Penguin Girl

But don’t worry, I balance it with two many starred reviews! I’m putting the many star reviews up top because well, they deserve it!

A Beautiful Bowl of Soup: The Best Vegetarian Recipes
by Paulette Mitchell

I learned of this book through Slashfood and it looked intriguing so I placed a hold for it at the library and was prepared to be underwhelmed.

Wow. I’ve now made several soups within (chestnut soup, black bean soup, wild rice-cranberry soup, with several others planned for the coming week) and each came out quite good and was very easy to prepare. What I like most about the book is it is quite easy to turn most of not all into vegan recipes so these soups should be able to be served at most any table– vegetarian or not. Also most are quite easy to convert to being gluten-free if they aren’t already.

The photos are beautiful and I enjoyed the the various cooking tips and quotes. I love the range of soups which give you something for most any day or night of the year. I really liked the layout — it’s easy to see the necessary ingredients at a glace and each step along the way. If things can be prepared ahead that is clearly marked out as well.

I think the highest thing I can say about it is it’s migrated from just a library book to an item on my wishlist. I’m really enjoying cooking my way through it and do not look forward to the day I need to return it to the library. Hopefully soon a copy will land on my permanent cookbook shelf (note, that is not a hint to friends or family).

In the Night Garden
by Catherynne M. Valente

This book surprised me. I don’t remember why I placed a hold for it but I took it out from the library and let it sit on the shelf for quite some time. The stories are layered in an intriguing manner and their interconnectedness drew me in and kept me turning pages. I’m not sure how to describe what’s found within the covers but think you’ll just need to read it, if you like a good storytelling with a mix of magic. The second half did feel a little less polished– or at least it lacked a certain sparkle that drew me in initially but overall i really enjoyed reading this first volume and I look forward to reading more of Valente’s work.

Iris Schreier’s Reversible Knits: Creative Techniques for Knitting Both Sides Right
by Iris Schreier

It pains me to write this review, normally I’d just skip the book over and hope my silence made some sort of point, but I feel I must. I was incredibly disappointed in this book. The photos are generally horrid– most are quite blurry– and the example swatches look like as if they were cast-off moments before the photo shoot. The projects all feel to be the same thing and to be at a basic level. There are many reversible techniques out there and Schreier seems to have picked the most basic ones that leaves the knitter frustrated because they look so basic. I feel that an article in Knit.1 a few years ago offered more instruction and inspiration for reversible knits than the whole 144 pages of this book. For example she doesn’t come close to explaining how to make cables reversible, something that is pretty easy to accomplish and something I hoped was covered in this book. Overall I feel this is a very poor book and I regret schlepping it home from the library today as there is nothing in it that wowed me or gave me creative tools for knitting both sides right.

on this day...

• parshah chayei sarah - 2007