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It’s been a while since I updated this blog, hasn’t it?  No, I haven’t been out on a utilities job search or anything like that…I was having trouble with my old computer and recently got a new one, then I was busy getting our home wireless network set up.  And now that baseball season has started…well, you know!

Anyhoo, I want to talk about a fabulous new cookbook that I recently bought.  It’s Daisy:  Morning, Noon and Night by Daisy Martinez.  You may know Daisy from her cooking shows…Daisy Cooks!, which can still be seen on the PBS Create channel, and now, ¡Viva Daisy! (site has auto-play video) on the Food Network.  She is the author of Daisy Cooks:  Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World, the companion cookbook to the PBS series.

As the title indicates, the book is organized into sections for morning, noon, and night recipes.  So whether you are preparing breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, appropriate recipes are easy to find.  There is also a section with suggested menus for entertaining, each containing timelines to assist you in preparing in advance.  Also of note is a “Basics” chapter, with recipes and notes about items that are commonly used in Daisy’s cooking, and a glossary of ingredients, some of which may be unfamiliar to some people.  In some cases, Daisy gives info on websites where harder-to-find ingredients can be purchased.

The book itself is beautifully done, pretty and glossy, with lots of full-color photographs.  Interspersed among the recipes are entertaining stories about Daisy’s family and travels.

So far, I have made two recipes from this book…the Tuna “Chilindron” with Penne, and the Cuzco Roast Pork Loin with Onion & Pepper Stir-Fry.  Both were excellent, and dishes that I would want to make again.  And there are so many other recipes that I want to try, including the Chicken Enchiladas (recipe) that Daisy made on the Rachael Ray show today.  That’s the next recipe I want to make, it looked so tasty on TV!

The recipes range from quick-to-prepare weeknight meals, to dishes that are designed for entertaining or weekends.  They are all easy to prepare, because Daisy does an excellent job in explaining everything you need to know.  The emphasis is on what Daisy does best…bold, Latin flavors that the whole family will enjoy.  It’s not all hot and spicy, but it’s all full of flavor.

I recommend this book to anyone, from beginning cooks to experts.  Once you see how easy and inexpensive it is to prepare such good food in your own home, you may never go through the fast-food drive-through again!