Reviews: MaryJanesFarm, 'They Draw and Cook' website and 'Muffin Tin Chef" cookbook

It's not just about food, but I couldn't put down MaryJanesFarm. Except, of course, to share it with you!

The magazine says "eat better • feel better • look better" on the cover. And Mary Jane isn't kidding!

The June/July 2013 issue included features or short bits on muffin-tin meals (a recent fascination of mine that I'll address later), how to make homemade feta cheese (which seems very complicated, but to each his/her own), a cookbook made and illustrated by artists, which I found fascinating (again, more on this later), organic food, and what to watch out for with probiotics (some have GMOs via corn maltodextrin, by the way, but mine doesn't).

This issue also touched on growing food, including aquaponics (raising food and fish or freshwater shrimp together, negating the need for either soil or fertilizer, which sounds amazingly efficient, though I'm afraid the fish/freshwater shrimp would freeze to death here by October). It also shows how to build your own greenhouse. 

I am plotting already to place a copy of the greenhouse plans in Dad's chair to help keep him occupied in the winter when he's not in Florida. I hope that I wouldn't kill too many plants while he was gone. 

The cookbooks I mentioned are produced by the sister-and-brother-team of Nate Padavick and Salli Swindel. Their website, They Draw and Cook, has the same name as the cookbook, which features 107 illustrated recipes. 

The They Draw and Cook website shows examples of the illustrated recipes and is searchable by ingredient as well as category. 

Try the "Dial a Dinner" feature: it gives you randomly-selected recipes for an appetizer, main course and dessert! 

Regarding the meals-in-a-muffin thing, well, Mom and I bought a cookbook while we were at Barnes and Noble buying Windows 8 for Dummies. 

The reason? We bought Dad a computer that we're trying to teach him how to use. But first, we have to learn Windows 8 ourselves. And I couldn't possibly express my true feelings about Windows 8 in a public forum. The air would turn blue! Let's just say I really don't like Windows 8!

Back to the muffin tin cookbook, titled Muffin Tin Chef: 101 Savory Snacks, Adorable Appetizers, Enticing Entrees and Delicious Desserts by Matt Kadey. So far, I've liked both recipes Mom and I made (Ratatouille Muffins and Meatloves with Chimichurri Sauce, despite taking a few liberties with the ingredients  in each — my apologies to Matt — and omitting the chimichurri sauce because we were short on time. The meatloaves still were delicious! 

We didn't take photos of either recipe, but I will try to remember to do that next time!