappointed one month out of about seven, but that was more about my personal taste. Also, I get lots of colors but never anything I hate.

My first month of Knitcrate came with a cute keychain charm, a wooden llama needle gauge, and here was the yarn:

Don’t let the picture fool you, these are pretty small hanks, though they are of good quality, (for comparison, this Knitcrate provided 340 yards of sport weight yarn, while the above Yarnbox with the purple Sugar Bush Bliss was 525 yards of sport weight ). Also, they come from a very well-known company with wide distribution. The next month seemed more promising with two bigger hanks and…scissors. But dear lort, the color:

Trust me, it’s a lot brighter than the picture looks, and just not me. However, I was happy with the quality and discovering a new yarn brand that wasn’t such a big player, so it definitely was more of what I expected than the first month.

So, after a couple of months, I realized I was underwhelmed by my Knitcrates. I think the notions idea is cute, but in reality, it’s stuff I don’t need. I have 25 pairs of scissors and about 10 needle gauges (especially since all my interchangeable needles have one included). I’d rather put those dollars toward more yarn than on the chance of really redundant accessories.

Remember, patterns are not on my priority list, so both boxes are equal in that aspect. What sealed the deal was the chance that I would be paying for yarn that was just too far outside of my preferences. Also, at the time, my Knitcrate Artisan was about 10 bucks more a month than my Yarnbox, but I think they have since lowered the price, so take that for what it’s worth.

Ultimately, I think Yarnbox appeals to me because I feel like I get great new yarns, learn about new companies/indie operations, and I get to have some preferences while maintaining the surprise. So, take my opinion with a grain of salt, and I’m going to get back to my knitting.

***The usual disclaimer: Neither of these companies know me, because I’m just not that cool. My opinions here are all my own, and nobody gave me free stuff, or solicited my blog, or promised me a cameo in the next Kanye video. I just like talking about yarn…and food…and my abject hate for warm weather in November.***