Daily Archives: November 30, 2017

General

Cookbook Giveaway (Just in time for Christmas!)!!!!!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

The winner of the cookbook is Terry Gall of Kamloops, BC.

————————————————————————————-

Thanks to the publishers at Penguin Random House Canada, I have an extra copy of The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day to give away in conjunction with the review I just published on this cookbook. You can read my review of the book here: Cookbook Review of The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day

Please read the following which explains how to participate in this Cookbook Giveaway, then head over to My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Facebook page to enter!

Cookbook Giveaway Rules

These Official Rules govern the Cookbook giveaway. By participating or attempting to participate in the giveaway event, you will be deemed to have received, understood, and agreed to these Official Rules.

This cookbook giveaway event is exclusively for fans of My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Facebook page and who are Canadian residents (excluding Quebec residents).  So, if you have not already become a fan of this Facebook page, and if you wish to participate in the cookbook giveaway event, head on over to https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/ and click the “Like” button on the Facebook page, located just below the cover photograph, and then proceed with the following eligibility steps for the cookbook giveaway:

  1. Click “Like” on the specific Facebook posting that details the cookbook giveaway.
  2. Leave a comment on the posting indicating what your favorite simple food is to make for yourself or your family.
  3. Share the Facebook post about the Cookbook Giveaway (make sure your privacy setting is set to public so I can see that you shared it).

Only individuals who have correctly completed the eligibility criteria above will be eligible for the cookbook draw.

  • No purchase is necessary to participate.
  • This giveaway is open only to Canadian residents (excluding residents of Quebec) having a Canadian mailing address and who are fans of My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Facebook page. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.
  • Only one entry per person.
  • There is one (1) prize only to be won – one (1) copy of The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day cookbook with an approximate Canadian retail value of $32.00. The book for this giveaway has been provided by the cookbook’s publisher, Penguin Random House Canada. The prize is non-transferable and non-exchangeable. It cannot be exchanged for money value.  The prize offering is valid only during the specified allotted time as described in these Official Rules.
  • Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
  • The submission entry period opens at 7:00pm (AST) on November 30, 2017, and closes at 7:00pm (AST) on December 3, 2017. Draw of winner will be made by 9:00pm (AST) on December 4, 2017.
  • All eligible entries received during the submission period will be gathered at the end of the submission period. One entrant will be randomly selected as a potential winner and notified through Facebook. In the event any potential winner does not respond to such notification within 48 hours of having been sent notification, declines the prize for any reason, or does not meet the requirements set forth in these Official Rules, the potential winner will be disqualified and an alternate potential winner may be randomly selected from among remaining eligible entries, or the prize may be cancelled.
  • Potential winner must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question to win.
  • Each entrant is responsible for monitoring his or her Facebook account for potential prize notification and receipt of other communications related to this cookbook giveaway.
  • Once the definitive winner has been determined to have successfully met all the eligibility criteria afore-mentioned, and claimed the prize, his or her name will be announced on My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Facebook page and on this blog posting and, in order to receive the prize, the winner must agree to this publication announcement as a condition of winning.
  • Cookbook prize may not be awarded if an insufficient number of eligible entries is received. The determination of insufficient number of eligible entries will be at the sole discretion of My Island Bistro Kitchen.
  • In order to receive the cookbook, the winner must agree to provide My Island Bistro Kitchen with their Canadian mailing address to which the cookbook will be mailed. This information will be provided to Penguin Random House Canada by My Island Bistro Kitchen for the purposes of mailing the cookbook to the declared winner and the winner must agree to the sharing of their mailing address with Penguin Random House Canada for this purpose. The prize will not be replaced if lost, destroyed, mutilated, or stolen.
  • This giveaway event is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with, Facebook. All entrants agree to release Facebook from any liability with respect to this giveaway event or its prize.
  • All entrants agree to be bound by the rules of this giveaway event and release My Island Bistro Kitchen and all parties associated with this giveaway event from any liability with respect to this giveaway event or of its prize.
  • All decisions by My Island Bistro Kitchen with regards to all aspects of this giveaway event are final.
  • If, for any reason, and in the opinion of My Island Bistro Kitchen, this giveaway event is not capable of running as planned or if it is adversely affected by computer virus, fraud, technical failures, or other causes beyond its control, My Island Bistro Kitchen reserves the right to cancel, modify, or suspend the giveaway event, at any time, and at the sole discretion of My Island Bistro Kitchen, without notice.

To enter this giveaway event, pop on over to My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Facebook page and see the post pinned at the top of the page and follow the instructions on the post.

Good luck!

Cookbook Reviews, General

Cookbook Review of The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day

Title:  The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day 
Author:  Aimée Wimbush-Bourque
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Price: $32.00 (CDN$)
Pages: >300
Available:  Bookstores across Canada and online

Penguin Random House Canada has offered me the opportunity to conduct a review of Aimée Wimbush-Bourque’s latest cookbook, The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day .  Wimbush-Bourque is a Canadian food blogger and former chef who makes her home with her family in Montreal.  Devoted to healthy family-focused food, this is Wimbush-Bourque’s second published cookbook.

The book features a wide collection of 100 varied recipes categorized into seven chapters:  Nourishing Breakfasts, Wholesome Lunches and Snacks, Homegrown Vegetarian, Fresh-Air Gatherings, Everyday Suppers, Simple Bites, Staples, and Preserves Pantry. The book has a general table of contents at the front and then each chapter has a more detailed table of contents listing each recipe to be found in the chapter.  In addition, an index at the back of the book makes it easy to quickly find a particular recipe.  Each chapter is introduced by a 2-page narrative written by the author which lends a personal touch to the book and allows the reader to get to know a bit about the recipe’s creator.

The book is filled with lots of common sense tips to make food preparation easy.  For example, there are tips and hints on how to host a soup swap with friends, fridge organization, how to cook pulses and, of interest to families and office workers, information on lunch box renewal.  Appealing to a wide audience of home cooks, the book contains a mix of recipes that range from old favorites like strawberry rhubarb pie, harvest corn chowder, and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding to more modern dishes like lentil cottage pie with rutabaga mash, tofu vegetable stir-fry with cashews, Tahini maple tea cookies, Tequila-lime BBQ chicken, and tangy quinoa carrot chicken salad.

The recipes are well laid out with instructions using the ingredients in the order in which they are listed.  I found the instructions complete and easy to follow. Each step is clearly delineated and numbered. For the most part, the ingredients would be ones likely to be available in most supermarkets.  Each recipe is introduced by 1-2 paragraphs about the dish and several of the recipes contain useful tips at the end.

Full page color photos accompany each recipe on the page opposite the recipe.  This is important as it gives a benchmark of what the finished dish should look like.  The photos are clean and simple and are not overdone with unnecessary props and styling. This keeps the focus on the food.

Test-driving recipes
The real test of a cookbook comes when you make some recipes out of the book.  I selected three:  Maple-Roasted Pears in Granola (p. 29), Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal (p. 48), and Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek (p. 214).

Maple-Roasted Pears in Granola
These pears are super tasty. I used Bosc pears and my own granola. Brushed with butter and maple syrup, roasted, then topped with granola mixed with maple syrup and roasted for a few minutes more, these are yummy treats served with a dollop of yogurt.  While these are in the Nourishing Breakfast chapter in the book, I’d gladly eat them any day for dessert!

Maple-Roasted Pears with Granola
Maple-Roasted Pears with Granola
Maple-Roasted Pears with Granola
Maple-Roasted Pears with Granola

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal
This is an excellent replacement for the individual packets of quick oatmeal. I made a batch of this mix and now have it in a jar in my desk at work.  Simply add hot water to the mix, stir, and let sit for a few minutes before consuming. I found it took longer than the five minutes that the recipe’s instructions indicated in order for the water to be sufficiently absorbed by the oats. I should point out that I used gluten-free oats for this recipe and perhaps they may take longer than the regular quick cooking rolled oats to absorb the water called for in the recipe. In any event, I didn’t find it a big deal – I just simply let the oats sit a while longer before consuming.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal Recipe
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal Recipe

Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek
I found this recipe easy to make and an interesting combination of three principle ingredients – butternut squash, apple, and leek.  This is a very tasty side dish that would go perfectly with poultry, pork, or beef and I would definitely make the recipe again.

Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek
Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek
Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek Recipee
Butternut Squash Casserole with Apple and Leek Recipee

 

Concluding Thoughts
This is a beautifully planned and laid out book and it is one that I simply enjoy reading.  The focus is on modern healthy foods for modern, busy families. The book itself is printed on high quality paper giving it a distinctively professional and polished look and feel.  In my opinion, this is a lovely collector’s book for anyone with a cookbook collection and is a book that the cook would return to time and again as a kitchen resource tool.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day  from Penguin Random House Canada for the purposes of conducting a review of the cookbook. I received no compensation for this review and was under no obligation to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

The foregoing recipes and photographs were excerpted from The Simple Bites Kitchen: Nourishing Whole Food Recipes for Every Day by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque. Copyright © 2017 by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque. Photos copyright © Tim and Angela Chin. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.