currently craving: cookbooks

Hi guys.

It's Monday again - eh.

This week promises to be stressful and busy.

To keep from getting overwhelmed I'm focusing on the positive, keeping up with homework, and working on improving a few of my kitchen skills. Because as we all know, there is nothing better than a delicious meal at the end of a hectic day!

With the ever so ginormous World Wide Web, finding recipes and cooking tips online is incredibly easy. However, I'm old school and still swoon over a good cookbook.

While I definitely have a decent collection of cookbooks already, I am ALWAYS on the prowl for another addition. After doing a lot of research, these are the four that I am after this month. :)

1. Meatless - Martha Stewart - Meatless/Vegetarian cookbooks can be hit or miss. I have a couple that I just love and a few that I could throw away and wouldn't miss. The bad ones either make vegetarian cooking way more complicated than it has to be, use strange ingredients, or just give you a big book of salads (because that's all we eat, right?!). After reading the reviews on this Martha Stewart cookbook, I know I will love it. Consider it purchased!

2. Vintage Cakes - I have such a love/hate relationship with baking. I love it because it's exact and the measurements need to be met perfectly (which my inner control freak finds very relaxing), and I hate it because the last thing I need is a cake or batch of cookies sitting on my counter. :) However, I kind of have this dream of being known as the cake lady. You know, the gal who bakes all of her husband and children's birthday cakes, makes amazing pies during the Holidays and puts together a mean cookie tray for all of the neighbors at Christmas?! Yeah, that one! While this cookbook isn't necessarily for amateur bakers, I've read that the instructions are very clear, the recipes are delicious, and the pictures are beautiful! 

3. Keys to the Kitchen: The Essential Reference for Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook - When I was researching the top 10 cookbooks of 2012, this was the first book that popped up on the page. It's been called the modern day Joy of Cooking. From what I've read, it's a wonderful cookbook that is loaded with technique advice, shopping tips, and over 300 original recipes that are all based around whole foods. Definitely adding this to my collection!

4. Dinner: A Love Story - I'm such a sucker for a home cooked meal with my entire family gathered around the table. It literally makes my heart melt just thinking about it. When I was growing up we had dinner as a family every single night, no matter what. It was honestly my favorite part of the day! :) Now that I'm planning a wedding and Joel and I will be starting a family of our own in the next few years, I often catch myself getting excited about someday having dinners around the table every evening with a couple of our own little rascals. Ah! :) This cookbook truly captures what preparing and sharing a meal is all about. Love!

xo