What I've been reading in 2014...

Thanks to the kindle app on my smart phone, read.amazon.com, and my original kindle... I've been reading a lot more these past few years... I thought I'd share what I've currently read in 2014. There's no rhyme or reason to the books on this list. I have a lot of different interests in both fiction and non-fiction. I'm extremely interested in different religious/denominational/spiritual experiences and memoirs. And I love the Harry Potter series and A Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snickett.  I also love reading cookbooks, and re-reading juvenile adult (JA) books from my teenage years. What have you read this year? What to do plan to read before the year is over?

I generally read 4-5 books at a time, depending on my mood, time of day, etc...

You can find all these books by searching via name and author on Amazon if you're interested.

What I've read so far in 2014:

• $1 Per Pound Grocery Shopping by Mary Frances Pickett
• A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
• Abducted by T.R. Ragan
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (entire series) by Lemony Snickett
• All Things Bright & Beautiful by James Herriot
• Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times by Clark Howard
• Crazy, VA by Shannon Hill
• Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
• Daughters of Zion by Kim Taylor
• Deviation by P.D. Workman
• Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Escape by Carolyn Jessop
• Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
• George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
• Happy(ish) by Cara Trautman
• Homecoming by Cynthia Voight
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• Love Times Three by the Darger Family
• Lyddie by Katherine Peterson
• Murder Shoots the Bull by Anne George
• One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (and following books in the series, I'm up to 14 currently...)
• Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
• Radical Frugality by Nic Adams
• Sarah Plain & Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• Shattered Dreams Restored by Irene Spencer
• Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer
• Soup & Bread Cookbook by Martha Bayne
• The Anti-Inflammation Diet & Recipe Book by Jessica Black
• The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (I read these at least once a year, if not several times a year!)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
• The Pinballs by Betsy Byars
• The Tao of Paleo by Michelle Connelly
• The Twits by Roald Dahl
• The Walking Dead #1 by Robert Kirkman
• Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

What I'm currently reading:

• Buddism for Busy People by David Mitchie
• Mormonism for Dummies by Jana Riess and Christopher Kimball Bigelow
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
• A Study in Scarlett by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet -- Gave up after 5-6 chapters, too depressing (dystopian, about the future, etc... we're doomed folks... lol)
• Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Gluten-Free Book Review: Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide & Cookbook

Back in December my friend Hallie Klecker asked me to review her newest e-book. A wonderful collaboration written with Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free. This book, "Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide & Cookbook" is exactly that: a perfect place to start when you go gluten-free and dairy-free.

What I love about this amazing little book is that it not only gives you a full description of what gluten-free and dairy-free REALLY means... it also gives you list after list of foods you can eat, foods you should avoid, shopping lists, a menu planner, etc... this book is a one-stop-shop for learning how to fully become both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Hallie and Alisa have also created 75 delicious recipes that will get you started on your gluten-free & dairy-free journey. How do these recipes sound:

• Banana Cream Pie Shake
• Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Biscuits
• Maple Apple Turkey Sausages
• Weeknight Chicken & Vegetable Chili
• Fresh Salmon salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing
• Florentine Flatbread "Pizza" 
• Chicken Curry in a Hurry!
• Chewy Dark Chocolate Brownies
• Maple Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Then, in addition to all of the mouth-watering recipes, you'll also receive meal planning tips and hints which show you how to cut down on prep time and make weeknight gluten-free & dairy-free cooking fast and easy. 

Would you like a copy of this book? (And you absolutely should!)  I'm giving away one electronic kindle copy of this book! Simply leave a comment on this blog post letting me know why you'd like this book and what recipe you would try first! 

*******************

The Giveaway:

• I am giving away one brand new electronic kindle copy of Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook. 
• This giveaway is open to everyone. 
• One entry per person.
• Enter by leaving a comment below on this post AND please include a way for me to contact you -- your email address preferably.
• The giveaway begins March 27, 2013 and ends on March 31, 2013  at 11:00 pm eastern daylight savings time.
• No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  
• The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winners will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

GLG Disclosure: 

Hallie Klecker provided me with an electronic copy of 'Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook' for the purpose of sharing an online review, if I chose to do so. I am personally purchasing the new e-book that is being given away. This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive compensation. The opinions in this post are completely my own. 

This Week's Menu - Kindle Cooking!

I never thought I'd say this.... but I am now the proud owner of a kindle. And I loooovvvvvvvveeeee it. I really didn't think I would love it. But I seriously loooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee it. I mean I really, really love it.  So far I've read three four books (I got it on Wednesday)... not listened to them... but actually READ them! I honestly haven't done that in years. Sad to say.

And on top of that.... I found a few super great deals on cookbooks I could download on my kindle... so another thing I never thought I'd do? I cooked from the kindle.

When I've actually had the time to do it in the past few months I've started cooking all of our meals on Sundays. My friend Angie has done this for ages and I've done it occasionally in the past few years... but now it's become the norm.

So Sunday while browsing through "Fix, Freeze, Feast" on my kindle -- which is actually more of a "freezer" cookbook, I found ideas for nearly all of our meals this week. It's become a running joke between my dietitian & I that ONE day soon (I've been saying that for probably a year now) we'll have a deep freezer... and it still hasn't happened (but it WILL! One day soon!).... so while I couldn't really take advantage of the freezer part of the recipes... it gave me great ideas for the week.

This Week's Menu: 

• Monday: Chicken Zucchini Casserole... I've been obsessed with this recipe ever since my friend Betty made it for Michael and I a few months ago when we went to visit. The casserole I made last night is a super altered version that includes chicken, rice, and no eggplant. I actually substitute zucchini for the eggplant when we have made it closer to the original directions. 

• Tuesday: Austrian Pork Goulash -- From Fix, Freeze, Feast served with steamed broccoli

• Wednesday: Simple Slow Cooker Beef Stew -- 1 pound stew beef, handful of baby carrots, half an onion roughly chopped, handful frozen peas, 2 chopped red potatoes, about 3 cups beef broth, salt & pepper... literally thrown into the slow cooker and cooked on low for 8 hours... 

• Thursday:  Chicken hash with red potatoes, green peppers, and onions  -- idea from Fix, Freeze, Feast

• Friday:  Mustard-Oregano Pork Chops -- From Fix, Freeze, Feast with garden peas & sauteed zucchini

Breakfasts: I made "regular" bagel sandwiches for hubs to take to work with him (this was cheaper than buying the frozen ones he really likes! lol) and for myself I used the same hash brown ingredients for the chicken hash above, but used eggs in place of the chicken for a breakfast hash for myself to take to work. 

Lunches: are leftovers! 

Desserts: fresh fruit... this has been my dessert of choice lately (we won't mention the fact that I ate nearly ALL of the grain-free, no-sugar-added chocolate cake -- that's a dangerous cake, especially when you add raspberry preserves on top!) my friend Heather gave me some ripe kiwi, which I haven't had in years so kiwi and peaches are my favorite this week!

Do you have a favorite kindle cookbook?? Please share! And so you're in the know... my slow cooker cookbook coming out this fall will be available for the kindle, nook, etc... so if you've become an e-cookbook lover, you'll be good to go! :-) 

Gluten Free Baking *101* E-Cookbook

 

This little book has been a long time in the making!  Several years ago I started teaching a basic gluten free baking class out of my home and I created this instructional cookbook as the teaching material. 

It's been through quite a few revisions now and instead of only having about 6 basic recipes, it's been revised to contain 24 recipes. Many of these recipes are my favorites here on the blog, but quite a few are brand new recipes that I've both created & adapted to the gluten free/casein free/soy free diet. While this book does not contain hundreds of recipes, I believe the selections here will be some of the most useful recipes for everyday gluten free baking in your kitchen. 

I told my husband a few months ago, that out of all the gluten free cookbooks I had in my kitchen, my printed copy of Gluten Free Baking *101* was the cookbook I used most often for my own baking. That was surprising to me and I wondered if a simple gluten free recipe book with basic, reliable recipes would be just as useful to others. I feel confident that you too will come to rely on this small collection of exceptional gluten free recipes!

A few highlights from the book: 

• Most of the recipes contained in this book rely on my favorite gluten free flours: brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and arrowroot starch. 
• The recipes are easy to follow and budget-friendly.  
• The  beginning chapter gives you background information on ingredients, teaches you how to prevent cross-contamination in your kitchen, and how to create your own gluten free flour mixes. 
• Includes recipes for our favorite chocolate chip cookies, my Dad's best pancakes, the Gluten Free Master Baking Mix -- along with 6 additional Master Mix recipes, a brand NEW and EASY recipe for gluten free sandwich bread,  and many others!

I'm proud of this little book, I've worked hard on it and I'm now happy that I can share it with you. I hope these recipes are as helpful to you as they have been to my family.

You can find this e-book in my "store" located at the top of my page -- http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/p/store.html, along with ordering it from clicking on the pictures above and below.

 Ginger Lemon Girl's Gluten Free Baking *101* E-book

By: Carrie S. Forbes

A basic gluten free instructional cookbook including 24 of Carrie's favorite gluten free recipes.

This cookbook contains many of the best & most used recipes from here on GingerLemonGirl.com, along with additional brand new recipes that are not available on the website. 

$12.00 USD
NOW only $4.99 USD

Click here to purchase! 

E-book will be sent as a PDF file to your email within 24 hours of ordering.