There are few things that are more comforting in life than a really good piece of chocolate. Good chocolate may not solve any of life’s really hard problems, but it can certainly make you forget about them for at least a moment.

You may remember author Annette Lyon from our #MomStorm party earlier this year, where we talked about supporting military families and discussed her book, Band of Sisters. Annette’s new book, Chocolate Never Faileth, gave her a chance to give in fully to her lifelong love of chocolate with this decadent chocolate cookbook with easy tips to help any chocolate lover create delicious chocolate concoctions. Annette is a second-generation chocoholic and one of the founding sisters of the Utah Chocolate Show.

I had the tasty pleasure of living just down the street from Annette as she was writing this cookbook. As she completed test after test of each recipe in an effort to make it just right, she’d sent a call out to everyone in the neighborhood to give away the some of the extra chocolate treats that were taking over her kitchen.

I’ve always turned to chocolate during times of stress. It’s my drug of choice. As Annette was working her way through each recipe, my family was hit with several enormous blows within a short period of time. Our 4th baby passed away shortly after birth due to a placental abruption. Within a few weeks of his death, we sold our house, moved in with my parents since my husband was looking for work, and my moronic dentist decided that it was the perfect time to take my wisdom teeth out. Recovering from removing my wisdom teeth was harder in many ways than recovering from childbirth (if you take the emotional aspect of losing a child out of the equation) and emotionally I was not prepared for anything as taxing. I had given into self-pity and was sitting on my mom’s couch, my whole face swollen and unable to open my jaw more than about an inch, and unable to take pain medication after all the stress my body had been through, when an angel bearing chocolate showed up at the front door. Annette brought a plate full of chocolate cake that was soft enough that I could chew it (or gum it as the case may be) and her visit and the chance to eat something that wasn’t chicken broth did more to lift my spirits than I can ever say.

Chocolate Never Faileth is filled with all kinds of chocolate recipes, from the edible – cakes, cookies, pastries, sauces, candies, ice creams, puddings, brownies, and beverages, to the inedible – chocolate play dough, chocolate lip gloss, chocolate body scrub and more. This beautifully done cookbook would make the perfect holiday gift for nearly anyone on your christmas shopping list. Just be sure and keep a copy for yourself.

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One Busy Mommy Media reader will win a copy of Chocolate Never Faileth.

To enter, comment on this post and tell us what your favorite way to enjoy chocolate is.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and will end on December 11, 2010

In compliance with the FTC Guidelines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given a copy of Chocolate Never Faileth to giveaway. I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own. Please see our site’s Terms and Conditionsfor a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

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Congrats to the Winner – Elena!

This giveaway is now closed!

The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook:  A Flavorful, Low-Fat, Heart-Healthy Approach to Cooking (American Diabetes Association/March 2010) by Amy Riolo.

A Little Bit About the Cookbook

Rich in flavor, heart-healthy fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, the Mediterranean style of cooking has proven to be beneficial for people with diabetes—and for good reason.  This delicious diet of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole-grains can help lower blood pressure, glucose levels, and risk for heart disease without cutting out amazing taste.  Based on traditional recipes from Italy, Greece, Egypt, Morocco, as well as Turkey, Algeria, and more, THE MEDITERRANEAN DIABETES COOKBOOK is filled with over 200 healthful and delicious recipes.

With recipes from Corsican Prawns with Chickpea Cream or Spicy Israeli Tomato Spread to Veal Scaloppini with Eggplant Veloutè or Chicken Fattah, the recipes in THE MEDITERRANEAN DIABETES COOKBOOK are easy to prepare for a simple dinner at home or for entertaining friends and family. There is even a section devoted to sumptuous desserts like Pineapple Tiramisu and Baked Egyptian Pumpkin Pudding.  Each recipe includes time-saving tips, cultural and historical background of the recipe’s origin, concise preparation instructions, and food-related information that promote a diabetes-friendly and healthy attitude towards food.  At the end of each recipe, a section called the “Healthy Living Tradition” lists the caloric exchanges and breaks down the amounts of fats, carbohydrates, sugars, and proteins in the dish to encourage readers to make better, more meaningful choices in their diet and lifestyle.

Sample Recipe

Among the delectable dishes included in THE MEDITERRANEAN DIABETES COOKBOOK is:
______________________________________________________________________
Sicilian Swordfish and Eggplant Bundles (Involtini de Pesce Spade e Melanzane)

Swordfish and eggplant are culinary ingredients that Sicilians inherited when they were under Arab rule.  Before the arrival of the Arabs, swordfish was not eaten because of its reputation as being extremely difficult to catch. Sicilian fishermen learned how to catch swordfish from the Arabs.  Even today, Sicilian fishermen use Arabic words instead of Italian ones when fishing.   Serve this delightful dish with Baby Artichokes with Herb Sauce.


1 medium eggplant, sliced lengthwise into paper-
    thin slices
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped boxed tomatoes
1 cup strained boxed tomatoes
2 Tbsp freshly chopped basil
2 Tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
1/8 tsp freshly grated pepper
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
2 boneless swordfish fillets (3/4 lb total)
 
1. Preheat broiler.  Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet.  Brush with 1 Tbsp olive oil, and bake for a few minutes until tender and cooked through.  Remove from oven, and set aside.
 
2. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, and cook until it releases its aroma.  Do not let garlic turn brown.  Stir in chopped and strained tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, 1/4 tsp sea salt, pepper, and pepper flakes.  Stir and cover.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
 
3. Meanwhile, place a large piece of wax paper on a work surface. Place fish fillets on wax paper, and cover with another piece.  Use a flat-edged meat hammer to pound fish until they are very thin, about 1/4 inch. Check under the wax paper from time to time to make sure that fish is not tearing. Cut each piece in half to make 4 pieces.
 
4. Top each piece of fish with thin layers of the eggplant slices. (If you have extra eggplant slices, reserve them as a garnish). Starting at the wide end, roll up fish, completely encasing eggplant. Use toothpicks or skewers to secure the rolls. Slowly remove lid from tomato sauce, and add rolls to simmering sauce. Cover, and cook for 10–15 minutes, turning once, or until fish is cooked through.
 
5. Transfer fish to a serving platter, remove skewers, and top with remaining sauce. Season with remaining 1/4 tsp salt, if desired. Serve remaining eggplant slices along the sides of the dish.

________________________________
Healthy Living Tradition
A Turkish restaurateur told me that while he was working as a chef in Turkey, no one would hire him unless he knew at least 40 different eggplant dishes. Any less than 40 meant that you were a novice and didn’t possess enough experience to work in fine restaurants. Take the Turkish challenge: try to collect 40 healthy eggplant recipes. Your body and your taste buds will be grateful.
________________________________


Exchanges/Choices
                 3 Vegetable
                  2 Lean Meat
                  2 Fat

Serves 4
Serving Size 1 bundle

Calories 250
                 Calories from Fat 115
Total Fat 13.0g
                 Saturated Fat  2.1g
                  Trans Fat  0.0g
Cholesterol 35mg
 
Sodium 405mg
Total Carbohydrate 14g
                 Dietary Fiber  4g
                  Sugars 7g
Protein 19g

The Giveaway Details: 

Laurie has agreed to send One Lucky Busy Mommy Media Reader their own copy of The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook!

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on June 10th, 2010

Comment on this post to be entered to win.

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THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED – CONGRATS TO TINA REYNOLDS - THE WINNER OF HER OWN COPY OF  HUNGRY MONKEY

Full disclosure: I asked for this book. I was given a free copy to review but I actively sought it out when it was published because I was already a fan of Matthew Amster-Burton’s blog, Roots and Grubs, and I was very much looking forward to reading his book. I wasn’t disappointed. While it is a cookbook, it is also part memoir of his experiences teaching his daughter Iris to eat and learning to look at food in new ways while doing so.

Amster-Burton and his wife were already foodies (and very big fans of cheese) when Iris joined their family. Upon learning of her impending arrival he describes his first thought as “Are we going to have to eat fifties rejects like sloppy joes for the next eighteen years? Or feed our kid food we’d never eat ourselves?” He read books on feeding babies and toddlers and wasn’t terribly impressed with much of the information he found, so he eventually decided to write his own and Hungry Monkey was born. He states at the end of the introduction that this effort is “the book I wish someone had handed me before Iris was born so that I would have known that breastfeeding is challenging (even for dads), that there are two simple rules to take a lot of the stress out of feeding kids, and that it’s okay to feed a baby sushi and spicy enchiladas. Most important, I would have been reassured that having kids doesn’t require dumbing down your own menu: if you love to eat, a new baby presents an opportunity to have more fun with food than ever before in your life. And yes, more frustration.”

The conversational tone of the book makes it a very quick read. The chapters are set up with a recipe or several at the end, and the experiences that led to their creation or use preceding them, as well as arguments for or theoretically against feeding them to kids. Many of the recipes also include tips for parts your kids can help you with under the heading of “Little Fingers.”

The recipes themselves cover a pretty vast selection of things, everything from simple foods like “Baby Chicken and Mushrooms” (feeds several babies or one adult and one baby) to Pad Thai and Enchiladas. In the course of describing these dishes Amster-Burton often makes an argument in favor of whole foods and against the fear of things like cheese, sugar and spicy foods. One of my favorite recipes from this book is from the chapter on snacks, which extoles the virtues of cheese and the yumminess of the crunchy cheese that results from cooking enchiladas. The recipe is for Frico, which are wafers of cheese baked until crunchy. They are ridiculously easy and taste great, which is a common feature of many of these recipes. There are some that are more involved but all are well written and easy to follow. While I’m not sure that my own spicy heat tolerances would allow for Iris’s favorite dish of Ants on a Tree (cellophane noodles with ground pork and red chile), I am sure that even if I skipped all the dishes in the spicy chapter I’d still have a pretty good assortment to choose from.

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone, not just parents of small kids. The recipes are all ones that can be adapted to just about anyone’s lifestyle. Because of the varieties of recipes involved it’s quite a well-rounded cookbook in it’s own right and worth picking up just for that reason. The included section at the end of favorite convenience foods is also a great resource for any busy kitchen.

Enter to Win

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton.  This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on March 28, 2010.

Enter the giveaway by commenting on this post.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions for a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given a copy of Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Bu to review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

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Congratulations to Lily Kwan! Lily is the winner of the signed copy of All About Braising!

Molly Steven’s book, All About Braising is subtitled “The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking.” It’s an apt title to a well written book on exactly that–easy one-pot meals influenced by flavors from around the world as well as classics such as coq au vin and pot roast. I was thrilled to get a hold of this book to review after having heard about it from many different sources and after having a few weeks to work through it I have to say that it was more than worth the wait. These recipes are a solid group that will allow you to explore all sorts of new ways to cook everyday foods.

Braising is a cooking technique where the food is browned on the stove and finished in the oven. It’s an ideal method for cooking the more inexpensive and often tough cuts of meat that yields super tender proteins in succulent sauces. This method is one you’re probably familiar with from the previously mentioned dishes but this book is absolutely brimming with new takes on classics as well as dishes that can stand on their own.

Braising is also a fantastic cooking method for cold weather and tight budgets, so it’s a timely read as well. This method was developed to make the most of what was at hand, and Molly Stevens has amassed an amazing collection of recipes here. Just flipping through the book made my mouth water as I read through the recipes and inspired me to try some of the flavor combinations she uses here in other dishes as well. She also provides recipes for vegetable dishes as well, and those might be the most enlightening of the bunch. Braising tames and softens sharp and bitter-flavored vegetables such as endive and brussels sprouts yielding results so indulgent even the veggie haters will take a second look. Even if the book had no other recipes the treatment of vegetables here makes it worth a read.

Stevens starts the book by explaining braising and going over the different vessels that can be used along with suggestions for what types of foods work in the various types of dishes. From there, she explains the different elements of the technique and structures her recipes to follow.

The recipes themselves are clearly written and many provide variations that sound as good or better than the original. The recipe I chose to make and share in this review was one of those. I made several dishes from the book, but the most unique of the lot that made it through my kitchen was a take on pot roast that used a chunk of tuna loin and braised it with tomatoes and basil. The variation added orange peel and olives, a classic Italian-influenced twist with absolutely delicious results. The tuna came out beautifully but the sauce was absolutely divine. This recipe will be one I make again and again, and I believe it would work equally well with chicken or pork tenderloin. The sauce would also be lovely on it’s own as a vegetarian entree, perhaps with tofu braised in the same manner as the tuna.

I will admit to going off-recipe in my choice of tuna. I opted to use a couple of albacore steaks as I don’t have a fishmonger that I could have obtained a loin cut from. I found that it still came out very well, but when I made it a second time with ahi tuna it was much better. Live and learn and use what you have on hand if you don’t have time or resources to obtain this particular cut. I also found that when I made a recipe with double the sauce ingredients that the leftover sauce went just fine with canned tuna served over leftover rotini. As with many dishes of this type, braised dishes can be even better the next day and this one very much was as well.

Tuna Pot Roast with Tomato, Basil and Capers

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Win a signed copy of All About Braising by Molly Stevens.   This giveaway is open to the U.S.  and Canada and will end on December 30, 2009.

Enter the giveaway by commenting on this post.

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In compliance with the new FTC Guild lines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given a copy of All About Braising to test and review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

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