Weekend Book Reviews

YumUniverse Pantry to Plate by Heather Crosby is a vegan/vegetarian cookbook.  I am always on the lookout for good vegetarian recipes.  Unfortunately I did not find many that I could convince my family to try.  I had a couple of problems with this book.  The author includes a wide variety of recipes for homemade basics such as enchilada sauce.  I was disappointed that a recipe for corn tortillas was not included.  They are easy to make at home.  If I am making enchilada sauce, I would want a great tortilla to pair with it.  My second problem is with the subtitle:  Improvise Meals You Love - From What You Have! The latter part is where the author lost me.  Maybe all vegetarians have the ingredients she uses, but I do not.  Pysllium husk (whole and ground), garbanzo bean flour, and rapadura are not commonly found in my pantry.  I feel that healthy recipes should not be so complicated. This book missed the mark for me.

Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades--Bastes, Butters, & Glazes, Too is a great collection for any barbecue fan.  I am thinking this would be a wonderful Father's Day gift.  This is an updated version.  I ended up marking so many recipes that I knew I needed the paperback version.  The recipes include easy to find ingredients and cover a wide variety.  Since I started cooking from scratch, I find bottled barbecue sauces less than impressing.  This book offers so many that I will have no problem finding several I love.  This is a must have for any barbecue lover!

The Most Misused Stories in the Bible by Eric J Bargerhuff is an explanation of  fifteen Bible stories that are often misrepresented.  I have to admit that I have not heard most of the misrepresentations.  While it is interesting, it is closer to a short devotional book.  I appreciated the multiple Biblical references to back up the author's explanations.

Pat Olski's Crochet Stories:  Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland provides patterns for all of the characters from the book.  The patterns are clear and easy to follow even for a beginner.  The photos of each character are very helpful as well.  I think a set of the crocheted characters and a copy of Alice in Wonderland would make a great gift.  This is an excellent book for anyone just starting to crochet dolls.

disclosure:  I received these e-books from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!