THE PHONY GOURMET

“Somewhere close behind air and water is the need for food.”
― L.J. Martin, Cooking Wild & Wonderful

 

THE PHONY GOURMET

By: Pam Young and Peggy Jones

Genre: Non-fiction, Cookbook

Back years ago when I read S.H.E.written by these two ladies I learned a lot about organization.  I recently wrote a review about that book and decided to look into more books by them. 

While I learned a lot from S.H.E.  I am sad to say I was not overly impressed with “The Phony Gourmet”.  I was hoping for quick fix recipes that weren’t based on already prepared foods like Whoppers from Burger King that you harvest the ingredients out of and throw in a crust. 

Sorry ladies, but if I am going to go to Burger King to get a Whooper I’m going to eat it in its original bread product, not skin it and replace the bread with a crust.  That defeats the entire purpose of going to Burger King in the beginning.

Now if I was still mystery shopping to the point I was getting burgers for free three times a day it might be a recipe I’d consider just for a change in texture, but on a day to day basis.  Nope!

I also didn’t care for their fake cooking hints, like cooking your peelings from your carrots and such in a bundle to make your family think you’ve been cooking.  I don’t know about your households, but that would really cause problems in mine. If my guys smell food, they expect food to eat.

After reading several of the 75 recipes in the book I simply skimmed the rest because quite frankly this was not a cookbook in my estimation.  

In fairness to them though I am pretty much a scratch cook and make a lot of my own mixes as evidenced by my blogs Patterson’s Pantry and Patterson’s Pantry Recipes.  Although I do love a good shortcut recipe on my busy days.   These were not the ones for me.

My overall for this book was a C-.  Sorry ladies.

Jan who is too much a foodie for recipes like what is in this cookbook in OK

S.H.E. SIDETRACKED HOME EXECUTIVES...from pigpen to paradise

“You will never break free to newness until you are utterly disgusted with the old way.- Vernon Howard

S.H.E. SIDETRACKED HOME EXECUTIVES...from pigpen to paradise

By Pam Brace (now Young) and Peggy Jones

Genre: Non-fiction, organization

I first purchased this book back in 1979 when I had reached the end of my rope on trying without success to be constantly on top of all the demands that my home, children and all my other activities put on me.

I used the system for a very long time and then as life smoothed out I veered away from it.  In February 2011 I wrote about it in my blog post “My Life on 3 x 5 cards.”  Shortly after deciding to go back to this system we went back on the road for several months, so my good intentions faded into a distant memory.  Not to mention life re-arranged in numerous ways shortly thereafter.  Since then I’ve been doggedly working on my Princess Plan which seems to fit my schedule better. 

That, however, does not negate the value of this book.  It is a simple way to organize your life, be prepared for anything, know where everything is type of system and I would highly recommend the system to anyone looking for just the right idea for organizing their life.  It could actually be used with the Flylady system, my Princess Plan or any other numerous systems.  

I prefer it over Flylady because it is far more flexible than Flylady and there are no annoying emails throughout the day to nag you to pieces.  Sorry Flylady, but you simply did not work for me and my way of life. 

If you need little reminders throughout the week of chores you planned on doing then this system could easily be incorporated into my overall general decluttering Princess Plan because it deals mainly with the nuts and bolts of day to day organization while my PrincessPlan deals with getting to that magical kingdom called “Clean and Organized.”

It is basically a series of color coded cards that are for certain chores, for daily, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly semi annually and annually.  Each chore has a designated person and you move the cards through the cardbox as the chore is completed.  

There are also cards for gift giving info, calendar of events, menus and much more. 

It is written with humor and takes a realistic approach to being a home executive. 

Pam and Peg walk you through their journey from pigpen to paradise and are honest about some of the pitfalls they fell into.  

Pam’s last name is now Young and the book has been updated and added to over the years.  It also appears they have other books on the market as well.  I’m certain to check those out sometime in the future to see if I can pick up any hints from them as I did from the original book I purchased in 1979.

I give this book an A for being easy to use and understand as well as humorous.

ROOT CELLARING

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.—JRR Tolkien

ROOT CELLARING: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables

Authors: Mike and Nancy Bubel

Genre: Non-fiction, Prepping, Food Storage

I first checked this book out of the library to study it in 1999, I immediately purchased a copy after viewing the book to add it to my home library.  It has been a valuable asset to me ever since.

While there are many books on prepping they often say “store x amount of food per person” but give little or no information on the proper way to do it. 

Watching shows such as “Doomsday Preppers” can also be frustrating.  Many times they will show basements or garages lined with shelve full of glass jars and no information on how or why the storage is set up.  More over everything is in a glass jar.  Those jars cost money and quite frankly if you have an earthquake, a tornado, a blast or anything similar those jars will break. 

What if TEOTWAWKI does happen? Where are you going to get the glass jars in the future or the canning rings to seal said jars?  Good old fashion common sense and a knowledge of the old ways of food storage is essential.

Not a prepper, I know I’m not, but I do like having good nutritional food stored on hand in a proper manner to feed my family at all times. While I do can, dry and freeze foods, some foods can be stored for long periods with little to know preparation in a root cellar. 

No root cellar?  Then create one.  No don’t go rent a backhole and start digging, there are ways every person in the world can root cellar with little or no effort and no hole in the ground, but if you can dig one, so much the better.

In the book Root Cellaring Mike and Nancy Bubel take you through the steps of good root cellaring.  They start you in the very beginning with what to plant that will store well in a root cellar—a good thing to know.  Even if you don’t garden, you can use this info on what to buy in bulk on sale to store in your established dark cool place for proper storage results.

Once you grow the produce they tell you the proper way to harvest your produce (or pick it out at the green grocers) and prepare it for storage to get the longest life out of it.

This is followed up with the care of your stored foods over the cool winter months to help prevent spoilage and loss. 

In section four they tell you numerous ways to create a “root cellar” no matter where you live. Important tips like air flow are included in this section.

They then go on to tell you their own personal experience in doing cellaring and finally recipes are included for those wonderful foods you place in your root cellar. Because after all what is the sense in storing food if you aren’t going to eat it.

While I’ve had this book for many years I still find myself referring back to it periodically to refresh my memory on various aspects of it, or to check on a recipe.

I consider this one of the most valuable homesteading/prepping books on my resources book shelf.  Therefore it gets an A from me.

Jan who needs to tidy up her root cellar and start filling it up again in OK

TIGHTWAD GAZETTES I, II, III

A penny saved is a penny earned”

            -Benjamin Franklin

TIGHTWAD GAZETTES I, II, AND III

By: Amy Dacyczyn

Genere: Non-fiction, Frugal living

First off my confession.  I didn’t just read these three books for the first time.  I have read them over and over ever since the very first one came out.  I re-read them at least once a year because every time I read them I find another good helpful hint. 

While a few of the things in them are now out of date (like uses for film cans—who uses film any more?) and many things (like saving money on diapers) don’t relate to my family or lifestyle now I do still find a wealth of info in them.

From recipes, like her refrigerator dough potato bread that has a myriad of uses, to using wall paper samples to mat pictures the number of money saving tips in the three books is amazing.

Amy once wrote a newsletter that people from all across the nation subscribed to and sent helpful hints to.  In the beginning she included many of these wonderful ideas in the books.  As time went on she added more and more of her own frugal saving ways and three books worth of golden knowledge were the result. 

While there are some repetitions in the books, especially in book three it is worth your time to spend quality time with all three books if you are truly interested in saving money.

While she dropped pretty much out of the public eye after publishing her third book and appears to not have a webpage, that I could find, I did find an interesting article written about an interview with her in 2009

She apparently still holds the same core values she had when she and her family were in the public eye.  It also appears she listens to Dave Ramsey.  A huge plus in my book.

Anyway, this review is about all three of her books.  I rate them highly for their shared wealth of money saving ideas as well as the fact she gives credit where credit is due for the ideas sent to her by others.

I give this newsprint book an A.

Jan who has a long list of “economizes” she has developed from reading these books in OK

THE MURDER OF KING TUT

"Danny Freemont: I try to keep my mind open to anything.
Dr. Azelia Barakat: Any more open and your brains will fall out."

The Curse of King Tut's Tomb

THE MURDER OF KING TUT

BY: James Patteron and Martin Dugard

Genre: A Nonfiction Thriller

As I have mentioned over on my Patterson’s Pantry Blog as a student I adored studying ancient history. While ancient Greece and Rome were my favorites I was also fascinated by the pharaohs of Egypt. So when I came across this non-fiction book written by one of my favorite authors I was thrilled.

I was even more excited to see, according to the cover, it was a non-fiction thriller about the plot to kill the child King Tut I HAD to read it.

Unfortunately it was a disappointment. There was none of the suspense that Patterson usually includes in his books. The ancient history was so chopped up it was hard to follow.

I understand the importance of following the life of Howard Carter, the Egyptologist that un-covered Tut’s burial chamber, but so much time was spent on his failures over a 30 year time span little space was left to do the life of King Tut justice.

The third story running in the book could have been left out entirely or confined to the prologue and epilogue rather than thrown in as well. While I appreciate the fact Mr. Patterson was inspired to write the book there was no need to scatter here and there his plugs for his other books and who was doing what research. Again I would have much preferred more time had been spent in Ancient Egypt, and Tut.

Instead of spending hundreds of words on the long lineage of Tut he could have dealt more with just the lineage of his parents, and especially his stepmother Nefertiti, and how she died. Or more about his child bride and half sister.

Patterson claims they solved the “crime” of King Tut’s murder. I’ll leave you to decide if he did.

My rating for this book is a low B-. More for the research that was done on this book than for the story line.

Jan who will go back to reading the fictional characters of James Patterson’s genius and steer from any future non-fiction written by him in OK

KINGDOM KEEPERS #3: DISNEY IN SHADOW

“Look before you leap, for snakes among sweet flowers do creep”

Proverb quotes

KINGDOM KEEPERS #3: DISNEY IN SHADOW

By Ridley Pearson

GENRE: Fiction, fantasy, Young Adult

Disney Hollywood Studios and Epcot are the two parks covered in this third book of the series. 

Wayne is missing and it is up to the Kingdom Keepers with the help of the two Fairlies to find him before it is too late.

Who is the mysterious lady all decked out in Disney gear that seems to be stalking Finn and the Fairlies? Is she good or evil?  Should they trust her?

Where is Maleficent? These questions and more are asked and answered in this third installment.

I found this book moves faster than the first two books with far more action and intrigue.  Of course the Overtakers are very prevalent in the book complete with new back-ups. 

I particularly liked the exploration of the now defunct Wondersof Life Pavillion .  This quiet Pavillion was one of my favorites of days gone by.  So I was thrilled that they not only included it in the plot but included it as no longer in use. 

The glimpses of the behind the scenes areas continue throughout this book.

Overall, as a dyed in the wool Walt Disney World fan,  I have been enjoying this series of books simply because of where they take place and all the behind the scenes action you get to know about.

The plots are the basic good versus evil stories, but the adventure is well written.

I also like the fact that the teens in the book don’t just skate through disobeying without consequences. 

I must say that unlike many sequels the stories of the Kingdom Keepers are improving with each additional book.  I would give this one a solid B+

Jan who will be Reading the Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play soon in OK

AFTER EARTH

Every walk to the woods is a religious rite, every bath in the stream is a saving ordinance. Communion service is at all hours, and the bread and wine are from the heart and marrow of Mother Earth. -John Burroughs

 

AFTER EARTH

Genre: Sci-Fi Fiction

 

I'm going to be right up front and say the very first few minutes of this movie made me uncertain if I even wanted to watch it. I believe in living with nature, but I am not a "bunny hugger". This movie started out with an environmentalist theme and it put me off. Later my son told me he thought about getting up and going and asking for his money back, but then he remembered we were seeing it for free.

 

As a family we believe everyone has a right to their own opinions about the environment, but no one has a right to shove their beliefs down the throats of others, so when movies start off blaming humans for every problem in the universe it leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

 

Luckily for the movie makers that one reference was all they made to the environmentalist movement. So we stayed to watch the movie. Or maybe it’s not so good for M. Night Shyamalan, because this review is not favorable for it.

 

The premise of the movie, if you haven't gathered it from the movie trailers filling the airways, is that man destroyed the environment and had to flee the planet. The new planet they went to was infested with man destroying beasts, called "Ursa" that were planted there with the sole purpose of hunting man down and killing him by tracking him by the fear pheromone.

 

This is where the movie becomes disjointed and starts to move erratically. Had they followed this story line a bit more the rest of the movie may have been more interesting. One brief glimpse of Will Smith, who plays the father, Cypher Raige, walking or, "ghosting" as it is called in the movie, all around the creatures without being detected is all you truly get of the battles with the Ursa.

 

Let’s stop here and discuss the names, which were for the most part not understandable when the characters spoke them,  in this movie.  First of all the name of the movie to begin with After Earth, it did NOTHING to describe the movie. 

 

The there is Will Smith’s character’s name, that quite frankly none of the three of us viewing the movie could make out what in the world they were calling him during the whole movie.  I had to look it up on the net to find out it was Cyper Raige.  What type of name is that?

 

Jaden Smith’s, Will’s actual son, is named Kitai, at least that one we could understand as Will Smith said it often and loudly in the movie.

 

The only two other characters that seemed to have names in the movie were the mother Faia Raige and the deceased sister Senshi Raige.  

 

Then of course there is Ursa, the creature.  Ursa was a she bear in ancient times, but this thing looked nothing like a bear and they called it both he and she in the movie.

 

That wasn’t the only continuity problem we found in the movie, IF you should decide to see this movie you will see that even when running through a planet with no shoe stores Jaden Smith changes shoes, more than once.  We weren’t looking for continuity problems, but this and others jumped out at us.  We are fans of continuity in our movies and dislike glaring problems with it.

 

One HUGE continuity problem was the fact the movie was NOT what the trailers lead you to believe.  I cannot tell you the reason I say this without ruining the movie for you die hard Will Smith fans.  So I’ll stop there.

 

As you have probably already guessed by all I have typed, the rating on this movie is not very high in this family.  The three of us voted, the votes ranged from a C to a low B in our household.

 

My recommendation, if you are going to see only one movie, this shouldn’t be it, maybe after it comes out on Netflix, but not before then.  Of the two movies we saw Saturday, “Iron Man III” was far better.  You can read my review of it here.

 

Jan who is certainly glad she didn’t pay to see After Earth in OK