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| BOOK REVIEW |
Reviewed by Mia Cronan I had heard tell of this great book that would teach you "how to cook for a day and eat for a month". I envisioned an entire weekend spent slaving over a hot stove and chopping vegetables until my fingers ached. Not exactly my idea of a good time. Well, I was in for a big surprise! Deborah Taylor-Hough does in fact teach you how to cook in large quantities in order to freeze a month's worth of meals. This will take a bit of time on your part, but the benefits are numerous, including having a hot meal for dinner each night. But this book is not just for families of 5 or more. The author knows that not everyone wants to, or can, spend an entire day in the kitchen. That's why she cleverly includes how to cook for a week instead of a month. Less time in the kitchen, yet you'll still reap the benefits of preparing meals ahead of time. Also, for the single person, she'll show you how to double your meals and how to pack away those leftovers for yet another supper. This book is filled with information on how to get started, grocery shopping tips, worksheets, marvelous meal plans, and tons of recipes. Deborah walks you through step by step how her day progresses when she cooks for the day. She offers helpful tips to keep the stress level down, such as playing calming music and taking well deserved breaks. The author has created a fabulous resource, one that should be on everyone's cookbook shelf. Frozen Assets: Lite & Easy  There are several reasons for my reaction to this book, which is, "Run, don't walk, and go buy this book if you struggle with providing nutritious daily meals for your family!"The first reason is because of my deep desire to see Americans restore the tradition of the nightly family mealtime, during which time the family gathers and shares events of the day. Because of life's demands and kids' involvement in so many activities, this tradition has all but gone the way of the glass pop bottle. Also is the fact that cooking is a task, but at the same time, it can be a labor of love. Planning, shopping for, and preparing family meals day after day can diminish a mom's interest in cooking! Thirdly, this book presents loads of recipes that are thought-out and cost-efficient. The simple act alone of quantity cooking saves utilities, cleanup time, and the frustration of having most of your pots and pans in use day after day. Frozen Assets - Lite & Easy offers not just healthy recipes, but cooking "sessions" in which several meals can be prepared at a time then put into the freezer. The instructions include directions on quantity cooking, individual meal preparation, then thawing and serving instructions. It really changes (for the better) the way to look at cooking. I can see where these guidelines put the fun back into preparing family meals. The cook has more time to spend with the family, for one! She spends a day in the kitchen, cooking, bagging, storing, and cleaning up the kitchen for a month's worth of meals. Each day, she pulls out a freezer bag, thaws the meal, makes a salad and slices a loaf of fresh bread, and she has a delicious meal with minimal cleanup. I highly recommend this book! To buy either book go to Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month Frozen Assets: Lite & Easy |
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About the Author: The second half of this review was written by Mia Cronan. Mia is a married full-time mother of three girls, ages 5, 3, and 1, living in Pennsylvania. She owns and edits www.MainStreetMom.com, the magazine for modern mothers with traditional values. Mia can be reached at cronan@a1usa.net |
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Happy Halloween
