Book Review – Earth to Table October 13, 2009
Posted by Bobbie Crawford-McCoy in ALL Book Reviews, Cookbooks & Food Guides, Non-Fiction.Tags: Bettina Schormann, Cookbook, Earth to Table, Jeff Crump, Non-Fiction, Organic, Random House Canada, Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm, Slow Food
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Earth to Table,
Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm
Written by: Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann
Published by: Random House Canada
Date: September 15th, 2009
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0307356840
Earth to Table is much more than a cookbook; it covers a wide range of organic, “slow food” topics, delicious and unique recipes that use all-organic ingredients and features several Chief profiles.
A sample of the recipes inside:
Scrambled Eggs with Chives and Caviar
Pesto
Saffron Rice
Rhubarb Fool
Maple Shoofly Pie
New Potatoes Salad with Green Beans and Shallots
Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chilies and Cheese
French Vanilla Ice Cream
Shortcakes with Chantilly Cream and Macerated Strawberries
Plum Tarts
French Onion Soup
Pizza Dough
Roasted Pork Loin with Fennel
Braised Short Ribs
Apple Tarts
Double Crispy Onion Rings
Herbed Dumplings
Sticky Toffee Pudding
…and a whole lot more!
Jeff Crump is an Excutive Canadian Chef who has worked in a number of the world’s top restruants; Lumiere in Vancouver B.C., The Fat Duck, Bray, England and at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Jeff is a Canadian Slow Food pioneer and he promotes the use of seasonal food that is grown locally.
Bettina Schormann is a Pastry Chief who began her career in culinary arts after receiving a degree at the University of Windsor. She has worked in every section of the restaurant, including service. Pastry has since become her passion. Bettina has won numerous awards including the Lindt Chocolate Competition and the OHI Professional Pastry Chef Award. She has studied the pastry arts in Paris, New York and Toronto. Bettina has been pivotal in the unique relationship between the Ancaster Old Mill Restaurant and ManoRun Organic Farm.
This securely bound, hardcover cookbook is just the thing for cooks who are very selective and prefer to use organic foods; it is also a very functional cookbook for those of us who are non-organic cooks and food consumers. Each of the seasonal recipe sections is prefaced with an introduction that talks about the foods available during that particular season; the flavorful and imaginative recipes are easy to understand and easy to follow with a clear layout that makes this a great cookbook for beginners, right on up to experienced cooks. There are several enlightening profiles that feature Chiefs from around the world; they add some of their feelings and explain some of their personal ideas about food and the restaurant business. There are lots of gorgeous, full-colour photographs that enhance an already enjoyable cookbook. There is a concluding section at the back of the cookbook that includes 18 extra, basic recipes that every cook needs to know, followed by an appendix and an index. Some of the recipes are a little too trendy and modern for my tastes, but I’m really old fashioned when it comes to food so don’t let it stop YOU from picking up a copy of Earth to Table.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ (8 out of 10 Diamonds) – Thoroughly enjoyed it
Read more about Earth to Table.
Find out where to buy this book.
Author’s Website
Publisher’s Website
A special thanks to K. & T. at Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this book to review.
Book Review – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! 2009 September 18, 2009
Posted by Bobbie Crawford-McCoy in **(08 out of 10 Diamonds), ALL Book Reviews, Non-Fiction, Reference.Tags: curiosities, fun facts, Reference, Ripley's, Ripley's Believe It or Not: Seeing Is Believing, Seeing Is Believing, world records
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Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Seeing Is Believing
Edited by: Rebecca Miles (Managing Editor), Judy Barratt and Sally McFall
Published by: Ripley Publishing a Jim Pattison Company
Date: August 4th, 2009
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1893951457
The latest Ripley’s Believe It or Not! hardcover volume is the 6th in the series and it certainly seems to go the extra mile. The cover is vibrant with a very eye-catching (pun intended) hologram on the front cover. With hundreds of full-colour pictures and photographs, most of which are highlighting some of the bizarre content inside, you are not going to get bored with this book. The majority of the tidbits or factoids are inside are in point form with some of the more outrageous ones highlighted or spotlighted on partial or full-page spreads with really big photographs. Each page is printed in full colour (unless they are black and white photographs). With 31 museums all over the world, you’ll definitely want to plan a visit for your family; you will all have fun trying to figure out if the outlandish displays, claims and interactive features are real or not. Or, you could just save some of your money and buy this book instead!
This book’s content is sorted into the following categories:
Strange But True
Extreme Earth
Incredible Feats
Unusual Customs
Crazy Creatures
Travel Tales
Fantastic Food
Body Oddity
Strange Sites
Artistic Licence
Amazing Science
Beyond Belief
Here’s a tiny sample of what’s in store for you:
Playing Scrabble While Skidiving, Guy Blows Up Baloons With His Eyes, A 9 year old’s $10,000 5-day Shopping Spree, Edible Organs, Exploding Toilets, 9,000 lb. Ball Made From Rubber Bands, Elephant Man, Lava Surfer, 100 Person-Strong
Human Kite, Toilet Paper Wedding Gown, Two-Faced Kitten, 2,000 lb. Cheese Sculpture, 15 lb. Burger, Barnum and Bailey “Freakshow” Showcase, Magnetic Man, Pulls A Van With His Eyelids and much, much more!!!
You, your family and friends are going to have hours upon hours of
enjoyment from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Seeing Is Believing. You’ll be grossed-out, amazed, disgusted, surprised and just plain shocked by some of the foolish, idiotic, imaginative and hard-to-believe stuff inside; most of all, you’ll be getting your money’s worth!
I’m not sure if I personally believe all of the claims and pictures, but I’ve enjoyed this book, regardless!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ (8 out of 10 Diamonds) – Thoroughly enjoyed it
Read more about Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Seeing Is Believing.
Find out where to buy this book.
A special thanks to Carolina at Wellons Communications for sending me a copy to review.
Book Review – Tall, Dark & Fangsome (ARC) September 10, 2009
Posted by Bobbie Crawford-McCoy in **(10 out of 10 Diamonds), ALL Book Reviews, ARC's, Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance.Tags: Book #3, Fiction, Forever, I very highly recommend it, Immortality Bites, Michelle Rowen, Paranormal Romance, Tall Dark & Fangsome
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Tall, Dark & Fangsome
Immortality Bites, Book #5
Written by: Michelle Rowen
Published by: Forever
Date: September 2009
Pages: 352
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0446505857
(Available NOW!)
Product Description – From Amazon.com
“Sarah Dearly’s vampire life is not all B-positive cocktails. A curse made her a nightwalker, the most vicious vamp there is; the charm she wears to curb her deadly tendencies is losing its juice; and a hunter from hell is turning up the heat. Gideon Chase will kill the ones she loves most if she doesn’t obey his orders. That includes breaking up with master vampire Thierry and turning Gideon into an immortal vamp so he can escape a doom of eternal hellfire.
Making things worse are Sarah’s growing feelings for Gideon, a bad boy who keeps showing a vulnerable side . . . but is it for real? Will Sarah’s dark side take over? Or can she cure herself of the nightwalker curse in time to stop Gideon and finally live happily ever after with Thierry . . . forever?”
Tall, Dark & Fangsome is something else; in a good way of course! Set in Toronto, Ontario this story has the appearance of a contemporary romance novel…until you start reading. I haven’t read books 1-4, but this final volume in the Immortality Bites series is a winner in my books! There are so many colourful, well-developed characters in this story that it was hard to choose a favourite. With a fast-paced, action-filled plot the reader is going to have a really hard time putting the book down. There is a wealth of romance in this story even though there isn’t any graphic sexual content; there are some super-HOT, romantic moments that sizzle. Sarah Dearly was turned into a vampire by Thierry de Bennicoeur in one of the earlier books so one could say that she has “grown into her fangs” by book 5. Her life seems to be confrontation after confrontation but Sarah does her best to persevere through it all with scathing wit, sarcastic humour and a deadly sense of purpose. Thierry and Sarah have a strong connection to one another despite the fact that Sarah was forced to end their relationship in an attempt to protect everyone she loves. With a cast of humans, vampires, demons, vampire hunters and a nightwalker, the reader is guaranteed a good time. Hold on to your seats and prepare yourself for a paranormal romance that will take you for one WILD ride.
I very highly recommend this book!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ (10 out of 10 Diamonds) – Absolutely LOVED it!!
Read more about Tall, Dark & Fangsome.
Find out where to buy this book.
Author’s Website
Publisher’s Website
A special thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy to review.
Book Review – Lucan: The Pendragon Legacy (ARC) September 9, 2009
Posted by Bobbie Crawford-McCoy in **(09 out of 10 Diamonds), ALL Book Reviews, ARC's, Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance.Tags: Book #1, Fiction, Forever, futuristic, I very highly recommend it, Lucan: The Pendragon Legacy, Paranormal Romance, Susan Kearney
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Lucan
The Pendragon Legacy, Book #1
Written by: Susan Kearney
Published by: Forever
Date: September 2009
Pages: 368
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0446543316
(Available NOW!)
Product Description – From Amazon.com
“THEIR LOVE IS FORBIDDEN
Healer and high priestess of her people, Lady Cael is fated to life without a mate. But a mysterious explorer named Lucan Rourke doesn’t know her secrets, and his touch makes her crave a future that her extraordinary birthright has forbidden her. . .
BUT DANGER IS NO MATCH FOR DESIRE
Lucan has just one mission on Pendragon: to find the mythical Holy Grail, Earth’s only hope for survival. His powerful attraction to Cael is a distraction he can’t afford, unless he convinces her to join forces with him. Yet working so closely together only heightens their passion . . . even when the terrifying truth of Cael’s heritage threatens to shatter Lucan’s every belief-and the galaxy itself.”
Lucan: The Pendragon Legacy is an extraordinary book! This paranormal romance novel is one of my new favourites because it’s jam-packed with action, adventure and erotic romance. Lady Cael, high priestess to her people, is isolated by a wall of fear and reverence. Her rank and position among her people offers untold riches and magnificence but she can never share her life with anyone. When Lucan Rourke begins working alongside Lady Cael on an archaeological dig, she senses that there is something different about him and his confidence and ease of manner surprises and pleases her; the attraction between them is forbidden but that doesn’t keep either of them from wanting more. Lucan is fiercely protective of beautiful Lady Cael and it warms the heart. There are some amazing things that happen in this story, but I can’t share them with you because I would ruin it for you; suffice it to say that this paranormal romance isn’t afraid to take the reader outside their realm of reality and create worlds that are so realistic that you get pulled into the story right away. This fast-paced plot will take you on a wild ride that soars with emotion, drama and romance.
I highly recommend this book!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ (9 out of 10 Diamonds) – Loved it!
Read more about Lucan: The Pendragon Legacy, Book #1.
Find out where to buy this book.
Author’s Website
Publisher’s Website
A special thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy to review.
Book Review – Seduced at Midnight September 9, 2009
Posted by Bobbie Crawford-McCoy in **(07 out of 10 Diamonds), ALL Book Reviews, Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance.Tags: Berkley Sensation, Fiction, Historical Romance, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Ladies Literary Society series, Seduced at Mighnight
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Seduced at Midnight
Mayhem in Mayfair, Book #3
Written by: Jacquie D’Alessandro
Published by: Berkley Sensation
Date: January 2009
Pages: 345
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0425225493
Product Description – From Amazon.com
“The Ladies Literary Society of London gathers again for a ghost story…
Lady Julianne Bradley has always longed for wild adventure. Unfortunately, the man with whom she wishes to share her fervor can never be hers. Tormented by her desire, she’s preparing for a suitable marriage when ghostly occurrences straight out of her latest read start happening—and to protect Julianne, her father hires the very man her heart cries out for.”
Seduced at Midnight is the 3rd book in the Ladies Literary Society series that centers around a small group of friends who participate in a seemingly innocuous book club; unbeknownst to their family and friends, the book club includes some racy titles that really fire the blood and in Lady Julianne Bradley’s case, they cause her imagination to run wild. The source of her passionate desires is the Bow Street Runner, Mr. Gideon Mayne; his a-typical, mouth-watering, muscular physique and his very presence makes Julianne’s heart pound wildly with need. There is sizzling chemistry between Gideon and Julianne; their love scenes are very descriptive with luscious sensuality that heats up the room! The dialogue between the characters is witty, humorous and you can feel the chemistry sparking between them. One small downside to the dialogue was a repetitive phrase that was cute the first few times, but it was used too often and too close together, in my opinion. It was nice to read a book that had strong characters, both male and female and I always enjoy it when they are beautiful people!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ (7 out of 10 Diamonds) – I really enjoyed it
Read more about Seduced at Mighnight.
Find out where to buy this book.
Author’s Website
Publisher’s Website
A special thanks to Jacquie D’Alessandro for sending me a copy to review.














