Cookbooks and Gifts

my sister made the pants and shirt :)

I know I'm one of the few who love winter.  Today, we have a dusting of snow that will not turn into rain.  Outside temperatures are chilly and wonderful.  This is what I daydream about during those hot humid days in late August and September.  My RA loves the cold weather and dislikes hot humid weather.  I'm lucky I live in four seasons and can appreciate each season!

little tea light my aunt gave me for Christmas!! (I purchased the knit pottery at a festival)
 My house is mostly put back together, Christmas decorations are packed away and all that remains is my son's "stuff" in the family room.  I think he is heading back to Penn State tomorrow.  My daughter is back on the west coast and I'm not sure when we will see each other again.  I know it will not be seven months worth or waiting.


One of my Christmas gifts is the Fox kit from Posy gets Cozy.  I'm planning to start near the end of January and then my rabbit will have a friend.  Yesterday I read over what materials I need to purchase that did not come with the kit.  I'll be dusting off my mother's sewing machine from 1957 (still works!) and hopefully sewing some wee clothes.


The Cookbook Roundup

I love the bowl cookbook - I'm definitely making lots of meals from this one.  I've pinned a lot of buddha bowls over the past few months and when I saw this cookbook, I had to own it!

The Salad Samurai cookbook looks good but I'll need to draft a detailed list of ingredients to execute the recipes. I hope my lunch salads become exciting.

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook is excellent.  I own the first edition and cooked from it a lot.  They've added more recipes and a few more sections.  I highly recommend it.

The Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen is more for my husband than for me, but I'm excited to eat even more curries that I already do.

My diet is quite crazy in that I dabble in vegetarianism.  I do not eat mammals by choice and I avoid dairy due to lactose intolerance.  The lactose pills work only so much but I know my body love NO dairy.  It's a slippery slope since eating cheese is yummy.... Both my dad and my sister have celiac disease and while I tested negative I believe I am gluten sensitive to certain grains.

I'm hoping with the new cookbooks that I get more ideas, more variety and improve my menu plan rotation.  My overall goal is to eat lots of vegetables and introduce some stronger flavors.  I tend to pick recipes that can be made within an hour.  As you all know, I'd rather be knitting :)

 
my cactus is still going strong :)

Comments

  1. faith76January 6, 2017 at 8:18 AM

    The cookbooks look very healthy! I am a very grab quick person when it comes to eating and really should try and be more healthy so thanks for the inspiration. I love your rabbit and looking forward to seeing his friend the fox xx

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  2. tamknotsJanuary 6, 2017 at 8:34 AM

    Thank you for inviting us into your day!

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  3. TannaJanuary 6, 2017 at 8:55 AM

    Your bunny is SO CUTE, Karen! I can't wait to see his fox friend. We are working on being better with our eating... Ha! We are GREAT at eating... we just need to eat less. And, leave off the sweets and simple carbs. ;) You are an inspiration always, Karen. blessings ~ tanna

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  4. BonnyJanuary 6, 2017 at 8:58 AM

    Thank you for lots of lovely glimpses of your life! I love your rabbit's shirt, and do hope the fox turns out to be a kind friend. You've got a tall stack of healthy eating there - enjoy!

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  5. Michelle GDJanuary 6, 2017 at 9:56 AM

    hello, my fellow winter lover!!!

    happy cooking and fox-making (how darling!) and happy new year...
    xo

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2017 at 10:55 AM

    I've always loved FALL the best, but winter comes in second!

    Little fox is going to be ADORABLE! Have fun with the sewing and can't wait to see him up on the shelf chasing little bunny.

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  7. VeraJanuary 6, 2017 at 11:53 AM

    I enjoy Winter as well. I would not like to live where I did not have 4 seasons. Let us know how the Fox sewing goes. Alicia's patterns look so cute...but I have never tried one. Thanks for the cookbook review. I looked at Bowl on Amazon and it looks fabulous!!

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2017 at 12:22 PM

    Oh the fox will be so cute! What a neat kit. I hope to foster what little sewing skills I have. This is the first time for us, Bay Area natives, that it's been so cold. It's 50° in our house. I'm draggin' out the kids to run three errands. We ran around yesterday too. I like the first and last cookbook; I want to eat healthier and more veggies.

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  9. mamasmercantileJanuary 6, 2017 at 1:28 PM

    The fox kit looks amazing a real delight. We are looking at a more holistic view of our health this year and hoping to improve our diets, quite a challenge with so many other things happening in our lives right now but we will try.

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  10. BridgetJanuary 6, 2017 at 1:36 PM

    I'm with you no winter - it's my fave!

    Your cookbooks look interesting. I'll be curious to hear about the one with recipes for Indian food.

    I have one of the kits from Alicia, but haven't tried it yet. But one of my things for this year is to sew more, so I'll probably give it a try.

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  11. Caffeine GirlJanuary 6, 2017 at 1:37 PM

    I'd rather be knitting, too! I'm trying to cook more. Bowl looks like a great book and I've already placed it on hold at the library. I don't have any dietary restrictions, but we eat very little meat for health reasons -- and because meat isn't so good for the planet. You can't go wrong with veggies and whole grains, so I try to stick with those.

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  12. GraceJanuary 6, 2017 at 5:42 PM

    Thank you for sharing your cookbooks with us, they look really interesting. I didn't get any new ones this year but have been revisiting some of my old ones. I have diet restrictions as well and am very bad about following them during the holidays. Time to get back on track! : )

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  13. Judy S.January 6, 2017 at 7:04 PM

    Love that bunny and your cardinal cup. Happy cooking! It looks like you have lots of recipes to try, so I hope you'll share some of the best ones.

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  14. JaneJanuary 6, 2017 at 8:50 PM

    Thanks for sharing your cookbooks. We too eat very little meat. Veggies are so healthy. I like America's Test Kitchen Vegetarian cookbook as most recipes have a paragraph at the beginning labeled "Why This Recipe Works." with helpful information. Also the book includes some other information for vegetarian cooking. I don't think the recipes are particularly low in calorie and some do include dairy products. I am going to see if I can get Bowl at my library. After I put the Christmas decorations away, I like the less cluttered look in my house.

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  15. Jeannie Gray KnitsJanuary 7, 2017 at 10:29 AM

    Thanks so much for sharing the cookbooks. I'm in desperate need of healthier meals. Love the bunny & can't wait to see your fox.

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  16. kristieinbcJanuary 7, 2017 at 1:20 PM

    Your rabbit will be very happy to have a companion. :-)

    I love new cookbooks! If I can find at least three "go to" recipes in one I consider it to be a good investment. Please let us know how you like these particular books once you get a chance to try out some of the recipes.

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  17. Deb J. in UtahJanuary 7, 2017 at 5:32 PM

    I love the Christmas Cactus and all those neat new Cookbooks. We also try to avoid red meat as much as possible. I love the bunny and other cute animals you are going to be making! Hope things continue to go well for you in the new year!

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  18. DiannaJanuary 7, 2017 at 7:55 PM

    I understand where you are coming from when it comes to your eating habits, Karen. The new cookbooks look like they will give you good support in your menu planning and trying new things. We love trying new things here at our house also.

    The bunny is adorable and it will be so happy to have some company when the fox joins him. :)

    I'm now officially a part of the blogging community again. :)

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  19. kathy bJanuary 7, 2017 at 8:56 PM

    New cookbooks and beloved old recipes...it is what eating is all about right? Im so happy you love the cold weather. I'll take the cue from you. I feel guilty sitting and knitting. My daughter said today, as long as you get your work out done do whatever you want! She's so right. Off to knit socks.

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  20. AlinaJanuary 8, 2017 at 1:40 PM

    Such a cozy set of photos! I am doing a juice detox for the last two days, I have been so stressed and busy that I feel like my body needs an extra support! I also choose recipes only after looking at the time required to make them. 30 min is an absolute maximum for me :) Enjoy your snow days!

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  21. JaneJanuary 9, 2017 at 7:35 AM

    Your new cookbooks look very interesting, you are going to have fun with them! Today I am hoping to start a healthier eating regime. I haven't eaten meat for many years, but do eat fish, it is easy to cut out meat once you get the hang of it. I don't mind winter in the slightest, but come the end of February, I get a little fed-up and long for slightly brighter days. Wishing you a happy week, Karen xx

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