2 minute read
Western Reads
WESTERN READS
BY AARON DOWNEY
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It’s autumn again already? Time is going by like a cheetah in a Bugatti! Well, at least the heat waves are behind us and hunting season is almost here. You might want to save some of your delicious game in the form of backpack meat. Jerky by A. D. Livingston is a no-frills cookbook with tons of techniques, advice, and recipes for beef, venison, fish, fowl, and some exotics.
The evil geniuses at Chronicle Books have done it again with their Taco Time! Notecards. Yeah, it’s not exactly a book, but it includes twelve notecards with four types: ground beef, carnitas, shrimp, and veggies. The envelopes look like foil wrap, and there is a sticker sheet of garnishes. Brilliant. Send someone a taco note!
Now that I’ve thoroughly whet your appetite, how about some yummy fall comfort food? Ellen Brown’s Mac & Cheese: 80 Classic & Creative Versions of the Ultimate Comfort Food show how much the dish has grown up. Be still my grumbling stomach. Of the many interesting combinations in here, I go straight for the Poblano Chile Mac and Cheese. The book is full of excellent tips about the two star ingredients, and many others as well.
If you fear that the generation of readers of good old Western novels is waning, your teen young’un might go for Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman. Our heroine is 18-year-old Kate Thompson on a quest to avenge her father, who was murdered over the whereabouts of a gold mine. It’s a heckof a plot-twisting, page-turning period piece.
Finally, Thomas F. Voight has curated a lovely gift-sized volume called Stand in the Light: Native Voices Illuminated by Edward S. Curtis. The book pairs Edward Curtis observations and images of Native Americans from eight tribes with verse, songs, quotes, and wisdom from their respective cultures. It’s like me, both gorgeous and wise.
Just kidding. But seriously, enjoy your family and leisure time this fall. It’s the best time of the year for a family meal, a letter to a friend, or a darn good story.
Visit: www.treasurechestbooks.com
