Recent Reading

I plan to get back to a regular Recent Reading feature to share the books I've  been reading...  at least more than just a picture in My World this Week!  :)

There have been numerous book and e-book reviews I've promised which slipped away when the perfect storm of computer crash and umm... health crash... occurred at the same time.  Sorry!

As for my true recent reading...

Pieography: Where Pie Meets Biography by Jo Packham (Pictured above) - 

I had this book on my Wish List for quite awhile and after reading numerous good reviews, decided to give it a try.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this book, a collection of the stories behind the food bloggers and professional chefs (thus, the biography part) and one of their favorite pie recipes that would tell their story as... well, a pie! 

Some of the home cooks-chefs have previously been featured in Where Women Cook Magazine and in Fifi O'Neal's The Romantic Prairie Cookbook but most were unknown to me.

There is a nice selection of savory pies as well as sweet, a cookbook to use and to read through quite often.

A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies by Ashley English (Pictured above) -

Can you tell I've been on a pie kick lately?  My husband much prefers pies to any other dessert and they can last in the refrigerator for awhile since there are just the two of us.

Some people may recognize Ashley English from her popular homesteading blog called Small Measure.  I think this is her first book that is not about homesteading skills and it's perfect for someone wanting to 1) know how to make a good pie and 2) want pie recipes other than the usual suspects we all have in our recipe card files.

As with the other cookbook, this contains both sweet and savory recipes and I like the way they are broken down by seasons, making it easy to find a good recipe for whatever fruit or veggie is in season in most areas.

The book is loaded with excellent pictures and contains chapters (with instructions) of making crusts, different kinds of crusts, ingredients to have in the pantry, and each recipe comes with instructions and a full color picture of the finished product.

Since it is a softcover book, it's much less expensive than most cookbooks and if you want to make more pies... you will really like this cookbook!

The Feast Nearby:  How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week) by Robin Mather (Kindle version pictured above) -

This book has been on my Wish List for awhile now but it is only available in hardback (and Kindle) and I'd read it is not a very long book.  However, I kept reading about it and it had such outstanding reviews I decided to download it on Kindle with this last month's credit.  That way my investment was less than ordering the hardback book.

But now I wish I'd ordered the hardback copy!  I absolutely loved this book.  No wonder it had so many great recommendations.

This is an amazing true story of an award winning food writer for the Chicago Tribune who gets laid off from her job due to the demise of newspaper subscriptions around the country.  This occurred about the same time as her husband decided to leave the marriage.  Can you imagine?

So she loads up her car with her dog and bird and they move to live full time to their summer cottage in Western Michigan... thus begins her story... which is about the first year at the cottage and what she learns about eating well (I should say healthy) on such a small budget.

While not written from a Christian perspective, the author's story is inspiring if only in the way she decides not to become a victim of circumstances and how to make the best of what she has.

The way she learns to "eat well" reminds me of many lessons learned in An Everlasting Meal.  She writes about frugality, the importance of knowing how to cook from scratch, how to preserve food, and where she was able to obtain good food at the best prices (including bartering with a neighbor who has a garden).

It also contains many of her favorite recipes, which is why I wish I'd purchased the book in hardback!

Sooo... am I reading anything that does not have to do with food? 

I'm currently re-reading A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden on the Kindle.  Just a little at a time but I'm about three-fourths the way through it.

This is definitely one of my all time favorite biographies and I'm learning so much that I missed the first time through.  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Edwards but also if you are curious about how the Great Awakenings led to an American Revolution.

I just started rereading Christy by Catherine Marshall, one of my all time favorite novels that I have reread numerous times through the years.

Note:  All book titles contain Amazon Affiliate links.  I thank everyone who has been entering their Amazon shopping through the Amazon Widget on this blog.   I don't know why it doesn't show up sometimes for some people but it usually pops up again the next time you visit.

The small amount of credit received adds up and I do enjoy being able to purchase a longed for book or DVD!  You bless me.  :)