"Salad Love" is diverse and delicious | Book Review

"Salad Love" by David Bez

"This is not a cookbook": the first words you'll read in David Bez's Salad Love: 260 Crunchy, Savory, and Filling Meals You Can Make Every Day. Bez goes on to explain that he's not a chef - he just loves salad and wanted to create lunches that were not only energizing and healthy, but also really darn tasty.

In the nine-to-five workday, there isn't always time to make food, so a lot of people end up grabbing something calorie-filled from the local coffee shop. The recipes in this book were all made and eaten in Bez's lunch hour.

The ingredients are generally very accessible - most are everyday items that are readily available in a grocery store. There are a few exceptions; for example, I'm not sure where to buy bresaola or borage flowers. Some of the recipes require a little more preparation and adventure, which can certainly be exciting!

The salad dressings are wonderfully simple - usually a mixture of oil and vinegar, which I love and think is so yummy while still allowing you to taste the rest of the ingredients.

My attempt at some "Salad Love", recipe p. 212

The photography itself is simple in the best way possible: it's just the salad in its bowl, which allows you to focus on the mouth-watering food you could be eating.

There are a variety of recipes in this book - vegetarian, vegan, raw, pescatarian, omnivore...and for each recipe, Bez suggests a variation, which is so useful because some days you really want to try a recipe but don't feel like having meat or fish or what have you.

The recipes are divided by seasons - this is great because you can eat according to which fruits and vegetables are in season!

In honour of the deep freeze we're having right now (-33 with the wind chill, yay!), I decided to make the Roasted Turkey, Mushrooms, Carrot & Walnuts salad from the Winter section. It was delicious. And filling.

Whether you're looking to eat healthier or you just really like salad, this book will make you want to devour the food on the page in front of you. Salad Love shows how diverse - and delicious - salads can really be!

*This book was sent to me by Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Photos by nikkitheknack

Books that take place in Canada | Top 5 Wednesday

I love this topic because it's important to me to read things that take place in Canada and close to where I live. Personally, I think it's so cool to be able to imagine the characters in places I've been, or imagine myself in the places the characters are!

1. The Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley

2. The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks

3. Road Ends by Mary Lawson

4. Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa

5. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

1. Photo via Goodreads. 2.-4. Photos by me. 5. Photo via Goodreads.

"John Wick" Review | Movie Monday

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) receives a package one morning - a puppy from his deceased wife, which she sent him posthumously as a way for him to connect with and love something and move past her death. He grows to love little Daisy, but while they're stopped at a gas station one day, he runs into some Russian gang members who are very interested in his '69 Mustang. When he refuses to sell it to Iosef (Alfie Allen), they follow John home and retaliate by killing Daisy and stealing the car. What ensues is an intense quest for revenge.

John Wick is a fast-paced, action-packed film. So many factors work together to make this film as awesome as it is: the performances, choreography, cinematography...and so much more.

Keanu Reeves gives an excellent performance as the title character. He's really scary and impassioned - the word "intense" is the best word to describe him in this film. Do NOT mess with John Wick. He'll shoot you.

The stunt choreography was fantastic - and there was a lot of it. A lot of the movie involved fight scenes and most of them were so much fun to watch because of the choreography - it's so creative and complicated. A few times, I found myself marveling at how much practice it must have taken for the actors to get the scenes right.

I also love the look of the film - it's very dark and gritty and very much reminds me of a graphic novel. The lighting is really well done - the night scenes (majority of the film) have blue undertones that enhance the grit in the best way possible.

If you're looking for a film with lots of action and intensity, then look no further. John Wick is just what you need.

Photo via Wikipedia

2015 Reading Challenge | Progress Post

A book of short stories - One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

I love this book of short stories - it's hilarious and each story is written in such a different style that I think there's something in here for everyone. Read my full review here.

Photo Credit: I added text to the original "book sale loot" by Ginny via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin