A worthwhile choice for focused amateur chefs or holistic-minded readers.
Jnawali and Da Mata’s cheerful debut cookbook highlights the health benefits of Nepal’s plants, spices and herbs in accessible vegetarian recipes.
The book was developed during a one-on-one, five-month culinary workshop that the Nepalese Jnawali taught to Da Mata, a Brazilian ayurvedic practitioner looking to incorporate Nepal’s food-based medicinal properties into her work. The central ingredients range from the ubiquitous—plain rice, corn, lentils—to the lesser known, such as cheura, a parboiled rice hand-beaten with bran; and karela, a bitter gourd that’s rich in calcium and potassium. The recommended preparations promote ease over precision and favor herbs, spices and plants indigenous to Nepal. Despite the recipes’ simplicity, Jnawali has grander goals: to promote the joy of cooking and to raise awareness of the value and convenience of Nepal’s local and seasonal foods. The smaller second section offers a glossary of spices and herbs, including their medicinal value, which can serve as a guide for readers intrigued by how they’re used in treatments in much of South Asia. The cheerful, appetizing photos and simple instructions will be helpful for beginners. Some readers, however, may not be able to easily access many of the required ingredients (such as ghee, fenugreek and taro) at their local grocery stores. They can still find some benefit, though, in the appendices at the end of the book, which offer tips for skin and hair care and cures for all sorts of ailments; for example, garlic and onion juice can be used to soothe a toothache, and mashed bananas to lessen a burn. For a committed novice looking to delve into the basics of Nepali cooking and health practices, this book is an excellent place to begin.
A worthwhile choice for focused amateur chefs or holistic-minded readers.Pub Date: July 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-1493135387
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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