Cookbooks, Recipes & Stuff

I know it looks like I'm not doing too much writing other than about Presto Pasta Nights. And, while I do love pasta, I have been busy working on some of my other sites too.

Lots of fantastic cookbooks have come my way, provided by publishers, authors and their agents. Truth is, I get lots of requests from suppliers of one sort or another to review their books and products, but I never agree to review anything I wouldn't love to try and I only share my views on the ones I really do love. I don't get paid for reviews although I do get to keep the books and products - lucky me!

Because the gift giving and party hosting season is nearly upon us, I thought I'd share some of my latest treasures so you can see if these books are right for you. Check them out at Cookbooks4EveryKitchen. In fact, I've been trying to organize all my favorite cookbooks, each with a post including a recipe or two and why I love the book. You can find the recent recipes at RecipesFrom4EveryKitchen along with all the others I make.

The latest trend seems to be about eating locally grown and eating seasonally and a number of my latest books reflect that. Others are for those of us with little or no time to cook with meals that can be be put together quickly, economically and healthfully. And the third type of books you find on my shelves are what I call the foodie travelogue books....the ones you are just as happy to sit and read as you are to cook the dishes from around the world.

My biggest challenge, with so many books to go through and share...is letting go of each one and moving on to the next. You can't imagine how many little sticky notes I have in each! This week I'll be cooking up some of Lucy Waverman's awesome recipes from her latest book A Year in Lucy's Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes and Memorable Meals The Sicilian Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower was brilliant and on tap for later today is her Spiced Cauliflower Soup with Spinach.

If you live in Ontario and have ever visited the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario), then you've seen the fantastic - and FREE Food & Drink magazine, which is truly my all time favorite of all my favorite magazines. Too bad it's only available at their outlets in Ontario. Well, why am I mentioning this? Lucy Waverman is the food editor and I've loved her take on eating, cooking and hosting for a long time. That's why I jumped at the chance to check out her latest book and the recipes I've looked at and tried are as good as I expected...maybe even better.

I've also been busy adding to AskRuth, where I provide kitchen tips and answer questions about cooking. The latest, in fact, given that it's Fall around here and that means chilly weather and the need for slow simmering stews and braises. And the latest Food & Drink (my cousin in Toronto was kind enough to send me the Fall issue) had an article on braising tips that I had to share. If you have any particular ideas for a post, let me know and I'll be happy to do a little research and share.

Because I feel I'm baking challenged, the next article will be about knowing when eggs and butter should be cold and when they should be at room temperature.

Now I'm off to enjoy the last of the sunshine...apparently it's going to rain tomorrow. Oh well, another chance to read all my wonderful new treasures.