Sunday, November 22, 2009

Sunday Salon: Two books


Cookbooks and coffee table books are not the normal genera that I review but these two books caught my attention in a recent IPBA request list so I ask for them. The books were "Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Fresh Vegetables" by Arnold Weislo and Annabelle Delaval and "Wild Hoofbeats: America's Vanishing Wild Horses" by Carol Walker.

Turns out, they were both very delightful books. Hope you find them interesting as well. With the holidays coming up, they’d make great stocking-stuffers. Here’s the reviews:

Looking for recipes to entice your family to eat healthier?

Look to “Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Fresh Vegetables” for an interesting twist on recipes.

This easy-to-read cookbook features preparation methods, origin and production, nutritional qualities, and health benefits of various vegetables. In addition, the guide offers the calories, water, fiber, carbs, and protein count of these vegetables.

There are four recipes for each of the vegetables. The cookbook contains over 400 color photographs illustrating the dishes. These photos show the ingredients needed to prepare the recipe, along with steps of the preparation, and the finished dish.

The cookbook covers such popular vegetables as potatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, and carrots. It also covers Belgian endives, fennel, celery root, and turnips to name a few others.

Among the recipes are Eggplant Casserole, Spinach and Ricotta Cake, Pumpkin Chip (Tapas), Cucumber Canapes, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Pesto Soup. The Pasteur Institute of Lille, France, collaborated on this handy collection of recipes.

Add this cookbook to your own collection and pick up one for the chef on your Christmas list.

Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Fresh Vegetables by Arnold Weislo and Annabelle Delaval * Cookaction Inc. * @2009 * ISBN: 978-2-9529842-5-6 * Paperback, 88 pages

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With Christmas just around the corner, many are searching for that unique gift for that special someone on their list.

Look no further than “Wild Hoofbeats: America’s Vanishing Wild Horses” by Carol Walker. This coffee table book contains 185 brilliant color photographs of wild horses herds in Wyoming.

The photographs illustrate one herd’s plight as it battles the elements and man’s threat to remove it from the public domain land.

Carol Walker’s encounter with a gray stallion one April morning lead her to document the wild horses through her photographs and narrations. She followed seven herds over a four year period capturing their interacting with each other and a stranger watching them.

Through her words and beautiful photographs she shows the bonds the horses develop. She also tells how the horses’ lives are shattered during the round ups conducted by the government when the foals are taken from the mares and the mares from the stallions.

She further explores the treatment and condition of the horses after the round ups and the events that follow.

Through her stunning photographs and words, the author’s attachment and dedication to the wild horses is evident. She encourages citizens to become involved with the protection and preservation of the wild horse.

“Wild Hoofbeats: America’s Vanishing Wild Horses” is a must have for any horse lover and a fascinating insight into these magnificent animals that symbolize the American West.

Wild Hoofbeats: America’s Vanishing Wild Horses by Carol Walker * Painted Hills Publishing * @2009 *
ISBN: 978-0--9817936-4-1 * Paperback, 160 pages, http://www.wildhoofbeats.com

2 comments:

  1. These sound like great books, Mason. We're always trying to fit more veggies in at our house, so I might especially have to check that one out...thanks!

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  2. Elizabeth, the photos are some of the best I've seen in a cookbook. They remind me of the type photos I've seen on Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog, very detailed and helpful. The cookbook is nicely done.

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