new books for april 2013

Matte Stephens is an all time favorite.

He illustrated this new book for children,

Mr. FLux

You can find his prints for sale

on etsy.

This is the one I fell for:

Another newbie for kids

The Dark

by another fave Jon Klassen 

New cookbook worth having.

Lots of gluten-free, easy recipes.

It's All Good 

{I made the 

Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers

 with 

Cucumber + Yogurt Sauce

last eve for dinner..Super YUM}

 I'm reading this one to Everett.

We don't want it to end.

August is our hero.

This book not just for kids.

WONDER by R.J. Palacio

cozy books for winter

Nothing like a pile of books to cozy up

with in the dead of winter.

Here are three goodies from my pile:

Waiting for this one to come in the mail.

Katie's blog, What Katie Ate 

is eye candy deluxe so 

I know this is a good one.

 Another cookbook to drool over.

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

by

Deb Perelman.

American Heiress is a novel

tying me over until 

Downton Abbey DVD

arrives in the mail.

 

chopped salad

Alice Waters loves chopped salad.  

She has lots of chopped salad ideas in her book,

The Art of Simple Food.

I love chopped salads especially

in the summer when all is fresh.

I have made this Chopped Tomato Feta Salad

(not an Alice Waters recipe but I think she would approve)

two times this week.  

SO GOOD.

Chopped Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad

INGREDIENTS
        about a pint of halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
        1 medium field cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and diced to about 1/2-inch
        1/2 of a medium red onion, diced
        1/2 cup crumbled feta
        1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
        1 tbsp  red wine vinegar
        1/2 tsp turbinado sugar
        2 tbsp olive oil
        1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
        1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

METHODS
    .    Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, basil and feta cheese.  Toss to mix.
    .    Whisk olive oil, vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt in  small bowl.  Taste dressing and adjust seasonings if necessary.
    .    Drizzle dressing over salad, whisking as you go.  Toss salad to coat evenly with dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve immediately, or allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes for the cucumbers to soften and the flavors to blend.
Serves 4 as a healthy side portion.

I did not make dressing separately.  I just added dressing ingredients straight into salad.

recipe + photo found here.

that jamie oliver

I made this yummy salad over the weekend.  

Fantastic 

with a simple grilled salmon

and rice.

It's from Jamie's Dinners

a super must have cookbook.

Here is the recipe:

(so easy & can be made way in advance) 

I didn't have chillies, basil or mint.

I used parsley which was perfect.

summer chickpea salad

serves 4

• 1 small red onion, peeled
• 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded
• 2 handfuls of ripe red or yellow tomatoes
• 2 lemons
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x 410g jar or tin of chickpeas, drained, or around 4 large handfuls of soaked and cooked chickpeas
• a handful of fresh mint, chopped
a handful of fresh green or purple basil, finely ripped
• 200g/7oz feta cheese

First of all, finely slice your red onion. Once that's done, finely slice your chillies then roughly chop your tomatoes, mixing them in with the onion and chillies. Scrape all of this, and the juice, into a bowl and dress with the juice of 1½ lemons and about 3 times as much good extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste. Heat the chickpeas in a pan, then add 90 per cent of them to the bowl. Mush up the remaining chickpeas and add these as well – they will give a nice creamy consistency. Allow to marinate for a little while and serve at room temperature.

Just as you're ready to serve, give the salad a final dress with the fresh mint and basil. Taste one last time for seasoning – you may want to add the juice from your remaining lemon half at this point. Place on a nice serving dish and crumble over the feta cheese.

photo and recipe from here.

barefoot contessa

Yay!  Another recipe book by my favorite cook, Ina Garten.  How Easy is That?  will be available in October!  Pre-order your copy here today!

flags for cakes

Saw this on design*sponge today.  What a clever idea for your next birthday cake.  You can find these little flags here on etsy.

off the shelf

Donna Hay, the Martha of down under, creates the best eye candy when it comes to food and books.  I found a used copy of Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry at a book sale last weekend.  It's filled with lots of delicious looking quick recipes with ingredients we "should" have in our pantry.  All the pasta dishes look easy....for example, spaghetti and lemon-marinated salmon.  Yum.  If you are looking for some inspiration when it comes to the kitchen, this is the book for you!