Soups and Stews: For Fall and Winter Days

These tend to be old-fashioned soups, many calling for a lamb bone or a ham bone to give them flavor, although of course if you have a particularly flavorful stock that you like you can use that instead. These are soups and stews that also try to pack in as many healthful vegetables as possible while hiding their healthiness from any kids who might happen across them. One of the unusual aspects to this book is the presence of recipe tips for making both adults and kids happy with the recipes. For example, one soup recommends splitting it into two pots when done, and adding sherry to the adults' pot and apple juice to the kids'. Another suggests chopping the parsley as fine as possible so as to avoid grossing out the kids. Unfortunately, while the recipes were solidly decent, none of the ones we tried really wowed me. The flavors seemed a bit unbalanced, or just kind of there. Also, none of the recipes mention adding the salt and pepper to taste at the end, which is a tad unusual; so if you're the kind of cook who forgets to do anything that isn't in the recipe, make sure you remind yourself of that. Some of the recipes definitely need the addition. I do think that these recipes might be more appealing to folks with blander tastes than ours, and to kids, which is why I'm still giving this book a four out of five---after all, it is aimed at families with kids, and kids tend to have notoriously bland tastes. The book does lack photos if that matters to you, but I don't tend to think that soups require them---there isn't much that needs showing. If you have kids and are looking for a good way to incorporate more healthy soups and stews into their diet, then I think this book might do the job. It includes a wide range of recipes, and has plenty of tips for making sure your kids enjoy what you make.

I have recently begun a Weight Watchers program and I have been looking for recipes for soups that I could eat for lunch. I saw the description of this book and decided to give it a try. The first two recipes that I cooked, Mulligatawny and Hawaiian Hot Pot have been winners...and not that many points either. This is not 'diet food'! You can serve it to the family and the young ones will like it too. There are suggestions for modifying some of the recipes for children and that is well advised. My goal in the Weight Watchers program is to cook two new recipes per week in an attempt to build a repertoire of foods that are both tasty and healthy. I plan to use this book often and I think that you will enjoy it as much as I have.

Soups and Stews for Fall and Winter Days contains an excellent variety of recipes -- some interesting new ones and clever variations on old favorites. Even if you are not a soup fan, it's fun to read Fosburgh's comments. As a published fiction writer, her way with words may entice you to try something new. At $10.95 per copy, the book is well worth the price for this small gem. Because I am a so-so cook, I usually like photos in a cook book. However, Soups and Stews for Fall and Winter Days is so clearly written and the cover photos so appealing, I don't miss them in this offering. I know I'll be trying some of these ideas for the fall football season.