Sorry this took so long guys. And because anything I submit my own title for on Helium it takes a while to get approved, here is the text. I am thinking of adding some more categores like 'Ways to get more vegetarian protein,' etc. This took me longer than I thought it would. This dog ownership is more than I expected, and I now understand why people seem to be fairly fully occupied with it even in more normal circumstances. Bullies even good ones are high maintenance. I am also going to do some hard linking of this and other articles that I write to other review sites and vegetarian/cookbook forums, etc.
And because I can revise anything anytime, please let me know what I can change. It is just a starting point, really.
Oh, and I usually don't like to publish something until I think of something particularly clever, and I thought 'soy peas in a pod' was pretty good. Hope you enjoy it.
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Book review: 101 things to do with tofu by Donna Kelly and Anne Tegtmeir
I am sure many of you might be thinking whoa, that's WAY too many things to do with tofu. But before having a rash reaction, it is worth at least considering how this curious curdled substance might play a bigger role in your balanced diet, whether you are a vegetarian or a hearty meat eater like myself. This book can help anyone contemplate the slightly over a hundred ways that are rumored to do just that.
In the mean time, the story of the book's authorship is great on the human interest side. Donna Kelly is a busy mom living in Provo, UT. She no longer has minor children but finds that she has quite a number of MAJOR children: they are constantly traipsing through the house with their friends and spouses in search of sustenance. Kelly is a lawyer by day job but found herself faced with a family full of recent converts to vegetarianism and needed to do something to make her kitchen more accommodating.
Anne Tegtmeir was reintroduced to Donna, her birth mom, after briefly being separated for about thirty years. But the two are like soy peas in a pod, and immediately began collaborating on things like catering weddings and this book.
One of the things that I immediately noticed about this book, which I believe is similar to the entire 101 series put out by Gibbs Smith, is that it comes with a supplemental sheer acrylic cover. This makes it perfect for messy cooks like me who always end up with cook books that end up looking like they were left out in the mud. In addition, the spiral binding is extremely handy for positioning on the counter with busy and dirty hands.
(For other Gibbs Smith books by Donna Kelly, check out '101 things to do with a tortilla,' '101 things to do with a can of soup,' '101 things to do with chicken,' and potentially about 97 other titles coming soon, I am sure.)
The cookbook contains a number of the usual substitutions for things that dairy usually comprises, like mayonnaise, salad dressing and Alfredo sauce. Even most people who think they can always sense soy a mile a way are usually fooled. The book also adds to the standard list a number of innovative recipes that wouldn't seem quite as obvious, such as tofu sloppy Joes, tofu parmigiana, and tofu tika masala. My kids especially liked the tofu breakfast burritos - by that I mean they ate them without giving any indication that they thought I had done something healthy to them.
The book has a few hidden gems as tokens of the authors' sense of humor, such as 'Rebirth by chocolate' and 'Cheesefake' (the second title apparently was a brainchild of Donna's son, Jake Kelly.
'101 things to do with tofu' is not the only labor of love in the picture, particularly for Anne Tegtmeir. She is expecting her first child in April, 2008. Her ingenuity with soy has been one of her strategies for making sure that she has had enough protein during pregnancy. And to any vegetarian, that can be a challenge. But this book can surely be a strategy for anyone to pump up the protein in their diet, vegetarian or otherwise.
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17 comments:
Just commenting back on you not on our blogger list. totally spaced it, no reason why you wouldn't be. I always go to yours over the Kelly's page, sorry it's all corrected now!!! :) Hope all is well for you guys up there in the Northwest~
Actually that's funny b/c I go to the kelly page to get to other stuff because it's easiest to google. The only reason I mentioned it is that I put up a post the last time that I had a family blog list to anyone who wanted to be included on it. I am now compiling another one and was trying to make sure I had everyone. Loved your Easter pics, adorable. Hope we get to see you all soon.
Love,
CA
I love it!
So fun and positive! I hope folks will be just as mesmerized as I was in reading the first line. Very clever.
If you want, you can include one experience I had while shopping:
I was at the store in the produce section buying tofu. A guy next to me asked "What do you do with that stuff, anyway?" I launched into a long laundry list, and then he smiled and said "Oh. I usually just buy it, put it in my fridge and then after a few weeks, throw it away."
Just a few corrections before you post it: Anne's last name is spelled "Tegtmeier" and her baby is due in May.
Thanks so much, Carol.
You are so sweet to do this for us!!
I new I wouldn't get the spelling right, I actually checked it several times, too, I am fairly dyslexic so I need lots of lag time in editing.
That is really funny about throwing tofu away. I wonder how much of it gets sold with just that as its destination.
That reminds me of my vegetable drawer. I have asparagus that is two days old, two weeks old, two months old...
That's 'knew.' I told you.
Actually I have a keyboard problem. I swear. Every 24th letter I type turns into a mistake.
The reason I thought April is that Anne said something about an April duedate bb list she subscribed to. But no biggie, probably most of the play on this will be afterward anyway and I will have to change it again.
Hey!
I think it's great! Wow, I really appreciate the thought and care put into it.
In addition to Helium, do you think this'll work on Amazon's user reviews?
Oh, and sorry about the due date confusion - I am indeed due in early May, but my own due date club referred us to that April Fool's prank just because it was so grand. :)
Great job & cheers!
Oh, and I do hate to be fussy - but the 'Cheesefake' name was my own. :) If Jake also arrived at it independently, I wouldn't be surprised; that just shows that we share the same punning gene, as has been demonstrated before. :D
On that topic, I still bemoan the fact that Gibbs Smith ixnayed my favorite recipe name of all: the item listed as "Vegetarian Pate" (bo-ring) was originally titled "Pate de Faux Gras". They decided that the average reader wouldn't get it. I disagreed then & disagree now, but ya gotta pick your battles.
Word of the day for y'all: Paranomasiac.
Sorry, I guess 'cheesefake' would be intuitive for any hard core gone-veggie! I don't think that's picky at all, it was the kind of thing I was looking for before too many people saw it.
I think Gibs Smith may have had a point with the veg pate though. Pate sounds bad even to most of us that eat meat.
Plus I think the book has a wider audience if it appeals to people that eat meat too, not people who necessrily substitute for everything. If I did more to market the book that is the direction I would go.
OH, and I just saw your other one. There are several things I plan to do. There is Amazon and a site called epinions.com. There are other sites but these are the main ones. Plus you can do what's called hard-linking of reviews into bb and chat sites, etc. Plus you can do youtube videos, which is a bit fancy, but they get like 22K hits even if they're bad, and if you are actually selling something people want to buy I think it is a great strategy. And I think it helps for the person doing the video to be a third party, even tho I think it would be fine if you and Donna do your own. People tune out when they KNOW someone is selling something.
Ultimately I think youtube will replace the food network. How much easier is it to search for a video of preparation of the thing you want to make than just sit there and watch Random Rachel Ray forever? At least that is probably true for most of us that don't do any cooking fantasy. I don't even like cooking while I am cooking, I really don't want to watch it on tv just for fun!
Sorry, I always think of multiple posts, not just when I am being argumentative.
Amazon.com and the other review sites are a bit different in that Amazon is more designed like basically posts on a bb which aren't sorted contentwise so it can be a needle in a haystack to get your ideas across. It mainly comes out like just being one vote. Not that it isn't worth doing, but the others are more like the net equivalent of publishing institutions. Their reviewers are encouraged to think about the product and make it readabl as well as helpful and opinionated. Hope that is useful. I write on all three.
And by 'think about the product' I mean the written review not the book - make it more like something you would read in the NY Times than just someone going off on the internet. and by 'readabl' I mean 'readable.' =]
Just my two cents, but I like the lighthearted approach in what you wrote, Carol, so please post it as many places as humanly possible.
BTW, Anne and I do have a short video of us cooking tofu-y things, if you ever want to use it.
You wrote: "Amazon.com and the other review sites are a bit different in that Amazon is more designed like basically posts on a bb which aren't sorted contentwise so it can be a needle in a haystack to get your ideas across. It mainly comes out like just being one vote."
I do agree with this, and know exactly what you're saying - but that needle-in-a-haystack effect ONLY happens when there are multiple reviews! As of right now, there are ZERO, so your user review would count for a lot even at first glance. :) It would be the only one on the page.
Ok, thanks for the feedback, I will think about saying something on Amazon, although it will have to sound more objective and less promotional to be effective. Probably just taking out the stuff that sounds crafted.
Slowly but hopefully surely, that's probably how it works.
Slowly but surely, I am posting this around and am planning other things to do.
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_101_Things_to_Do_with_Tofu_Donna_Kelly_Anne_Tegtmeier/content_428052352644
And I will want feedback from you on what works best so that I can target my efforts. In fact, as your publicist it really helps to have concrete direction, like telling me to promote a certain event with a newspaper or tv station, or whatever, however you think you can use me I have experience doing all of it so you might as well send me where you think it would best help you.
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