by on November 22, 2017   •   1 Comment Gift Guides

My favourite cookbooks from 2017

If I am not in the middle of developing original recipes for my own content, I am alway diving into a delicious cookbook for new kitchen play.

Old and new, I read them like novels and geek out over food styling, photography, recipes and stories. For me, an authors’ voice has to come through the pages of a cookbook and bring the recipes to life. And speaking of recipes, they need to be solid. I always carefully test a handful of recipes from the books that makes this list and the whole family gets a taste test.

I’m so excited to present my favourite cookbooks for 2017. I have read each one from cover to cover and they are all truly unique. It’s been an incredible year for cookbooks, as I predicted – and there were many more treasures beyond this list that will forever hold a place on my bookshelf. These ones, however, have me truly excited to get in the kitchen and cook or bake.

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by on November 30, 2015   •   18 Comments Gift Guides

My Favourite International Cookbooks of 2015

Today felt like the first normal morning in our home in over a month.

I served up oatmeal porridge with maple syrup and cream while Danny pulled espresso shots and steamed milk for our coffees. The thermometer showed minus 8 degrees and boys scrambled to turn up matching mitts and a toque each before tumbling out the door to school.

Then Danny packed up his computer, kissed Clara and I – and left for work for the first time since the surgery. It’s been exactly a month since he woke up with one less kidney and he’s feeling well enough to return to the office. And so it is back to work for me too.

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by on November 25, 2011   •   18 Comments Entertaining & Holidays

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: My Top 10 Cookbook Picks

Last year’s gift guide for cookbooks was so much fun, especially the title-swapping in the comments, that I had to follow up with another round-up of recommendations for 2011. It’s been a most stellar year for cookbooks – a good thing, until you’re trying to narrow your favorites down to ten. Not an easy task.

This year I really tried to keep you, my readers, in mind when reviewing cookbooks. Even though I have a wicked sweet tooth, you’ll notice there are no dessert books in the line-up. Inspiration for sweets is everywhere – Pinterest, blogs, magazines – but what I find most of us struggle with is getting dinner on the table every night.

My top picks for this year contain a wide variety of cookbook styles that range from practical to artisanal, homey to technical and all of them provide tons of inspiration for dinner.  You can be sure to find one or two books on this list that fit you and your family’s food culture to a ‘T’.

For the entertainer to the vegetarian on your holiday gift list, here are my top 10 cookbook picks for 2011! Happy browsing. Happy cooking.

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by on June 27, 2011   •   21 Comments Uncategorized

Peko Peko: A Cookbook to Support Japan’s Recovery

The Fed-Ex fellow dropped off a highly anticipated package last week – my Peko Peko cookbook, hot off the presses.

Wait, Peko-what?

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes is a collection of nearly 60 Japanese and Japanese-inspired recipes published by Blurb, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to charity relief in Japan. I was fortunate to be one of the food bloggers who contributed a recipe to the cookbook.

I hesitated a minute before opening the box. What if I didn’t like it? What if it was just okay? I continued, and a few seconds later, as the wrappings slid to the floor, I held in my hands the work of three talented curators and fifty bloggers.

It usually takes me about five second to assess if I’m going to like a cookbook or not. I can’t put my finger on exactly how all the right elements have to fall into line, but usually after a quick flip from cover to cover I’m either sold or – meh.

It was love at first sight for Peko Peko and me.
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by on January 14, 2011   •   Giveaways Nourishment

Simple Food for Winter e-book Giveaway (recipe: French Lentil Soup)

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Char, Megan, and Josie Landon, our three winners! You’ve been notified via email. Thank you to all who entered.
There’s a cookbook I want you to know about, because it is different from anything that is propped up on your bookshelf right now. Simple Bites contributor and Nourishing Days blogger, Shannon, has just released Simple Foods for Winter, a 58-page e-book containing 30 original recipes that emphasize real food and sustainable living. I’ve been cooking from it for a few weeks now, and each dish has been a hit – with grown-ups and children alike.

Simple Food for Winter not only contains easy to follow recipes, but practical advice on live food storage, cooking with dehydrated vegetables, and lacto-fermentation, that all-important immune-system boosting method of preserving. At the end of the post I’ll share a recipe from this remarkable cookbook and give you all an opportunity to win one of three copies, so keep reading!

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