Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sundown is near, but the Passover plate is not here!

Pippa’s Passover Plate by Vivian Kirkfield

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If you are looking for a book that will teach you about the celebration of Passover, Pippa’s Passover Plate by Vivian Kirkfield is not it. This is more for the young child who celebrates the holiday already and therefore familiar with the practices, symbolism and meanings behind things such as the Seder plate. There are some pieces of information about the celebration (the plate needs to be found before sundown and at the end what goes on the plate) but without explanations to why they […]

Eating By Yourself Can Be Cool

Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One by Anita Lo

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I would really like to meet Anita Lo some day. I’ve seen her on a few competition cooking shows, but this is the first cookbook of hers I’ve gone and picked up. Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One is pretty unique in that it not only focuses on small batch recipes as well as how to use as much of certain ingredients as possible (sometimes saving for another day or recipe), but also is very direct about eating by oneself. I’ve seen […]

Be fair to Jello

American Advertising Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love Spam, Bananas, and Jell-O by Christina Ward

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I was so excited for this book. I like cookbooks and I like vintage books. American Advertising Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love Spam, Bananas, and Jell-O sounded so good. I think maybe I let my expectations get the better of me, because in the end I was a little disappointed. This book has pictures, which are really interesting and pretty, mostly of old cookbooks and recipes in said books. One problem is that the pictures either don’t match the words on the current […]

She fell in love with the islands first

The Tenth Island by Diana Marcum

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So I originally picked this book last year for CBR bingo.  I didn’t get around to it in time though, so I read it this year as my fifth book of the year. We start out with reporter Diana Marcum (the author, duh) kind of floating through life.  She’s not having fun or loving her life.  She’s not entirely happy in her career either. She somehow stumbles across a group of immigrants living in California.  They came from a set of islands in the Atlantic […]

There is No Chef Without a Homeland

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

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I’ve struggled to find the right way to talk about Michael Twitty’s The Cooking Gene. It was a game changer for me in the way I think about food, but it was also a mostly enjoyable and intriguing read. I recommend it highly, especially if you have any interest in food or American history. Twitty does historic cooking demonstrations in the kitchens of Southern plantations. He cooks the food that would have been eaten with the tools that would have been used. I want to reclaim my […]

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Eat But Were Afraid to Cook

Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking: Authentic Dishes for the Home Cook by Maangchi

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Preface:  I’m a white lady.  I was introduced to Korean food when I was 18, and fell instantly in love. I’ve been cooking Korean food for 25 years, and not to brag, but my Korean husband, his family, and friends tell me I’m pretty dang good.  Most of it I’ve learned from watching people cook, or reverse engineering what I’ve eaten. But when I get stuck trying to figure something out, or I want the authoritative recipe on something I’ve never made before, I go to Maangchi. […]



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