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The author of this book is Xanthe Milton . She is known widely, apparently, as 'Cookie Girl'. I hadn't heard of her, and would never have bought this book, primarily because of the garish pink of the cover. I don't much like pink, and this particular shade almost gives me a headache.
But the blurb of 'Eat Me!' looked appealing when I saw on the shelves of 'The Bookbag' and I mentioned that, if nobody else wanted it, I wouldn't mind reviewing it. After making some of the recipes, of course. I rather liked the lengthy subtitle of this recipe book:"The_Stupendous, Self-raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes According to Cookie Girl."
It wasn't long before the book arrived, and I found it a remarkably readable recipe book. It's divided into seasonal sections, each one beginning with a couple of pages of anecdotes from the author's childhood, describing in particular the scents and tastes she recalls from her mother's kitchen.
There are some luscious looking photos too. The book is mainly cupcakes, but there are also some cookie and biscuit recipes, appropriate for different times of year as well as for general consumption. Amongst others, I tried a chocolate chip cookie recipe, thinking it couldn't really be different from others I had tried in the past - but was agreeably surprised to find that the taste far outranked any chocolate chip cookie I had ever eaten.
Over the course of a couple of weeks I tried three or four of the recipes, and found them all extremely good. I was pleased to find that they all made rather more than the recipe predicted; possibly because I was using regular UK-sized fairy cake cases rather than the larger American muffin cases. I suspect my cookies are smaller than recommended too. But the taste was not affected, and it was probably better for our waistlines to eat smaller items from this book.
The ingredients are mostly fairly basic, with the most original variations I have seen. Butter is used extensively, but I did try substituting a non-dairy spread in one of the recipes, and it tasted much the same. As the author says, just about anything can be adjusted or substituted in these recipes.
I didn't make the icing for any of the cakes because I generally find icings too sweet, and the cakes were just fine without them. However for a party or special occasion I would certainly experiment with some of the decorative suggestions.
All in all, I thought it a wonderful book - but put in on my shelves rather than leaving it out, due to the slightly freaky coincidence that both my husband and myself accidentally read the title as 'Fat Me'. Possibly prophetic, despite the author's slimline appearance, this encouraged me to keep the book for special occasions only.
Highly recommended so long as you're not dieting, or allergic to gluten/dairy/eggs/nuts.
My longer review of 'Eat Me!' can be found at the Bookbag site.
I'd never come across Ani Phyo before. Probably not surprising, since I'm neither vegan, nor a raw food fanatic. However, I do agree that there are many benefits to raw food eating, particularly fruits and vegetables. We do eat quite a bit of raw fruit; I make fresh fruit juice each morning, and we have pure fruit smoothies most evenings.
When I saw this on the 'Bookbag' shelves, it looked most appealing. And, indeed, the book itself is a delight. There are 85 recipes, most of them with accompanying (and very appetising) photos. Interspersed, here and there, are extra pages of hints for such things as boosting metabolism, or keeping one's skin young. I read the book pretty much cover to cover, and found it very inspiring.
Unfortunately, some of the ingredients sounded strange to me: agave syrup, mesquite powder, coconut oil, cacao nibs, Medjool dates. I'd never heard of any of them. Nor, it seemed, had the health food shops I visited in both the UK and Cyprus, in the hope of finding them. I could have ordered them online (at vast price) - but was disappointed, since Ani Phyo assures us that her ingredients are all easy to find.
I did manage to discover Medjool dates, to my surprise, in a coffee and nut shop in Cyprus. They were rather pricy, but much juicier than regular dates, and also free of any added sugar. I tried two of the recipes that used dates without any of the other unusual ingredients, and they both turned out extremely well.
Then I thought I might as well try some substitutions: I used honey instead of the agave syrup, and creamed coconut (in a sachet, intended for curries) rather than coconut oil. The recipes I concocted also came out well, so I'll probably try similar substitutions in other recipes from the book.
We have various friends and relatives who are dairy-free, and/or gluten-free, and/or diabetic. Almost all the recipes in the book would be suitable for any of them. I still don't know what I might use use as a substitute for cacao nibs or mesquite powder, however.
My longer review of Ani's Raw Food Desserts, with accompanying explanations of which recipes I tried, can be found on the Bookbag site.
In addition to regularly reading a lot of fiction, a fair number of Christian books, some popular psychology/self-help books, a few biographies and some writing books, I also enjoy recipes books. Last year we acquired a slow cooker (known as crockpot in some countries), so I did some research and then added a couple of slow cooking recipe books to my wishlist.
I had never heard of Carolyn Humphries, but it appears that she's a top chef who switched to journalism, and who has written a significant number of cookery books.
'Slow cooking curries and spicy dishes' is a very nicely presented book which I was given last Christmas. It's paperback, normally bound, but the pages open fully making it reasonably easy to keep open at recipes. The chapters are divided into sections as would be expected: poultry, meat, veggies, etc, and each recipe has a photograph, making them all the more inviting.
There is a good introduction explaining how to use slow cookers in general, with tips for making recipes simpler or quicker, depending on settings and how much pre-cooking should be done.
I've read through the book a couple of times now, finding plenty of inspiration in just reading some of the recipes. I was pleased to find that most of the ingredients are widely available, with the possible exception of lemongrass. However I have missed it out entirely from a couple of the recipes, and the taste was still very good.
Some of the recipes do use curry powder, which seems like rather a cheat, but the majority use Indian spices, with the addition - sometimes - of red or green Thai curry paste, which I was pleased to find in a small local supermarket.
I've made three or four of the recipes as given, or in double quantities, and have found them all excellent. They were not as bitingly hot as I expected; instead they were aromatic and spicy, and very tasty. They all freeze well if there are leftovers (as is generally the case when using a large slow cooker for a small number of people).
I shall no doubt be returning to this book again and again, as we like to have a curry or some other spicy dish at least once a week. Highly recommended.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 7th May 2009
Eighteen months ago, after reading some online reviews, I bought - and thoroughly enjoyed - Natalie Savona's 'The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies'. The author is a nutritionist who writes in a concise and interesting style. Although I shall probably never use 90% of the juice/smoothie recipes, I've been inspired to make fresh fruit juices and smoothies almost daily ever since.
So I thought it about time I bought another of her books, and decided to order 'Wonderfoods' from Amazon UK. My first surprise was that it looks very small. It's not even as tall as a standard paperback, although it's about the same width and depth. I was also a little disappointed to see that there were only two recipes per type of food.
However, I dipped into it over the next few weeks, and found I appreciated it more and more. The book is divided into nine main sections - for instance, energy, heart, age, mind - each focusing on foods that are known to help in some way. The majority of the foods described, unsurprisingly, are fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts - foods known to be healthy in general. There are explanations of why each food is good, with full-page colour photographs, and then the two recipes use, as far as possible, not just the food being focused on but at least two or three others mentioned elsewhere in the book.
Some of the recipes sound excellent, although others require rather unusual ingredients that may not be available in Cyprus.
In a sense, there wasn't anything new: all the information can be found online, or in other books about health and nutrition. But it's a useful reference guide to inspire and encourage, and written with more of a human touch than many recipe books.
I did find myself wondering: is there such a thing as a 'wonderfood'? Or is it just a modern buzzword for healthy food? Maybe that's all they are. After all, no one food can work miracles or solve all health problems, particularly if someone's lifestyle is otherwise unhealthy!
Yet all the foods in this book are natural, and provide health benefits of some sort if eaten in conjunction with other good food. Most people would do well to eat more of them, while cutting down on convenience foods and high-fat desserts. Healthy food can taste very good, as shown in these recipes.
I was pleased that the author makes the point that we shouldn't get fanatical, or worry so much about our diet that we get ulcers. Moreover, she says, there's nothing wrong with the occasional pizza or even chocolate eclairs. But we will feel far better, and be more energetic and productive if the majority of what we eat is based on these so-called 'wonderfoods'.
All in all, highly recommended.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 22nd July 2008
'The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies' is one of the most inspiring recipe books I have seen! Natalie Savona is an expert in healthful eating, with an emphasis on enjoyment of good food rather than avoiding what's bad.
This particular book contains 365 recipes for fresh fruit juices and smoothies, well-sorted and with quick-reference guides to various nutritional benefits to each. Within a few days of receiving this book, we had bought an inexpensive centrifugal juice extractor and were enjoying variations on seasonal fruit as juices each morning.
Perhaps the one-a-day recipe idea is gimmicky. To be fair, many of the recipes are similar, and I quickly realised that exact quantities weren't particularly important. But that's my only (very minor) quibble. It's a book to browse for inspiration, and everything we've tried so far has been delicious.
In the back is a useful guide to vitamins and minerals found in various fruits and vegetables, and recommendations for particular recipes to follow when suffering particular illnesses or ailments.
I particularly like the fact that my edition of the book is spiral-bound, meaning it can easily lie flat while I follow a recipe.
Highly recommended.
