Teach Your Kids the Joy of Slow Cooking

The library currently has several "Fix-It and Forget-It" Slow Cooker Cookbooks in its collection. Each one showcases a different type of meal such as entertaining, diabetic cooking, Christmas recipes or feasting with your slow cooker. I am very excited to be able to tell you about the latest entry in the slow cooker series, Fix-It and Forget-It Kids' Cookbook: 50 Recipes to Make in a Slow Cooker by Phyllis Pellman Good. The cookbook contains a series of recipes divided into the categories of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinner and dessert. There is a great beginning section introducing kids to the characteristics of slow cookers and encouraging parents to let their kids cook with them by giving tips on how they can help. There are tips on how to measure, how to follow a recipe, safety tips and descriptions of the equpment you'll need to create these fabulous recipes. I especially enjoyed the lip-smacking lasagna and gooey chocolate pudding cake recipes and plan on preparing them with some favorite children in my life! The recipes are straight-forward, easy to use and the print on the page is big enough for a child to to read comfortably. I encourage you to don your apron and use this book to help your kids have some fun cooking time with you. If you enjoy this cookbook, I suggest you try out some recipes in one or more of the other books in this series.

Hiss of Death

I always enjoy reading new installments in Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" mysteries and her latest, Hiss of Death is another great entry in the series! Hiss of Death solves a mystery as well as furthers the story of Mary Minor Harristeen (Harry) and her husband Fair, her pet cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, her corgi Tee Tucker and her horses Shortro and Tomahawk. Harry and her family live in Crozet, Virginia where she farms and enjoys life outdoors and with her friends. Animals are very important to Harry and her trusty sidekicks (Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker) are by her side every minute of the day. Harry has this uncanny knack of stumbling over dead bodies , and the murders she keeps finding in this book are all associated with Central Virginia Hospital. I admire Rita Mae Brown's tackling cancer in this book---Harry and her friends help host a 5K run to raise funds for breast cancer research and Harry has her own, deeply personal brush with breast cancer. This book is a wonderful cozy mystery with plenty of humor, exploration of the newest cancer treatments and lots of descriptions of beautiful Virginia landscapes. A great choice for fans of the series as well as any cozy mystery lover.

Food Wars: North vs. South

I read the most entertaining book yesterday, Somebody Stole the Cornbread from My Dressing by Elizabeth Gourlay Heiskell and Susanne Young Reed. This book is a very humorous look at the comparisons and differences between the northern and southern parts of the United States by comparing each regions take on foods, social events and etiquette issues. The book is a series of essays followed by recipes (i. e., weddings) and each essay is a delight to read! Elizabeth and Susanne grew up in Rosedale, MS where Elizabeth met Luke Heiskell, married him and settled in Cleveland, MS where they raise three girls and she is an instructor at the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, MS. Susanne (unfortunately) took a different route and after atteding Ole Miss and receiving her Ph. D. in Education, she fell in love with a Yankee named Charlie Reed, married him and moved to south-central Pennsylvania for his career and to raise their son Carter. This move gave Mrs. Reed a unique view on the differences between the North and South---she lives these differences everyday! My favorite story is about Susanne's first Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania, where she "saved up" her carbohydrate calories for her first taste of Thanksgiving dressing. She eyed the savory dish and closed her eyes for the first bite, but was stunned to find nothing but bread--where was the savory grittiness of the cornbread that she had been longing for? The story of the meal is hilarious and though Susanne has grudgingly come to appreciate bread dressing, her heart still belongs to the southern dressing she grew up loving. This is a cookbook as well as a story of southern culture, and something that should not be missed. If you like this book, try also reading Gayden Metcalfe's Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral and Jill Conner Browne's The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love.

Sookie Appears Again!

One of my favorite characters in the book world today has to be Sookie Stackhouse. I have been a fan of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series of books since before the HBO series "True Blood" began production. The latest book in this series is Dead Reckoning, and it stars, once again, all of Sookie's interesting boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, friends, family members and enemies. I adore all of the supernatural creatures that find their way into Sookie's world and how she takes it all in stride. Sookie is a telepath and a waitress at Merlotte's, a bar and restaurant owned by her shape-shifting friend Sam, located in a small town in Renard Parish, LA. In this installment of the series, Sookie has an enemy who keeps trying to kill her, and the Vampire King of Louisiana has a big bone to pick with Sookie's vampire husband, Eric Northman. A lot of action occurs in this book as well as some very interesting twists with Sookie and Eric, Eric's "second-in-command" vampire Pam, and Sookie's fairy cousins. You definitely have to have read the other books in the series before you read this one or you will be hopelessly lost with the novel's plot. A special treat is a surprise appearance by Bubba (Sookie fans will know exactly who he is :)) I truly enjoy reading about the food and atmosphere of Louisiana and the believable characters, supernatural or not that are in this book. Charlaine Harris is truly a talented author. Be sure to also check out Harris' Aurora Teagarten and Connerly siblings series.

Relax on a Supernatural Vacation

Summer is close at hand--although you can't really say that according to the cool weather we've been experiencing lately! I can think of no better way to celebrate the relaxation of summer time than by reading a vacation-themed book. Death's Excellent Vacation, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, is a collection of thirteen short stories that center around the theme of vacation. The book is great entertainment for those folks who enjoy reading about tales of paranormal R & R. Trust me, there is a little bit of everything for everyone in these tales--from vampires, to werewolves and even leprechauns. I especially enjoyed being able to "taste" a little writing from some authors that I had heard of but never read. This collection is a great introduction to many current, popular supernatural writers such as Charlaine Harris, Toni L. P. Kelner, Jeff Abbott, Lilith Saintcrow and many more. The book is a quick read, so you'll have the chance to whet your appetite before delving into another, longer book by these authors.