My Review of "Against All Grain Celebrations"

Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Celebrations is a cookbook with 125 recipes for grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free comfort food recipes for holidays and special occasions. When people adopt a new diet for health or personal reasons, it's the parties, holidays, and events with strong food traditions they worry about most. Against All Grain provides recipes and menus for twelve special occasions, from a child's birthday party and baby shower, to a backyard barbeque, romantic Valentine's Day dinner for two, and even a Halloween party. Of course, Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, New Year's Eve party, and Easter/Passover brunch are also covered -- along with suggestions for beverages and cocktails and the all-important desserts. Nearly every recipe is photographed, and food and party images shot on location provide beautiful and creative entertaining ideas. Delicious and easy-to-prepare dishes encourage the whole family to get into the kitchen and create lasting memories -- no matter what the occasion.

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My Review of "Come as You Aren't"

Come as You Aren't: A Role-Playing Game for Adventurous Couples is a simple role-playing kit for couples who want to explore and experiment in ways to seduce one another that they simply wouldn't have imagined otherwise. The set is meant to offer one partner who draws a Who, a What, and a Where card at random and places them in an envelope for the other partner. From there, it's up to them to enact the scenarios as they see fit. The instructions are printed on the back cover of the box and the deck comes with a few blank cards for couples to customize. This is a fun little gift for couples -- and just in time for the holidays. I received a free copy of this game from the Blogging for Books review program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Inside the Criminal Mind"

Samenow's Inside the Criminal Mind is an odd book to review. Samenow, a research psychologist, says criminal behavior is 100% voluntary. It is a product of disordered thought patterns that are almost entirely congenital. Poverty doesn't cause crime, Samenow claims. Nor do bad parenting, peer pressure, drug use, or any of the other "standard excuses". Some kids are born anti-authoritarian thrill seekers and will remain so pretty much no matter what. The only hope is to get criminals to intensively examine their thought patterns, and change them through sheer force of will. Originally written in 1984, I have to wonder: Is this book merely a product of its time? That is, does it represent the best of the cultural thinking that went into personal responsibility and individualism that was so rampant in America in the mid-1980s? Because, let's be honest: Inside the Criminal Mind has a glaring problem. To quote another 19...

My Review of "Treat"

Stephanie Banyas' Treat is a real treat of a cookbook. It's filled with 50 no-bake marshmallow treat recipes that aren't your average treats. From Salted Caramel, Dulce De Leche, Berry Cobbler, Strawberry Lemonade, Cookies and Cream and so much more -- these recipes are enough to catch your attention and make your mouth water. Perhaps the recipe that caught my attention first was the recipe for homemade marshmallows! There are recipes for original flavor, strawberry (and other fruit flavors) chocolate and cream cheese. I intend to try the strawberry recipe soon . Each recipe tells how many it makes, what ingredients to use, and simplified instructions that even older kids will be able to understand. The book itself is categorized to help chefs find the perfect treat recipe: Marshmallows, Updated Classics, Candy-Store Favorites, Fruity Sweets, Chocolate Delights, and Holiday and Celebration Treats. At first glance, I was surprised...

The Mrs. & the Minister

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