Blogcritics Category: Books: Cookbooks and Food

Book Review: The Health Cookbook by the Australian Women's Weekly

Maggie Ball — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:39:11 EDT

Colourful, easy to make food that is as attractive as it is delicious.
I think that there comes a point in your life when you have to either decide to live as healthily as possible, or expect to have things begin to go wrong healthwise. You can often get away with things when you’re young -- overindulgence, too little fruit and veg and too much junk food -- that your body won’t hack when you’re over...

Interview with Entertaining Guru and Author Patricia Mendez

Dorothy Thompson — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:56:25 EDT

"Hosting casual entertaining is a gift that you give to others."
Patricia Mendez has catered and coordinated special events in the Los Angeles area since the early 1990’s. Her experience also includes coordinating a Mothers of Preschoolers community group for three years and working with women of all ages as a Director of Women’s Ministries for eight years. She met many “new nesters” who...

Book Review: The Super Antioxidant Diet and Nutrition Guide - A Health Plan for the Body, Mind, and Spirit by Robin Jeep and Richard Couey, PhD

Lynda Lippin — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:23:50 EDT

This is not a diet I could live with and certainly will not work for everybody.
I was pretty excited just looking at the back cover of this book, which promises “a plan that is reasonable, easy to follow, and provides a healthy diet for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.” With 171 recipes, three weeks worth of sample menus, and a kitchen makeover plan it sounded promising. Who wouldn’t want to make...

Book Review: Qmin - A Fresh New Approach to Indian Cuisine by Anil Shokan

Maggie Ball — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:57:23 EDT

A fresh and easy take on Indian cuisine.
There’s nothing quite like Indian cuisine. Although it packs a social punch -- guests are always impressed by it -- it’s surprisingly easy to make. Most dishes can be made ahead of time and sit really well, so you can pre-prepare in short bursts throughout the day and hey, voila, when your guests arrive, add a couple of last minute...

Book Review: Kafka's Soup - A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes by Mark Crick

Maggie Ball — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:31:01 EDT

A cute gift book for bibliophiles, if not food for thought.
Kafka’s Soup is an odd little book which has been designed to celebrate 14 of the world’s most famous writers. The book contains real recipes written in a style that parodies the work of Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, Franz Kafka, Irvine Welsh, Proust, Marquez, Steinbeck, Marquis de Sade, Woolf, Homer, Greene, Borges, Pinter, and...

Book Review: Pot Culture - The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life by Shirley Halperin & Steve Bloom

The Masked Movie Snobs — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:39:45 EDT

A fun book that every toker should get their sticky green fingers on.
Written by Fumo Verde “Hey man, are you cool?”“Don’t worry, man. He just wants to know if you smoke pot.”These lines out of the movie Dazed and Confused break it down real simple, and they remind me of a time when even mentioning the word “pot” was dangerous. I lived through the “Hugs Not...

Book Review: French Women Don't Get Fat - The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano

Lynda Lippin — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:21:05 EST

Guiliano believes, and I have to agree, that even in America we can lose weight and enjoy ourselves as the French do.
While not a new book, French Women Don't Get Fat is such a cultural phenomenon in the US that I was very excited to have the chance to review the newly slimmed down paperback version with added recipes. Many of my recent diet articles have focused on simply eating less. Instead of deprivation or weird food restrictions (no bread, no fat, no...

Book Review: Deceptively Delicious - Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld

Maggie Ball — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:43:33 EST

Making your family healthier without coercion - and with vegetables that actually add significant subtle flavour, depth, and richness to your delicious recipes.
I love this book. How’s that for a review? Let’s forget the contents for a moment, and judge it by its cover. Solidly constructed, with a thick “wipe clean” matt finish (even the pages wipe clean), ring-bound (as all cookbooks ought to be), retro coloured light green and pink with a rich plaid binder, and a great cartoon...

TV Review: The Biggest Loser

Alexandria Jackson — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 21:37:00 EST

The Temptation Round encourages bingeing.
This is the fifth season of The Biggest Loser, a show where competitors try to lose the most weight in order to receive the $250,000 prize. Alison Sweeney hosts the series, and contestants work out under the supervision of professional trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. This season, teams of two are competing against each other rather than...

Book Review: Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham

Lynda Lippin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:15:39 EST

Don't just buy Roast Chicken and Other Stories for the recipes - but for the witty, warm, and interesting tales.
Simon Hopkinson is a venerable English chef and newspaper columnist who enjoys pushing for simple, home-y food. This cookbook, originally published in London in 1994, is a small but useful collection of Hopkinson's favorite recipes, along with personal stories and asides to accompany each one.My husband is a retired chef and his most basic...