Learn Something New

The Year of Cozy by Adrianna Adarme

This is a very cute book, and the images are beautiful. My biggest issue with it is some of the recipes and crafts use obscure ingredients and materials you would probably need to order online. The contents also seem to be thrown together helter-skelter. It was fun to read through though. 

259 pages

From Freezer to Table by Polly Conner & Rachel Tiemeyer

Although I thought their second book was better than their first, this one still has some great ideas on how to prep meals in advance for easy healthy weekday cooking. I love the idea of setting up a freezer club, where each person contributes a few meals and they all swap. Probably not a good idea for right now, but it's still something to keep in mind for the future!

233 pages 

Body Reading by Sasha Fenton

This short and sweet guide reviews how humans have traditionally attributed meaning to different parts of the body. The author goes through the reading of heads, hands, eyes, feet, even moles and itches.The chapter on phrenology was especially interesting. Does any of this actually reflect someone's personality and fate? No, but it sure is fascinating to read about what people thought and believed in the past. 

144 pages

The Witch's Book of Self-Care by Ann Murphy-Hiscock

This is a great collection of self-care techniques, meditations, recipes, and activities. I love how simple and clear the instructions are. They are all very doable with little need for materials. Self-Care is a huge focus for me right now, and this book is just what I needed. I may end up buying my own copy. 

224 pages

From Freezer to Cooker by Polly Conner and Rachel Tiemeyer

I've been trying out so many recipes since getting my Instant Pot, but most of the cookbooks I've found so far have been pretty meh. This one is perfect! Each recipe includes instructions for slow cooker, instant pot, and freeze-ahead meals! Plenty of pictures, easy step by step instructions, and shortcut tips for when you're in a hurry. Plus, the authors live here in Columbia! I will probably purchase my own copy of this one.

This is how a cookbook should be! I'm excited to try some of these recipes.

256 pages

Savor Missouri: River Hill Country Food & Wine by Nina Furstenau

So many cool places along our rivers! I definitely want to try and visit some of these wineries, orchards and restaurants in the near future. I've always wanted to visit a pick-your-own lavender farm...

This book gave me some ideas for day trips once things warm up!

175 pages

100 Million Years of Food by Stephen Le

The subtitle of this book is 'what our ancestors ate and why it matters today.' Le explores how humans became omnivores, how we developed our tastes for some foods and think others are off limits.  He takes us on a worldwide explorations of cultures and developments, ending with some conclusions that are pretty mainstream, like 'get enough exercise', and others that are off beat, like 'eat less meat and dairy when young, and more when elderly'.  This is well researched, and an interesting read, although he does ramble at times.  294 pages.

Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity by Gary Nabhan

Ever wonder why some people love hot peppers, and others can't tolerate even mild ones?  Or why some ethnic groups have a greater propensity to certain diseases like diabetes? Nabhan explores some of the recent research behind the interaction of genes and foods, and how sometimes a food may cause not only unwanted harmful reactions but also helpful ones.  For example, fava beans cause an allergy type reaction among many people living in the Mediterranean/North African area, but also help to protect from malaria.  Nabhan also explores how genes, diet, ethnicity and place can influence how we interact with different diet types.  He explains why more attention should be paid to each culture's traditional food sources, as the foods to which people from that area and culture are best adapted in complex ways.  This also helps to explain why the latest diet fad will fail many people, because it is not well suited to their body's genetic predispositions.  210 pages

Eating on the Wild Side; the missing link to optimum health by Jo Robinson

This is an eye-opening book and will change the way you shop for food.  You may already know that the dark leafy lettuces have more nutrients than the light-colored varieties. But which apples have the most nutrients.  But did you know that our tendency to breed varieties of fruits and vegetables for higher sugar content often decreases the level of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals?  Robinson describes how our modern fruit and vegetable varieties were developed from their wild parents, often to withstand being stored for weeks before purchase.  She reviews the research on the most nutritious varieties, and provides lists to use when shopping, whether at the grocery store or farmer's market.  400 pages.

The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up: A Breakthrough Medical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Steven Masley

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

I believed this book could help me understand arterial plaque more and what we can do.

Audio:  9 hrs. 10 min.
Print:  400 pages

Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Posted for Paul Mathews

Hannah Swensen hits a man who is walking on the side of the road. Her mother’s wedding is a month away, and she must solve the murder and get to the church on time.

Audio:  9 hrs. 35 min.

Print: 400 pages

The Third Plate: Field Notes on the future of food, by Dan Barber

Barber, a chef and owner of a farm to table restaurant, explores the questions of what it means to be a chef and how to move from the current state of high-yield, low taste production farming to a truly 'sustainable' agriculture that nourishes the body and is in harmony with the earth.  Those are some pretty big questions, and I enjoyed Barber's view that we needed to do more than just have small organic farming experiments to make true systemic change in the way food is produced.  While Barber describes some interesting developments and experiments in both farming and fish production, these efforts are so very small scale it's hard to conceive that these trends will make changes in the current  production farm practices in any big way anytime soon.  Barber does make some convincing points about production agriculture's emphasis on uniformity and yield both requiring more fertilizer and herbicides as well as having a detrimental effect on flavor. Barber also gives several examples of how well-known chefs have influenced what people want to each, and hence what farms produce. Toward the end of the book he briefly describes his 'third plate', which makes use of all of the products of the farm from underused grains like oats and millet to making use of the whole animal in cooking, not just the most select cuts. He makes me feel downright noble for making stews in the crock pot using cheap cuts of meat.  I'll need to figure out how to use more barley and other grains in my cooking.  496 pages.

Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanna Fluke

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Hannah says she will not go out and find anyone dead.  In a severe thunder storm she hits and kills a man.  Her mother is getting married but keeps changing her plans.  On the ranch a daughter returns but her sister believes she is a fake. 

Audio:  9 hrs. 35 min.
Print:  304 pages

Food in Missouri, a Cultural Stew by Madeline Matson

 I am converting some older Missouri Heritage Readers from analog to digital, and this is one of them. I got interested in it (I didn’t read it the first time around – I let the volunteers handle it), but I read it this time. It was quite interesting.

It was written by Madeline Matson, who worked in the State Library for many years.  This isn’t a cookbook; it is a history of this state's food, from the hunting and farming methods of the area's earliest inhabitants. Beginning with Native Americans, she proceeds to the early settlers, which include the French, Spanish, German and English. She includes African-American influences, and addresses how food was produced, marketed, transported, and by whom it was consumed.

Tracing the history of food preparation, preservation, and marketing, while highlighting the cultural traditions that engendered each change, Matson shows how advances in farming methods, the invention of the electric range, the development of cookbooks, and three waves of immigration have profoundly influenced what Missourians eat today. Along the way, she highlights some of the key people, places, and institutions in Missouri's food history.

168 pages

Five Quarters of the orange: a novel by Joanne Harris

I picked up this book because it was about France, cooking, and World War II.  Framboise (french for raspberry!) has returned to the village her family fled during the war. Believing no-one recognizes her, she opens a successful cafe using the recipes left to her by her mother. But she finds cryptic messages from her mother hidden among the recipes. The messages awake repressed memories of the German execution of 10 villagers. A story of loss, survival, and making it to mellow old age.  320 pages.

High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America By Jessica B. Harris

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

From Africa to present day chefs Soul Food has a long and interesting history. Great book that is hard to talk about. Fusion is one word to describe this journey to other countries.

Audio: 9 hrs. 45 min.

Print: 304 pages