Library Loot XV

Where did the last week go? I can't believe my last post was nearly a week ago. I thought I had a lot of things to blog about, but I just never sat myself down to type anything out and now I don't even remember what it was that I even thought was worth sharing! Let me see if I can jog my brain---oh! That's it! I had some running woes last Thursday! Argh. And I had another list to post last week and I never did. Between my running woes, finally doing our taxes over the weekend, having a rather hormonal a couple of days, and my eldest daughter's birthday (omgshe'sfifteenhowtheheckisthatpossible?), I guess I just didn't have the verve to post.

Have no fear because here I am sharing this week's library loot with verve! :)

Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Marg's.

The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I have read Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen and loved both books. If you haven't tried this author's books before, I suggest you do. Her stories are contemporary woman's fiction that fall somewhere between a coming of age story and a romance and have a touch of magical realism to them that make the stories just this side of every day. The Girl Who Chased The Moon is Ms. Addison-Allen's most recent release and I'm looking forward to it very much.

The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein

I'm not vegan or even vegetarian, but I do regularly prepare vegetarian main or side dishes for my family and my vegetarian friends. I flipped through this book at the library and immediately saw so many dishes that appealed to me. Soups, salads, grains, vegetable side dishes, tofu dishes, noodle dishes, stir fries, sauces and marinades. Yum. All healthful and made with only a few ingredients. I can't wait to try some of these. I think the Pad Thai will be first. Yum. Did I say that already?

Well Preserved: small batch preserving for the new cook by Mary Anne Dragan

Third edition

I love making homemade jam with fresh picked summer fruit, so when I spotted this cookbook at my library I thought it would be fun to thumb through it for some inspiration for this year's jam session. After about three minutes of reading this book, I've decided that I love this cookbook! So much so that I'm seriously considering buying my own copy. It is chock full of basic recipes and recipes for some very unique flavor combinations. Plus the recipes are not limited to jams. There are also plenty of recipes for other foods you can preserve such as pickled fruits and vegetables, relishes, salsa, chutneys, vinegars, and ketchups. It even has a section devoted to recipes for using your preserved foods! I'm probably going to start with something like the Strawberry Mint Jam. Or the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. I haven't decided yet. :)


Have you ever made homemade jam before?

How about pickles?

Any other foods?