Last Minute Mother’s Day:Favorite Cookbooks

Here’s to moms,especially mine!

So I am always late getting out a post right before a holiday. Maybe because it gets so crazy around here. This last month of school there seems to be an “event”everyday! The garden always needs tending. The Guinea Ginny has a respiratory infection. We are spending Mother’s Day weekend in the Bay Area,which is fun,but means I have to pack for sun and rain. And to top it all off,I tried to make another dress for Claire while finishing up the one from last week. And I emphasize tried. I ended up cutting the fabric wrong (that’s what I get for doing too many things at once),so I’ll have to start again next week. I’ll post them when I am done. I find it ironic that Mother’s Day (which is also my birthday this year) is always at the busiest time of year.

But in the mists of all this chaos,a little one  has made me smile and remember what it’s all about.  Yesterday,we went to an assembly at Claire’s school while the teacher’s had an appreciation lunch. During the presentation,the entertainer ask for a volunteer to sit on an adults shoulders. Ross had been wanting to participate the whole time and now was his chance. So after we got him up there,he was asked his name. He very confidently and clearly stated,“Exercise Boy.”The place roared! And that’s why we are moms. Because we love our exercise boys,princesses,monsters,and dancers!

I also received an email this week,telling me that Natural Mom,Healthy Child was listed as one of the 100 Awesome Blogs for All-Natural Moms on Nursingschools.net. This is a great resource for blogs on raising  naturally and environmentally aware families. What a nice Mother’s day gift!

If you are like me,you love getting a new beautiful as well as practical cookbook. So I thought I would provide you with a few of my favorites!

1. Joy of Cooking by Rombauer,Rombauer,and Becker:If you own only one cookbook,I would hope it is this one. While it isn’t very exciting,it provides all information for preparing,cooking,and baking almost anything. I still have not come across an ingredient that was not in this book!
2. The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters:This is a beautifully simple cookbook. It doesn’t overwhelm you,but has straight forward recipes with simple and few recipes. I also love that she also gives you alternate ways to make the recipes seasonally.
3. Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson:This is my favorite cookbook! It’s gorgeous! And it also a great introduction to whole foods and natural cooking. It has great summaries of what to use and what not to (and why). You may recognize Heidi’s recipes from 101cookbooks.com,I subscribe to her blog and it’s always inspiring. Heidi’s recipes are some of the only ones I don’t use substitutions.
4. My Nepenthe by Romney Steele:I read this and I feel like I am coming home,even though I have never lived in Big Sur. It’s half biography,half cookbook and all wonderful. The recipes feel like something your grandmother would make,homey and inviting. The photographs are amazing,like a piece of history. I also subscribe to her blog mynepenthe.com.
5. Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver:I just got this at the library (literally today),but I am going to have to buy this one. It takes you through a year of gardening and recipes with Jamie Oliver. I haven’t read any of his other books,but I love this book. You feel like your reading a casual conversation with a friend. I find this very inspiring. Many chefs say,if I can do it,you can. But I actually believe it when Jamie says it. I find myself wanting to make foods I don’t even like. Maybe he’ll change my mind.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day!