Review: Good For Inspiration - or for Goji
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 24, 2013
There are multiple purposes for cookbooks. This one is excellent in the "I'm wanting something fruity, but everything i can think of bores me" category.Recipes are in the standard ingredients/directions format, and begin by estimating prep time, cooking time, total time, and number of servings.  There are a few pictures, quiteexcellent, scattered around for pretty, but individual recipes aren't illustrated.There are 31 fruit salad recipes, 41 "popsicle" recipes, 31 "spa water" recipes, and 31 Goji berry recipes.  I as unfamiliar with Goji berries, but WebMd (first in the Google listings) says the are promoted as a "fountain of youth."  WebMD says they're probably safe for most people, and many berries are hugh in anti-oxidants, but they recommend against Goji if you're taking Warfain(coumadin), or are on diabetes or heart meds.i've never had much luck with making popsicles.  They tend to freeze too hard, and the molds for making them are a pain to wash.  (If you want to get rich, start making disposable popsicle molds out of the red solo cup plastic and a rack to hold wooden sticks upright in the molds while a dozen pops are freezing..  You'd sell 100 molds and 100 sticks for $2-3 and get $5-8for the rack.)i also have a *really* good recipe for water.  I get well water (many cities get water from a reservoir) with a high mineral content, and refrigerae or ice it until it is REALLY cold. Not only is it really good tasting, but it quenches thirst, unlike sweet drinks that just make you thirstier.For  fruit salad, I walk through the produce department (Kroger is best in my area) and grab whatever is in season and irresistible, and cut it all up together, then refrigerate it until it's almost icey.And that leaves the Goji recipes.  Since i have diabetes mellitus, and the Goji appears to be pretty pricey, i'll pass on that as well.I reently reviewed the same publisher's book on gravy, and found it to be extremely poor.  I can't say  the same  about this cookbook. It's fairly well crafted, and if the recipes are what you're interested in, then it's certainly acceptable.  However, for the reasons stated above, it'll not find much (if any) use in my kitchen.  It might be a nice gift for that sister-in-law you're trying to hide your dislike of....