Tales From A Pantry

Author: Marjorie Sweeney Beck
Edition: Paperback, 65 pages
Publisher: Unknown
ASIN: Unknown
Category Food
While strolling through the French Market in New Orleans on a gorgeous afternoon, I happened to stop into Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines. Although clearly geared for the tourist, Aunt Sally’s stocked a very nice selection of true Louisiana fare. Things that you might find in just about any home in Louisiana. Although my wife and I were back in Louisiana to visit family, we had been a bit homesick recently, so seeing items that we grew up with really made us feel all warm and fuzzy. I had just taken up a keen interest in cooking, so I was wondering around looking at all the cookbooks.
They stocked the classics, such as “River Road Recipes” and even some avant garde fare such as “White Trash Cooking“, but there were several cookbooks that I had never seen before. One that particularly caught my eye was called “Tales From A Pantry: Reminisces of Growing Up in New Orleans in the Thirties and Forties, and Just a Few Recipes”. The small book appeared to be self published with a plastic comb style binding. As I glanced through the pages, I saw more stories than I did recipes, which piqued my interest, but when I saw that there was a recipe for Grillades, it instantly became a must have cookbook.

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Bicycle Touring: How To Prepare For Long Rides

Author: Steve Butterman
Edition: Paperback, 104 pages
Publisher: Wilderness Press; (October 1994)
ASIN: 0899971741
Category: Travel

I’ve always felt that you should never stop learning. Even if you feel that you’re an expert in a subject, I think you should still stay current and up-to-date, as well as read what others have to say on a subject. I’m no expert when it comes to bicycle touring, but I did do a 6 month tour of Europe from Ireland to Portugal once, so I do have a little experience. While preparing for a simple little jaunt down the Natchez Trace, I came across Steve Butterman’s book, Bicycle Touring: How To Prepare For Long Rides and decided to give it a read. I thought it might give me a few tips or tricks that I might find helpful. Surprisingly, the book did quite a bit more than that.

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My Favorite Periodical

I do a lot of reading. Between the news feeds, web sites, E-mail, magazines, technical manuals, O’Reilly computer books, self help books, and pleasure reading, it seems like I’m always reading something. Out of all of the reading I do, there’s one periodical that stands out above the rest. I eagerly devour each issue and can’t wait for the next one to arrive. The latest issue just arrived this week and I’ve been gleefully perusing each and every page. What’ the name of this coveted gem? It’s The Rivendell Reader.

Admittedly, I’m a bit old school, especially when it comes to bicycles. I like things simple and proven. I just want Juliet (my touring bike) to work reliably and I don’t need the latest greatest gizmo. The Rivendell Bicycle Works company is right up my alley. To quote their web site, “We’re and eight-year-old manufacturer and mail-order bike shop for bike riders who prefer traditional, classical bicycles and parts and accessories to today’s ever-changing high-tech fare.” The Reader is a classic example of old school bicycling.

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A Toast To Dr. Foster

It seems that this week is all about BCC and Dr. Dave.

On Friday night, Holly, Mom and I went to the Davis Kidd bookstore for a book signing. Dr. David Foster was signing his new book, The Power to Prevail – Turning Your Adversities into Advantages, so we decided to pop on over and grab us a copy. The place was packed, as we knew it would be, but we waited in line for about 30 minutes or so and got our signature and a little photograph.

Dr. Dave is very technologically savvy, but I was impressed that not only is his book in hardback, but he also has it published in Adobe E-Book format, Microsoft Reader format and Palm Digital Media E-book format as well! Clearly he has all the bases covered, which is pretty impressive. I just wish every author and/or publisher was this smart and would publish in e-book format when releasing a new hardcover. When they don’t they are simply missing out on sales. For example, even though we bought the hardcover, I’m going to have to purchase the Palm e-book as well.

After the book signing, we were all hungry so we decided to visit the Green Hills Grill. For appetizers, Holly and I each had a cup of the clam chowder and Mom got a cup of the Tortilla soup. Both were delicious, but I have to say that their clam chowder is the best I’ve had in Nashville and one of the best I’ve ever had. That includes my trips to the New England coast! For our main courses, Holly had the fresh Tilapia fish sandwich; Mom had the Crab Cake Florentine salad; and I had the Shrimp Penne Pasta with stuffed artichoke hearts and pine nuts. All of our dishes were excellent as usual. When the meal was over our sweet tooth got the better of us. Mom had the Creme Brulee and Holly and I split the Banana Bread Foster. It’s Banana’s Foster served over banana bread and it was a nice spin on the traditional favorite. We had to laugh though, as I proclaimed a toast to Dr. Foster with Banana Bread Foster!

Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes by Meredith Books

TLC’s Trading Spaces is like crack to a new home owner – you watch the show once and you’re hooked. At least that’s how it happened to me. One Saturday afternoon, I was scanning the television and stumbled upon the show and instantly fell in love. For those that haven’t seen the show, two sets of homeowners swamp houses and with the help of a designer do a two-day room re-design armed with only a $1000 budget. As you might imagine things can go wrong as the designers pull and tug the homeowners into doing sometimes outlandish things to their neighbors spaces. It’s a great show that can give you a lot of inspiration and ideas for your own home.

I was in Home Depot looking for a book on Tiling for a project I’m working on, when I stumbled upon “Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes” book. If you love the show, this book is for you. However, if you’re looking for Tips and Tricks, then keep looking because this book is more about the “behind the scenes” than anything else. In it, you’ll learn about how the show is put together from start to finish. There is a chapter dedicated to each member of the cast as well as a large glamour photo. Fans of Ty Pennington the hunky carpenter, won’t be disappointed.

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The Sterling Huck Letters by Sterling Huck

I learned of this book from Bill DeMain of Swan Dive at one of their performances. Unbeknownst to me, Bill has had a very active ‘other life’ penning witty letters to companies under the pen name of Sterling Huck. One page into this most unique book and I was on the floor laughing uncontrollably. Sterling Huck leads us through a vast array of letters that he penned to various corporations and famous personalities. Although his letters are total gems of creative genius, much of the hilarity comes from the responses he receives in return. This book is a great read and one that you’ll be telling all your friends about.

Dear Winchester Cathedral: I’m scouting locations for my new science fiction movie, Zarbu, The Mutant from Beyond, and need a cathedral where the space monster Zarbu could defend its larvae from military forces…

My Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)

Where To Buy:
Amazon.com [link] Barnes & Noble [link]