I loved The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen so much that I renewed it twice — and even though I had it for nine weeks, I’ll be checking it out again in the future! Serena Thompson and Teri Edwards are friends and entrepreneurs. A number of years ago, they started an annual antiques fair and then produced a line of products, eventually leading them to write for Country Living magazine Now they have published their first book The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen, which tells their story while offering recipes and projects to make. I am already waiting for their next book to come out (and I hope it’s going to be soon).

The recipes and craft projects are easy to make yourself, and you don’t have to go out and buy hard-to-find ingredients. I made the Cherry Breakfast Swirl, and had most of the ingredients in my pantry already. It was simple to put together, and only took about 30 minutes to bake. It was so delicious that I took the ingredients and recipe with me on vacation when I had to make breakfast for ten of us.

I’d recommend this title to anyone who loves recipes, craft projects, or just enjoys reading about them. Look at The Farm Chicks online when you get a chance, but make sure to check out The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen, too.

Michele Happel – Miller Branch

I adore being in the kitchen. Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved the smells of freshly baked bread, cookies, or cakes coming out of the oven. Special memories are attached to the kitchen for me — so when I saw A Homemade Life reviewed online, I had to put myself on reserve for it. Recipes like Jimmy’s Pink Cookies, Tarte Tatin (one of Julia Child’s creations), and Dutch Baby Pancakes with Lemon and Sugar all made my mouth water so much that I couldn’t stand it.

Molly Wizenberg’s stories share the setting of a kitchen. When her father died of cancer, family and friends told her to take it easy on herself, but she couldn’t go back to her life in Seattle. Instead, she journeyed to Paris, a place which brought back great memories of a trip she and her father had taken when she was much younger. Instead of writing her dissertation for graduate school, though, she found herself tasting cheeses and chocolate, and reading cookbooks until dusk. She finally realized her heart was in food and the kitchen, not in her studies.

As something to pass the time, Molly started her blog Orangette, and shortly had an international following. Every week people logged on to find out what Molly was reading, eating, cooking, and thinking, until one reader found himself infatuated with her. Their emails eventually turned into a long-distance romance — he in New York, and she in Seattle.

The writing is wonderful, and I can’t wait to try the recipes, but Molly also expresses great love for her new husband. “I used to think I had a good dowry. I can make a nice meatball and bake a fine chocolate cake. I can find my way without a map around Paris, Seattle, and Oklahoma City… But Brandon brought with him more than I could have ever thought to want… Sometimes when I see him across the room, I can hardly believe that I get to be his wife.”

Maybe we should all try the Winning Hearts and Minds Cake, or Our Wedding Cake. It sounds like a keeper.

Michele Happel – Miller Branch

I don’t usually read memoirs, especially ones about recovery. I don’t watch docudramas about medical or emotional trauma either. I tend to become horrified and depressed, instead of edified and entertained. However, Cooking & Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery found its way onto my reading stack…I think it was a combination of the clever title and bold cover. This fascinating and honest book might even have converted me into reading other memoirs (but not watching them).

Just before graduating from UC Berkeley at age 21, author Adrienne Kane suffered a major stroke. In this memoir, Kane recounts the frustrations of physical therapy and her gradual reintroduction to independence. As she takes the reader through her road to recovery, she mixes family anecdotes, California atmosphere, and medical prognoses into an upbeat concoction, all about a strong-willed woman facing life’s challenges.

Each chapter begins with a recipe, which relates somehow to the chapter’s theme. The first chapter opens with a pasta and zucchini dish (which I have copied to try myself) from Kane’s college days. Throughout the book, recipes vary in complexity from basic spaghetti sauce to a duck dinner made in memory of Julia Child. It was fascinating to see how each recipe reflected an important chapter in the author’s recovery.

Kane discovers her passion for food and feeding people as she copes with her disabilities. Cooking and sharing her thoughts about food come to define her vocation, almost by accident. This was a delightful read…the author’s voice is highly personal, the topic astounding on many levels, and the meals mouthwatering-ly inspiring.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

With a title like this one, how could I resist picking up the book? I’m glad I did. In some ways, The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark reminded me of The Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four. However, I found Newmark’s book much more lighthearted and entertaining, although not quite as spine-tingling.

The book takes the reader on a romp through Renaissance Venice via the Doge’s kitchen. Luciano is a street kid, scrounging to make a living by rummaging through trash piles and stealing in the Rialto, Venice’s famed marketplace. One day as he’s lifting a pomegranate, he is caught by a chef. Instead of turning him over to the authorities, the chef makes Luciano his apprentice, and so the intrigue begins as Luciano’s master is more than he first appears.

Extremely practical Luciano tells the story, and the author maintains a fairly strict point of view. Fortunately, our young cook has an insatiable curiosity and loves to spy. The Doge (who is suffering from syphilis) is searching for a book that is supposed to contain the recipe for immortality — and he’s willing to kill for it. Many other influential people, including the Borgia Pope, also express an interest in the book for other reasons. As Luciano puzzles over what and where the book might be, we get a glimpse of political maneuvering that would put Machiavelli to shame.

Newmark does a credible job of building suspense and tying up her loose ends, but the true wonder of this first novel comes from the sensory overload of Venice’s docks. We can almost hear the polyglot of languages, smell the spices and fresh produce, and see the wonders of the world. Newmark makes Venice, at the height of its power as the world’s crossroads, a character in its own right. And in the end, I was reminded that while immortality may not be contained in a book, a certain kind of magic can happen in a kitchen.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office