The Cookbook Junkies

My good friend and jammer extraordinaire Renee of Freakin’ Flamingo fame and writer of Flamingo Musings asked me to take part in a blog tour which was the brainchild of the sweet and talented Sherri Jo of Adventures of Kitchen Girl.  Renee featured my blog and my group The Cookbook Junkies on her post and now it’s my turn!

I started my blog a few years ago – early one morning about 2 a.m. when an insomnia riddled brain told me I should begin to blog.  It was a way to corral the voices in my head.  I wanted to free my thoughts about autism, being a mom the second time around and sharing my love of all things cooking.  I have always enjoyed cooking and baking and happen to be quite good at it. I started adding some recipe posts to my blog because people would ask for a recipe of something I created.  I have no desire to be the next Pioneer Woman.  I don’t have time for that because you see — we eat what I cook. I don’t have props – I have dishes.   I could put my plate of food in a light box – but in our house that would be a microwave.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some incredibly beautiful photographers and bloggers out there, and I have the utmost respect for them, I am not one.  I do not have delusions of grandeur only expectations of inadequacy. 

I’ve been writing all my life.  I’ve written a few short stories (never published) and actually had a romance novel picked up by a publisher – they wanted massive edits – and I was going through a divorce – ironic right?  It never happened (the novel, that is).  One of my favorite pieces is here. 

Having a child with autism can be a very lonely life.  Family and friends tend to shy away from the awkwardness of a melt down or from our sheer exhaustion.  Writing, Facebook and a few trusted friends, even far away, help keep me sane.

As my friend, Pam has said before — huge shout out to the Russian spammers out there that frequently leave comments — Bolshoe spasibo.

Blog Tour Questions:

What am I working on?

I am working on many things – growing The Cookbook Junkies – I started my little group because of my love for cookbooks.  We have over 7,300 members!  My husband is helping me build a website to be more user friendly for people – to organize recipes and reviews and to include many more things that we wish we could share in the Facebook group.  I am excited about this process.  

How does my work differ than others of its genre?

Truthfully, I don’t think anyone is “original” anymore – everything has been done before and probably better.  I have an “icy wit” I’m told, an old boss gave me that nickname – so I use it for user names and my e-mail.  I share tales about life with autism.  I share recipes I’ve dreamed up and I share reviews of cookbooks which I love with a dash of wit thrown in — or at least I hope it’s there.

Why do I write what I do? 

I write about things that interest me including cookbooks and cooking.  I write to rant about autism and injustice.  It’s my therapy.

How does my writing process work?

I don’t have a process.  I sit down and write – sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn’t.  This blog is for me and if others find some spark that they connect with all the better.


My Featured Favorite Bloggers:

The three bloggers I will share with you today will be hosting their own blog tours next week Sunday (8-10), I hope you will take the time to visit them and learn a little more about them as well.  

Pam from Living Rancho Delux

First and foremost, one of my truly best friends Pam writes at Living Rancho Delux.   Pam and I met a few years ago.  She had a giveaway for the first Beekman Boys book and I entered.  I won and she sent the book along with some chocolate and hot cocoa for my son. The rest is history.  We’ve met a few times for a hug, a lunch.  We talk, text, share and love. She is Andrew’s Aunt Pam and her hubby is Uncle Bill.  We’re doing a 5K in November in Utah and she will be coming to Denver for a run.   And bonus  — I love her daughter, Anna and her little dog too, Olive.  I’m a Capone groupie!

Pam shares great recipes on her blog along with some other pearls of wisdom.  She has won prizes for some of her recipes and posts her great photos from time to time.  I know you will love Pam as much as I do.

Pam has a cookbook giveaway going on for Down South here and a huge Italian themed giveaway going on here.  (I want to win the Italian giveaway!)


Blaise from Blaise the Baker

Blaise and I have become friends through Cookbook Junkies and he writes at Blaise the Baker.  Blaise shares his recipes and more on his blog and has dreams of publishing a cookbook with both sweet and savory dishes.   He has incredible energy and is a ton of fun.  He currently is running a giveaway for The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook here.  

Linda from Seasons to Seasonings

Linda and I  became friends through Cookbook Junkies but it feels like we’ve been friends much longer.  Linda cooks and blogs through 37 Cooks but also has a personal blog Seasons to Seasonings where she shares recipes and stories.  Linda’s message is that life doesn’t end because of illness which forced her into early retirement.  She went from being a mediocre cook because work was the center of her life to being someone who enjoys cooking.  Her meals have become better and healthier as a result.  

Lastly, my good friends at Blogging for Books would like to give my readers (and Junkies) a chance to win a copy of Donald Link’s Down South.  

Pam did a great review of the book on her blog and I had to have a copy myself and I absolutely love it.  This book is a gem.  Just like Pam, the Uruguayan Spicy Baked Cheese – to die for, Parmesan Bacon Gourgeres, Crispy Pork Cutlets with Brown Butter, Lemon and Sage and oh my Spaghetti with Pork Jowls and Fried Eggs!   This book will be highly used and probably will replace several mediocre “southern cookbooks”.   Please complete the form below and you will be entered – and Blogging for Books will ship the book directly to you.

I have never been a pickle person.  I think it all stems from when I was around ten years old and I had the mumps. Helen Keller could see I had the mumps, but my old Czechoslovakian grandmother told my mother “if it hurts when she swallows a dill pickle – she has the mumps”.  Linda Lovelace would have a problem swallowing a dill pickle.

I have shunned pickles from that day forward.  That being said, I loved pickled foods – onions, ginger, garlic.
When you add pickled red onions to a burger, it’s gourmet.  Pickled daikon and carrots on a Vietnamese fish sandwich – so good — recently had that sandwich in a restaurant in San Francisco.

This book is so much more than a cookbook.  It’s a wealth of information on pickling covering Japan, Korea, China, India and “beyond” — I always wondered what exactly was in the “beyond” department. In Asian Pickles I think the author means Southeast Asia.

Sweet, sour, salty, cured and fermented preserves – right on the front page!  All my favorites.

I’ve started my five-spice pickled carrots…in three days – I’ll let you know how they are – they smell great already!  Today I’m going to pickle some garlic – that will be ready in 6 to 7 months.  If you want some instant gratification you can make Hot Pickled Pineapple and Peanuts – ready in 1 and 1/2 hours and looks and sounds great – doesn’t it?

There are loads of unique recipes in this book (as least to me – thousand slices turnips) and a plethora of information about pickling but also included are recipes for chile-black bean oil, XO sauce, chutneys and “beyond”!

I’m very pleased with this book and look forward to exploring more in the world of pickling and international flavors.

My review on Amazon is here.  If you would feel so inclined to like it – I would appreciate it.  I want you to like it–really, really like it.

This book was provided by Blogging for Books.

I am a fan of Thai food – actually I am a fan of all internationally inspired food.  I just received a copy of Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu and after reviewing it believe it is a must have for someone wanting to experiment with Thai flavors. 

A few of the recipes I have marked to make – Pork Toast with Cucumber Relish (my husband is not a fan of seafood so this will be something along the lines of shrimp toast I can make and he can still enjoy); Stir-Fried Chicken with Chile Jam (the book includes a recipe for chile jam – but I have a wonderful jar from my friend Marc that I can use in this recipe); the photos for Chicken Cashew Stir-Fry look better than any cashew chicken I have ever made; Pad Thai (of course!); and one of my favorite Thai dishes – Spicy Basil Chicken and Fried Eggs on Rice.  There are many seafood, rice and dessert dishes included as well as relishes, sauces and paste recipes.

I have many more complex and detailed Thai books — but this book is approachable while giving complex flavors and professional looking dishes.

I received this book from Blogging for Books.

Thanks for stopping by.