Summer Reading List 2012

*  Summer Reading List  *

*  2012  *

REVIEWED 

"Wait, you gotta be kidding me! I have to read this summer?!?!"

- the majority of kids, in schools all over the world.

[from the ages of 9 -18 (and sometimes thru to 24)]

Remember when our schools would hand out the summer readings lists, five days before the end of term? And even if we wanted to hide it from our parents, the schools sent out lists to them too, making avoidance impossible. One time, my brother actually waited by the door every morning for three days, Bart Simpson style, hoping to run interference for all three of us...Unfortunately for us, our parents had gotten the list straight from the school about two weeks before we did.

But no, I am not saying that by reading this blog you must buy all the recipe books to understand anything I will write. This is supposed to be a helpful guide, a resource of genuine and practical advise, not homework.

The following are the books I have received as early birthday gifts from friends and relatives in 2012. I have combed through them, and have finished writing reviews on each. I can honestly say that I have been using some of these recipes to help create my daily and weekly menus. In a few weeks, I will post some of the recipes that are my favorites, with reviews form people who have eaten them.

(A NEW reading list will also be added)

1. The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano

* * * * *  2013

A few years back, I saw this book being discussed on Oprah. I tried a small recipe from it, a granny smith apple and goat cheese sandwich (1 apple, halved, and 1 slice of goats cheese in the middle), and that was my lunch for two weeks. But I completely forgot about this book even being around. Thanks to my parents, this was the first new book to hit my desk. So far, I have only skimmed through it ( I have had it only for 53 minutes and I have no highlighter or post-its!!!) but it is very intriguing. In other discussions for this blog, I will most likely reference this witty and insightful woman's words.
Well, that top paragraph was from last summer! I have to say I love this book. Mirelle Guiliano is such a delight within these pages. It is a great read, informative yet entertaining, with wonderfully delicious recipes. There were moments, not in the recipes of course, where I genuinely thought, "I have always known that, but now I get it!" It even has menus - from the every day to the fantastical - which I have used for parties and my day to day. My favorite recipe has to be the zucchini and leek salad. I incorporate it in all the time. And now that it is summer again, and salads are all my body craves, I can mix it up. There are also some great chicken and fish recipes, but I love this book for all its veggie idea goodness!

2a & 2b. The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go by & Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Conventional Japanese Meals on the Go by Joie Staff 
I have always loved anime, and bento boxes were always such a nifty idea. I could never fully master the techniques and recipes I would find throughout the countless Internet searches and anime shows over the years. But with these lovely new books, which I will crack into as soon as I can, I am sure I can create a beautiful bento box for my summer lunches. 

These two books are actually amazing, especially for beginners! I know how to cook rice. I'm Hispanic, it is in my blood. The way tea is in the blood of the British or salty meat foods are in the arteries of the Germans. But the way these ladies teach you how to cook rice, the way it needs washing and steaming before it get any seasoning at all, makes the rice not just mind blowing, but good for days. I truly recommend eating it fresh if you make Onigiri or sushi (just for that orgasmic taste alone), but the rice itself, when stored properly, is good for 2 or 3 days. The pictures help you plan out a proper bento box, or set meal. The recipes are easy, and the instructions are clear to boot. All in all I would say that if you want fresh bento, get these books . . . Just be prepared to go hunting for the ingredients! 


3. The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional by Glenn Rinsky
Recently, there was this worry about the future that was tugging at me. My soul screams for theatre, for performing, for anything creative!! But my mind...now, as Peter Pan warned me to fight against, worries about money and being able to sustain myself away from the poverty line took hold. With the yen for more training in acting (mainly classes until I can apply for grad.schools in 2013), and returning to where my heart feels free ( London ), there was a nightmare clouding my mind. What if I had to do something other than acting? Would I teach? Or is there something else I would love to do, that would make me feel as alive as theatre does, while still getting paid and not become a prostitute? A DAY JOB, if you will?
I came up with one, and only one. It is a private dream that only three people in the entire world know about, and I am afraid, no offense y'all, the idea is too good to share and get stolen by someone else. Sorry, no way on earth I'm spilling this juicy secret. But I will say this for all you curious kittens out there. It made me think of becoming a Chef. A proper food and pastry one! After the idea was shot down by a certain someone, who shall be spared the humiliation of having their name put on the web as a dream killer (DREAM KILLER, I SAY!), I decided to buy this book for my birthday.
The best gifts come from the people who know us best, right? And who better to get me a heartfelt and meaningful gift, than me? So, Happy Early Birthday me! This book will hopefully teach me all those little tricks of the trade, and maybe someday that small dream may come true. To be an Actor + Chef sounds like a delectable dream, if I do say so myself! 
This was an exceptionally thick book, that made me feel thick too. Not for gaining weight! But the book itself could kill someone in a Giffie! Well, for training this book was bad for me. The instructions were clear if you were already a chef that is. The recipes were beautiful and sinfully delicious, but the tools for creating them were all far from me. I don't own a french pastry kitchen. It came with no set tools, or a note saying you will need shit tons of money and a kitchen that is not inside a closet to create these beautiful and taste delights. 

My kitchen is smaller than your thumb!

Recommended for advanced cooks/bakers, not the kind who have Thumbelina kitchens.


4. The Weeknight Cook: Fresh and Simple Recipes for Good Food Every Day by Brigit Binns
When your day starts at 4 am, and doesn't end until sometime around 8 pm, who has the energy to start a long, drawn out cooking process? For years, I skipped breakfasts and dinners, sometimes forgetting to eat for days due to the rushing and hectic days. Getting to sit and eat anything was a luxury, and a rare one at that. In college, most of my meals, if any, were between classes in 5 minute spats - God forbid you ate in a class room! - or worse, at 3 am while trying to study for a test or finish papers/reading plays. Every one said, " eating is important, make the time!" But honestly there wasn't any, and I'm sorry but a girls bathroom time cannot be compensated!
During my year abroad, however, things changed. I was walking more, I had to compensate for a much longer walking and tube commute, and I was so physically active that not eating resulted in dizzy spells and falling asleep during lectures. As we get older, there seems to be more time to have an hour for grocery shopping, making your meals ahead of time, and storing them for future lunches and dinners. With this book, I hope to find some recipes that will help all of us busy bees eat healthy, and have something to look forward to when we get home, or even when we hit the cafeteria brown-baggin' it!
This is one of the few books I can honestly state was a hit and miss. Some of the recipes are good, some are healthy, but some are actually not. Delicious or healthy. It helps the busy person, yes. It keeps a good idea throughout all the pages: Have something ready in your fridge so you don't binge on junk late at night. Otherwise, my actual least favorite of the bunch.  

5. Cook This Not That! Easy & Awesome 350-Calorie Meals by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding!
This book has fantastically quick and tasty meals. I always recommend their recipe books.

If any other books come across my desk?

I will update you all, pinkie swear!

If you have any books you think would be helpful for the rest of us?

Shoot me an email or post it below, and I will try to review it as soon as I can.