From the library this week! - Page 3

[purslaine]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

If you cook anything from Plenty, please let us know how it turns out. I've made a few Ottolenghi recipes from his earlier cookbook, titled oddly enough "Ottolenghi". They turned out so well that I have debated buying it, but I already own so many cookbooks that I've tried to resist. (In case you are interested, I made the Cauliflower fritters and the Chicken with za'tar and sumac and you can search on-line for the recipes). I heard that the recipes in Plenty wasn't quite as good, but the book does look exquisite. 

I cooked the peppered tofu which was excellent and I have now added to my repertoire.  I made a few other things  and they turned out well.  My opinion:  Some of the recipes need altering - either due to  difficult to find ingredients (difficult in my rural part of the world!) or because they use huge amounts of things (the tofu used 5 tb of pepper and 11 tb of butter!)  I would only buy the book if I were comfortable altering recipes.  The things I tried all came out well, and are different than the stuff I usually make or find in cookbooks, so that is good.  Lots of garlic, spices, chili,  lemons...this is food for foodies. 

The book  is broken down by vegetable and is vegetarian, but definitely not vegan.

I would take it out from the library before buying - it is not everyones cup of tea - but it is mine.  

[Daffodil]

Some good ones in our current batch from the library:

Orangutan Tongs by Jon Agee (tongue twister poems that are really fun to read)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (I read this aloud to my 6 year old and almost-9-year old, and they really liked it.)

Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke (a graphic novel almost-9-year old DD read and loved.  She was really happy to learn a sequel is being published.)

[Smokering]

My current haul is mostly garden design books - we're moving in a month and our new house has enough space for a flower garden, which is something I haven't attempted before. The books are inspiring, but also slightly depressing because so many emphasise that the key to a good garden is, basically, MONEY - bricks, pergolas, raised beds, sunken gardens, statuary, urns, barbecue areas.... Oh well. I'm going for a cottage garden look, and that's not too expensive.

I also got out (just for kicks) "Who Wrote Shakespeare?", a humour book by a Kiwi writer called "An Asian At My Table", a book about EB White, and some books for DD. Also a DVD of Cinderella on Ice: it seemed Christmassy and she'll love it.

[kitchensqueen]

I got The Heirloom Life Gardener by Jere & Emilee Gettle today, the owners of Baker Creek Seed Company. Or I should say, my husband took the baby to the library and they picked it up for me while I was working. Either way, I'm excited to read it. 

[hildare]

still reading game of thrones, but i am on dance of dragons! 

i got stitch and bitch superstar knitting- now it's on my xmas list. 

for dd, we got kate and the beanstalk as we've been obsessing over "fee fi fo fum." 

[SweetSilver]

After the usual Christmas offerings (and a new one-- a picture-book version of A Christmas Carol by the illustrator of the Unfortunate Events series) we've borrowed some old favorites-- the Billy and Blaze books by CW Anderson.  Our favorite is Blaze and Thunderbolt.  I love these old stories about a boy and his pony, Blaze, and their adventures.  

Tried an abridged edition of Treasure Island (NC Wyeth illustrations) that my husband didn't want to put down.

Also, today I brought home a winner, Eddie's Kitchen, another in the Eddie's picture books (Tools, and Garden).  I like that they don't retool the British words (usually "mum").  These books have all been very fun, and always a bit of mischief from his little sister.

Mischief is still a popular theme, with babies and dogs being tops for laughs.  The original Star Wars movie made a reappearance.  It is on disc-two of only one edition I've found of New Hope.

Myself, I am attempting to read Tender at the Bone by former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl.  Wonderful.  Makes me realize that when done well, autobiographies are my favorite books.

[kitchensqueen]

I got the Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman. I need to be inspired to grow foodstuffs during the winter months. I feel like there's this whole world of fresh homegrown veg in the cold months that I'm missing out on. And I like his other books too. 

[jimblejamble]

Jude just got a ton of books (seriously, like 15 or so) for Christmas so this week we in't get him any. I got "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" for myself. We didn't go to the library for all of December because it was pretty cold and we were busy a lot but other ones we've gotten recently:

Mama God, Papa God
You Look Ridiclous, Said the Rinocerous to the Hippopotamus
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Sally Goes to the Farm
All in a Day
Mama, Is It Summer Yet?
Three Wise Women
We Planted a Tree
The Story of Ping
Peter's Old House
When I Was Young in the Mountains
The Emperor's New Clothes
John, Paul, George, and Ben
How Yussel Caught the Gefilte Fish
You Are a Gift to the World

[Smokering]

I got:

"Dear Cassandra"; an illustrated edition of selected letters from Jane Austen to her sister. Read it; awesome (of course!)

"A Truth Universally Acknowledged" - 33 essays about Jane Austen, including one by CS Lewis!

Tolkien and the Great War

1000 Steampunk Designs

Love Letters from Cell 92: The Correspondence Between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer

Sweet Water and Bitter: The Ships that Stopped the Slave Trade

Mozart and the Whale

The Children History Forgot: Young Workers of the Industrial Age

Yeah, kinda didn't make it to the fiction section this month. :p I also have a Bill Bryson borrowed from a friend, three gardening books from another friend, and some theology books from Dad. Must try not to lose any of them when we move house on Saturday!

[_ktg_]

Oh the fun of reading!!!   I just went to the library on Saturday and got the following:

2-hour Tarot - which is really nice overview of how to just read the cards vs. memorizing the meanings!

Urban Magick - I love this by Christopher Penczak especially after I finished BOS by Phyllis Curott

Pride & Prejudice - This has been on my reading list for a very long time and I will finish it

For the kiddos, 10 books from the kids section as I just browse what the staff has displayed on the shelves which is great! I'll have to look at the receipt to see what we picked out

[SweetSilver]

Pride & Prejudice - This has been on my reading list for a very long time and I will finish it

(This was supposed to be a quote.  I hate when I get that editor!)

This was the only book I read for myself that after finishing the last page I flipped back to the beginning and started again.

A great companion book is "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew"  (maybe I have the names reversed!)  It is a slim, dictionary-style book filled with all you need to know about 19th century England for the lovers of English novels.  It is a good enough read by itself, from cover to cover.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

A great companion book is "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew"  (maybe I have the names reversed!)  It is a slim, dictionary-style book filled with all you need to know about 19th century England for the lovers of English novels.  It is a good enough read by itself, from cover to cover.

Oh, I have that book! I think I got if from The Book-of-the-Month Club a looong time ago. I'm not even sure if the BOMC even exists anymore. The book has lots of interesting info.....

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

I cooked the peppered tofu which was excellent and I have now added to my repertoire.  I made a few other things  and they turned out well.  My opinion:  Some of the recipes need altering - either due to  difficult to find ingredients (difficult in my rural part of the world!) or because they use huge amounts of things (the tofu used 5 tb of pepper and 11 tb of butter!)  I would only buy the book if I were comfortable altering recipes.  The things I tried all came out well, and are different than the stuff I usually make or find in cookbooks, so that is good.  Lots of garlic, spices, chili,  lemons...this is food for foodies. 

The book  is broken down by vegetable and is vegetarian, but definitely not vegan.

I would take it out from the library before buying - it is not everyones cup of tea - but it is mine.  

Kathy, a belated thank you.... Somehow I missed your post. I was distracted a lot in December.....

I think I will check it out from the library. It sounds good and it's rare that I don't alter a recipe as I cook, either because I don't have an ingredient, prefer a different one or like to do things my own way!! 

[kitchensqueen]

I got The Scandinavian Kitchen by Camilla Plum. For Little Man we got The Lorax by Dr. Suess, The Sleep Book by Dr. Suess and White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt & Roger Duvoisin.