Cook It Together

I drool over the children’s books from DK publishing. I’m crazy about their full color photographs, clear text and interesting topics. Cook It Together, a new DK cookbook for kids, did not disappoint.

Cook It Together, by Annabel Karmel, is 48 pages of cooking goodness. It’s full of great recipes, fun information, and charming pictures. This great book even contains facts about each of the main ingredients used.

Annabel Karmel takes 10 chief ingredients (tomatoes, corn, potatoes, rice, bananas, strawberries, apples, honey, chocolate and yogurt) and transforms them into delicious dishes. Each recipes is explained step-by-step, with great visuals for every procedure.

Yearning for strawberry cheesecake? How about potato souffle or corn fritters? They’re all here in this book.

The only downside of Cook It Together is the number of sweets the volume contains. 10 out of 21 recipes are for snacks. I love sugar, but that’s a lot even for me!

Nonetheless, for a young cook, I’ve never come across a better book. Cook It Together both inspires and teaches. That’s an impressive combination.

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Pretty Little Purses And Pouches

Jam packed with 29 projects, Pretty Little Purses And Pouches, is a delicious treat for anyone who loves to sew. Each of the projects in the book is a delight to look at and practical to use. The projects run the gamut from very easy to slightly complicated, making this book perfect for both serious and casual crafters.

Pretty Little Purses and Pouches is a group effort. The book has projects from 19 different designers. Each of the designers has made a real effort to contribute a truly superb project to this book.

My favorite?

I love dainty little bags (though I usually lug around too much stuff to use them) so I’d have to pick Pocket This by Wendy Gratz. This delicate little purse is constructed from crinkly cotton fabric and heavy satin. It goes around the neck and shoulder and is only about 6 inches wide. Yum!

There is only one drawback to Pretty Little Purses And Pouches. Each of the patterns in the book need to be enlarged before being used. However, with today’s technology even this glitch isn’t much of problem.

Pretty Little Purses And Pouches is part of a new series from Lark Books. Other titles in the series are Pretty Little Patchwork, Pretty Little Cozies and Pretty Little Potholders. I highly recommend the entire series.

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The Shop On Blossom Street

As a devoted crafter, I love to read novels about other crafters. I enjoy stories in which the creative process is an integral part of the plot. The Shop On Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber, is one such novel.

The Shop On Blossom Street is a novel about the lives and romances of four knitters. Lydia Hoffman, the owner of a yarn shop and cancer survivor, learns to let go of her illness and learn to love again. Alix Townsend, a troubled young woman, discovers that she is a good enough person to deserve a good man. Carol Girard, and her husband, suffer though the pains of infertility. And Jacqueline Donovan, a women emotionally separated from her husband, reconnects with both him and her family.

The yarn shop offers a common meeting ground for these four, very different women. Through knitting, they begin to reflect on and share their lives with one another. By the time they have finished working their way through a simple baby blanket, the crafters have all made important strides in both their relationships and their goals.

As usual, Debbie Macomber tells a wonderful story, full of life, personal growth and love.

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