Rice and Spice Cookbook

Download or read book Rice and Spice Cookbook written by Aur Beck and published by . This book was released on 2012-11-23 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On May 8th, 2009 a derecho struck a terrible blow to Southern Illinois, knocking out power to many in the region for almost a week. Founder of Rice and Spice, Aur Beck, was one of the few people in town who DID have power. Armed with his trusty solar generator to power freezer and refrigeration storage, he and many others took their food to Gaia House and spent many nights eating dinner together. Once the power returned, people didn't want to stop meeting for dinner, and so Rice and Spice International Slow Foods dinner was born! This cookbook is a collection of recipes from those dinners.Review-First impression--very visually pleasing, this is a warm & friendly book that invites the reader to relax and really take a good look. At first I was a little rushed (as usual), but as I read the story of how R&S started, I found myself slowing down b/c the story was so interesting. The friendly graphics really made this more of an experience than just reading something. -The R&S posters and Gaia House event log pics were neat to look at, they create a sense of real history.-The recipes themselves are really interesting and exotic, and it's nice that they are organized by event/nationality so we can know where some of these come from. I never would have guessed collard greens had anything to do with Cinco de Mayo, and I would never have thought to try them in a soup with chickpeas.-Good timing on the inserts--just as I was starting to get really curious about some of these recipes, I came to page 20, where a description of the recipe is the first thing you see. It's not too "in your face" as it would be if you had these descriptions for every dish, as some of the dishes are self explanatory. Neat touch.-The pics of each event are heartwarming and really gives me a sense of familiarity, almost like I could be there myself. It makes the dishes seem like they could be cooked & enjoyed by anyone, even though they are exciting and exotic, and out-of-the-ordinary. -it's really neat how you guys used the metric and english measurements for those of us who don't know how much a gram or a ml really is. I'm sure the reverse is true for the rest of the world.Final take--each recipe was obviously given by individuals--making this a very unique and interesting book that I personally would be glad to own. It was a real pleasure to be able to see this before it comes out, especially since I have been hearing about it for a while now. The book reads like people are standing there talking to you, telling how to make this stuff step by step, but not in an overbearing way. The overall spirit of Rice & Spice definitely comes through in this book! It would also make a very unique gift for anyone who is curious and loves food, especially food with a story behind it.