Cooking
Hungry Monkey is the funniest book I've read all year. It might seem odd that I would even bother reading a book about "a food-loving father's quest to raise an adventurous eater" since I don't have kids myself. I only review things here that appeal to me personally, so I approached the book thinking perhaps I would review it for another site, but I literally couldn't put it down. Since then I've recommended it to just about everyone I know who has little ones. I don't dare lend anyone my copy because there are too many recipes I have bookmarked to try.
I can hear you saying to yourself, what recipes from a book about cooking for and with kids could she possibly want to make? Let me tell you, just about all of them. But in particular, I want to make Corn with Scallions, Jalapeno and Lime, Bibimbap, Roasted Trout with Fennel, Onions and Cilantro and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze, I won't make the scrumptious sounding Baked Pasta with Cauliflower because it calls for 2 cups of cream and I'm pretty sure that's my yearly allotment, even if it does serve 4 people.
I read all of Hungry Monkey over a lazy weekend poolside in Napa and I laughed out loud. A lot. I'm not sure there has ever been a book as refreshingly honest about what it's really like to cook for and feed kids. Author Matthew Amster-Burton is funny in a smart and self-deprecating kind of way that makes you want to be friends with him. His daughter Iris is one of those hilarious little girls that are very common in my family. She is very entertaining, which is really saying something since I'm not actually related to her.
Hungry Monkey is a great Summer read, but it's also the perfect gift for anyone with a kid, a picky eater or the smug parent of a two year omnivore for that matter (you'll have to read the book to find out why).
Note: I hesitated to review this book, because the best I can really do is tell you to read it. Fortunately there are 3 chapters available online so you can see for yourself why I'm raving about it.
- Cookbooks By Friends & Bloggers I Know
This year a number of my friends and fellow bloggers wrote books. I will not pretend to be unbiased when it comes to these books. I wish the authors much success! Here is a list of the books that I got a chance to review and enjoy: L.A.'s Original...
- Why Do You Cook, Matthew Amster-burton?
Photo credit: Lara Ferroni Matthew Amster-Burton doesn't post photos and doesn't blog all that often, but his writing at Roots and Grubs is enlightening, honest and often very funny. He's a dad who cooks which is somewhat rare in the food...
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Remember how there used to book giveaways and contests on this site? Well come back tomorrow and there will be another one! I will be giving away 10 paperback copies of a book that was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review....
- Books To Give And Get
Sometimes when I review a book I keep it. Other times I give it away. Recently a couple of books that I reviewed fell into that second category. First off a pocket version of Patricia Unterman's San Francisco Food Lover's Guide. This is the...
- Vinography Book Review: Decantations
Vinography.com readers may have noticed that Alder has started to run book reviews written by guest contributors. When our mutual friend Tim Patterson, the book review editor, asked if I wanted to contribute, I decided to review the wine book I was reading...
Cooking
Hungry Monkey: Book Review
Hungry Monkey is the funniest book I've read all year. It might seem odd that I would even bother reading a book about "a food-loving father's quest to raise an adventurous eater" since I don't have kids myself. I only review things here that appeal to me personally, so I approached the book thinking perhaps I would review it for another site, but I literally couldn't put it down. Since then I've recommended it to just about everyone I know who has little ones. I don't dare lend anyone my copy because there are too many recipes I have bookmarked to try.
I can hear you saying to yourself, what recipes from a book about cooking for and with kids could she possibly want to make? Let me tell you, just about all of them. But in particular, I want to make Corn with Scallions, Jalapeno and Lime, Bibimbap, Roasted Trout with Fennel, Onions and Cilantro and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze, I won't make the scrumptious sounding Baked Pasta with Cauliflower because it calls for 2 cups of cream and I'm pretty sure that's my yearly allotment, even if it does serve 4 people.
I read all of Hungry Monkey over a lazy weekend poolside in Napa and I laughed out loud. A lot. I'm not sure there has ever been a book as refreshingly honest about what it's really like to cook for and feed kids. Author Matthew Amster-Burton is funny in a smart and self-deprecating kind of way that makes you want to be friends with him. His daughter Iris is one of those hilarious little girls that are very common in my family. She is very entertaining, which is really saying something since I'm not actually related to her.
Hungry Monkey is a great Summer read, but it's also the perfect gift for anyone with a kid, a picky eater or the smug parent of a two year omnivore for that matter (you'll have to read the book to find out why).
Note: I hesitated to review this book, because the best I can really do is tell you to read it. Fortunately there are 3 chapters available online so you can see for yourself why I'm raving about it.
- Cookbooks By Friends & Bloggers I Know
This year a number of my friends and fellow bloggers wrote books. I will not pretend to be unbiased when it comes to these books. I wish the authors much success! Here is a list of the books that I got a chance to review and enjoy: L.A.'s Original...
- Why Do You Cook, Matthew Amster-burton?
Photo credit: Lara Ferroni Matthew Amster-Burton doesn't post photos and doesn't blog all that often, but his writing at Roots and Grubs is enlightening, honest and often very funny. He's a dad who cooks which is somewhat rare in the food...
-
Remember how there used to book giveaways and contests on this site? Well come back tomorrow and there will be another one! I will be giving away 10 paperback copies of a book that was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review....
- Books To Give And Get
Sometimes when I review a book I keep it. Other times I give it away. Recently a couple of books that I reviewed fell into that second category. First off a pocket version of Patricia Unterman's San Francisco Food Lover's Guide. This is the...
- Vinography Book Review: Decantations
Vinography.com readers may have noticed that Alder has started to run book reviews written by guest contributors. When our mutual friend Tim Patterson, the book review editor, asked if I wanted to contribute, I decided to review the wine book I was reading...