Curry & Kimchi by Unmi Abkin; Roger Taylor

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

In their western Massachusetts-based restaurant Coco and The Cellar Bar, chefs Unmi Abkin and Roger Taylor create well-balanced, boldly flavored signature dishes shaped by Abkin’s Korean and Mexican-American upbringing. In Curry & Kimchi, they open their kitchen secrets up to the home cook, sharing their foundational dressings, salsas, broths, and infused oils and the dishes that feature them, through recipes that are delightfully simple to execute and beautifully complex in flavor. Honey Miso Dressing lends full-bodied taste to Honey Miso Noodle Salad, while Shoyu Ramen Broth (made in an Instant Pot) is the key ingredient in Coco Shoyu Ramen. Other favorites include a Korean-inspired take on Bolognese sauce for Korean Spaghetti and Korean Sloppy Joes, Chow Fun Sauce (for Coriander Shrimp Chow Fun), Scallion Ginger Jam (for Clay Pot Miso Chicken), and Ponzu Sauce (for Miso-Glazed Cod Rice Bowl). Together with vivid restaurant photography that shows elegant plating suggestions, Abkin and Taylor’s recipes will inspire readers to prepare home-cooked meals with remarkable clarity of flavor. 

My thoughts-

Everyone in my house loves Korean food, especially my husband and me. 9 times out of 10 when we go out with our close friends we choose to go to our favorite Korean BBQ restaurant, but I haven't tried to cook it at home. I haven't come across a cookbook yet that I thought would be feasible for me to attempt the recipes from. Curry & Kimchi caught my attention because I thought the title was cute and I immediately thought of Korean food. I also loved the beautiful cover. As I explored the book, my mouth watered at the delicious recipes. I especially can't wait to make the ramen broth in my Instant Pot! I was also pretty interested in one of the American inspired recipes- the mac & cheese- it sounded so delicious. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Asian food of any kind. I also recommend this as a gift book, since it's gorgeous and would look great no a coffee table or set out on a cookbook stand. 

When Drag Racing met Country Music by Terri Lynn Schmidt

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

Terri Lynn Schmidt, a country music singer, found the love of her life in NHRA Drag Racer Harry Schmidt. hey were married for 21 years when Harry lost his battle with cancer. In When Drag Racing met Country Music Terri shares words to help others through similar losses and through her own journey of grief, rediscovered herself outside of her husband, and renewed her love for writing.

My thoughts- 

I was interested in reading this book because the author is from the same area as me. I haven't actually heard of her or her husband prior to reading this book, but it sounded like an intriguing story to me. I enjoyed reading the brief histories of both Terri and Harry, and kind of wish we could have heard more about that and definitely wish there was more about their love story, but that is not what this book was about. This book was about tackling grief after a long and loving partnership due to a terrible illness and I think it definitely did that. Terri Lynn Schmidt does that with short chapters dealing with different topics with short, but effective essays. It is beyond evident that besides God, there is nothing more important to Ms. Schmidt than her daughters and her husband and that the only way she got through her grief was because of God and her love of her family. I love that she is trying to guide others who are going through the same process with words of wisdom.

The Keto For One Cookbook by Dana Carpender

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

With Keto For One, get 100 delicious dishes for every meal of the day—perfectly proportioned and macro-balanced.

Single-serve cooking is one of the biggest challenges when trying to adhere to an eating plan. Most recipes are portioned for 4–6 servings, which means you’ll be eating the same thing for a week or trying to adjust recipes and struggling to figure out proper cooking times and fractions of measurements. With keto, you also have the additional challenge of balancing your macronutrients—a few too many carbs or not enough fat and your recipe is no longer in the ketogenic zone.
 
No more fussing with recipes. No more eating leftovers. No more wasted food (or money!). No more cobbling together snacks and calling it a meal. No more temptation to give into carb-laden, nutrient-void, single-serving convenience foods. Just delicious recipes from "low-carb queen" and best-selling author Dana Carpender. Enjoy delicious keto burgers and smoothies, as well as quick skillet stir-fries and plenty of tasty meals that can be pulled together quickly or ahead of time. 

My thoughts- 

I wish there were more cookbooks like this, not just for a ketogenic lifestyle, but in general. Sometimes people are single and need recipes for one, or sometimes people are the only ones in their house eating a particular way and this takes the guesswork out of downsizing a recipe and makes it easy to feed one person. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer. I do love that there is a section of sauces at the end. I am especially excited about the cheese sauce to pour over broccoli, cauliflower or whatever else. I thought it was a little heavy on the egg recipes but most Keto cookbooks are. I definitely hope there is an extended version or part 2 in the near future with even more great recipes for one!

The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

When the Dionne Quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934, weighing a grand total of just over 13 pounds, no one expected them to live so much as an hour. Overnight, Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie, and Marie Dionne mesmerized the globe, defying medical history with every breath they took. In an effort to protect them from hucksters and showmen, the Ontario government took custody of the five identical babies, sequestering them in a private, custom-built hospital across the road from their family--and then, in a stunning act of hypocrisy, proceeded to exploit them for the next nine years. The Dionne Quintuplets became a more popular attraction than Niagara Falls, ogled through one-way screens by sightseers as they splashed in their wading pool at the center of a tourist hotspot known as Quintland. Here, Sarah Miller reconstructs their unprecedented upbringing with fresh depth and subtlety, bringing to new light their resilience and the indelible bond of their unique sisterhood.

My thoughts-

I love stories about spontaneous multiple births because I have spontaneous mirror image identical twin boys. There are some days I look at them at 9 years old, and I still can't believe that they exist. I will be honest, I didn't even realize it was possible to have quintuplets spontaneously, but that just added to intrigue of the Dionne family story to me. It makes me sad the things these girls went through throughout their lives, including their very strange beginning. While the doctor and nurses may have initially had their best interest at heart, their lives turned into a peep show of sorts for the gawking public. What makes the most sad is that they count those as some of the best times in their lives. As adolescence and adults they also went through some tough stuff. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in non-fiction.