Title: Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends
Author: Tara “Teaspoon” Bench
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Genre: Cookbook
Year Published: 2020
Number of Pages: 246
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-62972-785-1
Price: 32.99
Reviewed by Christine Tensmeyer for the Association for Mormon Letters
The cookbook Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends is a well-constructed book. I really enjoyed the photography in this book. Not only does it have pictures of the recipes, but it has pictures of wooden spoons, unique measuring cups, and vintage cookbooks, etc. at each section. I feel like Live Life Deliciously is pretty enough to have displayed on the kitchen counter.
Live Life Deliciously has a bit of everything in it, from appetizers all the way to desserts. At the beginning of the book in a section called “New Pantry Staples” (pp. 9-17), Ms.Bench states that she may be introducing the reader to some new flavours and ingredients in this cookbook. I would agree with that statement. Some of her recipes call for well-known ingredients and while others don’t. One example is sumac. I have no idea what that is, and I consider myself a fairly well-versed cook.
The layout of the cookbook flows well for following the recipes. I really appreciated the tips Ms. Bench’s included with the recipes. The recipes include tips in the headings and a box off to the side called “Tara’s Tips” that are color-coordinated with the different sections of the book. I personally didn’t find Bench’s estimations of “Hands-On Time” and “ Total Time” to be accurate on the recipes I tried, but I will admit to not being the fastest one in the kitchen.
A lot of the recipes in Live Life Deliciously are made up of different recipes found in the book. For example, for the “Chicken and Biscuits with Honey Butter” (98-99), you use Bench’s “6 Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits” recipe (p. 43) and her “Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken” recipe (p. 97) to make the chicken and biscuit with honey butter.
I tried a few of Bench’s recipes, and my favourite ones were the “Vanilla Sour Cream Pound Cake” (p 201) with the “Classic Vanilla Pudding” (pp. 202-203). One of the tips was to serve these two together, and I was very glad I did. The pudding came together just fine, but it did take longer than the stated time. The Pound Cake was absolutely delicious. One of the tips was to coat the bundt pan with sugar. I had never coated a pan with sugar before and I was worried the sugar would burn, but it didn’t, and the cake had a yummy crust on the outside when it was done. We also tried the “Tex Mex Queso Dip” (p. 37). I personally thought it was extremely salty, but my husband said it was salty but fine.
Overall, Live Life Deliciously is great if you enjoy cooking and want to try some new dishes. It’s perfect if you want to have something a little bit more special or out of the ordinary without it being really difficult. I felt that the recipes while well written, and easy to follow, were labour intensive. Most of the recipes in this book I wouldn’t make on a weeknight, I’d wait for the weekend when I have a bit more time. I wouldn’t recommend this book for beginners, those trying to cook on a budget, or those who want fast meals. It might also not work for families with little children who may have a limited palette. I am looking forward to cooking more of the recipes in Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends