Wandering Chopsticks: Vietnamese Food, Recipes, and More: Books

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Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles (Downtown)

After a quick snack at Sarita's Pupuseria Salvadorean Food - Los Angeles and quick snaps around Grand Central Market, we walked over a few blocks to The Last Bookstore for some more pictures. Specifically upstairs, where there were several book sculptures that I'd been wanting to photograph.

The Last Bookstore is huge, with aisles of new and used books, and records. While it's no Powell's City of Books - Portland - Oregon, it's the largest and nicest bookstore I've encountered in my years in SoCal.

Love the antique-looking globe and chair. You can see a hint of the records area in the back.

Lucky New Year by Mary Man-Kong

A while back I bought "Lucky New Year" by Mary Man-Kong from the bargain bin at Amazon. I didn't know what to expect, but have been steadily accumulating a pile of my childhood favorites and some cultural books just because. I was so pleasantly surprised by the clever pop-ups though that I went out and bought four more to give as gifts. (It was a 4-for-3 book promotion.)

The niece, Pablo, baby A, and baby M3 all love the book if that's any kind of endorsement. Wanna see why?

Princess Party Cookbook by Annabel Karmel and Giveaway

Did you stay up late or wake up early to watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton?

Did you pretend to be a princess when you were a little girl?

That would be yes and yes for me. :)

Several months ago, I received a review copy of the "Princess Party Cookbook" by Annabel Karmel and knew right away that it was perfect for a giveaway.

The Berry Bible by Janie Hibler and Giveaway

Earlier this summer, I was contacted by Sarah at AmazonEncore, who asked if I would like to review a copy of “The Berry Bible: With 175 Recipes Using Cultivated and Wild, Fresh and Frozen Berries” by Janie Hibler. She won the James Beard award for a single subject for her other cookbook, "Wild About Game: 150 Recipes for Farm-Raised and Wild Game - From Alligator and Antelope to Venison and Wild Turkey."

I love berries so I was quite excited there was a whole book on just berries. In “The Berry Bible,” Hibler talks about picking berries after she moved to Oregon, which immediately reminded me of my childhood when I sometimes tagged along as my parents picked berries on weekends to supplement their income. Hibler traveled the world to learn about all kinds of berries from the Saskatoon berry found on the Canadian prairie to the best strawberries at markets in Europe.

Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving Cookbook Giveaway

Did you catch my cookbook review of "Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving" by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne, and Rick Field? Please read that post for more information and pictures of this lovely cookbook on pickles and jellies.

Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne, and Rick Field

If you've been here long enough, you've probably figured out that I love pickles and pickled food. So when the folks at Andrea Burnett PR asked if I'd like to receive a free copy of "Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving" by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne, and Rick Field, I immediately jumped at the chance.

"The Art of Preserving" includes more than 130 recipes for sweet and savory jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles, chutneys, relishes, and foods that use those ingredients. There's also information on the basics of home canning and pickling with tips in case various problems occur.

All that aside, this cookbook is simply gorgeous. As if the cover didn't lure me in enough, I immediately latched onto this recipe for pickled fennel.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection (Pomona Public Library) - Pomona

After lunch at Pollos KiKiRyKi Peruvian Restaurant - Claremont, my friend and I went to check out the Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection at the Pomona Public Library. Clara Webber, the Pomona Public Library's children's librarian from 1948 to 1970, struck up a correspondence and friendship with the author. When the library was remodeled and the children's room was named in Wilder's honor, she donated the handwritten manuscript to "Little Town on the Prairie" to the library.

Also included in the collection is the original typewritten manuscript of "By the Shores of Silver Lake" and "Remember Me," one of the scripts Michael Landon wrote for the television series of "Little House on the Prairie."

She had wanted to check out the Gingerbread Sociable, an event the library hosts the first Saturday of every February since 1967 to celebrate Wilder's birthday. Sadly, it was over by the time we arrived. I still enjoyed looking at the Little House artifacts anyway.

50 Great Appetizers by Pamela Sheldon Johns

One of the first cookbooks I was offered to review was "50 Great Appetizers" by Pamela Sheldon Johns. It's a small book, about 6 inches by 6 inches in size, 111 pages, and with well, 50, appetizer recipes. I flipped through the cookbook quickly when I got it, then put it aside and, as I'm wont to do, promptly forgot about it. It seemed like one of those books I'd buy at a bookstore's bargain bin, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as some of my favorite cookbooks were discovered that way.

I recently picked it up again and actually looked through to see if any recipes interested me, and it was a shame I had left this untouched for so long. Because one of the first recipes that I want to try is the chicken liver crostini. Sure, I have my basic chicken liver pate recipe, but this one calls for chopped pancetta and to serve it with an apple slice, which would help cut the fatty taste.

Powell's City of Books - Portland - Oregon

After lil' sis picked me up from the Lan Su Chinese Garden (Portland Classical Chinese Garden), we headed to Powell's City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. Powell's takes up a whole city block. I've happily spent hours upon hours here through the years.

Day 4.13 Powell's Books - Portland - Oregon 1

The entrance area, in the Green Room, is where you can pick up a map. You'll need one to navigate the bookstore.

6 of 7 Random Things About Me Meme: I Collect Children's Books

#6 of 7 Random things about me? I collect children's books. Many of them are Vietnamese fairy tales and childhood favorites, but a a few books I discovered as an adult and really love them because they were books I wished I had as a child. I've excerpted favorite scenes so you can see for yourself.

And for those of us who thought Disney's princesses were just a little too whiny and wimpy...

Char Siu Bao Boy is out of print, but you can find a used version from Amazon and The Paper Bag Princess.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Book Reviews by Title

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