by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson (641.8653)

Those fabulous rubber duckies on the cover aren't actully rubber: they're cupcakes. They also aren't the stuff of professional decorators. As the title says, the authors of this book replace "this could be hard to do" with really clever.

Open the front pages to see the decorating accessories you'll need: Tootsie Rolls, donut holes, and other candies and colored sugars you can find at any grocery store. Flip a few pages more, and the authors will show you the tools required: stuff most people have in their kitchen. For example, Tack and Richardson don't assume that their readers will have a professional pastry bag with which to to pipe the cupcake icing: They give step-by-step instructions for using zip-lock baggies, instead.

Even experienced bakers will find lots of clever designs to spark their imaginations. And there are a few cupcakes that require serious decorating skills to accomplish: cupcake sand-castles or haunted houses. But most of the designs in this book are rated EZ: including the cupcakes on the cover.

Whether you're going for the gross (from the Halloween section) like cockroach cupcakes, or the adorable (those rubber ducks on the cover, or the goldfish design, below) there's something for every occasion and every taste. Not to mention how yummy it is to eat the practice designs!

I discovered this book when a 10-year-old reader enthused about how simple she found it to follow the instructions in this book, and how impressed she was with her results. (She also recommended the other book by Tack and Richardson: Hello Cupcake.) Her mom agreed: this was easy and fun. Teens at the Carnation Library tested this for themselves: making three designs from the book at at cupcake decorating class held in the meeting room. Everyone agreed: even klutzy, non-baking decorators like this librarian found them easy and fun to make.

Why not try it yourself?

If you're uncertain about going vegetarian, this book will help convince you of the amazing array of options available to keep you on track.  Swanson, author of the award-winning blog, 101 Cookbooks, has created a visually stunning and highly readable catalog of some of her favorite recipes. Chapters are divided into breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks, and treats, and include temptations such as spinach strata, broccoli gribiche, quinoa patties, and black sesame otsu.  One small quibble: if you're not a huge fan of eggs, you may find an overemphasis on eggs as an ingredient throughout.  That aside, there are dozens of unique recipes that are both simple and gourmet.

Gorgeous photography of not only the foods, but also the author's travels, make this a lovely volume to peruse.  And check out the author's blog for even more great recipes.  Here's to a healthy 2012. 

I have used The Best Recipe for almost ten years and it has never let me down. Every recipe I have made from this book has garnered major praise. The oatmeal raisin cookies? Outstanding. The pumpkin pie? The best I've ever had. Even the recipes for pancakes and waffles somehow manage to elevate the humble breakfast staples into something special. Try a couple of the recipes in this book and I can guarantee you will be running out to buy your own copy.

*And don't forget to check out Baking Illustrated: A Best Recipe Classicfor even more oven goodness.

Looking for inspiration, I found Simple Suppers,edited by Chuck Williams (of Williams-Sonoma fame), with recipes by Melanie Barnard. Just looking through the book was a pleasure, because each recipe is accompanied by beautiful photographs by Bill Bettencourt. The real fun came when I tried the recipes.

Take braised pork chops with cherry sauce as one example. It sounds complicated, right? But it's one of the recipes that can be made in 30 minutes. These fill up the first third of the book. In addition, there arethose with 15 minutes of hands-on time followed by longer cooking, and those that make extra to use later in the week. The focus is on main dishes, but there are suggestions for accompanying sides and salads in a sample meals section.

In the four weeks that I had this book checked out, I made at least two recipes per week. At that point, I knew that renewing it would not be enough, so I bought the book. Then I discovered that Simple Suppers is part of a series of quick-fixcookbooks!My to-read list just got longer...

If you're looking for quick, tasty dinners that won't keep you indoors when you want to be outside, check out Simple Suppers, or one of the other books in the Food Made Fast series.

Similarly, Rachel Allen's book, Favorite Food at Home is a lovely foray into the world of comfort cooking, entertaining friends, and quiet family picnics. Rachel herself is a soft-spoken Irish woman whose culinary style is as down to earth as it is decadent. Whether she's whipping up after school treats, a tasty Thai dish for friends, or an indulgent dessert, Rachel remains rooted in the workaday world. There's no reason a novice cook or busy working mom couldn't pull off these recipes with a flair, and even if the dishes themselves don't strike your fancy, you'll undoubtedly be inspired by her cozy approach to hospitality. If nothing else, you'll wind up with a charming new imaginary best friend.

Good Eats: The Early Years and Good Eats 2:The Middle Years are my kind of cookbooks. Alton Brown said he took down three names that he wanted his TV show to be like (Did I mention that Good Eats is a cooking show on the Food Network?) The names were Julia Child, Mr. Wizard and Monty Python. His TV show certainly reflects the style of those three programs. He is serious about his recipes -- oops he calls them applications, and shows step by step procedures; he explains how the applications work and he uses very goofy skits to set up the applications, explain the food history, the correct kitchen tools to use, or anything else of interest about the food he has chosen for his program. For example he was stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the many applications for coconuts. Funny how he had all the ingredients needed for every single application he made. (See page 334 in the Early Years for the full story). The books reflect his TV style and also explain how his skits were made and which cast or family members are a part of the skit. Not only are the cookbooks full of great recipes you learn some history, chemistry and even some physics too! The added bonus you get to laugh at his corny jokes, (no pun intended). You certainly do not have to watch his TV program to enjoy his cookbooks. I have watched many of his 164 shows that these two books cover and the extra tidbits he adds such as "if I had more time I would have made this, also" is a great extra.Good Eats is also Good Reads.

P. S.If you are interested in his shows KCLS hasGood EatsDVDs available for check out.

In Geneen Roth's Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything, she puts forth the idea that a woman's relationship with food reflects her relationship with everything else in life. Instead of depriving themselves and manipulating their bodies to be a perfect size, she suggests that women eat with attention, awareness, and gusto.Geneen believes that when we stuff ourselves or starve ourselves that we're separating ourselves from who we really are and spiritually cutting ourselves off.

Geneen encourages women to experience their emotions fully instead of pushing them aside with overindulgence or deprivation. She encourages them to stop believing that weighing a certain amount will guarantee happiness and instead find joy in the current moment. Geneen purports that if women follow her basic eating guidelines that they'll be a healthy weight because she's been successful doing this herself.

In the aftermath of holiday indulgences and bloating, Geneen offers words of sanity and inspiration.She includes anecdotes about her workshops where some women learn for the first time in years to really listen to their body's hunger signals.This woman, who lost and gained over a thousand pounds and nearly committed suicide in desperation,unveils a path to peace for women about their bodies and their eating.

When she was about eight her father, who was always undecided about where he belonged, decided to move his family back home to Jordan. Learning to speak Arabic from other children and having experiences like walking beside the Dead Sea one dark night and then traveling to the desert to meet her Bedouin relatives started to unveil the mysteries of Jordan to Diana, but at the same time they showed her father Bud that his former home was not as he had remembered it. After a year or so, the family returned to Syracuse, but by then Diana had absorbed her father's ambivalence and never feels firmly rooted in either culture.

The constant in Bud's life is food. He loves his native Jordanian cuisine. He loves cooking it, eating it, and sharing it. Several prospective boyfriends learned that the way to win Bud's approval to date his daughters was to eat his food with enthusiasm.

If you don't know much about Arab cultures, I promise you that reading The Language of Baklava will increase your knowledge and appreciation. Maybe you'll even be inspired to try some of the recipes included in the book.

The recipes feature something for everyone. Appetizers, breakfast dishes, soups, main courses, breads and desserts are all included. Yes, desserts, like bacon and peanut butter chocolate truffles, or Canadian bacon maple custard. Prefer your desserts without bacon? Maybe the bacon-wrapped roasted quail stuffed with oysters, or pot sticker, shitake mushroom and Chinese bacon soup is more up your alley. Don't worry, if this sounds too weird, more traditional fare like American BLTs and meatloaf (meatloaf with bacon inside and out, of course) are also options.

Ecuadorian smoky pumpkin soup is too adventurous for me, but I'm going to try the bacon-banana canapés, or maybe the Canadian bacon, sweet potato and apple casserole. Take a look through The Bacon Cookbook. What looks good to you?

In French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure Mireille Guiliano, a women who was born in France, but now lives in the United States, shares some of French women's secrets for staying slim. Using humor, anecdote, and recipes she depicts a whole new way of looking at food. By the time you finish this book you'll want to set aside a couple extra hours a day just to enjoy a meal.

What's amazing is that French women don't talk about diets. In fact they consider dieting a very private manner. What they do talk about are the different foods they enjoy eating and how they like to prepare them.

Guiliano claims that a person can stay slim just following some basic guidelines that mimic how French women naturally eat. This includes moving more, small portions, and great tastes. If you like humor, eating, and great recipes you'll definitely enjoy her tips.