Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon

Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends

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Pub Date Oct 06 2020 | Archive Date Oct 20 2020

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Description

As a food editor and stylist for Martha Stewart, Tara knows how to create and showcase gorgeously themed meals for every lifestyle and occasion.

In her first cookbook, she shares more than 120 delicious showstopping recipes that are designed to impress. From leisurely weekend brunches spent over burrata cheese with grilled peaches and orange zest chimichurri to easy weeknight rice bowls with carrot-ginger dressing to a mouthwatering Italian crostata baked tart, Tara explains how to put together and master several special go-to dishes from the culinary capitals of the world to add to your repertoire.

The book also features a section where she provides a basic recipe which can then be easily transformed into two or three new recipes to make meal planning a breeze during busy weeknight schedules.

Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon shows serious foodies how to present food as an interesting and beautiful culinary experience with dishes that taste as delicious as they look.
 

As a food editor and stylist for Martha Stewart, Tara knows how to create and showcase gorgeously themed meals for every lifestyle and occasion.

In her first cookbook, she shares more than 120...


Advance Praise

"Bench aka Teaspoon, former food editor for Martha Stewart's Living and Ladies Home Journal, debuts with a stylish cookbook aimed at cooks who 'have a passion for feeding people.' Innovative....shopstopping.  Provides valuable serving and storage suggestions, swaps and presentation ideas. These tempting, flexible recipes will go a long way in helping home cooks expand their repertoire."—Publishers Weekly

"Bench aka Teaspoon, former food editor for Martha Stewart's Living and Ladies Home Journal, debuts with a stylish cookbook aimed at cooks who 'have a passion for feeding people.'...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781629727851
PRICE $32.99 (USD)
PAGES 288

Available on NetGalley

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Average rating from 46 members


Featured Reviews

This book is filled with gorgeous photos and delicious recipes! What more could you want from a cookbook? It has recipes for every occasion and seems to have taken into account all budget types. We tried a few recipes as a family and every single one was a hit!
Thank you for NetGalley for the temporary digital reader copy.

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This book is filled with absolutely gorgeous photos and recipes that I can't wait to try! I love how there are recipes for all types of occasions from the everyday weeknight dinner to special parties and sweet treats.

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There are so many recipes in this book that I want to try!

There are appetizers, dinners, salads, desserts, side dishes and more.

This caught my eye when I noticed the author used to cook with Martha Stewart.
The recipes included sound delicious and look great too, nice looking photographs of the food.
I like how some recipes can be used in more than one way. I have my eye on a Thai Chicken Meatball recipe that can be used for multiple different meals. I also like how the recipe for White Bean Dip can be used as a dip or on a sandwich (both recipes are included).

I found myself bookmarking a lot of recipes. The very first one I plan to try is Spicy Pork Cutlets with Corn and Avocado Salad. I may even make it this week.

I got to check out an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!

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This is a fantastic resource! The photos are beautiful and the recipes are mouth-watering! I can't wait to try them out! I highly recommend this awesome cookbook!

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This book is a great introduction to someone who wants to learn the basics of cooking, but beyond that there are a ton of fantastic recipes that are uncomplicated but will impress your friends at dinner parties. I love that there are several recipes that build upon each other that help make food prep easier, and I adore that some of my favorite flavors (pistachio and orange) are incorporated to reach an even broarder audience. This is a great book for anyone looking to cook simple yet elegant recipes.

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This book is a contemporary cookbook with a lot of ideas and recipes for the modern cook.

Tara's recipes are both beautiful to look at and look delicious to eat. She clearly knows what she is doing.

I especially loved the "modern pantry" lists, as well as the snippets of "Tara's tips" for each recipe.

I really liked the dressing ideas for salads.

Overall if you are looking for some new ideas for meals or for prepping your pantry and fridge, Tara has some great ones for you.

This would also make a lovely gift book!

I received an ARC as a reviewer for NetGalley.

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Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to have a look and offer my opinion. These recipes all looked amazingly glamorous and very detailed but would you really make them? This is a cookbook for people who love to cook for higher end type people, or should I say rich and fabulous. I’m not sure I could make most of these recipes without constantly hearing what is that....or what is that. The only recipes that truly caught my eye were the desserts... you had me at chocolate chip cookies. The author says it herself that she worked as a food stylist for Martha Stewart which makes you want a glance but actually cooking some of this would just be a once in a blue moon type deal for my family

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Delicious book! I want to make these recipes now! So great! This book is well organized, the photos are inspiring, and the recipes are pretty good! I would make them as everyday meal and when I have people over.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

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Delicious recipes gorgeous photographs reading made my mouth drool.Will be cooking recipes from this wonderful book for many occasions,#netgalley#shadowmountaib

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A great cookbook if you're someone who likes to entertain and don't mind the occasional ingredient that may take some effort to find. Gorgeous pictures and some great sounding recipes that can exercise your culinary skills. I wouldn't call this a quick and easy weeknight cookbook but sometimes you want to put in a little more effort and try something new.

I like the idea that some of the recipes she gives multiple ways to use them but I do wish they were grouped together more. Several of the ingredient lists sent you to another recipe on another page. Started to feel like a scavenger hunt at times.

I will definitely be giving some of these recipes a try!

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A good mix of recipes, ranging from weekday meals to dinners you would make for friends and plates of food to share.
The recipes are clear, but sometimes lack pictures (or at least labelled pictures), which at times is a shame because when there are pictures, they are mouthwatering and make you want to start cooking.
While I wouldn't cook everything and some things I know, I did pick out a number of recipes I liked and easily replicaed them. My favourite parts in this book are the snacks, the sauces and the desserts. It is surprising how intricate the desserts can look and actually aren't too hard to make (looking at you, triple layer chocolate cake!).

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Great new cookbook! I found the layout to flow well and the recipes were easy to understand and follow along to. I look forward to trying some of them out for my family.

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I was so excited to receive the cookbook Live Life Deliciously by Tara Teaspoon. It is beautifully designed and the perfect size, and the recipes look absolutely delicious!

On the front, it is advertised for “busy weekdays,” so I was hoping it would be easy recipes for a beginner such as me. Most of the recipes seemed too far above my skill level and had a longer prep time than I would have liked, but I found one I thought I could manage. I tried it out, and it was the most delectable garlic bread I have ever had in my life. It didn’t take long, was very easy to do, and I was so impressed with the results. I will absolutely be using that recipe again and again. I found many recipes that I would like to try because they look so good and I was so happy with my garlic bread experience.

The only thing I would change is I wish that the pictures of the food were in color so I could get the full effect of how delicious the food looks before I make it. Another thing is that each section starts with a list of the recipes, but there are no page numbers listed which makes finding the recipe you want a tad difficult. Overall, I am very impressed with the recipes I saw and I was ecstatic with my experience in the recipe that I made.

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This was such a yummy cookbook! The beautiful pictures made each recipe so enticing. The recipes had many flavors and spices I don’t often cook with, so it was nice to try something new! Some of our favorites were the Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken and the Cheesy Herb Potatoes Au Gratin. So yummy!

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Live Life Deliciously by Tara Teaspoon offers updated recipes using "New Pantry Staples" as the author calls it along with delightful updates to techniques. Some of the New Pantry Staples Teaspoon uses include artichoke hearts, fish sauce, red curry paste, sweet chili sauce or tahini.

I loved her chapter about choosing the right kitchen equipment. Teaspoon gives recommendations on purchasing kitchen appliances, pots and pans, knives, cutting boards and other assorted kitchen equipment.

Her recipes are delightful and varied. I loved her idea to serve a butter board with baguettes instead of the typical cheese board. Teaspoon recommends the type of butter to use and recipes using butter as part of the butter board. The Cheese and Herb potato Gratin looks yummy too as well as the Moroccan Kebabs with Chermoula Sauce.

You will find plenty of gorgeous color photos depicting the recipes.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

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Tara Teaspoon is an experienced chef with a passion for her craft. She has worked with Martha Stewart and was the food director of Ladies Home Journal Magazine.

She credits her mother with her creativity and enthusiasm in the kitchen. Tara worked alongside her mom in the kitchen since she was old enough to reach the counters.

Through her work Tara has access to the best equipment and ingredients, but she understands that home chefs often have to make-do with what they have.

Of course, she recommends that you have every variety of pot and pan and every small kitchen appliance. She does however, offer work arounds and often encourages readers to buy inexpensive options.

Her list of pantry staples is realistic. It includes items like garlic, chocolate and soy sauce, with nothing more exotic than red curry paste. You will have most of these items in your pantry already.

What I Cooked

Lemon-Butter Salmon with Herbs

This recipe is as simple as the name suggests. It requires little more than pan frying the salmon in butter and olive oil with garlic. This is now my go-to salmon recipe, it is absolutely the best salmon recipe I have.

French Bistro Mushroom Burger

This is a clever twist on traditional mushroom burgers. Instead of topping the burger with mushrooms, you actually add sautéed mushrooms to the burger patties. This tastes fabulous with the herb seasonings. I will be making this again!

This cookbook is a great option for home chefs. It includes lots of simple yet flavorful recipes. Plenty of interesting side dishes, easy main courses and tempting desserts. Live Life Deliciously is perfect for cooks looking to spice up their traditional American cuisine.

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Okay, my bias is going to be all over this review. :) First off, this is a woman who used to work for Martha Stewart and also was an editor of Ladies Home Journal -- and boy does she remind you of that. She also has a lot of pictures of herself cooking in the book, which always puts me off a bit. She is very chatty in the book and I usually enjoy that in a cookbook, but she's clearly from another world than I am and I felt a bit as if one of the rich and popular girls in high school was talking to me, but only because she wanted something from me. Another reviewer tagged this "ritzy food" and said it's the sort of thing you make when you want to impress people. I agree, and that's just not my thing.

The recipes are beautiful and I have no doubt they'll taste great. They tend to take a fair amount of time and to use multiple recipes for each dish (make the sauce on this page, the rub on this page, then do this) so the section telling you the time needed for recipes seems a bit deceptive. They also tend towards higher end ingredients. These aren't really things your average mom is going to throw together after getting home from work. These are the sorts of things you cook when you want to impress someone. In some cases, this is really well done. For instance, her take on fried ice cream involves crushing corn flakes and something else that have been mixed with honey and cooked, and then rolling balls of ice cream in them, putting them in small dishes where either bananas or strawberries have been cut on an angle to make petal shapes going all around it, and then topping it with fresh whipped cream and sprinkles, with a cherry on top. It's beautiful and probably tastes great, but I'm not sure most home cooks would do the whole flower and every garnish thing and I'm not sure how great it will be just as crushed corn flakes and honey on a ball of ice cream.

The book is also designed for Standard American Diet folks (but high end ones). There are a few accidentally gluten free or vegetarian dishes, but for the most part it's all heavy on meat, dairy, wheat, animal ingredients, white sugar, etc. and most of the recipes will not be a great fit for people who are gluten free, dairy free, paleo, keto, diabetic, vegan, vegetarian, etc. or who have any family members who are. Recipes are not marked if they meet any of these needs and there's not even the occasional token recipe offered in a nod to the fact that most people these days at least know some vegetarian, gluten free, and/or paleo folks they might want to cook for once or twice.

There are color photos of at least half of the recipes, and they're beautifully done. There is no nutritional information provided.

This will be a great addition to many cooks' libraries, even if it's not a great fit for mine.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

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This is a lovely and elegant cookbook that shows the author's creativity in the kitchen. I enjoyed looking at the numerous photographs of the dishes and reading Tara's suggested variations on how you could serve them. I think her suggestions are really useful! I also liked the fact that these are dishes that have a certain elegance so I'd probably be most inclined to use this cookbook when I am entertaining or even when I am a guest and want to bring something more interesting and sophisticated than the usual standard fare to the potluck or the holiday dinner. And what's nice is that the recipes don't require long lists of hard-to-obtain ingredients that you've never heard of... they seem doable and that's going to make it a cookbook that you want to use! Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to review an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This cookbook was awesome!! Totally worth it just for the beginning section on essential pantry items and cooking tools. This book had some great recipes, but I loved how the author made each recipe an opportunity for personalization and creativity.
Tara really did well in reaching out to all levels of "chefs." Beginners can easily follow her guidelines and recipes, while more advanced cooks can use this book as a reference for basic recipes or use it to plan weekly menus with limited waste.
Overall a great collection to annoy persons cookbook collection or starting book for new cooks!

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This cookbook was wonderful. I tried several of the recipes and they were delicious. My only problem with this cookbook is that some of the recipes are a little bit hard to find, so they're not recipes I would probably make on a regular basis. But they were the kind of recipes that would be create for entertaining.

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This book was received as an ARC from Shadow Mountain Publishing - Shadow Mountain in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was all about the presentation of food and all of it looked so delicious and I know our cooking demo will absolutely love this book. A lot of recipes are very easy to follow and look very mouth-watering such as the peaches and burata and the Italian Crostata Baked Tart. I can't wait to share these recipes with our patrons and the rest of our community.

We will consider adding this title to our TX collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

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Thank you for my arc copy! This is a great book to add to your collection. It has great photos, which typically pull me in when I'm searching for a good cookbook and the book is organized and overall makes you feel like getting in the kitchen. Can't wait to try some of the recipes in the book!

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This book is filled to the brim with tasty recipes and beautiful photographs. I cant wait to try out some of the recipes.

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Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon
Author: Tara Teaspoon Bench
August 12, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for giving me an advanced copy of this
cookbook. I can't wait to get my hands on the published version, complete with even more beautiful photos. I've had fun experimenting with Tara's recipes this summer - Watermelon Arugula Salad, Parmesan and Herb White Bean Dip, White Bean Salad with Italian Tuna, Garlic and Sumac Roasted Broccoli with Sweet Dates, and so much more! Tara takes fresh, healthy ingredients (for the most part!) and elevates dishes to a whole new level. I especially enjoyed the sweets and breakfast/brunch sections.

Debuting in October, this cookbook is a great treat for the Thanksgiving hostess and a wonderful holiday gift. It's on my list to give - and receive!

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I was given an early e-copy of this cookbook for review on Netgalley. I love cookbooks that have clear, concise instructions, beautiful photography and notes or stories from the writer. This book fulfilled all the things I find appealing. I feel this book is for the moderate home cook. The recipes, while involved, have ingredients for the most part that the average home cook will be able to find. The photography of the recipes were absolutely stunning. Just an example of some of the recipes are: Moroccan kebabs with chermoula sauce(recipe for that too), herb glazed fall off the bone bbq ribs and bakery style chocolate chunk cookies. The formatting on this early ebook version still needs work, but I definitely will be wanting a physical copy of this book when it releases in the Fall.

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#LiveLifeDeliciouslyWithTaraTeaspoon #NetGalley

I love to read cookbooks. I'm looking forward to trying new recipes. I now follow Tara Teaspoon on Instagram, she has a way of presenting food in new ways. I took her advice, from this cookbooks and tried fruit in my guacamole, goodness I've been missing out! I tried blueberries and it gave it a twist that was unusual, I can't wait to try other fruits. I'm looking forward to this new cookbook.

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The pub day of Live Life Deliciously can not come soon enough for me to get the physical copy of this exceptional cookbook into my hands. Tara Teaspoon is an exciting new presence on cookbook shelves, but her extensive background with both Martha Stewart Living, Ladies Home Journal and multitudes of other publications and brands may make her more familiar than you realize. The cookbook is organized by topics--Bites, Salads, Sides, Weeknights, Inspired Dinners, Meals for Gathering and Morning Foods. Recipes sound flavorful and "gourmet," yet are deceptively simple. I tried a lemon-herb veggie couscous with raisins and almonds that stepped up my usual sad desk lunch. The recipe included a beautiful photo, serving information and hands-on-time. Most recipes also include Tara's tip and additional ways the item can be served. The review copy indicates an index will be available for the book, although the review copy did not show it. Cookbook lovers that enjoy Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Gaby Dalkin will want to add this to their shelves.

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Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon is a cooking and lifestyle guide with recipes developed by Tara Teaspoon. Due out 6th Oct 2020 from Shadow Mountain Publishing, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The layout is appealing and unfussy - easy to understand and accessible. The introduction includes a simple pantry list along with a good basic equipment list for stocking a working home kitchen. The recipes are arranged by category: bites dips & snacks, salads bowls & dressings, sides, weeknight meals, flavor inspired dinners, meals for gathering, mornings, and sweets. The dishes are varied in complexity and taste (I didn't feel any of them were unachievable in my very basic home kitchen).

Ingredient measurements are supplied in American measurements only. There wasn't a conversion chart for metric measures included in the eARC provided for review. Nutritional information not included. Extra tips or recipe alternatives are listed in sidebars with the recipes. The recipes themselves are fairly straightforward and are made with easily sourced ingredients. Many are very simple, none of them are overly complex. The book does include an index.

The photography is clear and abundant; most of the recipes are illustrated, and the photographs which are included are crisp and well done. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate.

This is a large collection of recipes and even allowing for the fact that some of them are similar to others in the same category, this will keep cooking fans going for ages. These range from simple "everyday" recipes to fancier dishes for social gatherings. We tried several dishes and all of them were tasty and well written. (We didn't try any of the dessert recipes, but I found no glaring errors with a quick read-through).

We're definitely going to try more of these. Well written book, tasty food.

Four stars. This is a solid recipe book which will be used. It would make a superlative housewarming gift to a friend or family member - college student, new graduate, newlyweds, kids flying the nest, etc. Many of these recipes are destined to become family favorites and regulars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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This book made me hungry right away. It's filled with gorgeous pictures and an impressive array of recipes made with different ingredients. I know my patrons will like it and I'll probably buy a copy for my collection.

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This cookbook is filled with amazing recipes!! The pictures are beautiful and the descriptions make you want to run out, buy all the ingredients and get cooking! It's a perfect cookbook for an entertainer.

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I would recommend this for any students to read if they were interested in learning some new recipes or tips/tricks about presentation. I would put a copy in a Family & Consumer Science classroom, but would not adopt it for the curriculum.

On a personal note - I'm excited for it to come out and to test out some of the recipes. There is a nice spin on some classics.

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Tara Teaspoon’s Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon is a well-designed and well-organized cookbook filled with a variety of delicious recipes and stunning full-colour pictures.

The book features brief and useful chapters on pantry staples (foods like bacon and baking soda to tahini and red curry paste are included) and gathering the right equipment like knives and skillets. There are also chapters on bites, dips, and snacks; salads, bowls, and dressings; side love; weeknight routines; flavor-inspired dinners; meals for gathering; morning glories; and sweets to share.

I love cookbooks and this will be a perfect addition to my collection! The book has your meals covered from breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and even salad dressings! There is a range of recipes for sandwiches, pastas, pies, sauces, salads, pancakes, and more. Learn to make delicious dishes like corn succotash, strawberry cheesecake ice cream with gingersnaps, bakery-style chocolate chunk cookies with a secret ingredient (cream cheese!), and peanut noodle and pork ‘satay’. Entertain a crowd with the ginormous never-ending party sub or have an indulgent brunch with the Spanish tortilla with mushrooms and bacon.

I like that many of the ingredients are familiar, mostly affordable, and fairly accessible. I also like that Teaspoon takes the time to explain specialty ingredients quickly but thoroughly. The recipes are easy-to-follow. Although the stunning dishes may look difficult at first, they are actually very doable.

Teaspoon’s writing is approachable and easy-to-read. I like her little stories and I really appreciate the fact that she keeps everything nicely succinct. I like the helpful “Tara’s Tip” that is included with many of the recipes. They offer great information to make your cooking adventures easier. I also like her “Looks Delicious” suggestions which helps aesthetic-minded cooks to make their dishes Instagram-ready.

I love the beautiful, bright, and clean full-page pictures. The food is so attractively presented that I was tempted to chomp the screen! I appreciate the abundance of pictures of the completed dishes. But, I do wish that the pictures were labelled. However, they are so clear and well-presented that you can easily figure out the dish.

Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon is a delicious cookbook with gorgeous pictures. It will be a perfect addition to any cook’s collection!




🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 ½ out of 5 spoons!

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Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon is an inspiring and stunning cookbook that is a nice addition to a collection. The instructions are easy to follow and there are many beautiful images to accompany them. It contains some great tips and equipment suggestions, however it might be a bit too detailed for those looking for a quick weeknight recipe.

I am not familiar with the author, but according to her bio, she is quite connected with the cooking community. There is an air of Martha Stewart in this book, but Tara has a more down-to-earth approach in her descriptions. The recipes definitely seem doable and there are some unique ideas to create.

The contents include:

New Pantry Staples
The Right Equipment
Bites, Dips, and Snacks
Salads, Bowls, and Dressings
Side Love
Weeknight Routines
Flavour Inspired Dinners
Meals for Gathering
Morning Glories
Sweets to Share

❀ EXTENSIVE EQUIPMENT LIST

What really stands out for me in the cookbook is actually the beginning of the book that provides an extensive list of items for a well-stocked pantry and a great list of essential equipment. These sections don’t call for many hard to find or expensive things, which I found very refreshing. It might not be useful for a seasoned home chef, but there were a couple of things that caught my eye for my own kitchen.

❀ PERFECT FOR A GET-TOGETHER

The recipes included here are definitely ones to try if you are making something for a get-together and are wanting to impress your guests. In my opinion, most of these recipes have a lot of steps that involve combining recipes from other pages. On a busy weeknight, quick and nutritious is the aim, and I just didn’t have the energy to create any of these recipes. I do have quite a few bookmarked for when I have some time to set aside, though.

❀ BEAUTIFUL AND DETAILED

If you enjoy a beautiful cookbook that has lots of detailed and interesting recipes for a crowd, Live Life Deliciously is definitely one to try. There are some fantastic ideas in this book that will impress your guests.

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What a perfect cookbook, filled with recipes for hectic weekdays as well as more complicated recipes for the weekend or whenever you have more time.

This book is loaded with appetizers, sides, salads (including dressings, the best addition to any salad in my opinion). All recipes include hands on time and total time, an important feature when you are trying to find a quick dinner.

The book is loaded with colorful, appetizing, well plated photos. So well done!

Thank you Shadow Martin Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A great book with lots of new ideas for entertaining family and friends. Fab recipes and some wonderful photos. Highly recommended

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I always enjoy venturing out and trying new flavors and foods. Some of my family members, not so much. So I have to find a good balance in my home meals. Food my family will eat but also food and flavors that I'll enjoy. My rule is that they have to try it. They can't declare they don't like it without even trying it. And I usually have them give it a couple bites to let the flavors ruminate in their mouth and mind before they decide. Sometimes it takes those couple of bites and sometimes it is an instant reaction of yes or no. Lol! But regardless they've realized that what they might initially not want to eat because of looks, becomes some of their favorite foods. Score for me! But for those family members who aren't so adventurous I have to not overwhelm them too often and stick with some of their favorites as well.

I enjoyed looking through this cookbook and getting some different ideas. Not just for food but for tools and pantry stocking and some other ideas. I like seeing what different cooks use for tools and what their staple pantry supplies are. Of course this doesn't always apply to everyone else looking at the cookbook. But I like that we can see and garner new ideas. Or take the plunge and buy an item that I've been debating about for a while and having seen several great uses for it, try it, and usually love that I took the plunge (I take a while to decide what I really want and if I'm really going to use it before purchasing).

The pictures in the book are beautiful and made my mouth water A LOT!!! Lol! So don't read this if you're hungry. Then again...read it when you're hungry because you'll want to try out the recipes. To be honest, I haven't tried any of the recipes. I had a lot of fun reading through the different sections of recipes and marking what ones I would want to try and enjoy. There are a lot of great ones in here that I'm looking forward to trying. Especially with my budding chefs at home. I love that aspect about cooking (not that it always happens but I try to make it happen), having time to cook and talk and teach and try new recipes with my kids. My husband is also great about finding different foods to cook with our kids. So being in the kitchen with kids and family is a constant in our house. I think I'm going to have each of my kids pick a couple of their favorites and make a meal with them trying out these new recipes.

There are several sections in the book. Here they are: Bites, Dips and Snacks. Salads, Bowls and Dressings. Side Love. Weeknight Routines. Flavor-Inspired Dinners. Meals for Gathering. Morning Glories. And the last one is Sweets to Share.

Yum! Just thinking about some of these recipes has me ready to dive in and eat them. Lol!

Content: Definitely clean ;-) It's a cookbook.

I received a copy from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!! (and Eating!!!)

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Most people who have been cooking for a while don’t want a cookbook with basics; they are schooled in the basics and want a few mouthwatering recipes to make dinners fun and exciting. That’s why Live Life Deliciously With Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends by Tara Teaspoon is a great cookbook. It is jam-packed with showstopper recipes, mostly quite easy, that real people will actually want to cook.

Most of the recipes call for easy-to-find ingredients, and Teaspoon makes good use of trendy healthy foods such as avocados and chick peas. Teaspoon’s recipes utilize flavors from all over the world including Mexican, Moroccan, Asian, Thai, Italian, and Spanish. Some of the dishes are innovative such as the Savory Romesco and Almond Tart, Mexican-Spiced Black-Bean Hash Browns and Eggs, and Pistachio Cake with Yogurt and Citrus. She also includes recipes for sauces that can not only be used in the recipes in the book, but also in everyday cooking. You can’t go wrong with over a hundred recipes for appetizers, salads, soups, breads, main dishes, and desserts that are a little different and a cut above what you often find in standard cookbooks.

One of the best parts of this cookbook is that it has beautiful photographs of almost every dish. This makes it easy to see what the dish will look like, and will inspire cooks to make several of the recipes.

This is definitely a cookbook for anyone who loves to cook and wants to present beautiful dishes without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

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The recipes sound delicious and are well written with clear instructions. My issue is that I could never talk my husband into trying them. If you have adventurous eaters, this is an excellent resource. Picky eaters and folks who prefer simple food will be out of luck.

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Solid cookbook with ample photos and thorough instructions! My favorite recipe is the Tomato and Roquefort Steak Flatbread, it looks and sounds delightful. My favorite feature of this cookbook are the "Tara's Tips' sprinkled throughout because when it comes to the kitchen one can never have too many tips to make life easier. I heartily recommend this book to all home cooks and those who love to look at cookbooks for the pictures alike.

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I received a free copy of this cookbook exchange for an honest review. I love that Trisha has huge full color pictures of each recipe. You know exactly what each food item is supposed to look like. I wish there was calorie information for the recipes, but I can figure it out with online calculators. It's just inconvenient. This cookbook is definitely a comfort food cookbook. If you are looking for healthy recipes, then this is not the right cookbook for you. Almost every recipe in this book is loaded with fat and calories, but looks delicious. I like how there's a personal story with each recipe. I love all the recipes, but I definitely wouldn't be using it all the time, since I am eating healthi.

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I loved this cookbook! So many great recipes in one place! My favorites so far are the Little Italy Snack Board, the French Bistro Mushroom Burgers with Brie, and the Cocktails Lime Cookies.

I highly recommend this book!

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