In Winter's Kitchen Giveaway Winners!

In Winter's Kitchen Giveaway Winners!

Beth Dooley was the Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob for the months of Nov/Dec.  Beth and her publisher, Milkweed Press, are giving away two copies of her fabulous book, In Winter's Kitchen to two Booksnob readers.  Drum roll please...And the winners are...

Lucy from Fictional 100 book blog
Holly from 2 Kids and Tired book blog

Congrats Ladies!!!
I hope you enjoy your new book and love it as much as I did.

Here is an excerpt from my book review:

Beth writes about her family and meets with local farmers at the farmers market and even meets them at their farms.  She talks about conventional food and organic and details the path from farm to table.  Beth connects our love of food with our love of family and love of the land. She reminded me that buying food is making a choice for a better world and a healthy body which is very important to me.

You can find Beth at her website:  http://www.bethdooleyskitchen.com/

In Winter's Kitchen by Beth Dooley

In Winter's Kitchen.
Growing Roots and Breaking Bread in the Northern Heartland
by Beth Dooley

Books and Food go together well.  In fact, they are two of my favorite things so I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book.  I adored, In Winter's Kitchen and read it slowly, one chapter at a time, to savor it.  Each chapter is about a particular food that thrives in the Midwest, like apples, wheat, potatoes, cranberries, corn, wild rice, turkey and many more.  Beth writes about her family and meets with local farmers at the farmers market and even meets them at their farms.  She talks about conventional food and organic and details the path from farm to table.  Beth connects our love of food with our love of family and love of the land. She reminded me that buying food is making a choice for a better world and a healthy body which is very important to me since I have a food allergy to corn and most canned, packaged store bought food contains some form of corn. So I have to make most of my families meals from scratch everyday.  In Winter's Kitchen has taught me so much about the food I eat and the companies I buy from.

In Winter's Kitchen is part memoir, part food history and part midwest guidebook with really good recipes tucked inside.  There is one recipe per food chapter so for example the Apples chapter has a recipe for applesauce, which I made and it was delicious. This is the first time I made homemade applesauce and it was super easy and super good.  I haven't eaten applesauce in years. Here is a picture.

This is a great book to read this winter.  Read it and then make some great food.
In Winter's Kitchen was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2016.

Here are some links to help further your reading experience.

Visit Beth at her website where you will find lots of information and delicious recipes
http://www.bethdooleyskitchen.com/

Listen to Beth on the Splendid Table podcast.
https://www.splendidtable.org/story/beth-dooley-on-the-joy-of-cooking-and-the-future-of-wheat

Gardens, Kitchens and the Great Midwest.  U of MN episode of Read This Book features Beth Dooley and another of my favorite authors Ryan Stradal.
https://youtu.be/_pLrg10D-Lc

Listen to this story from MPR which includes two recipes from the book.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/11/18/books-appetites-beth-dooley

An awesome book review from Heavy Table
http://heavytable.com/in-winters-kitchen-by-beth-dooley/

The Firebug of Balrog County Giveaway Winners

The Firebug of Balrog County Giveaway Winners

David Oppegaard was the October, Minnesota Author in the Spotlight on Booksnob and he is giving away 3 copies of his awesome Young Adult novel, The Firebug of Balrog County to three lucky winners.

And the winners are...

Rachel from Minnesota
Courtney from Alabama
Lauren from New York


Congratulations Ladies.  I hope you enjoy your new book.

Here is an excerpt from my book review:

The Firebug of Balrog County is a well-written novel that was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2016.  The story is told in short chapter bursts and full of wry wit and angsty humor.  You will fall in love with the main character and his family and even the small town. I was laughing and crying and rooting for Mack with all my heart.  Mack is charming and quirky and never been kissed and in desperate need of a girlfriend. In some ways Mack reminds me of Duckie form Pretty in Pink and David Oppegaard reminds me of a modern John Hughes.

Beth Dooley Guest Post + Giveaway

Beth Dooley Guest Post + Giveaway

Beth Dooley is the November, Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob. She is a foodie and has written several cookbooks and she has written a guest post about two books she could not live without.
Read on to find out more.

Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch and Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard, by Nigel Slater (Ten Speed Press)

If my kitchen caught fire, Nigel Slater’s two volumes – Tender and Ripe – are the books I’d grab exiting the backdoor. These hefty, beautiful volumes are written in a quiet and deeply personal voice, and the prose is as sumptuous as are his recipes. The photos alone are worth the price. In each short chapter, Slater relays, in great detail, the pleasure he takes in tending the small garden of his London home. He shares memories, a little food history, and provides practical information about planting and harvesting the vegetables and fruits. As he moves into the kitchen, his advice is whimsical and engaging with suggestions for flavor pairings, quick preparation tips, and simple, homey recipes.
Never self-righteous or preachy, Slater’s love of our earth’s bounty and it’s benefit to our health and environmental shine through. His ascetic is comforting and inspiring and these pages transport me to
a gentler time and more civilized place.

If you would like to enter to win a copy of Beth's book, In Winter's Kitchen please click here:

In Winter's Kitchen

Good Luck!

Thanks Beth!