Library offers cookbooks to try before you buy
By NewsPress Now
Did you know that the St. Joseph Public Library is a great place to test-run a cookbook? Check one out from the library first before you buy to make sure you really want to invest in it. All five cookbooks listed below have something to say and they say it well. They include plenty of color illustrations, well-crafted instructions and explanations. The books are available at the St. Joseph Public Library, at other Missouri Evergreen libraries or from one of the SJPL eContent vendors. Visit the library’s catalog at sjpl.missourievergreen.org to find these or other great books to enjoy.
“The Complete Summer Cookbook: Beat the Heat with 500 Recipes that Make the Most of Summer’s Bounty” If “test kitchen tips” to keep your kitchen cool, food varied and take advantage of available seasonal foods appeals to you, you are in sync with this book. It includes well-tested, clearly explained recipes with illustrations that make you feel like summer. Rarely included in cookbooks, nutritional information for each recipe is provided. This book is a textbook for taking advantage of the foods summer has to offer.
“Delicious Dump Cakes: 50 Super Simple Desserts to Make in 15 Minutes or Less” by Roxanne Wyss. Need a dessert quickly? Sudden guests? Forgot about the potluck tonight? Only time for a quick cleanup before guests arrive? This is the book for you. Included are recipes for triple berry cobbler, strawberry-rhubarb, applesauce ginger, Southern praline, dulce de leche and slow cooker dump cakes. There are plenty of recipes for that last-minute scramble for something sweet to serve. The recipes are simple and quick but the finished product does not look it.
“The Quiet Gut Cookbook: 135 Easy Low-FODMAP Recipes to Sooth Symptoms of IBS, IBD and Celiac Disease.” Getting over the stomach flu? Need to try an elimination diet? Tired of ginger ale, plain toast, soda crackers and Jell-o? “The Quiet Gut Cookbook” has many answers for you. After a clear definition of FODMAPs and the symptoms they may cause, the book explains why a one-size-fits-all approach to help your gut may not work. Whether your case is a long-term issue or a recovery from a malady, you may find the help you are looking for here.
“The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook: Strategies and Recipes for Creating Amazing Meals in Small Spaces” by Anne Mahle. “Loving the kitchen you have instead of the one you don’t” is the premise and spirit of this book. Starting with organizing and using all of your space from high to low, then moving to the best equipment for a small space and careful menu planning, you are ready to cook. The recipes included are all for one or two people but are scalable. Directions are clearly written and logically presented. The author, who is a chef on a windjammer with a tiny galley kitchen, knows her subject.
“Thank you for Smoking: Fun and Fearless Recipes Cooked with a Whiff of Wood Fire on Your Grill or Smoker” by Paula Disbrowe. Covering everything from grains and spices to the more usual meats, the author presents her preference for “a whiff of smoke.” Many of the foods covered are not of the low and slow traditional smoking variety that involves long cooking times. The available types of grills and smokers are explained as well as the various ingredients that add differing flavors to your foods. From Cowboy Burgers to Burnt Marshmallow Krispies, the variety presented is wide-ranging.
