April 2014 Cookbooks

The B.T.C Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook by Alexe Van Beuren, Dixie Grimes

I may have to buy this one. Not only were there TONS of recipes I want to try, but I just loved all the stories about the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery in Water Valley, Mississippi. Alexe Van Beuren and her husband moved from Virginia to a very small town in Mississippi. She had an idea to transform a empty storefront on Main street into a local grocery store and restaurant. They struggled in the beginning like any new business, but eventually became part of the local small town scene. B.T.C. stands for "Be The Change" and I really appreciate the author's commitment to local small businesses. Plus, I LOVE southern food and all these recipes make me want to plan a trip to Mississippi and visit the B.T.C. to sample some of this food! I would highly recommend this one to any die-hard southern food fans.

Okra: a savor the South cookbook by Virginia Willis

I LOVE okra, so I knew I had to see this book when I heard about it. I've also found that okra is really easy to grow and have beautiful flowers! This book does a great job of giving an overview of okra - how it's used in cuisine, how it grows, some heirloom breeds, tips for growing it and how to save it or cook it. Then it gets into the recipes, which are divided into two categories - southern and global. I'm a southerner and I grew up eating okra and now I love growing it in my garden too. Most southerners have "their" way of cooking okra and I do too, but I did find a few recipes I want to try out. Overall I thought it was a great "ode to okra."

From Scratch by Laurence Laurendon

I have tried more and more over the past few years to make more of my own food from scratch instead of using processed "convenience" foods. Usually making stuff from scratch is not much more time consuming than using the more convenient processed items. I did find a few recipes I'd like to try, but I was disappointed that most of the bread recipes were written to use with a bread machine. I may try to get a bread machine, but I know you don't really need one to bake homemade bread. Also, I would not recommend trying to can just by using a book - you should really take a class on canning. I took one through my local county extension office for a very small fee and learned a LOT. Overall, this book was pretty good.

The Southern Bite Cookbook by Stacey Little

I think I will probably buy this one. Growing up in the South I LOVE Southern food and this cookbook just embodies everything that is great about Southern food. There were so many recipes I wanted to try and I liked that the author also showed variations on some traditional dishes. I love pimento cheese and can't wait to try the pimento cheese crisps! All of the recipes are very simple and easy to follow. This would be a great cookbook for someone who likes simple, Southern food. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes myself.

Love Your Leftovers by Nick Evans

I wasn't as impressed with this book, although I did like how it was laid out. The author takes one ingredient for each chapter and shows multiple ways that ingredient could be used in many dishes throughout a week. I just didn't find very many recipes I wanted to try, but I did appreciate that he talks about making your own stock with leftover bones, which I've started doing and it's much easier than I thought it would be. Overall, it was OK.