SunsetReseñas

This is a cookbook with recipes from Sunset Magazine from 1980. I purchased this at a garage sale for $.25 waaaaay back in early 1990. The kids were still young and I was young and in cooking and cleaning mode. Those were the days. The recipe book stays on my bookshelf. It's dirty. It's highlighted. It's marked up with my notes of who liked what. I think I only have a couple of big X marks (Tomato beef with pan-fried noodles, p. 66 AND Chicken & shrimp noodle salad, p. 71) on two recipes, all of the others were delicious 5-star recipes. List of ones we tried back in the '90's:

- Tagliarini with garlic sauce, p. 17 - I wrote: "Delicious (Kids love it too!)"
- Noodles with cabbage, p. 24 - I wrote: "Mine & Hoyt's favorite"
- Chinese Dumplings with peanut sauce, p. 47 - I wrote: "Excellent sauce! Of course kids can't stand it'"....HAHAHA
- Eggrolls: ham filling, p. 48-49 - No comments, but I do remember them being good, but I can't believe I actually used the ham it called for. Today that sounds yuk!
- Chorizo noodle casserole, p. 79
- Easy macaroni & sausage bake, p. 76 - I wrote: "A big hit w/the kids! Easy & absolutely delicious!
- Sicilian beef & vegetable casserole, p. 81 - I wrote: "Scrumptious!"
- Pasta wheels with sausage & tomatoes, p. 82 - I wrote: "This is really good for a fast meal (try adding green peas) Kids really like this, even Kristin"
- Tuna, herbed, casserole, p. 79 (NOTE: I don't like tuna casserole today. 2021)

When you live in a house, you often need to repair some part of it, and this book was one of the best on that subject.

An essential part of our homeowner's library. Plumbing is no fun, but you need to know about it. Home ownership is not much fun either, but sometimes it saves money.

The one manual we relied on when we still had a garden. And, a great guide to climate and geography.

YTFG

Lolli Jacobsen

Karen Slater McDonnel

This is a very useful guide to growing succulents and cacti and also instructions on how to propagate these plants. (The content is more geared to succulents than cacti.). It is unfortunate that none of the (many) pictures are in color, but then this book would not have been so inexpensive. I especially liked the section of "specialty" plants - very helpful and interesting.

I really should give 5 stars for this 1986 edition of Sunset’s classic Western Garden book ... I have an old-pre-ISBN-era copy from the 1970's. This updated edition is delightful and very useful in additional layout designs for problem gardening situations. The ½-star off is due to the poor coverage of the British Columbia area of the Pacific Northwest. Why stop at the 49th parallel?!!

In comparison, I subsequently found a copy of the 8th (2007) edition, and decided not to keep it. It is not nearly as user-friendly. Sections in what were previously landscaping designs for specific situations are so embellished with glossy photographs and plant cultivar close-ups as to render this information less detailed. As well, opening spreads are glossy postcard layouts, reminiscent of coffee table books emphasizing pretty views. Rather than this edition being a solid reference, these additions have reduced the book to a more general overview. So I'm preferentially keeping the 1986 edition (and my earliest Western Garden edition from the 1970's).½

BONSAI: CULTURE AND CARE OF MINIATURE TREES (1974) "A Hobby For All Ages. Collecting. Propagating. Training. Displaying." This a classic SUNSET book for the discerning bonsai garden. Bonsai is a beautiful, ancient form of Japanese miniature gardening. This book includes information and pictures about: * history and style of bonsai * which plants make good bonsai * planting bonsai * pruning and wiring your bonsai * caring for your bonsai * displaying your bonsai BONSAI features numerous black and white photographic illustrations.

Lots of good ideas on how to organize a closet and where to find extra space in your home.

My go to gardening book

Shelved in Southeast Asia section.

Landscaping and Design

Includes a "how to" section, as well as an interesting chapter on types and cuts of wood.

This is a grand cookbook! Recently, used Orange Date Scones, adding 1/4 c. rye flour and subtracting same from all-purpose. This is not a general use book, but a nice addition to a collection.

Californios. This was the name given to the original Spanish ranchers of the Golden State, the ones who created the forever-classic look of white washed adobes with orange-red roof tiles surrounded by pink and purple bougainvilleas. When the Gold Rush brought in the Anglos and the American statehood, California retained its unique stature as the stretch goal of the young nation's Manifest Destiny.

This Sunset edition focuses on a land which could conceivably be divided into several different states. North Coast, Bay Area, Central Valley, Middle Kingdom, Gold Country, Deserts, and Southern California. The book takes a look at each separate section with mucho photos and it's fun to see how people looked back in the late 1960s (much, much thinner).

I enjoyed having this book by my side on a recent drive through the state, as it made it easy to focus on specific areas. Whether it's hitting the North Bay with its "bottled poetry" (Robert Louis Stevenson), hanging with the elephant seals at Año Nuevo, or hiking in 109° Palm Desert ("but it's a dry heat"), California is a magical place for Californians, Californios, and the those dratted tourists (you can look but don't stay).

Book Season = Year Round (it's all good from Diego to the Bay)

Patterns and directions

I have had this cookbook for years, but never got serious in reading it. This is one of those few cooking sources that I could begin at page 1 and want to cook every single recipe. (Maybe do a Julie/Julia action) Ha! The internet is a good place to search for cheap copies. I think it is out of print. I`m trying to get one for my good friends.

This book is amusing as a novelty, a relic of the fashions of the late 70s. Although the techniques it employs are applicable to the modern day, the actual content of the book is geared toward a design sensibility that no longer exists.

That being said, if you are interested in vintage patterns or would like inspiration for a 70s style recreation wardrobe, this would be a great source.

Recommendation: Good for novelty purposes or for the retro crocheter, but not for the average crafter.

This book is the first printing (1944) of Sunset's Kitchen Cabinet Recipes, Volume One. Really great illustrations throughout in the sidebars with tips, procedures, or plating up instructions. Black and white, a real gem if you can find it.

How to build garden structures, including framing, masonry, and utilities. Good drawings, topical table of contents, and basic Index.

Excellent descriptions, gardening information, histories of the flowers.

excellent recipes, especially the Hungarian cheese filled coffeecake

This Sunset Book was written for the newcomer to weaving -- it explains approaches such as the use of simple, inexpensive looms and more freely structures methods in the instruction of weaving techniques.