RRR presents... COOK IT, EAT IT, LIVE IT by Jo Kenny - REVIEW!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're still bookish, but we're going non-fiction with a special interest title that definitely checks a few boxes for those that like to hang out in the kitchen. That's right! It's a Cookbook and not just any one at that, for it's not simply about the food and how to put it together, but the story behind the recipes, the ideas on how to truly create meals to remember. Ready to check things out? Alrighty then! Make room on your plate for today's Rachel's Random Resources featured title...

Cook it, Eat it, Live it

Cook it Eat it Live it is written by Jo Kenny, food writer and owner of GirlEatsWorld.co.uk.

In this first publication, Jo offers readers a vibrant and varied collection of recipes inspired by both travel and family ties to the UK, Japan, Guyana, the Caribbean.

This delicious collection of every day recipes satisfies appetites for light bites, indulgent dinners, fresh sides and delicious desserts.You’ll find a spectrum of dishes from rich, earthy flavours to fresh aromatics giving you meals to enjoy year round. All recipes are firm favourites in Jo’s own household and cooked regularly. This is family style, every day inspiration to ensure no more boring dinners.

Recipes are punctuated with stories of travel, food inspirations and a personal philosophy of enjoying food unapologetically. Cook it Eat it Live it is about finding happiness in the little things and injecting some joy into every day life through wholesome, exciting meals.

---> GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY <---

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The thing I love about cookbooks is the food...I mean, that's what we come for, right? New ideas, something delicious, a little inspiration to put on the table for one or twenty...but there is something special about smaller, or more personal cookbooks like this.

The recipes it contains are varied, as are the difficulty/skill involved in making them, but they all feel like a good home cooked meal waiting to happen. What I mean is, smaller or more intimate cookbooks that don't go for masses upon masses of recipes seem to care more about the recipient of the meal versus making a big to-do...almost like the author is inviting you in for a meal right off their very own table. I can see the steam coming off the Orange and Garlic Chicken legs fresh from the oven, and smell the aroma of the Perfect Spiced Potato Wedges as our mouth's water in anticipation of the delicious meal at hand. The extra point of interest with this one is that combined with the author's stories and recipes, there are also how-to's on making pasta, when to plant and harvest your own vegetables, and even a few basics on setting up your pantry for cooking success.

So whether you're looking to make your next dinner party more personal, or jazz up your everyday dining room table, this book has a few suggestions on how to take it from humdrum to delightful without a ton of fuss. A great idea for budding chefs and foodie's alike!

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About the author...

Jo is a food writer from Bedford, living with her husband Alex, newborn son and Kimchi the cat. Her website GirlEatsWorld.co.uk was founded in 2012. Starting out as a personal space to capture cooking and food adventures, it has evolved into a public hub for recipes, cooking guides and food inspiration. Jo is passionate about fresh ingredients eaten joyfully, intuitively and adventurously.

INSTAGRAM

INSTAGRAM AUTHOR

TWITTER

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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun...

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Silver Dagger Book Tours presents... A VERY VEGAN HALLOWEEN: The Witch's Cauldron by Rebecca Henry - GIVEAWAY!

A Very Vegan Halloween: The Witch's Cauldron

The Vegan Holiday Cookbook Collection #1

by Rebecca Henry

Genre: Cookbook

Halloween has always been an important holiday in my home and a time for food and parties. This book contains traditional, bootiful Halloween recipes prepared from nondairy and cruelty free ingredients.

With 41 bewitching recipes to chose from, you will have a spooktacular selection of recipes to inspire your little ghost or goblins to gobble up their plates! Being a mom of two, and so no stranger to hosting Halloween parties for little ones, I understand the importance of presentation. If the food is fun and engaging, children and adults alike, will want to try vegan options. The recipes come with creative decorating ideas, party suggestions and terribly terrifying recipe names, to get your cute little ghouls eager to bake with you in the kitchen.

Goodreads * Amazon

Best Selling Amazon Author of Hybrid: Adapt or Die. Her debut novel was The Lady Raven: A Dark Cinderella Tale, which was published in 2017. The Lady Raven, is for those who have an infinity for fairy tales retold with a link to witches, magic and the macabre. Rebecca's second novel, Louisiana Latte, a chick lit comedy was released February 28th 2019. Louisiana Latte, is a feel good comedy that focuses on the bonds of sisters, and how audacious life can be when you have a diva for one! Rebecca's third novel Hybrid: Adapt or Die, is a sci-fi, horror, romance novel. It takes the reader on a wild ride of government conspiracy theories, ancient aliens but also touches your heart with a tender love story. Hybrid was released August 1st 2019. Her fourth novel Conjure Lake, a ya, dark fantasy, horror novel will be released in 2020. The entire first chapter is included at the end of Hybrid first edition copies. You can find all of Rebecca's books on Amazon.

Rebecca Henry is a world traveler living abroad in England. Besides being an author, Rebecca is also a podcast talk host on the show The Latte Talk. The podcast was inspired by her latest novel, Louisiana Latte and her diva sister Deb. She is a serious vegan, gardener, crafter, wife and mom who practices yoga. She loves to laugh, her drug of choice and loves all things witchy with a hint of the macabre. Her favorite holiday is Halloween and her favorite movie of all time is Practical Magic.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tis the Season: The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

I'm currently on staycation from work (woo-hoo!) and spending a little quality time with the family as well as my TBR Mountain.  Though many of you are preparing for Halloween parties and trick-or-treat fun tomorrow night (we'll be handing out treats in our neighborhood), there's still one question on EVERYONE'S mind that must be answered...what's for dinner?  Yay...I'm glad you asked.  ^-^  

The Berenstain Bears' Holiday Cookbook:

Cub-Friendly Cooking with an Adult

by

Mike Berenstain

9780310753995

Zonderkidz

Today's featured title will help you out in that category this holiday season and throughout the year with tasty delectables for the entire family.  What's even better?  They're quick and easy to make solo, but should the wee ones want to help out, there's always a way to participate.  Shall we take a look inside?  Let's because seriously, I made four different recipes and the fam was astounded by their deliciousness!  First up, an all American favorite...

... Celebration Sloppy Joe's!

Step one, gather the ingredients and cooking utensils I'd need.

Step two...follow said instructions on dicing the vegetables and saute them to slightly crispy perfection.  Step three...brown the ground beef with the aforementioned veges, stir in the sauce created on the side and....

...TADA!

Delicious, nutritious, tastiness to curb the BEARY hungry at your dinner table.  I'm not even a HUGE Sloppy Joe fan but this pretty much ROCKED!  After the success I had with this one, I simply HAD to try another.  My next venture...

...a Christmas Pasta Bake!

It's festive in color and with fairly simple instructions, I tackled this baby on a work night for a little something different for dinner.

Step one...gather your ingredients...and make sure you have ALL your ingredients because yeah, I goofed and had to improvise on the cheese...wasn't nearly enough, so I took creative liberty to use some provolone as well as the mozzarella.  How'd it work out?  I'll let you me the judge...

Nice right?

Let me tell you...

...the taste was EVEN BETTER!

The recipe proved to be a family favorite.  Quick enough to make at the end of a long work day but warm and filling to satisfy the whole family.  It's like a traditional pasta bake but with the added vege twist.  So good!  Anywho, after finishing this masterpiece, I couldn't contain myself.  I simply had to try something else!  You don't understand though....I'm not one to cook from books very often, but the ease and simplicity of the recipes as well as the decidedly tasty ingredients being used had me hooked.  For my final venture (at the time), I went with a two-fer...

...Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob and Accordion Potatoes!

They both sounded like delicious accompaniments to the leftover Sloppy Joe's from my first venture into this book, and boy was I right!

Both recipes called for very little prep work but while I was familiar with roasting potatoes in the oven, I'd never actually cooked corn on the cob from fresh to table.  Shocker, right?  ^-^  Little did I know I was about to discover a new favorite way to eat corn...as well as potatoes for the matter!

See?  Appetizing right?  Are you drooling right now?  No worries...no one can see, but it does speak to your ability to spot good tastes because this was one fabulous meal made in very little time and with less than a handful of ingredients.  

The recipes featured here...are just the beginning!  There is something to tantalize your taste buds pretty much every holiday season of the year...and then some.  So whether you choose to check out a copy of this book for yourself or gift it to a loved one this season, the point is that you DO get your paws, I mean hands, on this yummy read featuring our BEARY favorite family, the Berenstain Bears.

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Review copy received courtesy of Liane at Zonderkidz.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the character series, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so be on the lookout for it wherever books are sold.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

BLOG TOUR: An Old-Fashioned Christmas by Ellen Stimson - Review + GIVEAWAY!

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to the site that aims to please all your bookish appetites, Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're playing host to a TLC Book Tour starring a perfectly timed holiday read but before you get whisked away into flights of fantasy, I must warn you...this one's for REAL.  That's right!  It's not a work of Fiction but a work of a lifetime and filled with treasures you'll be glad to have shared.  Don't believe me?  Well then, let's get to proving!  Grab your winter gear and prepare to board a one horse sleight straight to Vermont as we welcome today's blog tour guest and book of choice...

An Old-Fashioned Christmas:

Sweet Traditions for Hearth and Home

by

Ellen Stimson

9781581573282

The Countryman Press

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

This is the story of the Stimson family.  It tells of how they came together, where their love of Christmas met winter wonderland fun, and eventually of moving the family across the US of A to Vermont and staking their own claim on the holiday season.  To describe it as a snowglobe minus the glass would be an understatement, for it sounds much more magical if that's even possible.  Okay, life in Vermont isn't without its drawbacks but imagine if you will for a short time at least, living in an older house full of charm, being surrounded by the wonders of nature in their full winter glory, spending time with loved ones out in the snow or around the fire sipping hot chocolate, and curling up with a good book to top off the night.  Doesn't it just sound dreamy?  *daydreams*  Ahem, but this is much more than simply an ode to a white Christmas.  It's a treasury of special moments, traditions, and holiday cheer.  

Opening this book is like stepping into a family album of sorts.  Ellen is a wonderful narrator and allows us full access to the fun, the messy, the quirky, and the amazing Christmas' that she and her family have spent over a lifetime.  From the move to the "far north" where snow can shut down a whole city while no one really seems to mind to the beginning of their annual Christmas Adventures that carry forward year after year creating lasting memories for all, there's not a moment of the holiday that isn't shared and explored.  They invite you to see into their traditions, adopt what you wish as your own, and encourage you to make new ones, no matter how big or small.  

My favorites?  Hmm, that's a tough one.  The adventures were great because they didn't always require a big expenditure, they were about those the time was being spent with more than anything else.  Then there's the Christmas ornament tradition where every year they each get one (sometimes two) a piece to add to their tree, creating another way to remember the holidays of yesteryear with something tangible to hold.  Gotta say I love the dresser ornament with the books on top.  I agree with the author, it feels like home.  Finally, there's the feasting.  Yes, I said feasting.  You see, strewn throughout the work are sections of recipes to help with holiday dinners, parties, and the random snack.  After reading through them, you'll be able to make your own mayonnaise, fry up some delicious latkes, add some roasted balsamic brussels sprouts to your holiday dinner, or even sit back with a glass of buttered rum.   There's even a section dedicated to pet snacks because they realize that the fur-babies love the holiday feast-tivities too.  

In conclusion, there's a feast for the eyes, heart, and mouth within the pages of this gorgeously covered holiday read.  Though it will be right at home on your coffee table, I do believe if you find it missing you should check your kitchen.  With recipes like these, it's gonna be hard to keep them from each other.  So whether you're looking for new ideas to create traditions in your own family or wishing to borrow one from someone else, this is certainly a book that I'd recommend you take for a walk in a winter wonderland.  It's got the a great balance of life story and kitchen pizzazz without being all formal about one or the the other.  The author let's her life guide the flow of stories and recipes creating the perfect balance and perfect gift for cooks and non-cooks alike while reminding us that the most important part of all this holiday is not the gifts or food, but the family gathered round the table near and far as we welcome another season with love in our hearts.

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About Ellen Stimson

Ellen Stimson is a bread-and-butter home cook…possibly more butter than bread. Her table is usually overflowing with friends, family, and folks who have come just to listen to her stories. Some of those tales made it into her bestselling memoir, Mud Season. She cooks and writes from a farmhouse in Vermont.

Connect with Ellen

 Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Special thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for the chance to bring this title to you, and added thanks to the publicity team at The Countryman Press for the review copy.  (THANKS!)  For more information on THIS TOUR, this title, the author, the publisher, or those tours on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title celebrated its book birthday at the start of this month via The Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

To help spread a little holiday cheer, TLC Book Tours has authorized me to give YOU a chance to WIN A COPY OF THIS VERY BOOK!  All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter below (choose as many or as few options as you like) and leave a comment sharing a holiday tradition of your own!  

Open to US residents only; no P.O. Boxes please.  Entries accepted through Saturday, December 5th, 2015.  Winner will be contacted and have 48 hours to respond with their full name and mailing address.  If no response is received, a new winner will be chosen.  SFIR is not responsible for lost prizes or those packages not received.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time...HAPPY HOLIDAYS...and happy reading!

What's for Dinner? Something BEAR-y nice...

Hi there!

Welcome back to another week here at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today. we're stepping out of the library and into the kitchen with a bookish selection that's sure to please children of all ages...and I do mean ALL!  It's a kid-friendly cookbook starring your BEAR-y favorite family and mine, The Berenstain Bears!

The Berenstain Bears' Country Cookbook

Cub-friendly Cooking with an Adult

by

Mike Berenstain

9780310747208

Zonderkidz

Bear lovers everywhere are sure to find favorite recipes for fun food in this new kid-friendly, cookbook--ranging from Bear favorites that use honey and berries to pie, a delicious stew, and even some Berenstain favorites like Jan Berenstain’s famous green lasagna.

Featuring breakfast, lunch, main meal, and dessert recipes as well as kid-friendly cooking tips such as food and measurement conversions, this is sure to become a go-to cookbook for delicious and fun recipes kids can cook with an adult.

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That's right!

The bear family you grew up (or are growing up) with has gathered their favorite recipes and are bringing them to straight to you (via Zonderkidz)!  There are over FORTY recipes in this little treasury of food and bookish fun.  Everything from the aforementioned Green Noodle Lasagna to Turkey Shaped Sandwiches to Honey Hunt Cookies! (Oooh, those cookies sure sound good about now.)  Can't wait to sample them now, can you?  Your wish is my command!

For this promotion, they've even allowed us to join them in the Country Kitchen to see one of their top picks made first hand!  Ready to have some fun?  Better still, ready to be HUNGRY?
For your viewing pleasure, let's join Brother and Sister Bear as they share their family recipe for Bear-y Good Mac and Cheese!

*drools*

Oh, excuse me.
^_^



Isn't it wonderful?
Isn't it marvelous?
Isn't it something you'd like to win?
 I thought you might say yes.
 Well then, let's get to it shall we?



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LADIES AND GENTS...
...COOKS OF ALL AGES (with adult supervision)...
...HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A COPY TO CALL YOUR OWN!




TO ENTER....
Get cooking and share your FAVORITE recipe!

That's right.  It's a "cooking contest"...of sorts.

To keep things fun...
...it must be kid friendly, family loved, or bear themed.
...and you must include a picture or video of the final result.
After all, we have to SEE what it is we're drooling over now, don't we?

To submit your entry, just EMAIL ME your recipe with pics or video. 
Come contest end, I'll feature the winner's submission RIGHT HERE on the site and send your mailing information to the publisher for prize send out.

 Easy peasy, right?
RIGHT!

Entries accepted through midnight Tuesday, March 31st, 2015.
Open to US residents only; no P.O. Boxes please.




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So, get your thinking caps on and consult your tummies.
What's the TASTIEST treat you and yours can make?
Can't WAIT to see what you come up with...
...~tummy grumbles~...
...and apparently, neither can MY tummy.




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Special thanks to Liane at Zonderkidz for the chance to bring this title to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this selection as well as their full catalog, be sure to stop by their official site.  This title reached publication just last month so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing....or again, ENTER TO WIN ABOVE!  ^_^

Until next time...HAPPY COOKING...and happy reading!

Calling all readers AND cooks: Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook

Hi there!

Welcome back to the place that welcomes readers of all ages with an open mind and a never ending bookshelf....Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

We all know what today is.  For the last thirteen years, we've marked this tragic anniversary with remembrances, memorials, words and tears.  Our hearts were forever marked by the lives lost...and yet out of that despair and hopelessness, we found new strength as a nation, as people united by more than the soil we choose to live on but by the truths we hold self-evident.  With that in mind, let us give a few moments of our day to honor those that can't be here with us, but will never truly be lost.....

....thank you.

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Now, you might be wondering why I chose today of all days to host a blog tour here on the site in lieu of a simple remembrance post.  Good wonder, guys!  (^_^)  It's simple.  I wanted to help create a new memory for this day, provide a distraction from the sadness, and simply bring a smile to your face.  

With that in mind, did you know what else today is?  It's National Hot Cross Bun Day!  Yep, that's right!  That tasty delicious treat is celebrated every 11th of September...and the day's name could also ironically be applied to today's book feature...if you know what I mean....*wink wink*.  (Did it work?  Are you smiling?  Well, only YOU can be the judge of that...but if you're at least thinking about smiling right now, we're on the right track.)

Today's blog tour guest comes to us courtesy of Amy (~waves~) at McAllister PR and features the latest release from an author known for her romance series yet making her debut (to my knowledge) in the...cooking arena?  Why yes, yes indeed, but this is not your average cookbook ladies and gents.  It ties directly into the lives of those that live in Fool's Gold, California....a place fans of her series will recognize in a heartbeat and clamor to grab a piece of, even if they have to don their kitchen aprons.  But wait...I said this wasn't your usual cookbook for a reason....curious why?  Well, let's meet the wordy dear properly and then we'll get right on that.  Today's blog tour guest and book of choice is...

Susan Mallery's

Fool's Gold Cookbook

Harlequin

978-0-373-892815

Now that you've been formerly introduced....don't you just want to pull up a chair at that table on the cover?!  From the visible foodage to the breathtaking scenary, I'd say, that's one delightful spread I'd love to be a part of....and thanks to the collection of foody fun, you can!

First and foremost this is a cookbook.  It has recipes that are for the most part easily accessible to the average John or Mary (or Gina...*ahem*  ^_^) due to the actual ingredients used, time it takes to prep/cook, and the potential for tasty results.  The book is sectioned off into the four seasons offering a menu if you will of delectable treats no matter what your palette seeks.  From Birthday Party Banana Layer Cake to Cheesy Bread Blossom, Double Swiss Omelets to Tiny Lemon Cakes, there is something for everyone.  (For a complete listing courtesy of the author, just click HERE!)  Did the names of a few of those scare you off?  Stop right there!  The recipes are made for beginners through intermediates so as long as you know your way around a kitchen to some degree, you'll be set.  Don't believe me?  Well, you don't have to take my word for it...after all, the author herself was put through the paces of several of these and when asked which was her favorite, here was the winning contender....

Pretty cool, right?  Looks tasty too.  Definitely gonna have to check that one out.
Now, I know what you might be thinking, this is a book blog, not a cooking blog, what gives?  Ah, but I told you there was something special about this particular cookbook now didn't I?

The fun doesn't end once you enter the kitchen to create one of these masterpieces of your own.  No sir-ree-bob.  There is additional treasure to enjoy while perusing the pages and marking your favorite recipes....an actual story.  *gasp*  Yes, you read that right....there's a special novella type story told throughout the book that actually features the cookbook in it as well, in a cool little twist.  We learn the story behind Ana's food truck business and her constant battle to be number one since grade school when a particular little boy snagged the spotlight and just wouldn't give it back.


That little boy's name....Greg, but trust me, he's not such a little boy anymore, and he's definitely not what Ana had in mind when considering a partnership in any fashion.  Oh but you know how life and love can be; the ways of the heart are a mystery to the most watchful of us.  *sigh* We don't get too involved (again due to the length) but we are placed within their world just enough to see how the dots connect to make the final picture presented. Do they get together?   Do they battle it out in the kitchen arena and bid each other adieu?  You'll have to read it to find out...and when you do, you'll totally have to share your thoughts on the potential romance AND tell me what recipe you chose to create first!

Review copy received courtesy of Amy (Publicist extraordinaire), affiliated with McAllister PR, and Harlequin!  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their full catalog, be sure to visit them online.  To discover more about the author behind the work as well as catch up on all there is to know in the Fool's Gold world, stop by the author's site, visit the official Fool's Gold site, like her on Facebook or follow along on Twitter.  Recommended read for teens through adults...readers AND chefs alike.

ALSO...for those interested in picking up a copy of this fab book pronto, the author has a $2.00 off coupon on her site good through October 4th!  Even if you miss the discount though, it's still TOTALLY worth it.

Until next time...happy reading!