Those of you who read my blog know that in addition to my love of reading is my love of cooking and eating. I don’t get to review as many cookbooks as I’d like so I was really happy to be invited on Aviva Goldfarb’s blog tour for her cookbook SOS! The Six o’Clock Scramble to the Rescue.
I can’t tell you how many days I stand in front of the fridge now and try to figure out what to eat. I used to be so good about planning ahead and taking something out but after Buddy got sick that all kind of fell by the wayside. The Six o’Clock Scramble really makes things a lot easier for someone like me as it’s all there for me. All I have to do is pick something that sounds good, make sure I have the ingredients and off I go! Best of all the meals are all healthy which is really important for my health and my family’s health.
What a terrific cookbook! What I loved about it aside from all the really great recipes was the seasonal produce chart, the vegetarian options, grocery lists for the week (gotten online) and one really great one – the well stocked kitchen list. I can’t tell you how often I fall behind on the essentials and then go to make something and it’s not there. Very frustrating! I also love the nutritional information along with each recipe as this makes it very easy to be compatible with Weight Watchers. Another thing I noticed with Aviva’s cookbook and was very impressed with was the fact that in reading the ingredients in her recipes I recognized all of them and knew I’d actually be able to buy them at my local grocery store.
The cookbook is organized according to seasons which is great. For me, in Canada, we don’t have fresh fruit and vegetables during the winter. By fresh I mean something grown by me or bought at a farmer’s market so I take advantage of it int the summer months here. Aviva strongly encourages buying fresh and locally when possible and I agree. I only wish I lived somewhere I could do that year round.
So at the beginning of each chapter you have a weekly list of menus and you can get shopping lists for all these recipes online. As well each recipe has a Scramble Flavor Booster, Tips, and Side Dish Suggestions. It really does take all the stress out of making a meal. Throughout the cookbook you’ll find tips and hints on growing your own vegetables, tips for staying on schedule, tips on recycling, tips for saving money on your food budget and many, many more. As well there are some personal stories scattered throughout that I thought added a nice touch and ways to get your kids involved in the kitchen too.
There are many, many recipes to suit everyone’s likes. I made a few of the recipes – one being Lemon-Parmesan Fusilli with Asparagus and Spinach. There are many of my favorites in this one recipe – first anything pasta is a winner and I loved how easy it was, how healthful and mostly how delicious it turned out to be.
One other dish I made that I’ll share with you all was Pan-Fried Polenta with Summer Vegetables. I love polenta and the only thing I changed with this recipe is that I make my own polenta so the recipe took me a bit longer than it would someone using prepared from the store. I’d never tried pan frying the polenta before although I don’t know why and then with this recipe you put the fried polenta in a baking dish and top it with a vegetable mix of zucchini, onions, sun-dried tomatoes and tomato sauce and put it under the broiler for a bit. All I can say about this recipe is Yum!!! It too was easy to make and very healthy.
So for the busy mom or otherwise busy individual that’s looking to cook healthy meals for your family that are easy and fast , this cookbook is for you and one I’d definitely recommend. No matter how busy you are, if you have a shopping list and a list of menus for the week you can’t help but succeed in feeding your family a healthy and tasteful meal!
You can buy your very own copy of SOS! The Six o’Clock Scramble to the Rescue by Aviva Goldfarb here in the US and here in Canada. As well be sure to stop by and check out Aviva’s website The Six o’Clock Scramble where you can subscribe to receive an online weekly menu planner. Be sure to pop back in tomorrow as Aviva will be visiting with a guest post and maybe a little something else!
My thanks…to Diane Saarinen for my review copy of SOS! The Six o’Clock Scramble to the Rescue by Aviva Goldbarb.
This sounds like my kind of cookbook!
I have a feeling that reading and eating go hand in hand because I'm always interested in cool cookbooks, too! This one sounds like a winner!
Hope you and Buddy are holding your own!
I won this a while back, and though I haven't really used it yet, it looks like I will get a lot out of it eventually.
This looks like an excellent cookbook! I was leafing through it at Border's the other day, but didn't have my coupon with me and didn't buy it. It would have gone home with me if I'd had it…
Darlene, I am so glad you are enjoying the new cookbook! Thank you so much for that lovely review. I hope you find many more recipes in the book to love.
I really love this cookbook. Sounds like you had a great time testing out the recipes. I'd love to see some photos of these dinners you are making. I've never had polenta, but now, I'm going to check out that recipe.
I need a cookbook like this! Once Vance left home, I found it very difficult to revert to cooking for 2 and find that figuring out what to cook is the worst part of the whole process.
Sounds like a very useful cookbook, and interesting to read also.
Sometimes when we've worked late in the evening we just stand and look in the fridge too.
Hope you and Buddy have a good week!
Love the idea of the flavor boosters and side dish ideas for each recipe…that's pretty neat.
Oh wow! This sounds like just what I need! I know just what you mean about staring into the fridge and wondering what you are going to make. This book sounds like it has it all figured out, and I will be looking for it. Great review, Dar!!
This one sounds terrific. Who doesn't need help right at dinner time?
REcipes with ingrdients I'll recognize and find easily??? That's for me. The polenta sounds easy and tasty too. THanks for the receommendation Darlene.
This sounds like a great cookbook Dar. It sounds really helpful.
Great review!
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Regarding fresh veggies and fruits, have you thought about freezing some during the summer to have during the winter? My grandparents in Toronto do this and so they usually have at least some type of veggies/fruit during the winter. Trick is having enough freezer space, though! And not sure what you do to avoid freezer burn?
Although, I've also heard that eating frozen fruits/veggies can be just as healthy as fresh–maybe even more so because it's frozen at the peak of it's ripeness. But then you give up local…