Review by Joyce White

Review by Joyce White
Stir, Laugh & Repeat

Like many noncooks, I have a distinct yearning for the taste of yester-year. Martha has compiled a cookery book of recipes that appeal to our palette as well as our memories. I hate recipes where I have to know what is what and where to find it and which wine to serve with it. All of Martha’s recipes are simple and the ingredients easy to find. I wish I had read this book when I was young. I got married at 18 and didn’t know how to boil eggs. Now I’m 63, I don’t boil eggs because I go to McDonald’s just to get out of the house. I do love deviled eggs but hate peeling them. I wasted so many eggs trying to get a pretty little container for my fillings. Thanks to Martha’s tips after each recipe, I now know, “While the egg is still hot, place a paper towel on the counter and with the palm of your hand roll the egg around until most of the shell is cracked. It peels in a snap.” Another fact I learned was “When a recipe calls for a baking dish, it’s referring to glass not metal. When it calls for a baking pan, it’s referring to metal.

Some of my favorite recipes brought back memories of my mom’s cooking. My favorites were:

Breakfast bars
Potato soup
No bake cookies
Monkey bread
Cracker bars

One recipe I am going to try soon is her Meatloaf Muffins. Many of us have cut down a lot on meat products but still crave the taste and energy we get from meat. I think the following recipe is a great way to sneak a little meat into our diet.

Meatloaf Muffins
1 lb. extra lean ground beef (90-905% lean)
1 6-oz. pkg. stuffing mix
1 C. water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix meat, stuffing mix, and water blending well. Press into 12 muffin cups lined with cupcake liners. With a spoon make an indentation in the center of each. Spoon in flavors of your choice. Bake 30 minutes or until meatloaves are cooked thoroughly. Top with cheese and bake until cheese melts (optional).

Suggested flavors:
Garlic
BBQ
Onions
Peppers
Worcestershire
A-1
Salsa

I’m going to leave you with one last tip I really liked. “Bury avocados in flour to hasten their ripening.” What a great tip! This is a five star book worth keeping handy in the kitchen. My thanks to Martha A. Cheves for sharing her wit, her knowledge, and her expertise in concocting recipes we can all enjoy for years to come.

This review was written by Joyce White, author and artist, at http://www.sculptingtheheart.com, where you can find her poetry, articles and meditation videos. Check out her books and ebooks, Sculpting the Heart: Surviving Depression with Art Therapy and Sculpting the Heart's Poetry while Conversing with the Masters (Picasso, Chagall, Van Gogh)