Have you seen Almine's newest website ...?
http://www.almine.me/
Almine.me is a welcome opportunity to share an intimate view into Almine's world. Just the sheer beauty of the site makes one want to explore it further! There are personal photos of Almine along with photos of her family, Almine's music and cookbooks; her insights on elegance, sacred sexuality, music, poetry and her reflections on living authentic and vibrant heart-felt lives.
If you have been waiting for Almine's cookbooks, as many have - they are available on Almine.me as a download, see the link on the left side of Almine.me website page or click here for a link directly to the download page:
Cooking with Class
(The English Cookbook)
Memoirs and Meals
(The American Cookbook)
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Note from the master Jan on Almine's cookbook, Cooking with Class:
Like many of Almine's students, I have had the opportunity and pleasure to be in her home for classes and to eat the delicious food that she so lovingly prepares for us. I truly loved reading her cookbook, Cooking with Class and getting copies of some of her recipes! Tomorrow I am baking Date Squares.
I read cookbooks as one would read a novel, probably because I enjoy cooking and baking for myself, family and friends. I also find that cookbooks can open a door of adventure and offer a glimpse into another world of sights, sounds and tastes, enhancing our knowledge and appreciation for the diversity of people and their cultures. Almine's cookbooks in particular will appeal on many levels – it could be the delicious and creative recipes, the stories and shared accounts of her life, the beautiful photos inside or just a glimpse into her world. There are many varied sections of all types of foods (including menus) from “Sweets to make as Elegant Gifts” which is very handy for the holiday season to a section of varied “Household Hints.”
On a practical note, recipes offer measurements in both metric and standard measure and cooking/baking temperatures in Fahrenheit, Centrigade and European Gas settings. On another note altogether there is a section entitled “Desserts That Provide A Perfectly Good Reason For Having A Party”, not that we need much prodding – especially with these recipes!
Like gathering seeds from friends and family to plant in our home gardens, the sharing of recipes connects us; remembered moments of warm soup, the odor of freshly baked bread filling your nose as you enter the house, the smell of tantalizing spices rising from a warm cake and most of all, feeling the love and care that went into the preparation of the food. The creative expression of cooking, the beauty of presentation and the simple elegance that is possible and that adds so much richness to our lives; all this and more, one will find in Almine's cookbooks. These books are cookbooks and also glorious maps of gracious living and appreciation of the rich abundance and elegance available to us in every aspect of our lives.
Now I am eagerly starting to read Memoirs and Meals!