Cookbook Round-Up

I've been slowly growing my cookbook collection thanks to Blogging for Books (if you're not a member, go check it out...it's great!).  I love having cookbooks and think that a well curated cookbook library can add so much to a kitchen!  Plus, I'll be a wife in a few months, so I figure I might be cooking a little bit more once AJ and I are married, so I'm always open to having great recipes at my fingertips!  And I'm a sucker for a book that I can hold in my hand, vs. just something I find on my screen.

Here are some of my recent finds, faves, and additions to my cookbook collection! 

A KITCHEN IN FRANCE //

Ah, French cooking!  Anything french of course makes me think of Julie & Julia, and it intimidates me!  But this cookbook, which has great photos and features fresh, locally-found ingredients, makes me feel like I can tackle it!

MY NEW ROOTS // 

My New Roots is easily my favorite of my new cookbooks.  I love eating a plant-based diet and filling my diet with fresh fruits and veggies!  But just eating salads can get boring.  My New Roots is filled with (again) gorgeous photography and simple, delicious recipes.  I'm so excited to break this one out all summer for some inventive, creative recipes!  Plus, it's just one of those books that has a great feel to it, ya know?  I highly recommend!


THE PORTLANDIA COOKBOOK //

If you're a fan of Portlandia, then this one is a no-brainer.  A cookbook and comedic journal all in one, The Portlandia Cookbook features recipes that are fashioned after Fred & Carrie's antics on the show, plus little tips, stories, and photos throughout the book.  If nothing else, this cookbook is just fun!


TACOLICIOUS // 

I. Love. Tacos.  But I eat them the same way every time, which is why I love Tacolicious!  Who knew there were so many inventive ways to construct a taco?  AJ and I love going out for mexican food, but this cookbook has me so inspired to cook it at home so much more!  

HOMEMADE DECADENCE //

I'm not gonna lie, me and my attempt at cutting down the amount of sugar I consume are having a really hard time with this one!  Everything in this cookbook looks amazing, and it's all from Joy the Baker.  Joy has been around the blogging world for a long time and her site is fantastic.  This cookbook is exactly what I would have expected from her...pretty photos, great design, and wonderful recipes and tips!

I received these books from Blogging for Books for this review.

DO YOU OWN ANY OF THESE COOKBOOKS?

Cookbook Library

i don't know why, but there's something about owning cookbooks that makes me feel like a grown-up.  i love to cook but i rarely actually do it, and when i do, it's pretty much never done with a cookbook open next to me.

but i think i have this image in my mind of married life that requires a good library of cookbooks.  aj and i like to cook together, so i just envision us pouring over cookbooks and picking out great recipes, and meal planning, and doing other married-people things in our super cute kitchen (which he constantly tells me he'd like to have complete control over decorating and registering for...ha...right.)

anyway, i've been actively expanding my cookbook collection...aj's mom helped out by giving me the jeni's splendid ice creams cookbook, which is pretty much the greatest book ever created because it's the greatest ice cream on the planet and don't even argue because i'm right and i will never change my mind.  (that run-on sentence was definitely necessary.)

but i've also been adding other books to my library as well, and here are the three newest ones in my collection:  juice, the kitchn cookbook, and the skinny taste cookbook.



juice // carly de castro, hedi gores, & hayden slater




we started juicing about seventeen months ago, and i've been on the hunt for a good juice cookbook ever since.  this one is pretty great.  it starts off by discussing a lot of the benefits of juicing and the best practices of how to make and store juice.  then, it breaks juice recipes down into roots, greens, and citrus.  it's full of great, colorful photos, easy-to-follow recipes, and lots of great tips!

juicing is a great habit to get into (more to come on that in another post!) and it really is one of the best ways to get the purest nutrients from fruits and veggies straight into your body and quickly into your cells!  the writers of this cookbook founded a pretty successful juicery, and they even incorporate some of their personal testimonies about how juicing helped them!

the book breaks juice recipes down into roots, greens, and citrus.  roots include juices that are mostly carrot and/or beet-based.  these are your hearty, filling juices.  green juices are based on green veggies and leaves, like kale, cucumber, celery, etc!  the authors refer to green juices as "your gateway drug into the world of healthy living."  and finally, the citrus juices are jammed-packed with vitamin c, and often are the sweetest and fruitiest!

one of my favorite sections of the book contains a bunch of different boost that you can add to your juices to give them a little extra oomph!  things like apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and ginger all have different health benefits that can give your already-nutrient packed juice something extra, depending on what you're hoping to help, ease, or fix!


the kitchn cookbook // sara kate gillingham & faith durand



the kitchn cookbook is part recipe book, part cooking school.  from the curators of apartment therapy's cooking site, this book is exactly what you'd expect to get from successful bloggers:  great photos, a beautiful layout, and easy-to-digest segments.

the book contains over 150 recipes, which are scattered with pretty photos, and are great for entertaining and families alike.  it's organized as you would expect a cookbook to be:  into appetizers, sides, entrees, etc.

but the real highlight of this cookbook is the cooking school found within.  broken down into two parts, the kitchen and how to cook well, the book covers topics such as setting up and caring for the kitchen, stocking the pantry, planning meals, 50 essential cooking skills, and entertaining.

the last section, entitled gathering, is my personal favorite.  it has a great diagram of how to set a proper place setting, tips on how to spruce up your gathering on the cheap, setting the mood, and a game plan on how to prep and recover from a party...i love hosting events and gatherings, so these tips were all welcomed and appreciated!


the skinny taste cookbook // gina holmoka



the skinny taste cookbook is totally gorgeous.  it features all sorts of recipes that are "light on calories, big on flavor", and comes jam-packed with great photos and easy-to-follow directions.  it's author, gina homolka, is well-known for her low-calorie recipes that are full of flavor and made from all-natural, easy-to-find ingredients.  the recipes are also all coded with a key, which labels them vegetarian, gluten-free, quick, freezer-friendly, and slow cooker, so it's easy to navigate the book!

the beginning of the cookbook includes "the skinny basics", which are tips and tricks for a healthy lifestyle and kitchen!  everything from the author's personal story to tips on how to stay motivated can be found in the intro, and will help you get a feel for what you'll find in the cookbook.

one of the great aspects of this cookbook is that each recipe comes with nutrition information!  it will tell you how much a serving is, and then lists the calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbs, fiber, protein, sugar, and sodium in each serving.  the recipes also call for specific brands, so if you follow them perfectly, you know the nutrition info will be correct!

my favorite part of this cookbook, however, is the "skinny scoop" tips that are scattered throughout the book...everything from tips on grating your own parmesan cheese for the freshest flavor to how to store homemade marinara sauce can be found in these tips!  they're designed to make cooking easier, faster, and hassle-free!

i received these books from blogging for books for this review.

have you picked up any good cookbooks lately?

Summer Book Club // Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

summer is finally officially here and one of my goals for this season is to read, read, read!  i've got a stack of books calling my name, and as i started to think about what i'd like to read this summer, this book came to mind.

i read is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns) about a year and a half ago and laughed through the entire thing.  it was the kind of book i never wanted to end, or at least it made me immediately think "c'mon mindy!  hurry up and live some life so you can write a sequel!

of course, like most people, i first met mindy kaling as kelly kapoor thanks to the office.  i'll be honest, i was never a huge kelly fan.  i mean, she was fine and all, and she definitely had her hilariously funny moments, but i was fully in it for the jim & pam storyline.

but then when the mindy project started, i decided to give it a try and developed a major friend-crush on mindy.  (she's definitely on my list of celebrities-i'd-like-to-be-bffs-with)  she's like that friend who will say something along the lines of "do you want me to be honest?  because if so, then you look a little like a marshmallow, but if not, then it's so cute and i love it!" when you ask her if she likes your new coat.

is everyone hanging out without me? is a collection of essays and anecdotes from kaling's life, many of which have made it into the mindy project in some form.  she's hilariously blunt and talks like she writes for tv...witty and quippy and a little dramatic.  i mean, with chapter titles like "don't peak in high school", "the day i stopped eating cupcakes", and "revenge fantasies while jogging", this book will keep you giggling from cover to cover.  (for real...even if you're sitting in the waiting room at the dentist's office, you'll be choking back laughter trying not to look crazy and then it'll come out as a snort instead and everything will just be embarrassing)

if you couldn't tell already, i loved this book.  i definitely still have a stack of female comedian memoirs to read (including bossypants by tina fey and awaiting amy poehler's book coming out this fall!), but this one spoiled me. it's a fantastic beach read and you can pick it up for less than $12 on amazon, so what's not to love?

what about you?  have you read mindy's book?  what's on your summer reading list?

Book Review // God is Just Not Fair

"if every need we have is met in god's grace, why are our burdens still so heavy at times?  if god's grace is really enough, why does it sometimes feel so inadequate?"

if you've ever felt the weight of a burden…an illness, an unanswered prayer, a worry or concern…then you may have asked god "why?".  in the past year, my family has done a ton of praying over the past year since my dad's cancer diagnosis.  and i'd be lying if i told you i never asked god why this was happening and declared to him that it was all just so unfair.  

life can feel really unfair sometimes.  for jennifer rothschild, unfair was losing her sight at age fifteen.  and i think that when someone goes through something like that, when they carry a burden, they have a choice to either believe in the grace and ultimate sovereignty of god, or to abandon belief in him.  

in her new book, god is just not fair, jennifer writes about what we do when things just don't make sense; about finding hope and grace and provision in those "why?" moments.  

one chapter that particularly hit home with me is the idea that god lends two kinds of grace that jennifer has named participant grace and spectator grace.  in my life, my dad is going through this battle, and god is lending him participant grace.  i'm the spectator, praying, trusting, and believing for his healing, and god lends me spectator grace to bear the burden as the spectator.  i, for one, am so thankful that god cares for all of his children…those going through the fire and those walking alongside the fire, spectating.

god is just not fair holds the truth that every "why" might not be answered, and sometimes, things just don't seem fair.  because sometimes, life tears a big hole in your blanket of faith.  but hope can be found in christ jesus.  and if anyone knows that, it's jennifer rothschild.  

i have felt so encouraged and cared for while reading this book.  jennifer writes from her heart, sharing personal anecdotes and encouraging those carrying a burden.  no matter where you are in life, chances are you've experience a time where you can related to life not feeling fair.  and whether you're in that place now, or god is leading you out of that place, there is truth to be found in god is just not fair.  

jennifer's writing has left me wanting for more.  preferably in the form of a good, long sit-down chat over a great cup of coffee where i can just listen to her share her wisdom.  

if you're looking for hope, wondering where god is in the midst of struggle, or walking alongside someone in the fight of their life, this book is for you.

want to know more about god is just not fair?

check out why jennifer wrote the book here and if you need more convincing, here are a few more reasons to by the book!

god is just not fair is available on amazon, barnes & noble, and christian book distributors. 

disclosure // while i did receive a free advance copy of god is just not fair, the views expressed in this review are completely my own.

currently I'm...

i LOVE books

I decided tonight that I would make a pledge to myself that I will buy a new (or used) book every time I get a paycheck this coming semester because, well, I just really love books.

It's a dangerous love.  The kind of love that makes it really difficult to sell textbooks, or makes it really easy to justify saving a book that I know I will never read again.

I love new books and the way they are perfect and pure and have never been opened and read.  I love old books for their character and the fact that they usually contain more than just the story printed on their pages.  I love textbooks for the references that they are and all the knowledge they contain.  I love novels for their ability to suck you in and get you lost in another world.  I love memoirs for the peek they give into another's life.

So that is why....