Synopsis "Dinner At Home: Advice and Encouragement for the Untrained Home Cook"
If I can cook - you can cook. I've been feeding my family relatively healthy meals made at home and mostly from scratch for almost a decade, but the learning curve was steep! If you're overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy in the kitchen, I want to hold your hand while you take the next step toward better providing for your family. "Dinner at Home: Advice and Encouragement for the Untrained Home Cook" is both an encouraging resource and the hilarious account of all of the mistakes I've made and adventures I've had while learning to cook.Inside, you'll find advice and instruction on these topics and more: -Reading recipes-Menu planning-Stocking your kitchen-Overcoming cooking anxiety-Extending hospitality to others-Saving money on food-Serving simple but healthy mealsNo matter where you are on your journey, "Dinner at Home" will offer you practical helps and moral support to accompany you as you try new foods and methods of food preparation.In an effort to reach families in crisis with this message of hope, I'll be donating one print copy of my book to family support organizations for every ten copies sold. Your purchase helps me to help them move at-risk families toward stable self-sufficiency.*****""By opening with an anecdote about not knowing how to boil water as a child, the author makes herself and her narrative very accessible. The premise of the volume is clear: this is not a cookbook but rather a guidebook for readers who feel unskilled or inept in the kitchen. The tips are sensible, caring and sometimes funny. The author writes from the perspective of someone who is largely self-taught in the skill of creating a meal at home, from scratch, that is healthy and nutritious. And that's where the content of her book focuses. With simple graphics such as the outline of a crock pot and a measuring spoon, plus the generous use of lots of charts, bullet points, boxes and bold face text, the author provides a volume that could easily sit in a kitchen for quick and handy reference. There are tips on not only how to prepare a meal, but how to prepare the menu. There are tips and charts, very practical ones, on what temperatures to cook various meats at, or what to put into a freezer and what to put in the refrigerator. The text is also sprinkled with testimonials from other noted cooks and personalities about their learning curves in the kitchen, validating the author's egalitarian approach. The most basic help is offered when the author provides sample menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks, making it altogether very easy for a reader to have confidence in the kitchen." -Judge, 25th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards
