Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Recipes of a Dumb Housewife- Lorina Stephens

My husband is quite used to seeing a pile of books on the kitchen table waiting for review. However this one caught his eye - " A cookbook!" - and so I had to wait my turn to read this book from Five Rivers Chapmanry.

"Recipes" is conveniently divided into categories - suppers, soups, pasta, sweet tooth, breads, salads and a few more. I have to admit it - I skipped right to sweet tooth!

Many of Lorina's recipes have been developed over time with an eye towards nutrition, flavour, time and budget. Not one to let something go to waste, she has developed recipes incorporating leftovers or what happened to be in the pantry at the time. She is both imaginative and frugal without forsaking taste. The result is a collection of unpretentious 'down-home' fare.

Now back to that sweet tooth section. Citrus Cake was developed as a way to use up those oranges and grapefruits languishing in the crisper. As I happened to have some of those on hand, this was the first recipe I tried. Delicious and perfect with an afternoon cup of tea. I next tried " Really Bad For You Chocolate Orange Pie". Ohh but it was really really good!

My husband asked for the stuffed peppers - perfect as the garden is full of them right now. This recipe is also part of the Starving Student repertoire Lorina developed for her son when he went to university. My husband loved them.

Nutritional information is offered for each recipe.

Ohh, and about that title? Stephens is anything but a dumb housewife. She also writes fiction and is an artist who works with many mediums. She'll be on a virtual book tour this month - you can catch up with her here.

Many thanks to MiniBookExpo for the opportunity to review this book!

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