This cookbook is filled with the collection of some of my mother's greatest culinary inventions. Homemade crackers! Do you know anyone who makes homemade crackers? Not just plain old saltines but, rich, hearty, savory crackers made from whole grains, seeds, nuts, natural spices. The kind of crackers we have been guilty of paying $7.00 - $10.00 a box for at fancy delicatessens and can be made easily at home for a tiny fraction of the cost. English Muffins! Have you ever had a homemade English Muffin? Melt in your mouth delicious! Homemade pretzels. Seriously! Like nothing you've ever had before. Delicious! Savory spreads. Yummy healthy breads that are a sandwich in themselves or would make delicious sandwiches, or compliment soups perfectly. The kids of breads that cost $6.00 - $7.00 per loaf in the bakery and virtually nothing to make at home. Soups! Yes, delicious homemade soups as well. Italian food! Vegetarian Mexican food! Homemade pies with Thayleea's absolutely impeccable pie crust. Once you eat her pastry you'll never suffer another. None compare. Vegetable crepes. A vegetable pot pie that overflowing with a garden full of goodness. Sweet Breads and muffins Vegetable side dishes! And if that wasn't enough, the author has dedicated a generous amount of space to old fashioned favorites for those of us who don't eat healthy every day or have friends and family that want something more traditional. Recipes offer options for non-vegetarian & vegetarian
About the Author: About the Author... Thayleea Willingham is my mother and I have always said that she is the only person I have ever known that can whip out a five-star, gourmet meal in a hotel ice bucket and electric teapot. We are family that is in constant motion. We have travelled non-stop for years - myself, my mom, and our four kitties that walk on leashes and go everywhere we go. We are artists and creative spirits. When we settle to hibernate, from time to time, our home becomes a gourmand's paradise and our days often revolve around an endless parade of exotic meals and Thayleea wondering out loud if the hot guy downstairs can smell the bread she's baking. As will most people, food has been an evolution with our family. My mother was born in Southern California and developed an early taste for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish which are all available in hearty abundance in that part of the world. She was raised in New Mexico and that where spice began to tickle her palate. We lived in the Midwest United States when I was a child and she became frustratingly aware of the obstacles of trying to cook in a part of the world where a lot of the foods we loved were either not available at all, or were sold at such a premium we would have to mortgage the house to eat. Our travels East and through the Deep South enhanced our love for flavors from afar. Almost forty years ago, at the age of five, I declared myself a vegetarian. Thayleea indulged me - thinking it was a passing phase of a precocious child; and for a long time I lived on French fries since they were the only vegetable I really ate. Seven years later, when she realized the phase wasn't going to pass, she also became vegetarian and once again, everything she ever thought she knew about cooking was tossed in the air and she redesigned her culinary playbook. Over the years, we have both gradually become predominately vegan but life didn't stop. If you're vegetarian or vegan, your friends will host a dinner party and say, "Oh, I'm sorry. I would have invited you but you don't eat meat." We are vegetarian, vegan, and bon viveurs. When Thayleea hosts a dinner party, everyone is invited and everyone will find something they will love to eat. Being fully immersed in the lives we live is a passion for our family and the foods we eat are a big part of that. Thayleea invites you to join in our joie de vivre! - Angie Katie O'Neill