Tag Archives: Books

I have spent a large part of this winter hiding from the cold and devouring books. So many amazing books! The following are some of my current favorites*.

Small Gatherings: Seasonal Menus for Cozy Dinners This book is as charming as the title suggests. Lovely photography, great menus and “Menu Manager” that helps you figure out the timing for each menu is a really great idea. Can’t to try out some of these recipes!

One Pan, Two Plates: More Than 70 Complete Weeknight Meals for Two True confession: I bought this book strictly based on the cover photo. Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Summer Squash Hash. This one is going to be a summertime staple, but I am equally excited about the One Pan Roasted Deviled Chicken, the Golden Corn Cakes and the weeknight Pad Thai.

Mike and I are exploring all kinds of methods of creating fabric and this book is one of the best we’ve read so far. Printing on Fabric: Techniques with Screens, Stencils, Inks, and Dyes is super-informative and easy to understand without being basic-basic.

I adored Print Workshop: Hand-Printing Techniques and Truly Original Projects by Christine Schmidt when it came out back in 2010 and it’s follow-up– Yellow Owl’s Little Prints: Stamp, Stencil, and Print Projects to Make for Kids does not disappoint. If you have kids (or even just a few hours to spend with someone else’s) this book has is filled with really charming ideas.

Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes: Over 100 Recipes from the Great Food Regions of the World. I own every JO cookbook, I think, and this one is really, really lovely. I are the Spaghetti Vongole recipe from the book this week and it was spectacular! There are lot so of free recipes on Jamie’s website if you want to dip your toe in before making the plunge.

Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans I have been flirting with the idea of Paleo for a while now and I have to say that this book makes it look easy. The layout and photography are innovative and the recipes are easy and yummy. Highly recommended!

It’s probably way too early to be talking about the best cookbook of 2014 but– so help me!– I think Wild Rosemary and Lemon Cake: A Collection of Italian Recipes from the Amalfi Coast might be the best cookbook of 2014. The recipes, the photography, the graphic design, even the paper are all first rate. I can’t overstate how much I love this book.

Sweet heavenly days! The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop is so chock-a-block full of recipes that I want to make. Lavender Honey Custard Pie. Pistachio Coconut Cream Pie. Black Current Lemon Chiffon Pie. Cinnamon Apricot Pie with Vanilla Pouring Cream. Sweet Corn Custard Pie. Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie. Lemon Chess Pie. Maple Lime Custard Pie. Cranberry Sage Pie.  You get the picture. If you bake, order this already.

I am a huge fan of the films of Wes Anderson. I own every single movie on DVD and I’ve watched them all again and again and again. What I love about Wes Anderson is the way he creates fully realized little worlds that his characters inhabit. The details give his stories a depth that most movies can’t even come close to.  The Wes Anderson Collection explores Anderson’s motivations and the careful preparation that goes into creating those world. This book, like a Wes Anderson film, is a perfect little gem.

As always, if you are considering ordering any of these books (or anything else for that matter) and you use or links to get to Amazon, JMF will earn few pennies that we pass along to Heifer International. In 2013, those pennies added up to Two Flocks of Geese, Two Flocks of Ducks, Two Hives of Honey Bees, Two Llamas, Two Sheep, Two Pigs and Two Goats. Not too shabby, eh?

For reasons that I can’t really get into right now, I’ve been away from home for about the last three months. Which isn’t to say that I’m homeless exactly. In fact, I have the opposite problem– I am currently living in three places (or four depending on how you count). My stuff is spread out all over creation and I am currently receiving mail at four addresses in two states.

If you know me at all, you know that living like this is probably the perfect recipe for driving me crazy. I like for everything in my life to be ordered and orderly, and, when it’s not, I quickly descend into chaos. The good news is that I am learning to live within the (controlled) chaos and have realized that if I haven’t had something in my possession for a month or more, it’s probably not that important. Also, I totally think I could survive in the witness protection program now.

All of that is just a preamble to today’s blog post though. It’s also a long, drawn out apology for my  incredible rudeness in not acknowledging a lovely gift much, much sooner.

A few weeks ago, I swung by one of my numerous abodes, picked up a bunch of mail, tossed it in the back seat of my car and headed to my next appointment. It wasn’t until today that I unearthed that pile of mail (while looking for something completely different) and discovered a package containing one of the loveliest gifts I’ve ever received.

I’ve blogged here before about my love for the children’s book Woolbur. It’s a book that every child should own because it’s all about being yourself and accepting others for who they are. It’s also fun and the illustrations make me so, so happy.

So imagine my joy and delight at opening an unexpected (and long dormant) package and finding a copy of Woolbur autographed TO ME by illustrator Lee Harper. Of course, I got all kitten-headed and teary eyed. And then I remembered that my friend Melissa mentioned that Lee Harper is her uncle. Once I connected the dots I got even more emotionally overwhelmed and wrecky, and it was a good half an hour before I could even write this post. Sometimes, I can’t believe how lucky I am to have such amazing friends.

Melissa and Uncle Lee Harper, I honestly do not have words profound enough to thank you for a gift this precious, so I will just say thank you and hope that you know how much I will treasure this book.