The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook: How to Create Mason Jar Recipe Mixes (Mason Jar Cookbook) - Softcover

Parks, Lonnette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0757001297 ISBN 13: 9780757001291

Publisher: Square One, 2003

Synopsis

The popularity of Mason jar mixes is taking the country by storm! These beautifully decorated jars are filled with attractive layers of ingredients for making a variety of scrumptious kitchen creations. Topped with an eye-catching square of fabric that is tied on with decorative twine or ribbon, these jars are a pleasure to give and a joy to receive.

If you’ve ever wanted to create beautiful Mason gift jars in your own home, or try your hand at making the recipes yourself, here’s the good news: You don’t have to be a craft expert to assemble the containers, nor do you have to be a culinary school graduate to prepare the recipes in your own kitchen. Best-selling writer Lonnette Parks shows you just how easy it is. In her first book, The Mason Jar Cookie Cookbook, Lonnette shares fifty of her favorite cookie recipes. In her second book, The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook, she presents fifty fantastic recipes for soups, muffins, breads, beverages, cakes, and more. Finally, in The Mason Jar Dessert Cookbook, Lonnette offers fifty delectable dessert recipes guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Just like the other books in the series, this one is designed for both the cook and the crafter. Each recipe includes easy-to-follow directions for creating the jarred mix. You’ll learn what size jar to use and how to make neat ingredient layers. Then Lonnette will show you how to add those finishing touches that turn the jar into a beautiful gift.

Whether you want to prepare the Mason jar recipes yourself or create impressive gift jars for family and friends, The Mason Jar Cookbook Series is all you need. Enjoy the experience!

About this title

About the Author

Lonnette Parks has been cooking and baking since she was seven years old, and is an awardwinning pie maker and cake decorator. She is constantly honing her craft and adding to her repertoire of Mason jar treats. Ms. Parks currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is a highly sought-after speaker and cooking demonstrator at local clubs, schools, and organizations.

Reviews

As the holidays approach and homemade gifts are in demand, cooks who are also crafts enthusiasts may appreciate Parks's ideas for putting together 50 different kinds of Mason Jar mixes. Dry, nonperishable ingredients are layered in pint- or quart-size jars; the lids are then topped with colorful fabric squares and tied with ribbon and tags bearing cooking instructions. For "Breakfast Fare," "Muffins, Scones and Breads" or "Cookies and Cakes," all the gift-recipient needs to do is add fresh dairy products to create, say, Butter Pecan Bread or Toffee Chip Cookies. Some of the "Soups and Stews" require the addition of meat and canned broth, or the overnight soaking of dried beans (Beefy Bean Soup), but most Beverages (Mexican Hot Chocolate and Southern Peach tea, for example) need only water. Cooks can keep these mixes for themselves, of course, and Parks has cleverly put instructions for preparing the different dishes at home on each left-hand page, while those for creating a gift jar are on the right; pre-written gift tags are included, too, ready for photocopying. While Parks's ideas are quaint and generous, there are too many recipes that call for such ingredients as non-dairy creamer or Tang, to fully enthuse the home cook.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Serious cooks tend to turn up their noses at the thought of commercially packaged mixes, fearing the boxes to be chock-full of chemical additives, but there's no doubt that using them saves time. Parks' The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook demonstrates that a cook can prepare personalized combinations of ingredients at home and thus enjoy the mixes' advantages without their drawbacks. She produces breakfast bread mixes, cookies, cakes, soups, stews, and a few beverage bases. Each mix fits in a quart or pint canning jar. For those who, a la Martha Stewart, like to create culinary gifts, Parks demonstrates how some fabric, ribbon, and cunningly penned instructions to the recipient enhance the jar. This blend of cookery and crafts will appeal to a cross section of readers. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

The popularity of Mason jar mixes is taking the country by storm! These beautifully decorated jars are filled with attractive layers of ingredients for making a variety of kitchen creations. Topped with an eye-catching square of fabric that is tied on with decorative twine or ribbon, these jars are a pleasure to give and a joy to receive.

If you have ever wanted to create beautiful Mason gift jars in your own home, or try your hand at making the recipes yourself, here’s the good news: You don’t have to be a craft expert to assemble the containers, nor do you have to be a culinary school graduate to make the recipes in your own kitchen. The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook will show you just how easy it is. Within its pages, you’ll find recipes for satisfying soups and stews, delicious hot and cold beverages, and a sensational array of blue-ribbon baked goods. (Just for fun, it even includes a recipe for making “doggie” treats for your favorite four-legged friend!)

The book begins with a chapter called “The Basics.” The first part of this chapter guides you in buying the best ingredients and equipment for your cooking adventures, and provides tips for successful recipe results. It then covers all the ins and outs of creating the jars, including what size jar to use, how to make neat, even ingredient layers, and how to add those finishing touches that turn the jar into a beautiful gift.

Next, you’ll find over fifty kitchen-tested recipes that fall into the following categories: Breakfast Fare; Muffins, Scones, and Breads; Cookies and Cakes; Soups and Stews; and Beverages. There are heavenly baked treats like Apricot-Walnut Muffins and Blueberry Scones, breakfast dishes like Old World Muesli and Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes, and a tasty assortment of cookies including Toffee Chip and buttery Scottish Shortbread. You can also kick back and relax with a steaming mug of Café Mocha, or cool down with a frosty glass of Southern Peach Tea. And if it’s heartier fare you’re after, you can choose from an array of nourishing soups and stews, from Hearty Potato-Bean to Gobble-Up Turkey Noodle.

Because this book is designed for both the cook and the crafter, each recipe contains both instructions for making the recipe itself, and directions for creating the jarred mix—either to display in your own home or to present as gifts. A helpful diagram shows you how to layer the ingredients for attractive results, and a box neatly displays the recipe preparation instructions to include on your gift tag. All you have to do is pour the contents of the jar into a bowl or pot, add a few basic ingredients like butter and eggs, and follow a handful of easy instructions.

Whether you want to prepare the Mason jar recipes for your personal eating pleasure, or you’d like to create impressive gift jars for family and friends, The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook is all you need. Enjoy the experience!

Edition details

• Publisher: Square One
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0757001297
• ISBN 13: 9780757001291
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 144