Monday, May 21, 2012

the Hip Girl's guide to Homemaking

Decorating, dining, and the gratifying pleasures of self-sufficiency - on a budget!

by Kate Payne

Basic instructions for doing basic things such as housekeeping, food shopping and preparation, decorating and things like that.

I found this book much too basic. It seems, though, to be written for young people just out of university who were never taught to do anything at home.

There were several errors:

On page 185, "small glass Tupperware containers." Hello? Tupperware is plastic. There is no such thing as glass Tupperware.

Pages 202 and 204 are very similar; 2 or 3 paragraphs are almost the same.

On page 207 "sticking extra dough balls in the fridge for quick homemade bread during the next month... To defrost, just place the balls in the fridge until thawed..." Obviously, you are supposed to put the extras in the freezer.

On page 218, speaking of how long before food goes bad, "You get a two-hour window...before spoilers can bloom." Actually, bacteria grows immediately and can double in number in as little as 20 minutes; the two-hour window is the time until there is so much bacteria that the food is likely to cause illness.

p. 235 "Taylor Pro Series combination thermometer/timer with a 4-foot-long probe..." Are you kidding me? I would need to be halfway across the room just to read it! I looked this up and it really is a probe with a 4-foot-long cord. Which makes a lot more sense.

1 comment:

  1. I don't even think I finished reading it when I borrowed it from the library - it was quickly put in the 'return' pile. (On another note, Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan is GREAT! It arrived the other day (I ordered a copy of my very own.) I don't know if the library will have it yet, but it's so beautiful it's worth reading even if you don't plan to make any of the recipes. :))

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