Category: In The Library

ECONOGAL > In The Library

ALL-TIME FAVORITE COOKBOOK

Posted on by Econogal

My current edition
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

My all-time favorite cookbook is The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. My current edition is the 13th. By current, I mean the third copy I have used. To be honest, I have no idea what edition I started with.

As you can see in the adjacent picture, my current edition is in bad shape. I don’t blame the publisher even though all my copies have met similar endings. Instead, I believe the condition reflects the daily use.

To be honest, I don’t remember if my mom or my maternal grandmother gave me my first copy. I do know it was a wedding present. Since I have been married over 30 years and am on my third cookbook, I can say each one has lasted a decade.

Hopefully my book-lover/ bookseller cousin won’t disown me, but I see some books as tools to be used. This cookbook is in that category. As you can see in the pictures below, the front and back inside cover give quick reference tips. If you are like me and don’t have the metric system memorized, it includes these measurements as well. I also like the old-fashioned tips such as blanching to remove skin peels which are found in between the tables.

The first 50 pages are full of definitions and explanations of cooking terms and items found in the kitchen. At the end of the recipes are two short sections. The first contains sample menus for various meals. The second is a wonderful table which includes calorie count as well as cholesterol, fat, protein and carbohydrate count of various food ingredients.

In between are hundreds of recipes along with more how-to information. I really like and use the tips found at the beginning of each section of the cookbook. For example, the book contains a two page spread under the fish/shellfish section that helps identify the different types of seafood. This is carried out through the sections.

So if you can’t quite figure out the mystery fruit in the produce section, buy one and bring it home. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook will not only help identify but also give you tips and recipes to use. The editors also use illustrations on cuts of meat as well as in the bread making and preserve sections. While not as fancy as some of the cookbooks with full color photo spreads, I like the fact that the visual aids always pop up where you need extra help to picture the process.

Since home economics classes are seldom found in K-12 schools, this is a great book to give. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is well written. The recipes work even for those without much cooking experience. I love this book and highly recommend it. This cookbook is on the list, even if I could only own ten books.

What cookbook is on your top ten list?

The Devil’s Triangle-A Book Review

Posted on by Econogal

The Devil’s Triangle By Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison

 

The Devil’s Triangle is the latest Brit in The FBI series from the writing duo of Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison. This action adventure has a quick pace and is easy to read. The characters are likeable but the plot does require a suspension of belief.

British born FBI agent Nicholas Drummond and his partner Michaela “Mike” Caine receive a mayday call from known cat thief Kitsune. She needs their help. Her latest theft, the staff of Moses, has gone awry. Her clients, an evil pair of twins in search of the Ark of the Covenant, have kidnapped her husband.

Exciting chases from the canals of Venice to hidden islands off of Cuba provide the background for the story. Underground labyrinths also play a role, but it is the characters which keep the plot moving. The theme of good vs. evil is somewhat muddied by Kitsune. Her allegiance to Drummond and Caine is strong. They defend and protect her. Thus the authors are indicating many grey areas in a world that likes to think in terms of black and white.

The background for the development of the evil twins did not quite work for me. The maternal grandfather blames their behavior on a son-in-law. The twins’ kill their father previous to the action in the book, but his retold actions do not paint him as disturbed. However, the twins do make perfect villains.

The writing clearly portrays the twins, a brother and sister, as brilliant but flawed. The psychotic episodes which increase throughout the novel are well done. I could believe they were obsessed with finding the Ark of the Covenant. In fact, I want to know why and how they diverged so much from previous family members. Is it the obsession alone?

Coulter’s FBI stories usually involve romance between agents. Evidence of the special relationship between Nicholas and Mike can be found throughout. I love Mike’s Bond reference toward the end. The Devil’s Triangle has what is known in the industry as a sweet romance wrapped in the storyline. I like this approach and believe the book should not offend in this regard.

While the character relationships are G rated, there is quite a bit of violence. That is the norm for this genre. The description is not especially gory, but if you do not like murder and mayhem there may be parts you want to skip over. I found this an entertaining summer read and I recommend you check it out at your nearest library.

 

I Almost Forgot About You-by Terry McMillan Book Review

Posted on by Econogal

This is the first Terry McMillan book that I have read. It moved me. Not only did I feel empathy for the individuals in the story, but I also felt connected. Even though I have lived a vastly differently life I laughed and cried as the story unfolded.

On the surface I have nothing in common with Dr. Georgia Young, the main character. She is twice divorced, a daughter from each marriage, has her own practice, lives on the West Coast in a thriving city and a woman of color. But boy how I could relate!

Dr. Young is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. She is lonely. Happiness is fleeting. She wants to quit her lucrative practice, sell her house and find herself. However she is a bit daunted by the fact that she is in her fifties. In addition, obstacles, normal life events, stand in her way.

McMillan does a fantastic job of exploring that age when more years are behind rather than in front. Questions pop up when you reach your fifties. Have I made a difference? How would things turned out if…? This is the age where you either reach Maslow’s self-actualization or think you might need to start over.

In real life, seldom do changes occur over night. Thus the author creates a realistic tale by having Young’s desire for change transpire over a number of years. The characters are so well-developed the reader feels a part of the story. And the time flies.

The trigger for the entire story is the discovery of the death of a former lover. Dr. Young decides to find, make amends, forgive if possible, or thank as the case may be all her past significant others. One BFF thinks this is a great idea and the other is horrified.

The search takes time. Life keeps churning even through the stops and starts of the search. Old issues are resolved, or not. Finally, a happy ending, which does not always happen in contemporary novels.

I loved this novel and recommend it for mature readers. The writing is superb and I plan to buy more of McMillan’s books. However, this is a novel which covers topics which can be shocking or controversial depending on your background. Read with an open mind. Or don’t read at all.

 

 

Lights Out by Ted Koppel- Book Review

Posted on by Econogal

The Outer Banks made news this week due to the mandatory evacuation of thousands from a loss of electricity. The power outage occurred after a construction crew drove some steel through a main power line. There is not a good estimate on how long repairs will take. The incident spurred me to pull a book off the shelf to review. The book discusses the electric grid.

I read Lights Out by Ted Koppel a few years ago and it really affected me. The book caught my eye from the new release table at my local library. I had no inkling of the content when I checked it out. My eyes were opened by this book. Once I finished, I urged the members of my immediate family read at least the first section.

Koppel’s topic is the nation’s electric grid. He breaks the content into three sections. The first part is titled A Cyberattack, with eight chapters discussing actual attacks on the United States grid. The second section, A Nation Unprepared, is short but factual. The final section of the book, Surviving The Aftermath is the least technical part and the easiest to follow.

Koppel has a very readable writing style. His background as a reporter is evident throughout the book. The author grabs your attention with a hypothetical scenario. However, he quickly turns to factual information with a first focus on cyberattacks. His facts are backed with documentation.

Many of the attacks on the grid have not received widespread media coverage. Some were totally unknown to me before reading. They range from automatic weapons destroying a transformer to malware which has infected the national grid. At times these first chapters, swimming with acronyms, become difficult to follow. It is important to reread until the information soaks in. Danger lurks within the nation’s infrastructure.

The middle of the book, while relatively short, illustrates just how unprepared the United States is for this new warfare. Part of the shortfall stems from the aging grid infrastructure and the lack of coordination between utilities. Yet another factor is economic. Large power transformers (LPTs) are difficult to replace. One reason is that each is custom-built at a great cost. So there is no mass production available for replacements. If multiple LPTs fail at once, there is not a stockpile to draw from.

Another problem pointed out in this part of Lights Out is the lack of a cohesive plan to respond to a long-term grid failure. Koppel uses anecdotes to make the point that neither state or national agencies nor non-profit groups have plans for long-term emergencies. The current focus is on short-term problems such as seen after hurricanes or blizzards.

The final section has received some negative feedback, but I found the information interesting. Koppel focuses on what individuals and private groups are doing to prepare for long-term problems. This goes beyond preparing for short-term natural disasters. Interviews with groups including “Preppers”, emergency preparedness groups, and Mormons show the extent some in America have readied themselves for long-term disasters. However, Koppel’s posits that most in these groups are not ready for an extended time without electricity.

After reading Lights Out we made some changes. We have a generator for back-up power and in the last year it has kicked on as needed three times. I am doing a better job of stocking the pantry. Also, I have increased the size of the vegetable garden and have taken to canning with a zeal. So perhaps, I could relate to those described as being emergency prepared.

Cyberattacks in the form of ransom ware and for theft have become more common. But it is hard to tell if inroads have been made against the grid. Media coverages of power outages usually take a back seat to other news, but I have begun tracking the grid failures on social media. Very seldom does a single day go by without loss of power somewhere. Koppel’s work convinced me that at the very least it is time to upgrade our power grid infrastructure.

Bread Illustrated-Review

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BREAD ILLUSTRATED- A Step by Step guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results at Home

I make almost all our bread. By almost, I can count on my fingers the times I have bought bread from the store this year. The health benefits were a major consideration when I took up bread making, but I love the taste of fresh made bread and I have discovered an immense satisfaction baking from scratch. I do not use a bread machine but I do use a stand mixer for the majority of the kneading.

I spotted Bread Illustrated edited by America’s Test Kitchen while browsing through a Barnes and Noble bookstore. A quick glance was all it took to make it to the check-out line. Each recipe is accompanied by multiple photos illustrating the process. The book also includes a troubleshooting section at the end of the recipe.

The troubleshooting sections address common problems with the final product. For example, if pizza dough is to soggy the tip is to use less sauce. One of the troubleshooting explanations discussed the jagged edges of whole wheat. The solution was to let either the wheat berries soak in water before processing or add additional liquid to already ground wheat.

The book gives weight amounts in the dry to wet ratios and following these ratios keep the loaves from being too dense. The section on hydration is part of a series of pages that explain how-to before the recipes even start. Other sections include pages on mixing and rising.

The recipes range from sweet rolls to rustic breads and includes a section of breads that take a bit more time to make than I have this summer. Maybe next winter! So far my favorite recipes have been the easy sandwich bread, pan-grilled flat bread (delicious with hummus) and the hoagie rolls which I shaped into hamburger buns.

Small Batch Preserving

Posted on by Econogal

The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard has been around awhile and I make recipes from it fairly often. Each recipe offers detailed directions and many have variations presented. I kept checking this book out from the library and liked it so much I finally bought a copy. I count it in my Top Five cookbooks.

If your garden is like mine, the vegetables don’t ripen all at once, thus the necessity of making small batches. The book also provides great combination recipes for fruits which eliminates the monotony of jams and preserves.

In addition to the recipes, Topp and Howard cover basic safety procedures for preserving and canning. Their step-by-step guidelines are easy to follow. They cover the four ways to preserve food.

The book contains charts for high altitude adjustments, multiple glossaries and lots of How To’s in a step by step format. One can find recipes for jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles, sauces, vinaigrettes and oils. The output is measured in cups with most yielding less than 4 cups. Large color photographs of the prepared preserves are grouped in two locations so there is a need to flip from one section of the book to another in order to compare your outcome with that of the authors.

The recipes span the range of the taste buds from sweet to savory as well as spicy. One of the things I like the most about Small-Batch Preserving is the combination jams and jellies. For example, my gooseberry yield this year was small, most likely due to a late freeze. But, combining the gooseberries with sour cherries allowed me to use the berries in a jam. Additionally, the book includes multiple recipes with blueberries. Since blueberries are low in acidity, many cookbooks leave out this super fruit.

The salsa and chutney recipes follow a similar vein. Combinations of fruits and vegetables in recipes ranging from tart to sweet with varying degrees of spiciness can be found in the book. Last fall I made both fruit and vegetable chutneys. Favorites were the Orchard Chutney featuring peaches, apples and onions and the Apple Plum Chutney. Again all these recipes were quick to make due to the small amounts.

A wide range of pickle recipes can be found in Small Batch Preserving. While cucumbers are the feature of this section, one can also find recipes for pickled peaches and beets. I am a relative novice at pickling. Last fall I tried eight of the pickle recipes. All disappeared before Christmas.

If you like to make your own preserves but don’t have all day to spend in the kitchen this book is for you.

THE DRY

Posted on by Econogal

The Dry by Jane Harper

The book starts out with death. A murder/suicide blamed on the harsh conditions of an Australian drought. The isolated farming town of Kiewarra is the background setting for Jane Harper’s The Dry a crime fiction novel published in 2016.
Aaron Falk returns to the town he grew up in to attend the funeral of his friend Luke Hadler, a funeral he might have skipped if not for the accusatory note sent by Gerry Hadler, “Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral.” Falk is a Federal Agent and the elder Hadler needs him to look into the death of his son.

A past death is entwined in the story. As youngsters Falk and Hadler had a close friendship with Ellie Deacon, a victim of a drowning during their high school years. Before the drowning the group became a foursome during the teen years with the addition of Gretchen Schoner. The storyline does an excellent job of fleshing out the teenagers flaws and discloses how those surviving evolved as adults. Town folk at the time were suspicious of Falk and Luke Hadler provided him with an alibi. Naturally, the current situation is compounded by the mystery of the past.

Falk and the current local law, Sargent Raco have doubts about the crime. Why was the baby spared and not the grade school son? Why leave the house, after killing the wife and son and then commit suicide? Why, was the ammunition used a different brand than what Luke Hadler had stocked? Thus, the basis of the story is discovery of the truth.

Harper does an outstanding job bringing the setting to life. The reader can almost feel the scorching heat. It is easy to see how such dire conditions could lead to a murder/ suicide. The characters are complex and interesting. The flashbacks are key to understanding the present. A few twists and turns in the plot keep the reader engaged.

The italicized flashbacks flesh out the characters. Harper used this technique to let the reader glimpse the background of the story line. Usually I do not like books with this style of writing because the two time periods make it difficult to follow the story line. However, The Dry works well with this type of writing, perhaps because the two tie so well together. The first death could be a catalyst for the second. Thus I did not see the ending coming.

I enjoyed reading the story. I was caught up in both the plot and the characters. The suspense level was adequate as this book should be categorized as a fictional crime more than a mystery. The key difference is subtle. You are not on the edge of your seat wondering who will be the next victim. Instead you follow the lead characters as the past is confronted and the murder/suicide is exposed along with an outstanding development of characters.

Go to the nearest library or bookstore and look for Jane Harper’s The Dry. You won’t be disappointed. This is a tremendous effort for a first publication. I like her writing and look forward to reading her future works.