Canadian Living

kay, I'm a bit of a crafty little devil. No, no not that kind. The kind that is obsessed with crafts, craft stores (love those 40% off coupons), craft books, craft magazines and yes, has her own room in the house dedicated to all my hobbies.

And you can never have enough ideas... I subscribe to Canadian Living Magazine and I admit it - I always flip through to the crafts first, then go back and read the rest. Well, Transcontinental has just released Create, Update, Remake edited by the staff show more of Canadian Living and there they are - 100 of their favourite crafts from the last ten years - all in one place!

First thing to catch my eye was the cover shots. I have a whole collection of those retro kitchen gadgets (another hobby....) and love the idea of displaying them in white shadow boxes like this. Definitely going to copy this idea.

The book starts off with a chapter on sewing. There's a great little totebag pattern that even a beginner could handle. I'm thinking gift idea, or the bag for the gift. Reusuable and no waste. Some of the ideas are simple one, yet add that little extra touch, such as adding satin edging to your pillowcases and sheets. Many of the sewing crafts incorporate vintage linen finds. (Yay - because I just happen to have a lot of these too!)

The next chapter covers knitting and crocheting with clear, easy to read instructions for many ideas - socks anyone?

I loved the Around the House chapter. Lots of great ideas here. One of my favourites was turning flea market glass sugar bowls into hanging garden lights. And I love the instructions for making your own garden stepping stones. I'm going to give that a go once the snow melts! Framed pressed flowers from the garden would make a nice grouping on my stairwell. Ever wonder how to upholster a chair - detailed how-to's are included.

There's a great seasonal section as well, with lots of ideas for younger crafters. I've used the clothespin butterflies for a pre school craft at the library and it went over well. I loved the Spring craft - plastic spoons turned into crocuses.

And the last chapter covers food and drink and inventive ways to package them as gifts. There are recipes for human treats, but I'm going to try the Classic Canine Cookies first.

Patterns are included at the end. Each craft includes a full colour photograph. Lots of ideas and lots of fun for all ages and levels of craftateers! show less

Jeff's Review: Canadian Living does it again. As I read their book from cover to cover, all I can think about is - ooh I'd like to make that, and that -- and well you get the idea. We tested three different recipes from the book. Jen made a slow cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew and I made the Spaghetti Carbonara and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake. The Spaghetti Carbonarra was a household fave. Our oldest son hates sauces so this was the perfect recipe for him -- as well it was so easy show more to make, I whipped it together in next to no time before his baseball game. It's the perfect healthy recipe to whip up before the kids go out to their various sporting events. We made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake after our Toddler went to bed and our oldest son and I whipped it together while Jen sat on her lazy butt and read -- she said she had to finish the book so she could review it the next day -- but I don't really believe her. The recipe only took 10 minutes to put together and only 30 minutes later this delicious dessert was in a bowl with vanilla ice cream melted on top and the three of us took turns gobbling it off. Yes it was 11:00 at night and we were feeding our 9 yr old chocolate -- but it is summer holidays so it was totally ok. Note to self don't do it again as it took him forever to go to bed and we only got one episode of Burn Notice watched. Jen decided to make the Crockpot Mushroom and Beef Stew since our crock pot gets very little use since most of the recipes for it involve tomato based recipes which are too acidic for Jen and our oldest boy hates tomatoes. This recipe has too of our oldest sons favorite things Beef and Mushrooms -- seriously the boy would live on it if he could. It was easy to make and turned out delicious. Our oldest boy even asked for seconds. Think we will be making some of this ahead of time to keep in the freezer. There are tons of helpful hints highlighted in yellow throughout the book which is a nice added bonus. There is plenty of variety in terms of types of meals and cultures. Everything from snacks to full menu and even party ideas.

The Not so Good Stuff

* Could use more pictures. As we like to compare our finished product with that of the recipe book. Plus hey if it looks good in the recipe book it makes you want to make it

Favorite Recipes

* Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew Pg 116
* Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake Pg 218
* Spaghetti Carbonara Pg 26

Who should/shouldn't read

* Perfect for busy families
* Great for both beginning and experienced cooks
* Even recipes my wife can make (Jen's note: Hmm thinking some exlax in his next meal)
* The perfect cook book for day to day cooking

5 Dewey's

We received this in exchange for an honest review -- and trust me Jeff's honest -- painfully at times. He once told me the pants I had on looked like something his dead grandma wouldn't even wear show less

The Good Stuff

Love the colours, layout and note from Kary (Introduction)
The tips at the bottom of some of the recipes are really useful
All of the ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores, even those in small towns like ours
Fantastic selection of multicultural recipes
Many of the recipes have variations listed
Recipes are not too complicated, so even my wife can make them (Jen's note: Nice - guess who is having their food spat in tonight)
Lots of beautiful colour pictures (Jen's show more note: Spell check: In Canada we spell it COLOUR - stop trying to tell me I am spelling the damn word wrong!)
My wife says that she would love it if there was a picture for each recipe
Lots of recipes that my picky children will actually eat
This will be a cookbook that we will all use regularly -- even Jake who we are teaching to cook, so that if I die before Jen at least he will know how to cook & they won't starve (Jen's note: I really am not THAT bad of a cook you know)
Fantastic Index
There is a really good recipe for brussel sprouts that I am going to make for Jen (Jen's note: ewwww - YUCK!)
The Not so Good Stuff

Picky but I have been living with an anal Librarian for 20 years - the recipe instructions for the Grilled Chicken Nicoise Salad says to mix together all of the ingredients, but the accompanying photo obviously has all the ingredients separately
Favorite Recipes (Have only made 1 so far, but these ones also look really good!)

Beef and Green Bean Stew - Jen made this and it was really good (Jen's note: See I can do it)

Scallops and Shrimp with Sherry Paprika

No-Bake Lime Cheesecake Squares

Super Chocolate Chunk Fudge Brownies

Baked Brie With Caramelized Pears

Parmesan Chicken Strips with Tomato Dipping Sauce

Lightened-Up Eggplant Parmigiana With Marinara Sauce

What I Learned

That my wife isn't THAT bad of a cook (Jeff's note: Jen typed this)
Who should/shouldn't read

This should be a staple cookbook in all homes
Wife also says that each public library should have a copy -- like I would ever go into a library
5+ Dewey's - Go Pre-Oder a copy NOW From Indigo

We received this from Random House in exchange for an honest review - thanks guys I think this one is going to be a well used cookbook (By Jeff, because I sure as hell am not cooking for that smart ass anymore LOL) show less

This book is much better than I expected. It is obvious that the author actually eats vegetarian food on a regular basis. The dishes are nutritious and tasty, if not particularly original.