Everyday Cooking provides quick recipes for impromptu party

 

I love cookbooks and cooking, but as a busy homeschooling mamma, I know that sometimes it's difficult to get the schooling done, along with the inevitable interruptions that seem to happen when you're "at home", and still get meals on the table every day. That's why I appreciated being able to review Everyday Homemaking's
Everyday Cooking by Vicki Bentley, and share a bit of our experience with you.

Side note: I've had the pleasure of attending a homeschool support group leaders' seminar where Vicki Bentley was the main speaker. She is an experienced homeschool veteran, who has a handle on the challenges of the homeschooling mother, how to meet them and feel (and be) successful. It's just possible that sometimes the simple (?) ability to feed your family with real food, made at home, will be the one thing that salvages one of the days when nothing seems to go as planned. OK, guess I'm waxing philosophical a bit here... on with the review. ;)

We received the e-book version of Everyday Cooking, other Crew members received a physical copy of the book.  One of the first things I do when I peruse a new cookbook is check out the Table of Contents.

You can see that this is a book dedicated to helping make sure that there are meals on the table throughout the day, from breakfast to dessert after dinner. Interspersed throughout are little gray boxes with tips and hints and additional suggestions~ one of the things that differentiates one cookbook from another~ these personalize the book, which is one of my favorite things.

The first couple of pages offer a number of general time saving and money saving tips ~ Vicki Bentley is a expert in sharing efficiency and common sense ideas with her readers, and most of the sections have their fair share of more of the same, but geared towards the particular topic, whether breakfast, or appetizers, etc... These aren't fancy-schmancy, but *mostly* recipes with good, wholesome ingredients (there are a few that aren't quite as good for you, but are certainly yummy sounding!)

Vicki covers a number of styles of cooking, from home-made bread-baking to using the newer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. The latter is not something I'll find in any of my older cookbooks, but it is one of my most used gadgets these days, so I love that she included recipes and tips for its use!

There are a number of pages towards the end of the book (before the Instant Pot pages), with additional hints, helps, "mix" recipes, shopping list and menu planning helps, and even a sample mini-unit that Vicki used with her kids as part of a home economics course, with more information on how to create a full home economics credit course.

Alright, so when it comes down to it, which recipes did I choose to actually USE for this review? Well, life has been wild and crazy this summer, and due to circumstances beyond out control my daughter didn't have occasion to bid a number of friends farewell before she leaves for college, so I ended up throwing her a *very* spontaneous (24 hour notice) get-together for as many people who could make it. Because of the time-frame, I didn't know for sure if we would even end up having a gathering, but once I had received enough positive responses, I had to kick it into high gear to provide some snacks.

Everyday Cooking to the rescue of the harried homeschool, get-the-girl-to-college, mom!
Vicki's recipes are generally intended to be relatively quick, and I was pleased to discover a twist on chocolate chip cookies that took MUCH less time than dropping and cooking a few separate trays...

and a sugar cookie recipe that could be rolled immediately, without waiting for it to chill... woohoo!!! This is DEFNITELY coming out again for many future holidays~ I have soooo many fun cookie cutters that haven't been put to use!

In about 2 hours I had some party-worthy treats ready to share

They not only looked pretty, they tasted yummy, too! No leftovers to bring home...

I kid you not... the very last butterfly cookie was demolished in the car on the ride to youth group! 

But somebody really hoped there would be...

All the poor dog wants is a crumb! (or maybe more... ;)) 

Vicki is offering a 10% discount off Everyday Cooking and/or The Everyday Family Chore System for Homeschool Review Crew readers... The code is TOS10books, and can be applied to as many books in your card as you like. You need to add the books to the cart first, then apply the 10% code last (eccentric cart function)  Expires September

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Everyday Homemaking
• Product: Everyday Cooking
• Ages: Old enough to read and cook. :) 
• Price: $19.99 Print Version, $15.99 e-book version

Visit Everyday Homemaking on Facebook , and please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say about this and the Every Day Family Chore System.


As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#hsreviews  #homemaking #chores

Ann McCallum Books: Eat Your U.S. History Homework (Review)

TOS Review Crew members were sent some really fun books this past month from Ann McCallum Books. You can see them pictured in the graphic above. I was chosen to review Eat Your U.S. History Homework, which fits in well with our family at the moment, as my eight year old in particular has become very interested in early American history.

Right out of the package, I was impressed with this little gem of a book. What a fun concept! I know a lot of homeschoolers do unit studies that include recipes of one sort or another, and this fits right in there, as an add-on to the history already being used, or as a stand-alone little history unit that goes from the Pilgrims to the end of the Revolutionary War.

The book starts with an introduction to the book in general and a timeline with selected events from 1607-1789. It then gives some kitchen tips, including a note that the recipes have been modified to more readily fit our modern lifestyles (since most of us don't have bear grease sitting around the house...).

There are then six chapters/recipes/sections, or whatever you would like to style them.

• Thanksgiving Succotash (May try this as we get closer to the holiday)
• Colonial Cherry-Berry Grunt (Long story I won't get into, but the name of this recipe is sure to cause hysterics among my husband's family... I made a Blueberry Grunt once, and well... we won't get into that.)
• Lost Bread (French Toast anyone?) 
• Southern Plantation Hoe Cakes (This was the recipe we just HAD to try, more about that in a bit)
• Revolutionary Honey-Jumble Cookies (These look yummy!) 
• Independence Ice Cream (need I say more? :) ) 

The format of each section is as follows: 

Historical background on the recipe: the people, places, and times attached to the recipe.

The Recipe: General information before you begin, Equipment needed, Ingredients, and then the method, step-by-step.

Historical Wrap-up: another historical snippet of information

Side Dish: even more information and a suggested activity, or "rabbit trail"

The end of the book has a two page "History Review" spread that summarizes each historic event/era that coordinates with the recipes, a Glossary of terms, and an index. 

Our Experience:

We chose to make the Southern Plantation Hoe Cakes, in part because we had searched the internet for a recipe much earlier in the year when Youngest was reading about George Washington. The Recipe I found then would be helpful for those who are Gluten Free, but it wasn't really the tastiest thing on earth ("George Washington really ate these almost every day?").  I wanted to see if these would be more acceptable to his palate. 

First we pulled out the ingredients... 

Time to mix them together... 

dry ingredients and 

wet ingredients

Time to cook~ 

First time using the spatula himself! 

Good job keeping your hands away from the hot part of the pan! 

The best part, of course comes at the end

Delicious with Jam and butter! 

The verdict came in, and these were much more delicious than anything we had tried before. Next time we need to have some creamed honey around, and then we need to try them as a side dish with chili. Hmmm... how about using them as a base for cheese toast? OK, now I'm getting hungry again! ;)

The book lightly covers slavery, and the interaction of many of the various enthnicities who now call America home. As a matter of fact, you can find a educator's guide to the book on the Eat Your U.S. History Homework  webpage, which includes printable activity sheets that coordinate with many of the discussions suggested in the book, as well as some printable games and other activities.

When we cover more of the Revolutionary history around Boston, we'll be sure to try out the Revolutionary Honey-Jumble Cookies, and all the rest as we come to them in our studies.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Ann McCallum Books
• Product: Eat Your U.S. History Homework 
• Ages: Elementary with parental help, older ages will enjoy it as well. 
• Price: $15.95 hardcover

Now that you've had a bit of an introduction to this book, I do hope that you will click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about this book, as well as Eat Your Math Homework, Eat Your Science Homework, and more!  As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~