Cheap Easy or Hats off to Tea

Cheap & Easy: Good Food for Girls on the Go

Author: Sandra Bark

A gourmet-inspired cookbook for making meals on the cheap and easy

Girl, meet spatula.

With simple recipes for quick-fix meals and practical tips for stocking your freezer and pantry so that you always have what you need on hand, Cheap & Easy is an inspiration for those who are stymied by their tight kitchens and even tighter budgets.

Sandra Bark and Alexis Kanfer created the dishes in Cheap & Easy as an escape from too much takeout. Their recipes deliver maximum flavor with minimal work and include:

• The Independent Pancake: bakes in the oven so you can hang out with your guests

• Fred and Ginger Pumpkin Soup: perfect for a weeknight

• Lazy Girl's Lasagna: a time-saving version of the classic

• Blenderella: the margarita grows up and goes to the ball

• Smart Cookie: one recipe, many flavors

From comfort food to elegant entrées, from wholesome salads to that first sweet bite, Bark and Kanfer cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner; brunch; cocktails; and brown-bag specials perfect for work and the beach. They include plenty of choices for vegetarians and carnivores alike, with "playing the field" sections so you can vary the recipes.

So delete the Chinese place from speed dial because whether you are preparing for a spur-of-the-moment dinner party, an evening with your sweetie, or a movie night for you and the dog, Cheap & Easy is the only cookbook you will ever need.

Publishers Weekly

For women who'd rather speed-dial the restaurant around the corner than open up the fridge, or for those sick of eating leftover moo shu pork for lunch, 20-something Brooklynites Bark and Kanfer offer this snazzy yet simple cookbook. Starting with basics like "freezer feng shui" and a "pantry raid," the authors demystify the kitchen for neophytes and divulge secrets to abbreviating popular dishes like lasagna and meat loaf, while highlighting the essentials that make those dishes so enjoyable. From beverages to salad dressings and soups to sweets, the recipes map out the necessary tools and ingredients with a hip flair. For example, Chiquita Granola mixes old-fashioned oats and cinnamon with coconut and dried pineapple, and Come Hither Couscous doctors up the Mediterranean standard with fresh lemon zest. Abridged versions of heavenly desserts like 30-Minute Apple Crisp and Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Sandwiches are easy enough for even the most novice chefs. The book's best section, "Snacks and the City," offers sample menus like Hangover Helper and Slumber Party. While some dishes may leave readers pondering the sheer necessity of a recipe (e.g., Girl Meets Soy is a four-step process for what's essentially popping marinated tofu in the oven), others share advice on subjects as diverse as poaching chicken and flavoring whipped cream. And though Kanfer and Bark undoubtedly direct their quips and jests toward a female crowd, their book might serve as a counselor to not-so-savvy guys, too. (On sale Apr. 6) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

When Bark and Kanfer-both Brooklynites living in small apartments-realized that they were spending too much of their limited budgets on restaurants and takeout food, they decided to develop a repertoire of quick, simple, and affordable recipes. Aimed at their fellow twentysomethings, this book includes about 60 recipes for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner entr es, sides, and desserts. Although the dishes are indeed cheap and easy, both the recipe titles and the text suffer from an overabundance of labored puns and awkward attempts at humor. This leaves the book with an oddly dated feel rather than the Sex in the City tone that the authors were probably trying for: e.g., Fred and Ginger Pumpkin Soup is described as one "you don't have to dance backward in high heels for. This cancan is the easiest lineup around." Only larger collections should consider. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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Hats off to Tea!: A Celebration Brimming with Fun and Friendship

Author: Alda Ellis

Alda Ellis, a Southern lady of style and grace, invites women to celebrate and incorporate teatime. Artist Kathy Hatch entertains the eye and the imagination with whimsical hats, dresses, and tea treasures to adorn Alda's sweet memories, delicious recipes, and delightful ideas for tea gatherings.

• "Girls Night In" tea parties rule out formality and embrace laughter and fun
• "Brimming over with joy" moments honor birthdays, milestones, and the gift of friendship
• "A Children's Legacy" tea creates memories that last a lifetime

As warm as a satisfying pot of Earl Grey, this gift is wonderful for tea aficionados and anyone who longs to bring back the simplicity and community that surrounds the tradition of tea.

Hallelujah The Welcome Table or Pretty Party Cakes

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes

Author: Maya Angelou

Throughout Maya Angelou’s life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her world travels as a bestselling writer, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant–and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.

Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak–and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that she didn’t know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn’t lost–she did experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted a chicken when she was beyond tipsy–and created Chicken Drunkard Style. And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic compliment: “If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous.”

Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies, chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, andchocolate éclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all tried and true, and come from Angelou’s heart and her home. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things Angelou loves best: writing and cooking.

Publishers Weekly

Readers familiar with Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will find what may be the secret ingredient of her success in this collection of tear- and laughter-provoking vignettes with 73 savory recipes. Here's Angelou's grandmother's Chicken and Dumplings, Crackling Corn Bread and Caramel Cake. Big brother Bailey makes a mean batch of Smothered Pork Chops and knows how to stretch them for a week's worth of meals. Mother, who "cooked wonderful meals and was very poignant about how to present them," can make a Roasted Capon play second fiddle to Red Rice. As the wider world beckons, Angelou dines. Sometimes she's the worker; having passed herself off as an experienced Creole cook, she becomes one with her Braised Short Ribs. Other times, she's the hostess serving what M.F.K. Fisher pronounces "the first honest cassoulet I have eaten in years." A batch of spoon bread nets Angelou a job and compliment: "If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous." She does, and the food world widens (tamales, pat , minestrone, chachouka), and the fellow diners often have famous names (Oprah, Jessica Mitford, Rosa Guy). The food remains delectable and comfortable, and Angelou's directions are minimal but clear enough for experienced cooks. Color photos not seen by PW. Simultaneous audio release. Agent, Helen Brann. (On sale Sept. 21) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In each chapter of this engaging book, renowned autobiographer and poet Angelou deftly couples brief anecdotes from her life with more than 60 recipes for food enjoyed at that time. These recipes reflect Angelou's experience and growth and become more diverse as the book progresses without becoming complex or difficult. Readers will be torn between losing themselves in the evocative text and rushing to the kitchen to whip up such delights as her grandmother's caramel cake or the white bean cassoulet that Angelou prepared for food writer M.F.K. Fisher. Order as many copies as possible--both foodies and Angelou's traditional audience will seek out and enjoy this gem. For all public libraries, plus literature and cookery collections. (Color photographs not seen.) [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/04.]--Andrea R. Dietze, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Read also

Pretty Party Cakes: Sweet and Stylish Cakes and Cookies for All Occasions

Author: Peggy Porschen

A romantic Three-Column Wedding Cake adorned with fresh roses; eye-catching Kalei-doscope Cakes iced in geometric designs; glittering Bollywood-inspired lollipop cookies—you don’t have to go to a high-end bakery to be able to serve these beautiful desserts at your next party. Master cake decorator Peggy Porschen shares her designs for the gorgeous cookies, cupcakes, and cakes that have graced some of the world’s most discriminating tables—and they’re as easy to create as they are spectacular. Written for everyone from beginning bakers to seasoned pros, each design in Pretty Party Cakes is broken down into basic steps that turn even complicated cake sculptures into rewarding, accessible creations.

Pretty Party Cakes is brimming with dozens of innovative designs that are all based on fundamental recipes provided in Porschen’s introduction to the basics. This section also covers the equipment and techniques needed to make her luscious creations. Once you’ve mastered the key skills, you can confidently move to chapters on cookies, cupcakes, miniature cakes, and large cakes. Designs range from sparkling heart cakes and butterfly-topped pastel cupcakes to enchanting, edible Treasure Boxes that can be used to present gifts. Ambitious bakers can create stunning desserts such as the Romantic Rose Tower cake and Gift Box Cake, and even simpler sweets such as Alphabet Cookies and Chocolate Canapés will wow your guests with their alluring presentation.

Packed with tips, step-by-step images, and striking photographs to accompany every design, Pretty Party Cakes brings together everything you need to re-createPeggy Porschen’s delicious masterpieces. Whether you’re preparing a wedding cake for dozens of guests or creating a showstopping dessert for an intimate dinner party, these stunning designs will be sure to rival the cakes that line the windows of the chicest designer bakeries.

An all-encompassing guide to creating shockingly simple—yet stunning—cakes, cookies, and cupcakes that rival those from even the most fashionable designer bakeries.

New York Times Seafood Cookbook or Twelve Months of Monastery Salads

New York Times Seafood Cookbook: More Than 825 Traditional and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World

Author: Florence Fabricant

From the renowned food pages of The New York Times comes this comprehensive and appealing seafood cookbook. Covering all kinds of fish and shellfish, the book includes recipes for appetizers, soups, stews, salads, and main courses.

Among the chefs included are Mario Batali, Alain Ducasse, Tom Colicchio, Dave Pasternak, Mark Militello and Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.

Complete with detailed background information as well as notes on technique and serving, this lively and varied cookbook is a must for home cooks and seafood fans everywhere.

Publishers Weekly

As Fabricant, a longtime writer for the dining section of the New York Times, notes in her introduction, the way Americans buy, cook and eat seafood has changed drastically over the last 50 or so years. Indeed, the recipes in this collection make use of a wide range of fish types and suggest numerous useful preparation methods. It's a shame, though, that the recipes have not been dated, as that might have made the book more useful in terms of culinary history. The recipes themselves, however, are streamlined and reliable. Within each chapter (fish, shellfish, caviar and smoked fish and mixed seafood preparations), recipes are grouped by the type of fish they feature, which are arranged in alphabetical order, so that the largest chapter, the one on fin fish, begins with anchovies (including a recipe for Puntarelle with Anchovies) and ends with yellowtail (Grilled Yellowtail with Mexican Marinade). Most fish types are introduced with an overview of the various types and possible substitutes, as in the explanation of flounder nomenclature. Some of the recipes come from famous-name chefs, such as a Croque-Monsieur with Salmon and Caviar from Eric Ripert of New York's fish temple Le Bernardin, and a Bean and Calamari Soup from Cesare Casella of the Tuscan restaurant Beppe. Other recipes, such as Alaskan Halibut and Salmon Gefilte Fish Terrine, illustrate a melting-pot cuisine particular to New York. A solid introduction provides tips for purchasing seafood and judging doneness and makes this generally excellent volume even more useful. (July) Forecast: This book has the range and expertise one would expect from a book culled from the New York Times. Like previous Times collections, this one is likely to become a mainstay. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

With fish becoming an evermore popular part of our diet, the latest cookbook from the New York Times is especially timely. Fabricant's wide-ranging collection includes delectable recipes, both simple and sophisticated, from an impressive list of contributors, including well-known Times food writers like Craig Claiborne and Amanda Hesser, chefs from top restaurants across the country, and other culinary professionals. The fish and shellfish recipes are organized alphabetically by type in two separate chapters; there are shorter chapters devoted to caviar and smoked fish, mixed seafood dishes, and sauces and stocks. Fabricant's introduction covers choosing and preparing seafood, including basic cooking methods, as well as environmental and health concerns and the like; miniessays adapted from the paper, on such topics as "Skate Joins the A-List," appear throughout. Highly recommended. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Read also Organizations or Sustainable Capitalism

Twelve Months of Monastery Salads: 200 Divine Recipes for All Seasons

Author: Victor Antoine DAvila La Tourett

In Twelve Months of Monastery Salads, best-selling author Brother Victor-Antoine celebrates salads, a cuisine in harmony with traditional monastic cooking, which relies a great deal on the seasonal harvest of the monastery garden and utilizes simple, fresh, wholesome ingredients. This collection of 200 delicious, satisfying salads is organized according to the seasons and includes salads that honor saints and salads from culinary traditions around the world. As Brother Victor states in the book's introduction, A salad, carefully prepared, is always an occasion for celebration.

Herbs and the Earth or Quick Easy Ayurvedic Cookbook

Herbs and the Earth: An Evocative Excursion into the Lure and Legend of Our Common Herbs

Author: Henry Beston

"Henry Beston is best known for The Outermost House, his record of a year spent on Cape Cod's outer beach. But here in Herbs and the Earth he moves inland and northward, to his beloved homestead in Nobleboro, Maine, to another adventure and a subject matter close to the earth and dear to his heart." "More than a gardening book, this is a singular example of a man thinking about what he grows, and into these conjectures weaving the fabric of the past. Here are the various herbs and their horticultural characteristics; but here, as well, are their antecedents, their ancient lore, and their curious habits." "The mandrake and wormwood of the Bible, the hyssop and saffron from the Song of Songs, the rue, marjoram, and savory of Shakespeare, are all present. So, too, are the herbs of ancient Greece and Rome, the plants of the medieval medicinal garden and the crusades." In touch with the earth's cycles, Beston takes us on a tour through the seasons with these friends, a tour not soon forgotten, with a voice as sweet as song. Decorated with John Howard Benson's woodcuts and drawings, and introduced by Roger Swain, this edition does justice to one of this country's great writers and naturalists.

Publishers Weekly

Beston (1888-1968), a New England naturalist and children's book author whose ``chosen home'' from 1944 on was a farm in Maine, here writes with an almost Proustian dedication about herbs as human ``familiars'' of ancient lineage. ``The green life of earth is a deeper life than we know,'' he avows, and walks a leisurely path through species including sage, marjoram, basil and other mainstays. Always exercising a ``gardener's musing mind,'' the author gently but firmly reproaches ``the age in which we live'' for having ``lost the earth,'' and exchanged this for a ``vulgar curse of gigantism,'' with gardens ``fallen into so impersonal a rut.'' Writing as an appreciator of ``subtleties of light'' and the revelations of ``a simple leaf,'' Beston pens a hymn in prose, out of print for a dozen years, of unusual depth and eloquence. BOMC alternate. (June)

Booknews

These reflections on herbs, gardens, and nature by naturalist/writer Beston (best known for The Outermost house, a record of a year spent on Cape Cod's beach) were first published in 1935 and are here lovingly reprinted letterpress with woodcuts by John Howard Benson and an introduction by Horticulture magazine editor Roger Swain. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Book about:

Quick & Easy Ayurvedic Cookbook

Author: Eileen Keavy Smith

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of health and healing based on the principle that each human being is unique, and has a distinct individual constitution, genetic inheritance and predisposition to certain ailments.

The Quick & Easy Ayurvedic Cookbook allows you to easily implement Ayurvedic principles in your cooking and improve your health without devoting long hours of study to the subject or breaking your budget. Learn how to cure insomnia and indigestion, and even mood swings, just by making food choices based on your Ayurvedic constitution. The recipes include familiar favorites-such as baked apples, chicken burgers, and potato salad-making it a practical addition to your kitchen and home.

Table of Contents:

Preface     viii
Introduction to Ayurveda     2
The Three Pillars of Life     4
The Individual Constitution     6
Balance and Imbalance     12
Ayurveda and Food     15
Recipes and Guidelines for Balancing the Doshas     24
Introduction to the Recipes     25
Basic Ingredients     27
Missing Ingredients     32
Balancing Vata     34
Guidelines for Food Preparation     40
Vata Recipes     44
Other Ideas for Vata-Balancing Foods     70
Balancing Pitta     72
Guidelines for Food Preparation     78
Pitta Recipes     82
Other Ideas for Pitta-Balancing Foods     108
Balancing Kapha     110
Guidelines for Food Preparation     116
Kapha Recipes     120
Other Ideas for Kapha-Balancing Foods     144
Dining Out     146
Resources     147
Books about Ayurveda     147
Ayurvedic Cookbooks     148
Ayurvedic Organizations     149
Recipe Index     150