ABC Post 6--Spice Thyme Cookbook Review and Giveaway

UPDATE--The drawing is over.
The winner is commenter #75--Ellie!

When Angela Amstutz first contacted me about her book, I admit I was dumbfounded at the idea of two Mennonite women assembling a cookbook about spices.

Wasn’t that like kind of like an Inuit writing about hummus? Or maybe a Kenyan showing us how to make huevos rancheros?

Maybe, I thought next, the authors--Angela and her friend Aneta Wiebe--worked in India or Grenada, and they learned to cook the local foods and will show us how.

I paged through the book. Mashed potatoes? Wait. What? Chicken noodle soup? Biscuits?

This is what I figured out, eventually, and then it all made sense. See, I can put a hot meal on the table. Beef, pasta, vegetables. It’s nutritious, and it tastes ok.

My daughter Amy can make the same sort of meal, but as each bite hits your mouth, subtle flavors radiate deliciously into your tongue and up the back side of your nose. “Ooooh! Yum!” You say. “This is amazing.”

You take seconds and thirds.

This book is about replicating that sort of magic, breaking down the details so someone like me can master the skills. It’s more about taste and flavor than about being hot and spicy.

It’s actually right there in the subtitle—“Exploring the flavory world of culinary spices and herbs.”

Spice Thyme is also a textbook about spices and flavorings of all kinds. One section tells you how to grow your own herbs, another how to dry and preserve them, and a long chapter in the back shares all kinds of information about the history, sources, and uses of every spice you can name. You'll read why Holy Basil is called that odd name, for instance.

I was especially delighted with a section on making your own spice mixes. So far we’ve made a Cajun spice mix and also pizza seasoning.

I found that when I left my copy of Spice Thyme lying on the kitchen counter, family members walking by would pick it up and start reading, randomly. It is that interesting and well-written. It also has almost 600 pages and hundreds of recipes, many of them with color photos.



Most of the recipes feature traditional American-Mennonite food, but other cultures and their tastes are represented as well. There’s a section on Peruvian food, plus dahl from India, African bean stew, Delightful Guacamole from a contributor in Honduras, and seven variations of borscht, a Russian-Mennonite soup.

Our youngest daughter, Jenny, age 20, paged through the book, suggesting recipes to try, so I told her to put a post-it note on the ones she wanted me to make.

This was the result:

I also jotted down a few of her snarky comments, such as, “Scrapple? When you measure meat by volume, I’m not sure I want it!” [page 258]. But seriously, I have a notion to try it with the "extra" meats from the pig we got from the neighbors.

But then Jenny found Cheesy Biscuits on page 90 and couldn’t wait to try them.





Besides the biscuits, which were delicious, we tried the Cajun Chicken Pasta on page 319. Paul, who has very traditional Mennonite taste buds, found it a bit too spicy, but the rest of us thought it was wonderful.

Cajun chicken

I look forward to reading and using this cookbook a lot more.

GIVEAWAY--
Angela will be giving away three copies of Spice Thyme--one to blog commenters, one on my page on Facebook, and one on Instagram [@dorcassmucker].
Comment below to be included in the drawing. USA addresses only. Please include enough info so I can find you if you win.
Drawing is 9 pm Saturday, April 18.

Read on for Angela's guest post, a sample recipe, and ordering information.

Ask your local bookstore to stock it.

The need for a book

Ten times in the last two days, my inbox received what was labeled as a Quarantine Cooking Recipe Exchange, the kind of exchange that you pass on to 20 people and receive reems of recipes in response to your own small contribution. I thought chain letters and recipe trees were a thing of my teenage days, and back then I did them… and never received anything back. Why do they all say that no one drops out (not true) and that you will receive dozens of (in this case) new recipes (also not true)? Since I was required to forward the exchange to twenty people each time I received it, and since I do not have 200 people in my contacts who would appreciate this, I gave up and am not doing any at all.

                But I agree with the thought behind the exchange; the world needs recipes right now. Many women who usually work away are at home all day, and the rest of us are thinking twice about going away. What better time is there to spend extra hours creating delectable, home-cooked meals for our families?

                I have a solution for this recipe need, and it’s a whole lot simpler—and far more efficient—than forwarding this email to twenty of your unwilling friends.

The birth of a book

                I am a spice enthusiast. When an email landed in my inbox several years ago, asking for different ways to use spices and herbs, I clicked “reply” and wrote an email, not to the person who sent it to me, but to the unknown woman who sent it to her. She also replied, and it wasn’t long until we began discussing printing a cookbook together that focused on spices and herbs.

                We sent notices to our friends, asking for spicy recipes, tips, and hints. As the replies dumped back into our inboxes, we began to organize, sort, type, and file them. I checked into many publishing options and we decided to leap into the world of self-publishing. We organized recipes, tested recipes, photographed recipes, and searched for editors and proof-readers and a designer. We wrote informative and inspirational articles, and solicited writing help from seasoned friends. It took a long time, a lot of work, and more dedication than we imagined.

                Now, more than two years later, we hold the finished product in our hands, ready to pass on to those of you needing something to fill these extra hours.

About the book

                Ever wish you had more knowledge of those spices in your cupboard? Did you ever wonder what cardamom or fennel is, or how to use them? What about when your hostess mentions what she put in the soup, and you have never heard of such an herb? Did you ever pause in the isle of your local bulk food store and puzzle over the bottles of tarragon and lemon pepper, wondering how you could use them?

Spice Thyme has the answers to all these questions, and more. Cooks around the world open their cupboards to share tried and true recipes, each of which contains at least one spice. This cookbook also includes essays on how to grow, harvest, and use herbs, how to make your own spice blends, and more. A spice commentary in the back introduces you to fun facts and useful tips about each spice. Broaden your culinary horizons by adding Spice Thyme to your collection!  

Spice Thyme cookbook, spiral bound hardcover, approximately 600 pages with over 600 recipes. Many full color photos throughout. $25.99 per book USA, or $31.99 in Canada.

USA retail customer special: Order one book for $5 shipping, two for $3, or three or more for FREE shipping! Bulk discounts are also available. Offer expires May 15, 2020. Please mention where you saw this ad to receive your discount.

Canadian retail customer special: Order one book for $15 shipping, two for $10, three for $5, four or more for FREE shipping! Offer expires May 15, 2020. Please mention where you saw this ad to receive your discount.

Distributor Offer: 60% off whole cases

Wholesale Store Offer: 40% off whole cases

10 books per case

USA Contact:

Angela Amstutz

15 Bromley RD

Huntington, MA 01050

315.408.9713

angesoceanbreezes@emypeople.net

Canadian Contact:

Aneta Wiebe

Box 162

Eden, Manitoba R0J0M0

CANADA

204.841.1207

diedrichnaneta@gmail.com

And, finally, a recipe for Life in the Shoe readers:

Broccoli Salad

Recipe from: Crystal (Mrs. Steven) Zimmerman, Wellsboro, PA

2 cups mayonnaise

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup distilled vinegar

1 tsp salt

½ cup water

1 tbsp. minced onion

Mix well with electric mixer. Str together the following ingredients and slowly add to the first mixture:

1 cup sugar

1 ½ tbsp instant clear gel

Mix dressing with desired amount of broccoli. Garnish with:

Shredded cheese

Cooked, crumbled bacon

Crystal’s Note: We made this to sell at the market where I worked as a teenager. If you think it’s a lot of bother for broccoli salad, try it! It’s the best!

Remember to comment to be included in the drawing. Include your name please!

UPDATE--comments are closed. Winner is Ellie--comment #75