Books I'm Reading

Yes, I'm reading a cookbook. I love reading cookbooks generally, but this one is full of stories that are associated with each recipe or section of recipes. Most of them relate to the origins of the recipe or to the small town where Crescent Dragonwagon once ran a Bed and Breakfast and developed many of these recipes. I haven't read enough to justify a full on review, but, so far, the book is really entertaining and the recipes look wonderful. Most of them are simple and don't require specialized ingredients. I can't wait to try her version of wilted lettuce! Here's an excerpt from the publisher's comments:

"Introducing a new voice in vegetarian cooking. Packed with 1,000 recipes that are seductive, sexy, and utterly delicious, Passionate Vegetarian covers all the bases of meatless cooking, from east (Stir Fry of Asparagus with Black Bean-Ginger Sauce), west (Talk of the Town Barbecued Tofu), from the Mediterranean (Swiss Chard with Raisins, Onions & Olives) to the American South (Black-Eyed Pea Ragoût). You'll find lush lasagnas, plump pierogies, bountiful burgers, beans, and breads, pleasing pasta and pies. You'll spoon up soups and stews, and delight in desserts from simple to swoonworthy."

Okay, so I haven't officially started this book, but I'm going to start today. It looks really good and I haven't read something like this in a long while. I'll try to keep you updated as I get into it. Here's a publisher's comments excerpt:

"First Darling of the Morning is the powerful and poignant memoir of bestselling author Thrity Umrigar, tracing the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescence from her earliest memories to her eventual departure for the United States at age twenty-one. It is an evocative, emotionally charged story of a young life steeped in paradox; of a middle-class Parsi girl attending Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city; of a guilt-ridden stranger in her own land, an affluent child in a country mired in abysmal poverty. She reveals intimate secrets and offers an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakable as she interweaves two fascinating coming-of-age stories—one of a small child, and one of a nation."

I just started this one yesterday. I love Heather Armstrong's blog, "dooce." She's irreverent and goofy and doesn't hold back on any subject. The book is a collection of essays she edited. She asked other bloggers to write about fatherhood. Some wrote about their fathers, others wrote about their experiences as fathers and the remaining ones wrote about their husbands as fathers. I think many of us tend to forget that fatherhood is a journey and an adjustment for the new father.
I'm not so much reading this book "Bend the Rules Sewing" as I am perusing it intently. I have many projects marked, but we'll see if I get to any of them. Hopefully, I will! I'll let you know if I try any. I suggest anyone with an interest in sewing check out this book. It is full of relatively simple projects with clear instructions.

I am sticking with my challenge, thanks to my husband. Last night close to midnight he photographed three more cards for me. Whew! Here's today's listing:

Grumpy Owl on a Branch