Seasons Books

This book is a great addition to Olney's classic Simple French Food.

Looking back to 1970, the year this book was first published, puts its sophistications in context and underscores the enormity of its contributions. America was deep in culinary ignorance, eating out of cans and supplementing that metal-tinged blandness with gut-busting mountains of artificial 'foods'. America was lost somehwere between the post-war meat-and-potatoes era and the chemical concoctions of the 80s and beyond. Small glimmers of possibility illuminated the occassional suburban cocktail party, when hostesses under the influence of Julia Child trotted out a few hotel-food hors d'oeuvres, and a few ethnic enclaves still held up a candle of flavor, but America was largely a culinary wasteland. Servings were large, everything was bland, and mealtime had become TV time. Without flavor or family, American meals were effectively dead.

It was into this lunar food landscape that Richard Olney introduced several revolutionary ideas at once in The French Menu Cookbook. I should say that he RE-introduced these ideas, because they had existed, with varying degrees of sophistication, for as long as people had eaten, but an industrial food system had interrupted that great cultural memory. This book's structure is its message: the food is introduced not by category, but by course within menus, and the menus themselves are organized by season. For those of us who have heard the gospel of seasonality and regional availability and freshness from Alice Waters and Paul Bertolli, at al, it can be easy to forget that this idea is still, 36 years after The French Menu Cookbook, radical, and so against the grain of the industrial food complex as to be almost an act of treason. But Richard Olney's way with food started that revolution at possibly the most inoportune moment in Americna history.

A sample menu says it all:

An Informal Spring Dinner

Hors d'oeuvre of Crudites
Shrimp Quiche
Coq au Vin
Steamed Potatoes
Wild Green Salad
Cheeses
Flamri with Raspberry Sauce

all of the above matched with appropriate wines.

Notice the careful development through the courses, the constant shifts of flavor to keep the palate alive, the seasonal ingredients... All of this was deeply shocking at the time.

But there's one more big surprise: this book is every bit as good today as it was in 1970. It doesn't feel even remotely dated, like Julia Child's books do. Maybe, in hueing so faithfully to the principles of freshness, seasonality, and regional availability, Olney tapped into something timeless. And so this book was a classic the day it was published, and remains one of the most sophisticated, satisfying, and inspiring cookbooks ever published.

Very highly recommended.

You can actually grill a delicious pizza while friends hang out around the barbecue drinking red wine! The soups are delicious as well as the salads, meat entrees and their famous seasoning recipes! A must have for family meals as well as friendly get togethers!

I've dined at the restaurant many times, and it is consistently good. The cookbook is just as good as the restaurant - especially the Penne Gratin (very rich, very decadent and VERY delicious!)

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cooking.

A friend recommended Marilyn Martin's book to me, and I was not disappointed. The title friends are two young girls, Alexandra and Skylyn, who learn about nature, horseback riding, animal life and much more as they grow up in rural Colorado. Their love of family, animals and nature shines through in this warm and engaging tale. Among the book's many enthralling vignettes is an account of a beaver family that emerges in spring from the warmth of its winter lodge. Twin baby beavers, learning to swim in a pond, are observed by pre-teen Alexandra and her grandfather while exploring an old Indian trail. Later the two girls learn, from Skylyn's Indian grandmother, how to make a teepee and weave willow baskets. Another adventure starts out in a jeep following a bumpy trail as "Gramps" takes the girls to an old silver mine. As the girls share their adventures and discoveries, they are bound as friends forever. This book will please all ages, but the values it exhibits will be especially rewarding for young girls. I'm keeping my copy to reread, and bought an extra copy for a 14-year-old girl I know.

This book is exciting and fun. I love Alex and Skye's adventures and especially the rodeo. It makes me want to move to a Colorado dude ranch. I can't wait for the next book.

I really enjoyed this book and have heartily recommended it. It deals with friendship and caring and acts of generosity. Each time I read it the simple act that Blanche does for Otis brings tears to my eyes. I read it to my 3 year old and it is just the right length for him. It is more than a simple board book, it is a story about the seasons of true friendship.

We (my 3 1/2 year old daughter and I) got this book out of the library and we didn't want to bring it back! It hard to find children's books that both parents and kids can enjoy and this is one of them. It's the perfect length for bedtime reading and tells a nice story about friendship and giving.

This book will bring comfort and peace to your heart. I highly recommend it as a gift to treat yourself, or someone you care about.

This book is a real life story that I am confident would resonate with most readers as it did with me. There are really two stories of interest as you both read the book and begin to understand the relationship between author and illustrator.

The book itself offers personal reflections by the author that weave together a story about the challenges that life drops in all of our laps. More importantly is the underlying theme of her faith and how it has helped keep her strong and thankful for all the good in her life.

The second story is how the author and her son came together to combine her story with his tremendous artistic talent to provide a total package in terms of content and graphic design. The depth of her wisdom is apparent in the writings, and his ability to create a mood throughout the book with his painted photographs is first rate work. It is clear how much it meant to the

It is an easy read, but one that offers depth and can be picked up and read over and over again.

Highly recommend it,,,,DC

After recently losing my mom, I have read lots of different books on grief and loss. However, this book is my favorite - it gave me much comfort & hope. The author, Mildred Tengbom, seemed to know actually what I needed to hear. Each chapter was filled with something valuable for me. I could relate to her heartache of losing her mom, and I appreciated her willingness to be open with us about that tender subject. I especially appreciated her honesty with spiritual issues. She was willing to write about her anger with God, her doubts about heaven, and the ugliness of death. I found it liberating to have someone else put my "secret" fears down on paper! She was good about following up with Biblical references and I ended the book with more Faith in God and Hope for the future. Excellent book by a thoughtful and honest Christian author.

My wife used this book when her mother passed away suddenly four years ago. She read book after book trying to find something that would help her make sense of the grief she was feeling. Once she had finished this book she felt more in control and was able to deal with her grief.

This is a great book to ease your way through Shiva, Shloshim, and a year of mourning. Unfortunately, when we ordered it at Amazon, it showed two copies remaining, but after we ordered them, it was then listed as backordered. Even more unfortunate was that Amazon did not notify us of this. So, it was three weeks before we got these books that have daily reflections. Amazon was kind enough to waive shipping after I called them asking where the books were(especially since I had paid extra to have them shipped as soon as possible), but our experience with Amazon was very disappointing this time around. In the future, I would order the book again, but somewhere else.

I am so thankful that I came across this book soon after my mother died. The book presents a daily reading for the one-year mourning period, with an insightful reading for the week. It also has space on each page to record personal thoughts. I followed the divisions in the book, reading a selection each day. The readings truly helped me deal with, and work through, my grief. And I occasionally recorded my thoughts when the readings really struck a chord in my heart. I don't know if I could have dealt with my mother's death without having had this "Mourner's Kaddish Companion" to gently guide me.

Left alone to my own vices one afternoon at a friend's loft, I happened upon A Haiku Garden which I devoured with delight and then made an excuse for my friend to invite me over again.

The woodcut reproductions are priceless and a source of inspiration to a non-artistic poet. A wonderful "tea table" book and a perfect gift. In fact, I plan to buy a copy for myself!

I recommend this wonderful book for the inspiration it gives. The poetry is accessible and charming. The reproductions of woodcuts are beautiful. Anyone who would like to try writing Haikus as a meditation, or for fun will find that it starts to happen almost automatically.

"HANDS OF TIME" is one of those rare and exciting books of poetry that transport you into different places, times, moods, & understandings. The prose is so rich & the writing is so lyrical! It is a powerful work stretching poetry to new heights of emotions. This book reaches for new dimensions in writing! How fortunate we are to have this distinctive guide through the seasons of our lives.
"Hands of Time" transports us across North America to observe & feel the striking differences in wilderness areas, big cities & small towns, American Indian Reservations, & native celebrations. We are taken to Europe attuned to the feelings for a winter in Italy. It is evocative of certain classics, & yet distinctively modern & original too.
Poetry is a great escape! It is also a profound challenge to care more deeply about life & all you can experience - if you have the imagination.

"Hands of Time" is an amazing work of poetry, exercising a broad range of intellectual & cultural observations! What a pleasure to find poetry & prose that really resonates with today, while honoring the past, & even looking toward a brighter future! E. Barrie Kavasch is a pleasure to read! This is fine quality! Poetry is both musical & prayerful. I enjoy the close integrity with Nature & the Land, with Native American Cultures, & with family. Excellent!!!

I wonder if anyone noticed that the writer is a living near relation of William Shakespeare? Posted on Shakespeare's ostensible birthdate.

Another great addition to a very nice series of books! I have many books, but the Holly Pond Hill books are among my favorites that I will treasure always. This book makes for a nice Christmas gift for yourself or for anyone else. They are peacefull and tranquilizing books. I am glad they are written and drawn.