Katie Robson’s Profile

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Katie Robson rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks

by Kathleen Flinn (Goodreads Author)

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Katie Robson said: "I adored this book. I recently began my foray into cooking heavily over this past year. I'm consistently told by friends how amazing my cooking is, and am already familiar with many terms and techniques that Kathleen Finn discuses. However, while I w...more I adored this book. I recently began my foray into cooking heavily over this past year. I'm consistently told by friends how amazing my cooking is, and am already familiar with many terms and techniques that Kathleen Finn discuses. However, while I was already great at following recipes/adjusting them to my own needs, I wanted to gain a foundation in the basics and, like many of the people featured in this book, hoped to someday be able to just look in my fridge or pantry and whip something up without the guide of a recipe. I believe this book is a great first step towards achieving that. Therefore, I believe this novel is not only beneficial for complete beginner/novice cooks with limited experience, but even more advanced cooks who may lack traditional education in cooking and want to be reminded of the basics, or ANYONE interested in food issues/politics.

Above all else, I would like to point out how thoughtful this novel is, and that is why I love it so. The presentation of all the stories she tells, her motives for beginning the project, her own fears at the outset of everything, etc. - it is all presented in a very kind, thoughtful, approachable tone. Flinn really comes across as someone who genuinely just wants to help people and truly cares about the issues raised in her book.

Outside of teaching cooking, this novel offers an entertaining story on it's own. Flinn provides a simple yet substantial set of recipes blanketed among novelesque stories and dialogue, allowing the reader to feel like they are right there in the test kitchens with the team. In addition to providing recipes, Flinn educates on issues in the food industry, ranging from discussions on the chemicals in processed foods to where our chicken and beef comes from and how it is treated there. This was probably the most interesting aspect of the book for myself, since food origin is something I'm highly interested in (I've seen every food documentary on Netflix, including Food, INC. which she mentions in particular at one point, as well as Jamie Oliver's shows). For instance, I learned that "free-range" chicken doesn't really mean anything, because to be labeled "free-range," the chickens merely have to have the OPTION to go outside (via one small or door or what have you at the barn), and just because they have the option doesn't mean they do go outside. While Flinn often notes that the best way to buy your meat is from a butcher who knows the farms where his meat comes from, I appreciated her acknowledgment that this is not feasible for everyone, to which she gently reminds that buying items from grocery stores is akin to casting a vote - you the consumer are telling the store what you want more of by purchasing certain items, and so you should make choices wisely. I believe this is one of her biggest points for advocating change, which I agree with. In fact, she opens the book by recounting a time when Flinn was at a supermarket, following around a thirty year old women and her teenage daughter; Flinn followed the woman, watching as she filled her cart with boxed/processed foods from the center aisles of the store, no fresh or real food in sight, until she finally caved and approached the woman at the packaged meat section of the store. She convinced the woman to buy a whole chicken, had the butcher teach the woman how to cut the chicken, and convinced her to fill her cart with other fresh produce and items, giving her simple recipes and tips on how to cook it all.

It was at that moment Flinn, armed with her Le Cordon Bleu degree, realized most Americans don't eat like herself or all of her chef friends. She eventually decides she needs to do something to change this, to use her culinary knowledge for the greater good, and sets out to find a set of people who have ZERO experience in the kitchen. She finds nine volunteers that, though their reasons for being inept at cooking all differ, eat about 95% of their meals as pre-prepared/processed foods, and who don't know how to cook at all, even if they try to follow recipes. Before delving into the tips, tricks, and recipes she provides in the bulk of the book, she begins by telling the stories of each of the nine volunteers - the level of their skills, the items they keep stocked in their kitchens (or, more often, the items rotting in their fridges - food waste was a big theme among almost all of them), and their family histories with cooking (parents' behaviors in the kitchen, grandparents, etc.). This was one of the more fascinating, entertaining sections of the novel, and really sucks you into the project, as Flinn has a way of making the reader really feel for these women and their struggles, which makes the growth they each experience over the course of the book all the more enigmatic.

I've tried a few of the recipes she offers, and each one was fantastic. My favorite so far was the French Dijon flavor recipe for roast chicken - my husband, who hates mustard, LOVED this chicken as much as I did (and I love mustard). We made that one twice in the same week!

Overall the book makes for a very enjoyable read, no matter your level of kitchen prowess. If you often find yourself wondering what goes into the food your eating, what motivates people to make the food choices that they do, or have an aim to eat better yourself, I think you will find this book worthwhile.(less)"

Apr 25, 2012 11:24am · see review

Katie Robson rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Stumbling on Happiness

by Daniel Gilbert

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Katie Robson said: "I'm still reading this book (only half-way through so far), but it has been so entertaining and enlightening. Although densely packed with scientific studies and information, the writing style, while academic in nature, also manages to be humorous an...more I'm still reading this book (only half-way through so far), but it has been so entertaining and enlightening. Although densely packed with scientific studies and information, the writing style, while academic in nature, also manages to be humorous and entertaining.

The book is split into six sections, covering: prospection, subjectivity, realism, presentism, rationalization, and corrigibility., all of which covers what happiness is in theory (it's definition, where the emotion comes from, how people go about describing it, etc.) to what it is scientifically, and how our brains react both immediately to certain situations, as well as what happens to our brains over varying periods of time after we experience those situations. Gilbert also focuses on the role happiness plays in our pasts, presents, and futures, and the ways in which our brains distort those feelings throughout time. Time plays an important role in happiness, as Gilbert states,

"Time is not an object but an abstraction, hence it does not lend itself to imagery...and yet, predicting our emotional futures requires that we think in and about and across swatches of time. If we can't create a mental image of an abstract concept such as time, then how do we think and reason about it?" (128).

And thus, consequently, how do we go about predicting our own future happiness across various potential situations? Especially enlightening was the section about the things that our brains miss (the "missing pieces") when constructing ideas about happiness in the future.

Much of what Gilbert presents isn't necessarily all that foreign to the reader - I often found myself thinking, "yeah, that IS right," or, "yeah, I AM guilty of that sometimes." What Gilberts especially excels at is pointing these ideas out to you eloquently, in an order where they all flow and make perfect sense together; Gilbert has a very approachable way of illuminating what would otherwise be dense scientific material into information more easily grasped through a variety of examples. Although it is not a self-help book at it's core, one can definitely take many of the principles he discusses and work consciously to adopt a new way of thinking that could affect present and, especially, future perceptions of happiness, to potentially lead a happier life.(less)"

Apr 25, 2012 11:23am · see review

Katie Robson is currently reading

Kafka on the Shore

by Haruki Murakami

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Nov 18, 2011 10:11am

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Katie's Recent Updates

Katie Robson is now friends with David
Sep 29, 2012 04:05pm · like
Katie Robson made a comment on Katrina Passick Lumsden's review of Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) "This review is BRILLIANT, and I need you to know that you have restored my faith in humanity. Thank you for so perfectly expressing every emotion anyth...more "
Jul 30, 2012 07:58pm · see review
Katie Robson rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I adored this book. I recently began my foray into cooking heavily over this past year. I'm consistently told by friends how amazing my cooking is, and am already familiar with many terms and techniques that Kathleen Finn discuses. However, while I w...more
Apr 25, 2012 11:24am · see review
Katie Robson rated a book 4 of 5 stars Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I'm still reading this book (only half-way through so far), but it has been so entertaining and enlightening. Although densely packed with scientific studies and information, the writing style, while academic in nature, also manages to be humorous an...more
Apr 25, 2012 11:23am · see review
Katie Robson wants to read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2012 08:58am
Katie Robson wants to read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2012 08:58am
Katie Robson added Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die by Michael Largo	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 25, 2012 08:57am
Katie Robson added Grendel by John Gardner	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2011 07:04pm
Katie Robson added Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Unknown	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2011 07:01pm
Katie Robson added The Island of Dangerous Dreams by Joan Lowery Nixon	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2011 12:03pm