Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: 3 Giveaways & Review {USA/CANADA!}

I was sent over a copy of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining for review. This book is a vegan cookbook with wholesome food recipes as well as a guide to entertaining with simplicity. In Simple Pleasures, the recipes are organized by seasons. Each section contains recipes for drinks, soups, salads, pastas, side dishes, main courses and desserts. Now we are not vegan, but I do enjoy cookbooks of all kinds and am happy to try out new recipes. This book is delightful, informative with all Cornelia's tips, personal stories and full of recipes.

kale chips

I made her baked Kale Chips (pg. 201) and her Avocado Chive Dip (pg. 91). Oh man was that avocado dip delicious! It has avocados, nondairy sour cream (I used reg. light), chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It makes a wonderful veggie dip, so creamy. I'll be making that more often.

We have never had kale chips before so I had to try them. They're easy to make and thankfully all 3 of my kiddos wanted to try them! I caught our reactions on video:



Well, we weren't huge fans lol. I liked the saltiness of them, but they sort of just crumble as you try to take a bite, very delicate. They reminded us of roasted brussels sprouts, which we do like.

Avocado Chive Dip

I also get to share two recipes of Cornelia's for Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad and Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Amaranth.

Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Amaranth
By Cornelia Guest,
Author of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining

Serves 4
Total time: 45 minutes

Zucchini blossoms are so beautiful. This is so easy to make, and your friends will be very impressed. You can make the stuffing the day before so you can enjoy your friends, stuff the blossoms and have a great lunch. Amaranth is a gooey grain that works well as a stuffing. I serve this dish with iced tea with mint or a crisp white wine. Fresh tomatoes go well with the squash blossoms.

3 cups amaranth
1 medium onion
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 zucchini
1 small eggplant (you want to end up with 1-1/2 cups after its is cooked)
1 garlic clove
4 large blossoms per serving
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add amaranth. Simmer and cook until water is absorbed, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Quarter the onion and cook in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 30 minutes over medium heat until caramelized.

3. Dice zucchini and sauté in 1 tablespoon olive oil until soft, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Dice eggplant and garlic and sauté in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 10 minutes.

5. Mix the cooked vegetables with the amaranth and add parsley. Fill the squash blossoms with the mixture. Serve at room temperature.


The above is an excerpt from the book Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining by Cornelia Guest. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

© 2012 Cornelia Guest, author of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining

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Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad
By Cornelia Guest,
Author of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining

Serves 6
Total time: 25 minutes

There is nothing like sweet summer corn. This pairing is smooth and crunchy, colorful, and totally delicious.

4 ears of corn, shucked
1 avocado, sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

1. Heat a grill to medium-high. Grill corn, rotating often, until lightly charred, about 15 minutes

2. Let cool slightly. Carefully cut kernels from cobs.

3. Gently toss corn kernels with avocado, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and salt. Serve right away.

The above is an excerpt from the book Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining by Cornelia Guest. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

© 2012 Cornelia Guest, author of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining

Author Bio
Cornelia Guest, author of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures: Healthy Seasonal Cooking and Easy Entertaining, is an activist, philanthropist, and businesswoman. In 2009, she founded Cornelia Guest Events and Cornelia Guest Cookies, catering charity and entertainment events with healthy, delicious vegan food. She is launching her own line of animal-friendly handbags, wallets, and dog accessories made with a vegan alternative to leather. She lives in New York.

For more information please visit http://www.corneliaguest.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.




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*Disclosure* I wrote this review for "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" about Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures. The product(s) + giveaways in this review were provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting my review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation. Product info & stock images provided by PR or Co.