Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Sweet Potatoes





Book Summary:

Sweet Potatoes is a cookbook with recipes just for those that love the delicious taste of sweet potatoes. You will learn to do wonderful things with this little cookbook filled with information about the sweet potato and around 60 recipes.

My Thoughts:

I have always been a fan of the sweet potato. From a young age, a common side dish was baked sweet potato with a little butter or pepper and salt. I will admit to feeling slightly horrified the first time I ate sweet potatoes and discovered the normally delicious taste of the sweet potato to be smothered by marshmallows and brown sugar. I have since moved on to enjoying sweet potato in a variety of dishes I make. Imagine my delight with the disclaimer in the introduction that stated no marshmallows had been harmed in the making of these dishes.

This cookbook is perfect for a person who already loves the sweet potato or one who is looking to explore what can be done with one. I enjoyed the introduction to the sweet potato. We are introduced to the different varieties, how to pick out a good sweet potato at the store, knowing what size you need, and how they are grown. All of this is of great help when preparing to make these tantalizing dishes.

I had a difficult time picking just a few recipes to try out. I decided to start with the Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes, The Sweet Potato Big Macs, and the Sweet Potato Trail Mix Cookie. I have to say all three were amazing!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes fresh from the oven.

 

Twice Baked Sweet Potato after adding toppings.

 
 The first recipe I tried was the Twice Baked Sweet Potato. I really liked this meal. It was filling and left a lot of room for customization. I used a lot of the suggested toppings. I switched sour cream for greek yogurt as that is my preference.

The one recommendation I would have is to closely follow the direction to leave some potato. The skin gets really thin and you can easily break it when working with it.

I would definitely make this dish again.

Sweet Potato Big Mac
 Next I tried the Sweet Potato Big Mac. As you can see from the picture, I did not do the two patties and extra bun. I found it to be tall enough that for me personally, it would have been difficult to eat if it was taller. Again, I used the recommended toppings. I switched out iceberg lettuce from mixed greens as personal preference.

Make sure you make the sauce that goes with it. It was incredible. This was my favorite of the recipes tried and I cannot wait to make it again. There was a lot of flavor and I did not miss the meat at all. If you like vegetarian recipes this is a must! I hope to try it on some vegetarian friends soon.

Sweet Potato Trail Mix Cookie.

 
I was excited to make a dessert with sweet potato. I made these cookies for a co-worker's last day party. I was not sure how "sweet potato" cookies would be received. They were a huge hit. I took a whole bunch in, and none came home with me. Everyone was raving about the cookies. They are also one of my new favorite cookies and I will be making them often. There is a lot of flavor and they stay moist.

Some recipes I am looking forward to trying are: Sweet Potato Cinnamon Roll, Sweet Potato Rolls, Sweet Potato Fries, and the Sweet Potato and Raspberry Muffins. Honestly, I want to make all the recipes, but those are some at the top of the list.

This tiny cookbook has moved to the top of my list. I found the recipes easy to make, the flavors incredible, and a good variety of recipes. I am recommending this cookbook to everyone! Enjoy the flavors and please let me know what recipes you try and like.

**I received a free copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.**

*Receiving a free copy of this book does not change my review. It simply provides me with a copy of a book sooner than I would have gotten to it or one I would not have heard about otherwise.

The Essex Serpent





Book Summary:

Cora Seaborne and Will Ransom are two extraordinary people who fall for each other in an unusual way. Cora is a well to do widow from London who moves to Essex parish where Will is the local Vicar. The village is engulfed in rumors about a giant serpent in the marshes. It is said it slithers about devouring people. Cora, who is a naturalist, is intrigued by the serpent and wants to find out more about it. Will sees it as a sign that his Parish has lost their way. Cora and Will find themselves drawn to each other, yet separated by their different views.

My Thoughts:

I found myself identifying with Cora at the start of this novel. I wanted to learn more about this mysterious serpent that everyone was so obsessed with. I wanted to know if it was something to fear or be astounded by. While this story had great potential, I found myself wondering when something was going to happen. There was so much potential between the mysterious serpent and the undertones of romance that as a reader, I felt sure meant anything could happen on the next page. I did not ever find the gripping tale that I expected to.

I appreciated the strong female lead character that is determined to follow her own interests after denying them for so long. I wanted her to succeed and find a character I could love. I never fell in love with the characters and near the end hoped the serpent would come and eat the lot of them simply for something interesting to happen. I thought there was a lot more potential with the set up than was met.

I had also hoped that the tale might be more gothic as it was described to have gothic undertones.  Or perhaps it would be a book geared more for adults similar to The Memoirs of Lady Trent series. But it was not either of these. I think some people might enjoy this book, but for me it was too slow and never reached stated purpose.

*I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review. Receiving a free copy of this book does not change my review. It simply provides me with a copy of a book sooner than I would have gotten to it or one I would not have heard about otherwise.