The Frantic Woman's Guide to Feeding Family and Friends

Mary Rulnick

Published By: Grand Central Publishing

Book Category: Non-Fiction, Cooking

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Reviewed by Jennifer Peacey

Mary Jo Rulnick's clever little book goes far beyond basic recipes. Inside you will find complete shopping lists, kitchen organization ideas, storage information and more. All this is compiled in an extremely user-friendly manner, and the outcome of following her plan is a year-round alternating menu that covers two-week blocks at a time. By grocery shopping twice a month, busy families should be able to plan and prepare enough complete meals to see them through with only occasional "pit stops" at the grocery store for fresh produce and dairy items.

The recipes included range from the basic to those suitable for guests, and can be swapped around to suit a busy schedule. Ingredients are generally easy to find, and usually involve some level of fresh produce. Leftovers sometimes feature in recipes later in the week, and "doubling up" on ingredients is often called for to facilitate faster prep times for future meals.

Tips for lowering salt and fat content are mentioned in passing, but perhaps could play a bigger part in the recipes themselves. Canned items are used in some recipes, but with a bit of additional planning these could often be substituted with their fresh counterparts.

This is a handy and helpful recipe book that features tips that can be taken and used in isolation, or the entire "frantic woman's" approach can be followed to the letter for stress-free year-round meal ideas.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are that frantic woman (or man) who cooks at your house, check out this book.