Cast-Iron Cooking- book review with a bonus coloring page

I've been planning for a while to re-do and post the cast iron design I made for my daughter last year as a coloring page, then got this book to review and decided to combine the two. The coloring pages are at the bottom of the review!

Rachel Narins' Cast-Iron Cooking is a gorgeous book from Storey Publishing.

Open it up, and it starts with an overview of what cast iron is, the benefits of cooking with it, and how to care for it. For people who haven't started using it yet, it's the original non-stick, and properly cared for, it will last for generations. It retains heat well and can be used at high temperatures. Seasoning it and cleaning it are very easy and it's worth the effort.

Then it gets into the recipes- Oh my.. it gets into the recipes. So what I look for in a cookbook can be complicated. I want a good variety and good, clear instructions and ingredients that can be found easily. This one falls into that sweet spot quite handily. It's multi-culturally inspired recipes are a delight and as a bonus- it has a few recipes that are vegan or vegetarian. There are also some incredibly simple recipes like grilled cheese sandwiches- which I'll admit to be very partial to and picky about it. Making a grilled cheese sandwich in a cast iron skillet is simply the best way to get it perfect.

My favorite recipe in the book is the Salmon Cakes- they are a delicious use for leftover salmon and even my salmon-hating husband likes them. This recipe is savory, full of flavor, and includes a really good simple tartar sauce recipe.

Other highlight recipes for my family are the
Mango Curry with Cashews (vegetarian with a vegan option)- spicy and delicious and adaptable.
Cheesy Fondue- Everyone needs a good fondue recipe, this one is classic and simple.
Fajitas with Steak- this is one of those things that cast iron just shines for because of the heat you can use with it.

There is also a recipe for a spicy gingerbread that I'm looking forward to making when the weather gets cooler. I love a good gingerbread and this one looks fantastic for cold evenings.

You can get it from your favorite bookstore.

Check out Storey Publishing on Facebook!

Now for the coloring page, click the images below for larger versions.

You can get this design on a shirt on Redbubble HERE

Small jpg version:

Large transparent png version:

Book Review- Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola

As I mentioned, in my review of Soap Crafting , it's really easy to get enthused about books about soap making by the Soap Queen. In fact, when I got this in the mail well..

I might have completely lost my cool and acted like a kid on Christmas morning who got just what they always wanted.


Why?
First- this is a gorgeous book. Hardcover over a wire binding, so it will look good on your bookshelf, and lay flat when you're working from it. The inside is beautiful too. Lots of great color photos of both the finish products and the steps to make them.

But that's not what makes this book pure gold for anyone interested in soap making.

This is the Soap Queen. She runs one of the best blogs and shops for soap supplies, this is her whole profession and life. The science and art of soap making.

For beginners- the science is explained in very clear terms, so you can understand the chemical process of soapmaking. She goes into great detail in an easily readable nearly conversational format about

• why some oils are better than others
• why you only want to use small amounts of specific oils
• what superfatting is
• how to find and use soap calculators to figure out the amount of lye for the types and quantities of oil you are using
• how to safely make soap and handle lye
• what kind of equipment to use
• how to choose good molds
• how to identify trace
• overview of types of ingredients like scent and colorants
• how to design your own recipes

In that fantastic introduction, one of my favorite things was the exploration of colorants which had fresh and old bars of soaps that used various colorants and showed how they faded or muddied. My other favorite part is the step by step introduction to cold process soap making which includes a simple recipe for a lemongrass scented soap. Every step is written out clearly and concisely by someone who has taught soapmaking and knows all the questions you might have.

The first chapter of recipes is Pure Simplicity soaps.
This starts with very simple, straight-forward recipes including a pure castile soap, then starts adding additives like oatmeal, then a two-color soap, after that, swirls and piped whipped soap. As you work through this chapter, you'll learn a lot about what you can do with soap. Favorite in this chapter- the honeycomb soap for it's clever texture and fantastic ingredients.

The next chapter is Pure Beauty
These soaps are gorgeous. Just as nourishing as the soaps in Pure Simplicity, but they are fancier, require more steps, and will impress the heck out of anyone you give them to if you're making them as gifts. This includes layered soaps, beautiful ring effects, embedding soap with soap for a specific look and other effects. It also has a lot more ingredients that provide a wonderful decorative look, scent and feel such as coffee grounds to provide extra scrubbing power for gardener's hands or tomato paste (!) in a soap full of rich oils with a peppermint scent. Favorite in this chapter- The coffee swirl soap, because it's beautiful and it's coffee!

The last chapter is Colorful and Creative
Anne-Marie does this incredible thing where she creates these works of art in soap form, and can actually explain how she did it in a clear, non-scary way that makes you think "Oh! I can do this!" and she's wild for color. If you got Soap Crafting, you got to see that.
This chapter has swirls, layers, embeds, funnel pours create rings, or in the case of the negative funnel pour soap, big beautiful spots, It ends with a yin-yang symbol soap. The best thing about this chapter is the step by step detailed photos which take the guess work out of it so you can focus on the joy of it.

Just an absolutely beautiful book and an essential one if you plan to get into soapmaking or if you want to take your soapmaking to the next level.

Like Soapqueen on Facebook - lots of tutorials and recipes!
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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Little One Yard Wonders

This is one of those books that I'd recommend to anyone with any reason to give gifts to children. Not just for parents and grandparents- because you'll be able to find the age appropriate gift in this book, and most of them are inexpensive and fairly quick projects.

So I'm going to start with the really good news- I talked to the Storey Publishing about my FAVORITE project in this whole book, and they quite kindly are allowing me to post here for all of you for free.

Hexie Pouf designed by Adrienne Lodico from Little One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins, photography (c) by Julie Toy, used with permission from Storey Publishing, 2014.

The Hexie Pouf! This reminds me of the big floor pillows my mom had, but more stylish and completely up to date- these have covers that can be washed, and are perfect for a lot of ages.
Click link to download:

Hexie Pouf PDF 

I want a stack of them. Spoonflower's Eco Canvas is the right width, so you can even get custom printed fabric to make them. 

There are so many really clever and really cute projects in this book. Like the other One Skein and One Yard Wonder books, these are collections of projects by different designers in different styles. This has some great things for boys as well as girls or things like the Hexie Pouf that are easy to customize to suit different tastes.
A few favorites (because there are 101 projects in the book which is too much to talk about all of them)
Clothes- a tiered skirt that looks just like the ones my mom made me, the adorable shirt you can see on the cover, a Monster towel, and a fleece hoodie.
Toys- The Heigh Ho Horsey Marionette, the  really clever House in a Hallway, the whimsical Mushroom Tea Party and the Oct-toy-pus Animal Organizer
Practical projects- the Hexie pouf, the Booster chair, Small and Secret Diaper Bag and Changing Pad

Complete instructions, gorgeous photos, patterns and drafting instructions included. The book is spiral bound so it will lie flat while you're working and the patterns fit into a sleeve on the inside front cover. The range of projects, ages and the fact that most of them are easy enough for a beginner but still very stylish, trendy, and usable make this a book that I happily recommend. 

Like Storey Publishing on Facebook for giveaways, recipes, projects and news about new books. 

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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.