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WHOLESOME HARVEST

Name: WHOLESOME HARVEST
Author: Carol Gelles
ISBN: 0-316-30725-1

COOKING WITH THE NEW FOUR FOOD GROUPS: GRAINS, BEANS, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES

by Carol Gelles ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 1992

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Gelles's meatless cookbook comes with a foreword by the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which last year proposed a four-food-group diet based on grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. That recent proposal notwithstanding, to anyone familiar with vegetarian cookbooks, there's nothing ``new'' about the ``new food groups'' or about Gelles's mix of recipes. Along with the familiar natural-foodists' mix of ethnic (minestrone, hummus) and whole-grain standards (granola, whole-wheat muffins) and simple curries made with various ground spices, she adds some odd caprices such as ``red red chile'' using cranberry juice, ``Mexican pizza'' topped with bean puree and bottled salsa, and a soup that has approximately equal amounts of cooked lentils, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and orange juice. Her introductory pages on nutrition also cover familiar ground without much style. For all that, the collection—with its nutrient breakdowns and its markers for easy (``E''), quick (``Q''), and vegan (``V'') recipes—might have a future among some mainstream, health- conscious consumers of unsophisticated palates.

Pub Date: Aug. 26, 1992

ISBN: 0-316-30725-1

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.