The "Yay, It's Spring!" Cookbook Giveaway

       

(If you'd like to skip my babbling and just enter the contest, scroll down a bit til you see the entry rules in bold type.)

I've had this one for a couple of months now.

I have other cookbooks to give away, too.  Books sent to me by the publisher.  Books to share or keep. 

They kind of stacked up during Christmas time and with all the cookies and everything else going on at that time, I just didn't have time to do anything with them.  So, like I said, they stacked up.

And so now I've got a bunch of cookbooks that don't fit on my shelves and I've got to get rid of at least SOME of them, because I don't know that we've got room for another bookcase in the dining room.  Unless we want to change the name of it to "the cookbook library" and eat on tv trays in the basement.  That might be fun once and a while, but not forever.

And so I figured I could do a bunch of giveaways over the next however many weeks, until my stack is less ominous. 

Therefore, to kick off this upcoming giveaway extravaganza, I thought I'd start things off today, this first day of Spring, to give it all a kind of festive, celebratory feel.

Or something like that.

Anyway.  First up is the book you see above, Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes.  The little pink circle sticker you see there reads "Includes POINTS values and new Weight Watchers momentum plan recipes."  The book also includes plenty of full-page photos of many of the recipes.  And I have to say, they look pretty tasty.

I'll just flip through the pages - by the way, the book is a hardcover "concealed-wiro" so it'll lie flat on your counter while you prepare your meals - and here are some of the recipes that catch my eye:

Lemon Pancakes with Fresh Raspberry Sauce

Spiced Oatmeal Brulee

Crab and Chive Frittata

Grilled Vegetable-Gruyere Sandwiches

Avocado, Tofu and Tomato Sandwiches

Kielbasa and Black Bean Soup

Corn and Crab Chowder

Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Lamb with Cucumber-Radish Salad

Veal Cutlets with Lemon-Caper Sauce

Sausages and Onion on Crispy Polenta

Parmesan and Potato-Crusted Flounder with Tomato-Cilantro Sauce

Warm Lentil Salad with Tahini Dressing

Orange-Poached Figs with Yogurt and Pistachios

Double Chocolate-Cranberry Pudding

...hungry yet?

The recipes sound delicious and look pretty simple.  In fact, I think maybe I'll pick one to make for dinner tonight.

I made tacos last night, so I'm not in the mood for anything meaty (or turkey-ey, as I used ground turkey) or Mexicany...

What I'd really like is seafood...the kids like seafood too, so I'll get feedback from everyone which I can share with all of you out there.

Okay - I'll make the Sweet and Tangy Scallops.   Haven't had scallops in ages and so this is a good excuse to get some.  I'll probably serve them with rice or couscous and a salad. 

I'll let you know how it turns out, and also how easy it is to make.

In the meantime, if you'd like to enter this contest, all you need to do is this:

In the comments section of this post, just answer one or some or all of the following:

        Do you (or will you) have a vegetable and/or herb garden this year?  If so, do you start your plants from seed indoors or do you buy it all as seedlings a bit later in the season and plant them?  Or is it a bit of both?  What's your favorite fruit or vegetable from your own garden every year?  And if there are more than one, what are they?  How do you like to cook them? 

And just to start things off, here are my answers....

Yes, we'll be growing herbs and vegetables and fruits this year.  We start (or, rather, Bill starts) the majority of the seeds indoors.  If something doesn't grow well, we'll buy seedlings later on at the farmers' market.  I can't pick one favorite - but one of the first vegetables we get is asparagus, which we like either tossed in olive oil and grilled or sauteed in a little butter with a squeeze of lemon.  The kids love the early peas, which they eat right off the plant and if I want any I have to fight the kids for them.  The peas rarely make it into the house in any quantity.  My own personal heaven is when the tomatoes start ripening and I make vats of roasted tomatoes and freeze them for sauce in the winter.

Deadline for entering will be Sunday night, 22 March 2009, at midnight, eastern standard time.  I'll pick and announce the winner on Monday, so please check back to see if you've won!  I'll need a mailing address from the winner, which can be sent to me at jayne (at) barefootkitchenwitch(dot)com.

Only one entry per person, please!

And....let the games begin!

Comments

[Amy]

Sadly, we will be in transition this summer (finishing grad school and not starting real job until August) so I probably wont be able to do a herb/vegetable garden this year. When I was growing up though, we would usually get seedlings of tomatoes and various peppers. I really enjoyed watching the little bell peppers grow. My favorite grown veggie to eat would be squash...I love it...so maybe fun ways to cook it. I haven't ever grown it myself though, so that is on my list of things to plant when I get a place.

[Jillian]

Nowhere to grow anything at current, but we're moving to a place with a rather nice, sunny balcony, so maybe this summer. I did find out about a fabulous farmer's market that's nearby the new place, though, so that's likely going to be my new source come summer. :) Cucumbers have always been one of my favorites, so crisp and summery, and as with most veggies, I like them fresh and usually raw--though perhaps I may fall in love with some of these recipes.

[Kate]

Sadly, my starters died earlier due to an unexpected heavy snow (seriously, from 50F and rain one day to 7" of snow), or I would've had a kitchen herb planter. I don't have many of the seeds necessary to start over, or the cash on hand to get more of my starting apparatus, so maybe not this year. This time next year, however, if all goes to plan, I'll have an acre of land partitioned off to do what I want with it. Yay! When I was a kid, Dad always had a patch of tomatoes, crookneck squash and zukes somewhere off from the house. Even now that they're suburbanites, he still has a raised bed for zukes and heirloom tomatoes. I prefer the zukes, but my little sister loves tomatoes...

[arkonitebabe]

I have been planting all week. So far on the go I have peas, carrots, onions, potatoes, leeks, parsley, aubergines, tomatoes, goji berries,melon, butternut squash, rhubarb and spring onions. My parents actually bought me a greenhouse as a christmas gift seeing as how I have been bitten by the grow your own bug for the past 3 years. Oh and I also have chives in a pot on the wall!! Greenhouse has just arrived and will be erected this weekend, hopefully!

[Amanda N]

Yes, we have three raised beds (2 are new) and I can't wait to plant. I have my peppers, eggplant and tomatoes starting inside now. Tomatoes are my favorite with yellow squash a close second.

[Emily]

Right now in my dining room/kitchen I have many many seedlings started. According to Joe, I have way to many going. So far I have 3 types of tomatos (early girl, marglobe, and yellow pear), red and green peppers, jalapenos, cantaloupe, basil, brussel sprouts, broccoli, celery, egglplant, onions, lavender, bee balm, zinnias, snap dragons, oh and 200 lb watermelons. I plan to have 4 or 5 raised beds. I will be starting more seeds once the porch stays above fifty degrees at night. I have never had anything more than container gardens before so I'm excited to get started. And last weekend Joe and I cleared the whole side yard so that I could plant 2 apple trees and 2 pear or plum trees (I haven't decided which yet). And we're going to plant strawberries and raspberries near the blueberry bushes. (To keep my bees happy.)

[Kristin]

I am thinking of doing an herb garden this year in planters on our deck. Friends of ours do this and get tons of herbs to last them through the whole winter.

[Marthe]

What a great giveaway!! I just started Weigth Watchers a couple of weeks ago, so this would come in handy for me!!

I don't have a vegetable and/or herb garden, unfortunately my fingers are not green.... In fact I don't have any plants in my house.....

[Jessi]

Awesome giveaway!

Sadly, I won't have a vegetable garden this year and it's killing me because everyone online is talking about getting started. Gah! I think I might end up doing some herbs on the counter top to give me some sort of fix, but it just won't be the same as having a full garden! I'm hoping that some neighbors or friends have plenty of extras to share. :(

[Katie]

I would LOVE to have a garden this year, but, unfortunately, I know it's not going to happen. I'm moving back home to my parents' house in Connecticut from Hawaii (I know, I know, WHY?), and our house in CT is just so not suited for a garden. We live on a hill with no flat AND sunny patch, with rocky soil, so it's hard enough to get flowers growing there, let alone vegetables.

Plus, I'm completely unsure of where I'll be in the Fall, but I'll probably be moving in with my Aunt and Uncle in New Hampshire, where they get the first decent frost in early September.

It is absolutely killing me, though, that I cannot have a garden fresh tomato this year. There is nothing that can compare.

(also: this is a great giveaway! but on the off chance I win, not that I win things ever, I am on Kauai for the week, so I would not know).

[kathi]

I have 3 blueberry bushes in our back yard and I guard them like a hawk when the blueberries are ready to come. The squirrels and birds love picking at the bushes.

I would really like to plant veggies, but I live in the middle of a row of townhomes and because of this we did not put grass in our back yard because we would have to drag the lawnmower through the house to cut the grass. I have wanted to build raised beds, but money doesn't allow for that right now. So, I frequently visit our great farmer's market during the summer.

[Tiffany]

We don't have a vegetable garden. However, we do have a rosemary bush that is crazy big. I love making rosemary garlic fries!