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Cookbook Giveaway!!!! Two Ways to Go Green: Preserving vs. Eating Fresh

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Thanks to the generosity of From Storey Publishing, I have two yummy books to giveaway! in Put ’em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman.

My love of things in mason jars is well documented on this blog, so it’s about time I looked into the original purpose of jars: preserving. Everything you ever wanted to learn about canning and preserving can be found in Put ’em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook. Author Sherri Brooks Vinton easily won me over to the virtues of “putting Up” (aka preserving). She writes “The jams are fruitier, the pickles are more flavorful, and the chutneys and relishes will trick out your dinner table like nothing else.” Aside from greater tasting food, preserving allows you to rely less on imported produce and go green by preserving locally grown foods. The book opens with a section on all the techniques you need to know, the equipment you need and step-by-step instructions with illustrations for each method of preserving. Much of the book is devoted to over 150 recipes for herbs and every fruit and vegetable from apples to watermelon, including such gems as pickled asparagus, szechuan beans, candied citrus rind, charred chilies, fennel confit, rhubarb chutney and spiced pear vodka.

Recipes from the Root Cellar also celebrates the bounty of local harvests, but with an almost contrary premise: that of enjoying local, fresh vegetable in their seasons rather than import say, asparagus in January. As author Andrea Chesman writes, “Between an awareness that processed and exotic foods bring with them a significant carbon footprint and a shortfall in many household economies in the grip of a global recession, eating more humble vegetables makes sense.” The collection offers over 250 recipes with inspiration to enjoy seasonal veggies through the coldest months and pulls hardy greens, winter squashes, and root vegetables from hiding. After a hearty introduction covering  how to buy and store individual greens and veggies and how to cook and prepare them. The book is filled with recipes aplenty, from soups and salads, vegetarian main dishes, main dishes with seafood, poultry and meat, and even desserts. Recipes include Curried Rice Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing, Carrot-Mustard Slaw, Apple-Squash Bisque, Portuguese Kale Soup, Rutabaga Chips, Leek and Goat Cheese Pizza, Lemon-Braised Chicken with Turnips, Spicy Meat Lo Mein, and Pumpkin Waffles.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!! Leave a comment to this post before midnight August 30 EST and I will choose a winner randomly to win both Put ’em Up! and Recipes from the Root Cellar. (Be sure your comment links somewhere with contact information or you leave an email address in case you win.)

[tags]giveaway, books, green, preserving, canning, root vegetables[/tags]

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Comments

  5. Ohhhh!! These cookbooks look wonderful!! I LOVE to cook, bake…you name it! I am one of those kind of moms who tries a new recipe at least once a week!! Needless to say…I am a cookbook fanatic!

  7. I would love some new ideas for canning. I love this site. What a great give away. Debbie

  8. I just got my mom into canning too! We started with pickles and salsa they turned out great! The only issue we have is the top to our canning pot is warped – any suggestions on a new canning system? I’ve looked online and the price varies – I would want an affordable one.

  11. Wow these are some awesome books! I checked out put’um up from the library, and was going to copy a few of my favorite pages, but they are all so great, I figured I should just get the book instead. The root cellar book is right up my alley too! If I don’t win these books, they will both end up on my amazon wish list by September 1 🙂
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  14. I am always looking for more recipes and instruction for preserving food. This is exactly where my focus and energy are going these days. This would be a perfect gift.

  18. I would love this book! This is my second year of having my own organic garden and I need ideas on how to preserve all my fresh produce. I am also working on trying to integrate more local products into my diet. Thanks!

  19. I really have a things for Mason Jar too!
    I often use one as a glass 🙂
    I started doing this after I went to a bar where they serve drinks only in jars.

  25. I’ve been meaning to strat making my own jams and pickles, this would be a great incentive!
    abrilgmolina at gmail dot com

  26. My son, who has just started his apprenticeship as a chef, would love these.
    Thanks for the comp.

  28. I have just started canning, so the put em up book would be perfect. I also struggle with interesting ways to cook root veg, so that book would be great as well.

  30. I’ve been canning for several years and my daughters are learning to do the same. These would be great books for them in the future. Thanks!

  32. This would be great! I’ve been wanting to start canning for awhile now. I remember doing it with my Grandma as a child and want to share it with my children, too. Plus, it all tastes so yummy!

  33. I just had my first garden this summer. We’ve been canning salsa, pizza sauce, pasta sauce & green beans and have frozen limas and corn. These books would be awesome for me as we are already starting to plan our sophomore garden…which is being enlarged to about 1/2 acre…yippee!!

  34. These books sound great! Love any type of “back to the land” books. Thanks for the giveaway.

  35. Would love to win this book. Might help me to eat more vegies, not to mention the kids. This book can only be helpful and improve my diet and lifestyle.

  38. I’ve been on a jam making spree lately finding inspiration on the blogs, but I’d love to try out some of the recipes in these books. Thanks for the opportunity 😀

  42. I am new to this site and have just taken up crochet and trying to learn to cook – both are having some interesting results! So I got myself a crochet book and now just need some nice lovely cook books to help me on my way ?

  43. I love canning but I have only been doing fruit. I would love to really branch out and get more brave.

Have you read?

How Much Do You Really Need? A No-Stress Party Drinks Guide for Real Women Who Host

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over years of hosting everything from kids’ birthdays to backyard 50ths, it’s this: running out of drinks will haunt you forever, and overbuying means staring at a fridge full of lukewarm mixers for the next six months. Neither is fun. So I finally sat down—cup of tea in hand, Aloo asleep at my feet—and pulled together the no-nonsense drinks calculator I wish I’d had years ago.

This guide is written for the woman who does it all: planning, prepping, pouring, smiling through the chaos… while trying to make the whole thing feel effortless. Whether you’re throwing a birthday bash, retirement party, holiday get-together, or the classic “just because we need a night with the girls,” this calculator will take the guesswork out.

Let’s keep it simple, doable, and totally stress-free.

The 3-Rule Party Drink Calculator
 (You can literally plan your whole bar with this.)

  1. Assume 2 drinks per guest in the first hour
     People arrive thirsty. They mingle. They top up.
  2. Then 1 drink per guest per hour after that
     This is where the pace naturally slows.
  3. Multiply by your party length
     Done. No apps, no math headaches, no complicated charts.

Quick Cheat Sheet: What to Buy for 10, 20, 30, or 50 Guests

For a 3-hour party:

10 Guests
 – Wine: 3–4 bottles
 – Beer/Cider: 12–18 bottles
 – Spirits: 1 bottle vodka or gin + 2 mixers
 – Soft drinks: 4–6 litres
 – Water: 4–6 litres

20 Guests
 – Wine: 6–8 bottles
 – Beer/Cider: 24–36 bottles
 – Spirits: 2 bottles + 4–5 mixers
 – Soft drinks: 8–10 litres
 – Water: 10 litres

30 Guests
 – Wine: 10–12 bottles
 – Beer/Cider: 36–48 bottles
 – Spirits: 3 bottles + 6–8 mixers
 – Soft drinks: 12–14 litres
 – Water: 12–16 litres

50 Guests
 – Wine: 15–20 bottles
 – Beer/Cider: 60–80 bottles
 – Spirits: 4–5 bottles + 10 mixers
 – Soft drinks: 20 litres
 – Water: 20–25 litres

If You’re Serving Mostly Wine
 Go 60% white, 40% red unless it’s winter, then flip it.

For afternoon parties, rosé counts as a white—buy a couple bottles because someone always wants it.

If You’re Serving Cocktails
 Stick to one signature cocktail plus a basic spirit (vodka or gin) with soda or tonic. Trust me, nobody needs a full bar unless you’re running a hotel.

For a 20-guest gathering:
 – 2–3 bottles liquor for the signature cocktail
 – Enough mixer to match (lemonade, juice, ginger beer, etc.)
 – Garnishes: limes, lemons, mint, berries
 – 2kg ice for shaking and topping

If You’re Serving Beer Drinkers
 Plan for 1.5 bottles per person per hour if beer is the star of the show.
 Beer-focused gatherings are thirstier gatherings. It’s science.

Don’t Forget Ice — Seriously
 Ice is the one thing everyone underbuys. You need more than you think.

Ice Guide:
 – Small gathering (10 guests): 3–4 kg
 – Medium (20–30): 6–8 kg
 – Large (50): 10–12 kg

If it’s summer, add another 20%.

Essential Mixers That Always Get Used
 – Soda water
 – Tonic
 – Lemonade
 – Cola
 – Cranberry juice
 – Orange juice
 – Ginger beer
 – Fresh citrus (honestly the unsung hero of any bar)

Keep it simple; nobody needs lychee cordial at a 60th birthday unless you really love lychee.

Water, Water, Water
 Your future self will thank you. Hydrated guests dance more, complain less, and recover beautifully.

Plan for 1 litre per person minimum.
 More if it’s hot, outdoors, or includes dancing (my favourite cardio).

When in Doubt, Buy a Little Extra
 You can always send guests home with leftover cans and bottles. It doubles as a quiet nudge to clean your fridge.

The only time I truly regret buying extra is when Aloo gets into the recycling bin the next day and has the time of his life spreading cans around the backyard.

Hosting Made Easier
 Once you’ve used this drinks calculator once or twice, it becomes instinctive. And honestly, when you’ve got the drinks sorted, the rest of the party feels lighter. No frantic runs to the bottle shop, no panic when the rosé runs out. You get to relax, enjoy, and actually be present at your own gathering—what a concept.

 

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