New Year, New Reviews!

A new year…what to do what to do…??? 

Hey, I know! I’ll do some baking with the kids and Greta the Kitchen Witch for a new review…and then read up on some Swedish living!

I’ll start with….

Sweet Revenge: Passive-Aggressive Desserts For Your Exes & Enemies

Sweet Revenge

“Stop your bitchin’ and get in that kitchen” – Heather Kim, Revenge Is Best Served Warm.

I couldn’t wait to open this book. My first thought was, “is this going to have like gummy worms coming out of a scary looking cupcake?” Haha…the answer is…NO! The author is lovingly baking sweet revenge on a very clever adventurous level! 

Mind bubble: “How do I heal all that unresolved emotional pain…..”

The author explains her point of view in “Revenge Is Best Served” and I have to admit…it actually made me cry-in a GOOD way.  She makes great points about what to do with the energy we sometimes misuse because we might be feeling THAT angry at someone else. Why not do something more constructive with it, all in the name of SWEET love!

Mind bubble: “I’ll be sticking it back to you with sugar and pickles-HUGS!”

Now I don’t consider myself a very gifted baker, but I felt VERY adventurously inspired to try at least ONE of these recipes…okay, maybe two. (Include the kids!)

Sweet Revenge Blog 4

The peanut buttercream frosting for “You’re Driving Me Bananas” was a HIT with the youngsters, “Give me more!”

I TOTALLY dig this! 

Sweet Revenge Blog 2

“You’re Driving Me Bananas” cupcake topped with candied bacon and a pickle!

Sweet Candy

Don’t be afraid to melt that candy down!

Sweet Bacon

The butterscotch candy actually DOES clean off pots and spoons easily! Make sure to use parchment paper when assembling!

The kids had a LOT of fun icing these cupcakes-I told my Daughter she would definitely be inheriting this book when she’s old enough! 

Sweet Kids Frosting

The kids did a great job on these!

NOTE for newbie bakers: Don’t forget to SPRAY THOSE CUPCAKE WRAPPERS BEFORE POURING IN THE BATTER – a lesson I myself learned today!

Mind bubble: “I once was emotionally hurt but now I’m…I’m….BAKING!!!!”

The second recipe…hehe….the author lovingly calls, Fruck Off.

Mind bubble: “I could have handled things differently, had I known better…”

This fab & fun recipe REALLY impressed my dinner guests from Europe the other night! They had even stated, “This could be served at a restaurant!!!” (Hear that, Heather Kim? You have given us a very delicious GEM here!)

Fruck Off Candy

Seriously, over all the decadent and glorious desserts I’ve tried to impress my guests (AND my kids) with. THIS was the #1 “go-to” winning dessert of the evening! 

Mind bubble: “Fritos meets Reese’s Pieces…I thought it was crazy at first but…

…golly gee, am I pleasantly pleased with these results!”

Fruck Off Dish

Thank you to my friends for trying it and LOVING it!

Candy Friends

Grab a couple of recipes from the book at: RevengeIsSweet

Available at: Amazon.com/SweetRevenge

Another really good detailed review of this book at:
RetroFoodForModernTimes.com

Next up…..

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Live Lagum
Balanced Living, The Swedish Way

Live Lagom

Do you LOVE IKEA? Then you’ll especially LOVE this book!

The first magic that caught my eye here, is that I absolutely LOVE this vintage-like cover! It’s the most beautiful coffee table style book (that I actually really enjoyed reading), that I would also LOVE for my friends to be reading…you know…as they’re sitting on my couch waiting for me to get ready to go out…because it’s just that great of a sit down book. You can turn to any page and get something really cool, insightful and/or inspiring. 

My biggest takeaway here were on balance within extremes and coming from an unconscious excess and waste mindset-sometimes it’s just not our fault, if we are raised a certain way. For me, when I read books on mindfulness and any kind of personal development, I get moved into my own personal evolution via my own inspiration’s and takeaways. I can always make more positive changes. I can always make better decisions that make for a better life experience!

But WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!!

This book also features a chapter on “The Swedish Pantry” that features Swedish inspired mindful recipes…and they look SO GOOD! I get VERY excited when I see a recipe that goes deep in to culture, and these recipes I see myself making for my next tea party! This book is VERY special!

So yes! I REALLY enjoyed this book and I encourage you to at least check it out! Learn about the culture of Sweden! Inspire yourself in it’s playful pictures with words dedicated to a balance of work, home and life!

Available NOW at Amazon.com/LiveLagom

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Chef Style Munchies to 5-Sensory Eating

Munchies
Late-Night Meals from the World’s Best Chefs

by JJ Goode and Helen Hollyman

A book playfully put together by inspiration of Chef’s Night Out.

To note, a lot of these “munchies” are made from scratch. If it’s late at night and your looking for something FAST, I suggest you find something else to eat (and/or drink) and just read this book (ALONG with your other late night snack!) Seriously, though, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a lot of fun reading!

You see, I mislead myself in thinking it would be filled with “easy munchies” recipes….but please know…it’s SO MUCH MORE!

The chapters go through drinks, sandwiches, things with tortillas (THINGS, lol), Morning After recipes and….uh…a chapter called Hardcore! There are 8 chapters total, all the way to desserts!

Munchies took me completely in to another fascinating world built creatively in it’s photos, storytelling and sometimes “strong” words (lol, again), and VERY INTERESTING ingredients! Be prepared-in a playful way!


I feel this book would make a FABULOUS gift to anyone who loves the art of cooking and who has a great sense of humor!

Highlights for me were-

How to make a burrito (the right way and the wrong way)

Poutine Your Way

Best Pizza

Available at Amazon.com/Munchies

EXTRA LINKS

More Munchies Recipes at MUNCHIES/Recipes

Watch Chef’s Night Out at ChefsNightOut/EPISODES

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VEGAN Instant Pot Cookbook

101 Tasty Plant-Based Recipes for your Instant Pot
Thom Logan

Vegan Instapot

For me, I think the recipe selections are GREAT in this book-nothing is too fancy or too “out there”, yet eventful and easy enough to cook in any instant pot! 

So if you have an instant pot, want to focus eating towards MORE PLANT BASED foods AND still want the PLEASURE of eating to be EVENTFUL, please consider this cookbook! 

Seriously, in my opinion, I really feel that the author did a beautiful job inspiring the reader on how EASY cooking can be with one instant pot and plenty of yummy nourishing plant-based ingredients!  

Available at: Amazon.com/VeganInstaPot

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How We Eat With Our Eyes And Think With Our Stomach

Learn to See the Hidden Influences That Shape Your Eating Habits

Melanie Mühl, Diana von Kopp

How we eat with our eyes

I LOVE…LOVE…AND LOVE the information in this book! It’s like mindful eating on speed!  I can’t imagine NOT telling someone to get this book!!! How We Eat… is heading for GREAT SUCCESS! 

This amazing book is so well written and covers SO MUCH about the psychology of eating, emotional connections with food, all sorts of sensory experiences associated with food, and illusions of authorities, how we think of ourselves around others, food noise phobias, music validations and how it can affect our time spent in a restaurant, what and how we order off menu’s, delights vs. disgust psychology, how forks may be more trouble than their worth, and so so so much more-and so much more that one review could possibly never cover! 

I seriously cannot put this book down and I HIGHLY recommend it both for yourself and every friend out there! 

Available NOW at Amazon.com/HowWeThinkWithOurEyes

Also available on Audible at: Amazon.com/HowWeThinkWithOurEyesAudio