Reading the History: The Kentucky Derby

If the Super Bowl had been played in the same city each year, say a working class community like Green Bay, and still grew up to become a multi-billion-dollar spectacle attracting the world's rich and famous as well as the beer-swilling, tattooed commoners then it would be an event comparable to the Kentucky Derby, especially if you added an extra hundred years of tradition to its history.

An unabashed  thoroughbred horse enthusiast and Kentucky Derby fan, the author nevertheless provides a straightforward history and honest assessment of the event and its evolution.

The book follows the progress of the Derby through the decades as it broke away from a pack of other races to become America’s premier thoroughbred event.

The Kentucky Derby

How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event

by James C. Nicholson

The University Press of Kentucky, 2012

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Review: Hot Drinks

Original recipes and new interpretations of hot beverage classics from around the world are served up in this slim volume by  Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss.

Illustrated with historic photos, colorful advertisements and drawings, and spiced with both practical and unusual recipes, this enticingly clever text is a fun browse and a mouth-watering temptation.

Look inside for some liquid holiday cheer in the form of Mistletoe and Holly (part cranberry juice, part peppermint schnapps), the traditional wassail (a British ale-based drink with spices and apples) or a basic Hot Buttered Rum.
The 50 drink recipes include mixed coffees, special teas, festive punches, spiked cocoas, warm ciders and sophisticated cocktails.

Hot Drinks

Cider, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Spiced Punch, and Spirits

by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss

Ten Speed Press, 2007.

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Farm and Garden Picks: Homegrown Honey Bees

This beginner’s guide to beekeeping clearly explains everything you need to know, from getting your first bees to harvesting your first crop of honey.

Spectacular macro photography brings the inner workings of the hive to life, while the playful text gives you the information you need to make it through your first year.

Everything is addressed here, from allergies, permits and restrictions, and how to deal with the neighbors to hive structure, colony hierarchy, and bee behavior.

Homegrown Honey Bees

An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping

by Alethea Morrison

Storey Publishing, 2013

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Review: Organic Gardener's Companion

This is a guide for growing organic produce specifically in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana and in the similarly semi-arid high altitude  climates of Utah, Idaho, northern Arizona and eastern Oregon. Short growing seasons, thin soils and inclimate weather makes any kind of gardening a challenge; growing organically is even more of a test.

"I've gardened in the West without using chemicals or poisons for more than forty years," notes author Jane Shellenberger.  "It's not difficult, but it helps to have a bit of education on the topic."

Organic Gardener's Companion

Growing Vegetables in the West

by Jane Shellenberger

Fulcrum, 2012

Cover Art: Organic Gardener's Companion
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Review: Organic Meat Production and Processing

As organic farming continues to emerge as a growth industry for both crops and meat, there is increasing demand for accurate and up-to-date information on producing, processing, marketing, and maintaining food safety in organic foods.

This textbook compiled by a team of editors and an international collection of authors focuses on the management issues facing producers of organic beef, swine, poultry and other meat species. It also includes background articles on the history of organic operations, current market and regulatory issues, the differences between organic and conventional meats, and the future of the organic movement worldwide.

Organic Meat Production and Processing

edited by Steven C. Ricke, et al.

Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

Cover Art: Organic Meat Production and Processing
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Knack Quick and Easy Cooking

Even if time is limited and experience lacking, it is still possible to prepare healthy family meals.

Combining photographs and succinct descriptions, this book outlines the process of putting meals together, quickly and easily, without sacrificing flavor.

Includes tips on organizing a kitchen and smart shopping.

Knack Quick and Easy Cooking

A Step-by-Step Guide to Meals in Minutes

by Linda Johnson Larsen

Knack, 2009

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Review: Making Peg Dolls

"When we watch children immersed in imaginative play, and one child presents us with a bit of wood saying, 'This is my baby,' these imaginings of children at play cross the expanses of history and culture to connect us in a universal way," writes author Margaret Bloom in her introduction to this book of peg doll inspirations.

Originally created from wooden laundry pegs, the dolls in this book are designed in the Waldorf education tradition that encourages imaginative play and emotional development through neutral faces and minimal features.

The 60 designs and patterns for peg dolls included in this book are arranged by season, Spring through Winter, with three fairy tale sets in the back of the book for making dolls for The Three Bears, Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel. Introductory chapters review materials and techniques and offer a glossary of stitches.

Making Peg Dolls

by Margaret Bloom

Hawthorn Press, 2013

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