Steaming cauldrons & delicious concoctions

Lookie lookie! It's the newest, most adorable cookbook to hit the shelves!

I was really excited when I first heard about this book while it was still in the works. I thought, what a cool idea!, and couldn't wait to see the finished product. And now I have! I love it. It's cute and the characters are so much fun.

The Witchkins All-Occasion Cookbook is really much more than just a cookbook with recipes. It is the story of the The Witchkins -Katrina, Carmela, Anna M- and Sir Nigel. The recipes, which have all been kid-tested, are grouped according to the significant moments of the characters' lives such as Playdate, Sleepover, Summertime, Birthday etc. Here's an excerpt from the info kit:

"Turn the pages and visit the world of the unforgettable characters
called the Witchkins—Katrina, Carmela, and Anna M—as they “sassily” guide us
through pages and pages of classic dishes. Sir Nigel, the only male in this
group of young chefs, wears spectacles, dons a cape, and does his best to put up
with his 3 cheeky colleagues. His recipes, however, are marvelous."

Now doesn't that just sound like too much fun?!

The recipes aren't just for kids, there's mini-pizzas, croquetas, and other well grown-up food, whatever that means. My tummy is a tummy for all ages!

The Witchkins is the brainchild of Mel Martinez-Francisco, whose love for kids and anything culinary shines through in this book. She indulges both passions by teaching regular cooking and baking classes at Beacon and conducting summer kitchen workshops. It is also the first book released under Sabina's Books Publishing House, founded by another friend, Gem Manosa.

In case you're wondering, while Mel is a friend, she did not ask me to feature this in my blog nor is this a paid advertisement hehe. I'm simply sharing it with you because I really love the concept! I will always support anything that encourages children to read more books or to make things with their bare hands; and this cookbook does both which is why I'm really excited about it!

I hope to try out some recipes with my nieces soon so stay tuned for a Witchkins recipe to be featured here. :)

*The Witchkins can be found in Powerbooks, A Different Bookstore, Hooked on Books, Fully Booked as well as Marta's Cakes and National Bookstore for only P999.

I'm a bookworm in the pantry!

I interrupt the regular scheduled posting of my misadventures in Bangkok with an exciting announcement: I'm a bookworm in the pantry!

"Bookworms are everywhere! Christine, this week's Bookworm in the Pantry, creates her lovely blog, Ramblings from a Gypsy Soul, in Manila, The Philippines (see her list of recommended food-related non-cookbooks, over there on the right). Whenever I read her posts, I learn something new about Filipino culture and cuisine — and, of course, I want to get on a plane and go to the places she visits. Christine has traveled to the US, Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, Egypt, and more. She photographs, she cooks, and, oh yes, she reads; her wish list features dozens of books I'd love to have in my own library."

Lydia is a food writer, co-host of a cooking group and the creative genius behind one of my favorite sites The Perfect Pantry . I call her a creative genius not only because of her very well written posts, pretty pictures and scrumptious-sounding recipes but also because of the basic premise of her website in which she explores every item in her pantry at a time. Thanks to her, I learned more about spices and condiments such as garam masala, epazote, fenugreek, harissa, and pickling spice.

She would also share her recommendations on her favorite books which led to the start of a fun project she launched recently called Bookworms in the Pantry. Every Saturday she features a new bookworm and 5 of their food-related (not cookbooks) book recommendations. It has been so interesting to see what my favorite foodies are recommending, and I've already added a lot of their books to my ever-growing Amazon wishlist.

Thank you so much for doing this, Lydia! Your site is a wonderful resource that not only offers up a wealth of knowledge to its readers, but also much inspiration! :)

Click here to read about the other featured bookworms and here to browse the list of books recommended.

If you'd like to be a bookworm in the pantry, simply email your book list (title/author) to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com.

Asia's In Good Taste

I found a nice surprise waiting for me on my office desk this morning - the 3rd issue of Asia's In Good Taste. Upon unfolding the pretty stationery paper attached to it, I discovered that it was from my friend (the magazine's talented food stylist). We were discussing this new project of hers recently at a party so she knew I was excited to check it out. How very thoughtful of her! ☺

In Good Taste, which was launched Sept. of last year, is so packed with recipes and tips that it reads like a cookbook. This is what makes it unique and deserving of it's claim as the "premiere cookbook magazine". The layout is simple and clean with impressive styling. I was surprised to find out they actually eat the food they shoot. No chemical sprays or fake ingredients for props. They want to make the photos "look as close to the real thing" as possible.

Aside from recipes, there are also the requisite informative articles on this ingredient or that, how to's, kitchen finds, entertaining ideas etc. If you're looking to get your own copy at the magazine stands, it would help to know that you're looking for something that is smaller than your standard issue food mag.

Here's a peak at the table of contents for this 3rd issue:

* Reading tea leaves - delve into the world of tea and learn more than just the mystical nature of scrolling tea leaves with this pot full of tea lore
* Truly pinoy kendi - wax nostalgic about familiar old-time favorite sweets from pulburon, yema and pastillas, bukayo, and masapan de pili
* Hold the sugar - figure out how to add some sweetness to your dishes without piling on the sugar
* Have a dessert party - plan your own theme party revolving around your favorite desserts and drinks.

Randomly selected recipes:
- fried rice patties with chicken terriyaki
- Adobo pita pizza ( I am so trying this!)
- stuffed pork tenderloin with cheese sauce
- chap chae
- dulce de leche sundae
- mango and ricotta wontons
- mocha blondies
- coffee caramel

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Today my second box ( The first one I sent home from Vegas and this one I had sent home from SF a week later) arrived and along with it the books I purchased from Amazon and those which I received as presents for my birthday!! Wheeeeee!

More books about food and travel, my favorite kind:

1. Entertaining by Donna Hay

2. The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 Recipes by Ruth Reichl

3. Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (present from an aunt)

4. Classic Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals (present from another aunt)

5. Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

6. Her Fork in The Road: Women Celebrate Food & Travel by Lisa Bach

7. Mañana Mañana: One Mallorcan Summer by Peter Kerr

8. Havana Salsa: Stories & Recipes by Viviana Carballo

9. Muffins & Other Morning Bakes by Linda Collister and Philip Webb

10. Brunch by Lousie Pickford & Ian Wallace

11. Very Funny, Now Change Me Back Again by Peter Biddlecombe

12. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

Other books I received as a birthday gift from my ultra-sweet sister (Love you mucho, Lils!) while in Vegas and which made it into the first box:

• Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan
  
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese Classic Recipes
  
• Hershey's Classic Recipes

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but in a good way. I have to make space for them in my shelves, and even more challenging would be to make time to read them all! I wish I could speed-read. I can't wait to try out recipes from all these cookbooks, and settle once again into armchair traveler mode with the rest. Christmas comes early for this gypsy soul! :)

Tagged by Rob

I got tagged by Rob the BriliantDonkey for my first meme a few days ago. Took me a while to get around to doing it but always better late than never, right? So anyway, the rules of this tag game are:

1. Grab the book nearest to you...no cheating!
2. Open to page 123.
3. Scroll down to the fifth sentence.
4. Post text of next 3 sentences on to your blog.

The book nearest me on my night table, is On Mexican Time by Tony Cohan. Although I've had this book for 4 years now, I just started reading it a couple of days ago. You can say it's part of my preparation for an upcoming trip to Mexico for my best friend's wedding. (I leave in 3 days! yay! can you feel my excitement through the screen?!)

Ok so here's the excerpt from page 123:

"Se murio, instantaneamente". Another San Miguel story, I thought, in a town rich with them. "Her two half-Mexican daughters inherited the house."

So there you go. I'd like to tag Joey of 80 Breakfasts, Wysgal of Rants and Raves, and Mila of Watergirl, who are all avid readers. So I know they've got books all over the place. :) No pressure you guys, only if you'd like to. And of course, everyone else is welcome to join either by posting in their own blogs or by leaving a comment here.

Bookworm-in-training

Natalia
taken by a very proud Tita Chris :-) 6/06

The Invitation

Exactly 4 years ago (it reads '8/02' beside my signature on the first page), I stumbled upon a little treasure of a book while browsing the shelves of Waterstones. I think it was the author's name that caught my attention at first or maybe the verses written on the cover. When I read the poem on the first 2 pages, which provides the framework for the book of the same title, I was hooked. I almost read the entire paperback right there without paying for it.

Here is the poem in its entirety. I will let it inspire you as it did me:


The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest meto know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be doneto feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire
with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

That nifty library thing!

If you're anything like me, well, *snicker* poor you. Seriously, if you're like me then you love to read and you treasure your books. You are quite anal (heehee I said anal in my blog) about organizing them on your shelf.....and on your bedside table, in your magazine basket in the bathroom, in the backseat of your car, and on your desk in the office.

However, if you are even more like me you also have a horrible memory. Case in point: Just recently, I bid for and won Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes from avalon. So after I received it with other books I purchased in the post, I walked over to my bookshelf looking for it's cousin 'travels-to-italy' books and lovingly slipped it in between Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes and ummm, Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes. Well, they did have different covers and I read it waaayyyyyy back in 2002!

So anyway, I decided it was time to catalog my books. If I did it for my CD's on an excel sheet why should my books get less attention? I used Amazon's Wish List feature to create my virtual library, this way it was easy for me to transfer books from my online wishlist to the other list which i called 'in my library' as I bought them. That worked fine, until!....until I serendipitously chanced upon The Library Thing.

It's perfect! It's chockful of wonderful features like:

- you can import the list you already have in amazon with just a couple of clicks ( this feature saved me a lot of time)
- you can arrange the books in different styles
- you can connect with other people who share the same books on your library and see what else they're reading
- it comes up with suggestions for what to read next
- you can write notes for each book - this will come in handy when i lend them out
- you can choose to make it public or private
- it is free up to 200 books. (unlimited for a year is $10, and $25 for a lifetime)

I see many hours spent exploring other people's online libraries in my future.

Avalon

This word has a whole new meaning for me. Until recently, all it meant to me was Roxy Music's sultry song and Bryan Ferry's sexy voice.

However, just recently I discovered Avalon, thanks to Katrina's comment and Wysgal's post on Rants & Raves (Thank you, girls!) . It's an online book sale/auction for books, most of which are second-hand. And the best part about it is it's local, which means no costly shipping and handling charges.

I love books but I especially love second-hand books. Not just because they're cheaper. I like the smell of old books, I like knowing that the book already comes with a history , with the possibility that it was enjoyed by someone previously. I like the dog-eared pages which probably mark pages of importance to someone, or just simply tells me it was well-read.

While living in London, I used to get such a thrill out of going into the thrift shop next door to my office not knowing what to expect and finding treasures on the shelves for 50 pence a piece. Sure, I still went into the occasional Waterstones to buy a new book every once in a while. In fact, I still visit Power Books or Fully Booked when I can't wait to get my hands on certain titles. But I frequent Books for Less and Book Sale more often.

So you can imagine my excitement when I logged onto Avalon. I bought 7 books straight away! All for less than Php 1, 800. Not bad! And the sellers (all 3 of them) were super friendly and super easy to coordinate with. They made the experience even more pleasant.

Now there is one drawback though: the limited selection. I don't think many know about it. There has to be more people out there who are interested in trading books? If you're reading this, please check out the site and if you like it, please spread the word.

My name is christine and I am a book whore

I remember as a kid, my most prized possession was my complete set of hard-bound Bobbsey Twins books. It was a present from my mom and dad. One Christmas they gave us all books: my brother got The Hardy Boys and my 2 older sisters got Nancy Drew. I was so excited!

It couldn’t have come at a better time. I had practically memorized my Enid Blyton & Judy Blume paperbacks and my tattered, dog-eared favorite Wizard of Oz . Though I loved these books I needed something new, a new adventure. And Bert, Nan, Flossie & Freddie were only too happy to oblige.

That is about as far back as I can remember to the beginnings of my passion for books and reading. After I finished the entire volume of my sisters’ Nancy Drew and my brother’s Hardy Boys, I moved on to other “big kid” books, then to “young adult” like Sweet Valley High , and then more mature books like Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon, Garbiel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Stephen King, John Grisham, picked up classics like The Catcher in the Rye, and then before I knew it , I was obsessed.

Sometimes, like now, I bite off more than I can chew. I am currently reading five books at the same timeThey are:

Travelling Light by Sarah Webb

This is a collection of short stories, all related to travel, written by Ireland's top women writers. Some are funny, some are sad, some are inspiring. It's a wonderful blend of different writing styles and personalities. This makes for perfect summer reading. :)

He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo

I watched Behrendt talk about this book on Oprah and had the chance to watch him speak live while he was in Manila promoting the book (picture below) and I thought he was pretty funny so I bought the book. I am about 1/3 through it, and so far so good. He is blunt, which I like and very funny. He's not claiming to be an expert on relationships, but an expert on what he is, a man.

So if this book doesn't enlighten you on the mysteries (or lack of really) of the male species, it would at the very least entertain you. Behrendt is, btw, a story editor on Sex and the City.

Hemingway Adventure by Michael Palin

I have just recently developed an obsession with Cuba, thanks to Peter Moore's book The Full Montezuma. So in my search for books on the country, I found this. Palin retraces the steps of Ernest Hemingway from his birth in Illinois and all around the world until his death, taking pictures and telling stories along the way interspersed with pieces from Hemingway's past and quotes from Big Papa himself.

I don't know very much about Hemingway but I do know that a large part of his life was spent in Cuba, 20 years to be exact. And like in all other places he lived in, he spent a lot of time with the locals, and through his journey around the globe and Palin's writing skills we get more than a glimpse of places off the beaten track and things you would normally not find in guide books.

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

A friend of mine lost a great deal of weight after reading this book! And of course I needed to try it for myself. :) Read her review here!

Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner& Billy Goldberg

Have you ever wondered why asparagus makes your pee smell bad?, or what goose bumps are?, and even how people in wheel chairs have sex? Leyner and Goldberg, a novelist and physician respectively, provide witty and often hilarious answers to many questions you've often wondered about yet never really asked.

Now mind you, these are well-researched answers, but though informative the book seeks more to entertain rather than be medical reference material. Being the curious cat that I am, I just had to get this.

So tell me, what are you reading? :) I'd love to hear your recommendations!