Drawing and Cooking : Book Reviews

Art Starts with a Line: A creative and interactive guide to the art of line drawing
Author: Erin McManness
Genre: non- fiction, art
Buy from: Amazon ; B&N

Drawing is a well known creative outlet that I cannot seem to master. The problem is, I can’t draw very well. My parents sent me to art class, but didn’t learn much from it. This book was in Netgalley, so I requested it to see if I could do some drawing.

The book is laid out simple yet clear. It even has examples and a space for me to draw. Since this is an ebook (pdf) I could not unleash my creative pen work here.

Great book for:

For decorating journals and scrap books, of just having fun doodling in general. The book does go on to more complicated techniques and styles, but this is more suitable for beginners.

The Make-Ahead Sauce Solution

The Make-Ahead Sauce Solution
Author: Elisabeth Bailey
Genre: cooking, recipes, non- fiction
Publish: Oct 2018
Pre- order: Amazon

I got this because it was winter, and I was in a cooking rut. Sauces are a good way to spice up an otherwise boring meal. You can be creative in sauce making, because it’s mostly trial and error.

What is great about the book, is that it has multiple cuisines. Asian, Western and Mexicans are in it, plus the book also gives you ideas on how to use it. The cover looks appetising enough, the recipes are even more so.

I like how it uses simple ingredients, as well as freezing tips. After the recipes, you can then use the sauce in dishes as suggested. So, even if you have chicken breast for a week, at least you can change into seven different types of sauce.

Not a bad recipe book to have for a busy person who hates eating the same thing everyday.

Best of the Best 25 Cookbook Recipes

I don’t have the year or the edition of the book unfortunately. This recipe book was borrowed on a whim from my local library. This is a compilation from various recipe books, and I own one of them: The Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin Fei Low. The recipes are top notch, but I think that they are too hard to do in a normal home setting.

Though I did do one recipe:
This is Lemon Confit that I made for…

The 7.5 hour Lamb

Like I said, this is not a book for people who are time- hungry. Who has seven and a half hours (or even the 4 that was suggested?) But the recipe turned out exquisite, despite the fact that I even botched it.

Don’t ask me how I botched it… it’s embarrassing. The result was still mouth watering and awesome. I guess if you think it is worth it, then by all means.

A lot of the recipes in the book are time consuming, but worth every minute if you put your heart into it. Good for big occasions and trying to impress others.