~CLOSED~Review & Giveaway: Earth To Table

Earth to Table
Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm
By Jeff Crump, Bettina Schormann

From HarperCollins

Earth to Table by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann is an extraordinary, gorgeously illustrated collection of reflections and recipes in the tradition of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Matters. Subtitled “Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm,” Earth to Table sumptuously illuminates how good food is grown and how it comes to us—following over the course of one year, the journey from farm to restaurant of delicious organic produce. Featuring thoughts and recipes from some of the world’s most renowned and innovative “slow food” chefs—including Dan Barber (Blue Hill), Thomas Keller (The French Laundry), Matthew Dillon (Sitka and Spruce), and Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck)—here is a glorious celebration of the best things on earth, from Earth to Table.

My Review

We all want to feed our families a healthy diet. We read food labels, buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store or the farmers market, and maybe we even grow some of our own produce in our back yards. If you've ever picked a fresh cucumber, radish, or tomato from your own garden, and eaten it within moments of taking it off the vine, you know how amazing and fresh food can taste. I look forward to our garden vegetables every year. My husband does the planting and I do most of the preparing, cooking, canning, drying, freezing, and preserving the harvest. We also stock up on local produce in season.

Earth To Table is all about growing, harvesting, and cooking seasonal foods. It's divided into the four seasons, with stories about farm life, information about such things as composting, foraging, and canning, and most of all, lots of great recipes. The authors tell us which foods we should be focusing on eating during each season, based upon what is available locally.

Some of the recipes included in Earth To Table are: Dandelion Salad with Poached Eggs, Rhubarb Fool, Maple Shoofly Pie, Deep-Fried Zucchini Blossoms, French Vanilla Ice Cream, French Onion Soup, Duck Confit, Salt-Baked Arctic Char.

The recipes are easy to follow, with plenty of photos.

You can browse inside the book here and purchase it at HarperCollins.

Giveaway

Thanks to Kyle and HarperCollins Publishers, I'm giving away 3 copies of Earth To Table!

MAIN ENTRY (You MUST do this First for your entry to count!) Check out Earth To Table at HarperCollins, and tell me in a comment something you learned about the book or the authors (other than what is already in this post).

EXTRA ENTRIES
~Follow me PUBLICLY on Google Friend Connect. Include your Google Friends user name in your comment. Make sure I can see your name in My Followers on my sidebar.

~Follow me on Twitter (@amylou61) AND Tweet this Giveaway, linking to this post in your tweet. Leave a link to your Tweet in a comment. Your tweets must be PUBLIC for this to count. You may copy this tweet:

Win a copy of Earth to Table by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann at Peace & Quiet. 3 Winners!

~Post this giveaway in a post on your blog. Include my blog name "Peace & Quiet" and link back to this post. Leave a comment with a link to your post.

PLEASE make sure your email is either linked to, or included in your comment. Entries will be accepted until December 27th at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be drawn by random.org and validated per rules. US & Canada addresses. Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply before an alternate winner is chosen. Good Luck!

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion, and was not influenced by the sponsor in any way.

~CLOSED~Review & Giveaway: Soy DeLites

Soy Candles by Soy Delites are handmade using 100% natural soybean wax and cotton wicks. Clean burning and long lasting, Soy Delites Candles are an eco-friendly and healthy candle alternative.

Soy Candles by Soy Delites offers several styles to choose from, including tealights, votives, travel tins, and signature glasses in an array of scents, like clean and invigorating Ginger Lemongrass or bold and sensuous Sandalwood Amber.

I like to burn candles, but I don't like the black soot that builds up on paraffin candles, or the mess when the wicks need to be trimmed (I always seem to get the black gunk on my hands. Yuck!) Soy candles burn without creating soot, and they're biodegradable. The wax from soy candles can be cleaned up with just soap and water.

Christy at Soy Candles by Soy Delites sent me two of their signature glass candles to try, one in Ginger Lemongrass scent and the other Vanilla, as well as a set of tealights in a variety of scents. I've had the Ginger Lemongrass candle on the end table in our family room, which is where we spend most of our time, and I love the clean citrus-y fragrance. Vanilla is probably my favorite candle scent, and the Soy Delites version is very nice and not at all overpowering. The candles are lasting a long time and the glass containers are perfectly clean - no soot!

WIN IT

Christy at Soy Candles by Soy Delites has generously offered one of their 9 ounce Glasses in your choice of scent. Here's how you can win it;


MAIN ENTRY
Visit Soy Candles by Soy Delites, have a look around, come back here and comment with something you learned on their site (other than what I've mentioned in this post.) You must do this FIRST in order for any of your entries to count.

EXTRA ENTRIES

~Follow me PUBLICLY on Google Friend Connect. Include your Google Friends user name in your comment. Make sure I can see your name in My Followers on my sidebar.

~Follow me @amylou61 and Soy Candles by Soy Delites on Twitter and Tweet about this Giveaway. Be sure to link to this post. Leave a comment with a direct link to your Tweet. Your tweets must be PUBLIC for this to count. You may copy/paste this Tweet:
Win a candle from Soy Candles by Soy Delites at Peace & Quiet: http://tinyurl.com/yjcf6zr

~Blog about this Giveaway, linking to this post. Leave another comment with a link to your post.

PLEASE make sure your email is either linked to, or included in your comment. Entries will be accepted until December 19th at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be drawn by random.org and validated per rules. US & Canada addresses. Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply before an alternate winner is chosen. Good Luck!

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I received free products in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion, and was not influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Review & Giveaway: The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank

From Harpercollins.com

Still spry at ninety-three, Theodora has lived long enough to see her family grow into an insufferable bunch of truculent knuckleheads. Having finally gathered the whole bickering brood together for the holidays at her South Carolina home, the grand matriarch pines wistfully for those extravagant, homey Christmases of her childhood. How she misses the tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, the over-the-top decorations, those long, lovely fireside chats with Pearl, her grandmother's beloved housekeeper and closest confidante. These days, where is the love and the joy . . . and the peace?
But this is, after all, a magical time. Someone very special has heard Theodora's plea—and is about to arrive at her door with pockets full of Gullah magic and enough common sense to transform this Christmas into the miracle it's truly meant to be.

About the Author

Dorothea Benton Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of Bulls Island (William Morrow, 2008), The Christmas Pearl (William Morrow 2007), The Land of Mango Sunsets (William Morrow 2007), Full of Grace (William Morrow 2006), Pawleys Island (Berkley 2005), Shem Creek (Berkley 2004), Isle of Palms (Berkley 2003), Plantation (Jove 2001), and Sullivan's Island (Jove 2000). Her newest book, Return to Sullivans Island, will be released by William Morrow June 30, 2009.

My Review

Dorothea Benton Frank has been one of my favorite authors for several years. She writes wonderful stories that take place in and around Charleston, SC and it's barrier islands. Her books are well-written, with colorful, lovable, and sometimes eccentric characters that I've enjoyed getting to know. The Christmas Pearl is a story about several generations of a Southern family, rich with traditions and history, who seem to have forgotten what is truly important about family and Christmas. The eldest member of this family, Theodora, longs to guide her family toward the values and traditions she grew up with, but is at a loss as to how to go about this. Help comes to her, in a most unusual way, and soon her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren begin to see what a magical time Christmas is meant to be.

I loved reading this book, and I know I'll read it again. It put me in the mood to begin my own preparations for a meaningful family Christmas. And if a great read isn't enough to entice you to pick up this book, there are dozens of recipes that the author has collected from her family and friends, including Beet Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Goat Cheese, Charleston Red Rice, Hot Crab Dip, Fruited and Glazed Ham, Breakfast Casserole, Rum Balls, and Apricot Brandy Pound Cake, just to name a few. Yummy!

The Christmas Pearl is available for purchase at HarperCollins.com.

Giveaway

Thanks to Shawn and HarperCollins Publishers, I'm giving away 3 copies of The Christmas Pearl!

MAIN ENTRY: You must do this FIRST, in order for your entry to count. Tell me something about your family's Christmas traditions, or share a favorite holiday recipe.

EXTRA ENTRIES

~Follow me PUBLICLY on Google Friend Connect. Include your Google Friends user name in your comment. Make sure I can see your name in My Followers on my sidebar.
~Follow me on Twitter (@amylou61) AND Tweet this Giveaway, linking to this post in your tweet. Leave a link to your Tweet in a comment. Your tweets must be PUBLIC for this to count.
~ Favorite Peace & Quiet on Technorati and leave your user name in a comment.
~Grab my button and post it on your Blog's sidebar. Include a link to it in a comment.

PLEASE make sure your email is either linked to, or included in your comment. Entries will be accepted until December 11th at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be drawn by random.org and validated per rules. US & Canada addresses. Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply before an alternate winner is chosen. Good Luck!

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion, and was not influenced by the sponsor in any way.