Books - Baking and Books

Holiday Gift Guide

Posted by Ari in Books, Life on Nov 28th, 2008 | 84 Comments

Baking and Books has been around for two years, and though I’ve wanted to create a gift guide every time the holiday season rolled around, somehow the task always eluded me. “This is the year!” I’d tell myself in early November. Then before I knew it December had come and gone....

Posted by Ari in Books, Desserts, Food History on Nov 12th, 2008 | 110 Comments

I may have mentioned this before, but I have to say it again: I love the holiday season. From mid-November to New Years Eve I’m all about holiday movies and baking - the latter of which is a particular joy because this is one of the few times of year I can bake gobs of goodies, then give them...

Posted by Ari in Books, Desserts, Food History on Jul 26th, 2008 | 35 Comments

As a child, popsicles were the highlight of my summer. I loved those tall, blue popsicles shaped like rockets that the ice cream man brought in his musical truck, and the Kool-Aid pops I made with my mom. I didn’t discriminate when I came to finding a cool treat to lick while basking in the hot...

Posted by Ari in Books, Breakfast, Quick Breads on Jul 20th, 2008 | 171 Comments

Though some of my ‘real life’ friends don’t understand how I find baking and cooking so relaxing (one friend became quite upset when I suggested we cook dinner together “for fun”), the truth is that nothing quiets my mind as much as puttering around the kitchen. So, with...

Posted by Ari in Books, Interviews on Apr 11th, 2008 | 73 Comments

Of all the book genres, historical fiction is by far my favorite. If it’s done well it allows you to completely immerse yourself in the events of another place and time, and when you finish the story you feel as if you’ve learned something too. From Bernard Cornwell I learned about the...

Posted by Ari in Books, Breads Made With Yeast, Snacks on Apr 5th, 2008 | 34 Comments

I’m not much of a sports fan but one thing I do love is ’sports food.’ Cheesy nachos, popcorn, pizza, Hagen-Daz ice cream bars, and especially soft, jumbo pretzels topped with oodles of yellow mustard. My husband learned long ago that if he wants me to get excited about going to a...

Posted by Ari in Books, Budget Gourmet, Desserts on Mar 24th, 2008 | 39 Comments

Folks are often surprised to hear this, but for most of my life I’ve hated peanut butter. “What about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” they ask, “Didn’t you eat those as a kid? Or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? You have to like those.” No and nope, I always...

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The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride
By Daniel James Brown

It's not often that a history book will compel me to set all my novels aside, but "The Indifferent Stars Above" certainly did. Within the first few pages I was spellbound. I had to know how Sarah, a young woman newly married to her childhood sweetheart, would end up on top of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the dead of winter, starving and forced to do unspeakable things in order to survive.

"The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride" tells the story of the Donner Party from the perspective of newlyweds Sarah Graves and Jay Fosdick. In April of 1846 the couple joined Sarah's family as they journeyed west from Illinois to the promised land of California. (Read the rest of this review...)

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Holiday Gift Guide

Anita’s Molasses Spice Cookies

Coconut Pops!

Alton Brown’s Blueberry Muffins

Mistress of the Revolution (Interview)

Homemade Buttermilk Pretzels

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies