A book for the foodie who just loves food!

My kids and I have been poring over a very special book that came in the mail this week.  The title is Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Our Edible World by Julia Rothman.  I was the first person to get a peek at it and I immediately called to my kids.  I knew they would be fascinated by all the food tidbits and interesting facts this book held.  And indeed they were!  They love it.  My

oldest daughter has come to me multiple times this week asking to read the book while she was enjoying her breakfast or lunch.

So, why do we all love it so much?

First, because it's different.  It has pictures that are fun to look at and help me imagine things that I've known about, but have never seen.  The author includes information about such a wide range of topics--everything from stoves over time to distillation and the fortune cookie!

Secondly, because it won't be what you expect.  This book is about all the things that make our food interesting.  It will likely make you want to try some new spices, desserts, and even cheeses!  If you read this whole book, you will feel much more educated about food and what people eat around the world.

Best of all, it is an easy read!  So, if you just want to get off the computer or stop watching television, this book will engage your mind and your palate!  And if you're looking for a gift for someone who loves food, this would be a fun surprise!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Storey books.  I've written this review because I wanted to--and because my family loves this book and would give this book a huge five thumbs up!

Cast-iron Cooking

I've been cooking with a large cast iron skillet for years.  I love it.  I love that I can scrub the bottom of the pan and not stress about it!  But, I also love the natural way that my family can get some iron into their diet by my cooking with this pan.  My family has low-iron levels so this matters to me.

Recently, I received a new cookbook titled aptly, Cast-Iron Cooking.  In the beginning, the author explains why one would cook with cast-iron.  The author's explanation was more information than I

was aware of!  I had never considered how it conducts heat--though I knew from experience and cooking with my pan for fifteen years.  The next few pages of the book explain how to season and take care of cast iron pans.  The explanations were simple and make it sound very easy to keep a pan seasoned--which it is.

Then, the cookbook goes on to include recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The picture on the Table of Contents page is actually of raw steaks on a skillet--which is one of our favorite things to make with our cast iron pan.  The first recipe in the breakfast section is for a Dutch Baby with a blueberry sauce.  The blueberry sauce takes a long--- time to cook, so be sure to start it first and then take a look at the dutch baby directions.  The recipe recommends making the sauce while the dutch baby is baking, but I'd recommend starting with the sauce instead.  Next, I tried the Grilled Cheese.  The directions are a little unusual.  You spread the bread with a light layer of mayonaise and cook your grilled cheese.  I will say it was one of the most evenly browned grilled cheese sandwiches I've every made, but it got mixed reviews in my family.  I liked it, but didn't love it, my son loved it, and one of my daughters didn't like it.  We were evenly split.  Lastly, I liked the fried chicken recipe.  This is the method I've used for making fried chicken for several years and it works quite well.  I would take the cayenne pepper out of the recipe, but that's because my kids aren't crazy about that spice.

Each recipe includes an appealing photo which definitely made me want to go cook.  Photographs can make such a difference in a cookbook!  They can make recipes appealing--or unappealing.
The formatting and writing of the recipes made them easy to follow and there's enough room around the recipes to write changes on the pages if you're one of those kinds of cooks (like me) who writes down modifications to directions and ingredients according to your family's tastes.

This cookbook is definitely a helpful one if you're wanting to explore cooking more in a cast-iron pan. The recipes can be made in another type of skillet as well--they don't require a cast iron pan, but the author did pick out some that are particularly good in a cast iron pan because it can go in an oven.  
My middle daughter has already made the Dutch Baby recipe twice!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Storey Books.  These opinions are my own and this review is one that I have chosen to write.

Fiber and Knitting

Two new crafting books are sitting in front of me that I want to quickly share about...

The first is titled Cable Left, Cable Right by Judith Durant.  I have to admit that I am a basic knit and purl knitter so the charts in this book are beyond my skill.  So I turned to a friend at 4H this week who does more advanced knitting than me and asked her opinion.  She looked the book over and was very positive about what she saw in it.  Her praise fell on the charts for each of the cables.  She thought they were very helpful and easy to follow.  The pictures and descriptions also made sense to her.  So, if knitting cables is something you enjoy, I'd definitely check this new book out!

The second book in front of me is a beautiful book about yarn for spinners.
Yarn-i-tec-ture.  I don't weave, spin, or dye wool, but I can appreciate the work that goes into it.  A few months ago, a 16 year old girl gave a presentation to the 4H group we visited about her wool, spinning, and the sheep she was getting to raise.  I loved hearing about what

she had learned in order to spin the world into yarn that she could work with.  This book would be perfect for her.  It is the next step.  This book is for someone who can spin and knit but is interested in improving their skills.   There are tons of great pictures showing the differences in dying, types of spinning, grist (the density of a yarn and how heavy a particular length of yarn is), plying (and even the mistakes that come up), tips on how to knit with yarn you've spun, and even patterns using the yarn.  It's a great all-in-one book for someone who's really pursuing this hobby!

I admire people who enjoy knitting and spinning and have mastered these skills.  I can see how both these books would be helpful and encouraging to someone loves cabling and spinning wool into yarn.  Storey's books are always beautiful, well formatted and easy to read.  And these two books are just that!

Please note that I received complimentary copies of these books from Storey Publishing, but I have chosen to write this review with my own opinions in it.

Saving on a Tablet Case

For my birthday, my husband gave me an ipad mini.  I tried to go cheap at first--buying a $13 case for it.  But, it was cracked within two months.  I rarely took it out of our house never dropped it and slid it into a protective bag when it did!  Yet it still cracked at some point while my oldest daughter (who is a super careful girl) had it in her possession.  So, I needed a new case.

I was determined to get a more protective case when I headed to Target.  One of the tough things about shopping online for items is that you can't feel and really see how strong the material is that something is made out of.  At Target, I could see up close what I was buying.  I settled on a great Targus case that I've loved. Target will price match Amazon if an item is sold directly from Amazon, so that is helpful, too.  The new case I bought has been wonderful and very protective.  I don't worry anymore.

This past week was my oldest daughter's birthday and we decided to get her a tablet.  We looked around and decided on an Air Pad 2, 32 gb.  We've had better luck with Macs over PCs the past ten years.  Less viruses, more reliable, longer lifespans.  The same Samsung tablet with 32 gb memory cost only $20 less than the Air Pad 2 when I found it on sale.  We thought about the ipad mini, but it has a smaller screen.  She uses it for one of her high school textbooks.  The touchscreen on my ipad mini worked better than the laptops (which didn't have a touch screen) other students used worked with the text.

But, getting a tablet doesn't just involve the tablet.  We needed to get a screen protector, keyboard, and case.  What should we get?  Everything at Best Buy seemed so expensive and non-fun for a teenage girl!  So, I headed home and got on Amazon's site.

I knew that cases with a keyboard attached would cost about $150.  My husband wanted her to have a keyboard though.  So, I opted for a Speck case for $25, a screen protector for $8 and an Anker keyboard for $14.  It was the right combination for her needs.  Because the keyboard isn't attached she can turn the tablet vertically when she wants to and still use the keyboard or choose to use it horizontally.  We saved a lot of money going this route and she has a fun colored case (purple)!