Jean Paré (1927–2022)

This book was a staple in my Mom's kitchen when I was growing up and is full of all the tradition squares, frozen desserts, 'quick' cheesecakes, and other such afternoon tea delights. The recipes are easy to follow and generally turn ot well. I highly recommend this as a basic "dessert" cookbook for the non-cook, as it is about as uncomplicated as dessert-making can get.

This book was another "Company's Coming" staple in my Mom's kitchen when I was growing up. A flip through the pages brings to mind all the traditional squares and sweets that I'd see as a child at church teas and ladies' luncheons. It's easy to follow, has good pictures, and the majority of the recipes turn out well. A reliable cookbook.

This 1981 cookbook about squares and cookies got my very first LOVE FOR JEAN PARÉ... and about 15 cookbooks later over the last 20 years, I still stop in my track whenever I see a new book from her on the market.

I was living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 1982 and Mrs. Paré was just starting out her long journey in publishing her recipes. Native from Edmonton herself and been an ordinary woman that just loves to entertain people, I got to read her.

150 delicious squares is her first show more cookbook and she published a revised version I believe in 1997 or so. In the first one, I remembered while I was making the recipes, and looking at the pictures, I would get frustrated by not knowing which page that particular recipe was because the pictures didn't mention the pages of the actual recipe. Everytime I would like to make a recipe, I had to go to the back of the book and look for ex: Apricot Squares and see p.23... She corrected this little thing in her second revision of the book.

All her cookbooks are priceless even today, in any kitchen. The recipes are simple to make, and are good old traditional family ones in the west part of Canada. Today, she is still in her kitchen, and cooking and still putting together about one book a year. Her children got involved in her business and for many years, she would insist that no matter where her book would be sold, it would be done at exactly the same price (same price in WallMart than in Chapters Book).

One particular thing about Mrs Paré, her picture on the back cover of each one of her book : she wears a shirt the same color of the jacket of the book! So, in 150 Delicious Squares, the picture was taken of her wearing a blue shirt...Her trademark I guess.. show less

In all Jean Paré'books that I own, Meatless Cooking is my least favorite. Don't take me wrong here, this is once again, a marvelous cookbook to have and read, like all her books, but the book didn't grab my interest in cooking meatless meals. The pictures are all very nice and all, but I got the feeling that herself, Mrs Paré, doesn't like meatless cooking that much... and it transpires between pages... am I wrong here?