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Good Cooking Habits
Food for Your Body, Your
Soul and Your Funnybone
by Sister Karol
Jackowski
Reviewed
by Christine Landry
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This
little book is a cute compilation of recipes culled from
Sister Karol Jackowski’s experiences as a nun and
in life. Slim and filled with plenty of humorous nun photographs,
Good Cooking Habits started as a hand-written project
that Jackowski gave to students living in the dorm where
she was a Resident Assistant; the published book is a combination
of those recipes presented to students and other recipes
she’s collected over the years. They range from what
she cooked to lure residents to meetings to the guacamole
recipe belonging to Lonnie the landscaper who Jackowski
met at a party where he brought his dip—Jackowski
solicited this recipe from him, and then never saw him again.
The resulting book is both practical and entertaining, a
good book for the novice in the kitchen or even the more
advanced cook who appreciates taking a break from slaving
away over meals.
The chapter titles are playfully named with plenty of allusions
to Jackowski’s profession, such as “Spirited
Drinks and Appetizers,” “Soulful Soups and Salads”
and “Just Desserts.” Short asides punctuate
the book, as is the case with the “marry me egg salad
sandwich,” which is followed by an explanation that
“the ‘me’ that got married over this egg
salad was Brenda Bent, not me.” While Martha Stewart
aficionados might find this book too basic, most people,
especially busy working adults, will appreciate the sensible
recipes that make up the bulk of its contents. Fresh ingredients
are combined with ready-made components in a manner that
is both flavorful and highly aware of the modern individual’s
time constraints. The asparagus quiche, for example, sensibly
instructs you to buy an unbaked pie crust, rather than mixing
and rolling the dough yourself. The ingredients that follow
are typical quiche ingredients with an abundance of fresh
asparagus and a smattering of dried dill to up the ante
on flavor. In addition, the wilted spinach salad with its
warm bacon vinaigrette was as good as any we’ve tasted
before and was quicker to make than other similar fare we’ve
tried from other books. Some recipes are simply twists on
the basics. Fabulous French toast doesn’t have any
revelations, so to speak, but we appreciated the easy additions
of half & half, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
While celebrity chefs awe us with their beautiful concoctions
that require an afternoon for us to recreate, Sister Jackowski
connects to the typical American kitchen in a more sensible
manner—with a healthy dose of humor and recipes that
suit the American lifestyle and which will have you returning
to her book for weekday suppers time and again.
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