Tea and Cookies: Enjoy the Perfect Cup of Tea--with Dozens of Delectable Recipes for Teatime Treats

When Mark Greenside -- a native New Yorker living in California, doubting (not-as-trusting-as Thomas, downwardly mobile, political lefty, writer, and lifelong skeptic -- is dragged by his girlfriend to a tiny Celtic village in Brittany at the westernmost edge of France, in Finistère, "the end of the world," his life begins to change.

In a playful, headlong style, and with enormous affection for the Bretons, Greenside tells how he makes a life for himself in a country where he doesn't speak the language or know how things are done. Against his personal inclinations and better judgments, he places his trust in the villagers he encounters -- neighbors, workers, acquaintances -- and is consistently won over and surprised as he manages and survives day-to-day trials: from opening a bank account and buying a house to removing a beehive from the chimney -- in other words, learning the cultural ropes, living with neighbors, and making new friends.

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do) is a beginning and a homecoming for Greenside, as his father's family emigrated from France. It is a memoir about fitting in, not standing out; being part of something larger, not being separate from it; following, not leading. It explores the joys and adventures of living a double life.

Families across the country are continually searching for a way to make the process easier. Many get discouraged into pre-packaged complacency, which doesn’t satisfy any real cravings. Bookstores contain myriad cookbooks toting catch phrases like “Quick and Simple” or “Cheap and Easy.” The recipes may be quick, but they often require readers to purchase random ingredients they'll never use again. As a result, home cooks find themselves burdened with cluttered pantries, refrigerators, and cupboards filled with hundreds of dollars of cookbooks and specialty items like “red pepper paste” and are still left without an easy to use, versatile, and effective system for getting dinner on the table. That's where Sarah Kallio, Stacey Krastins, and The Stocked Kitchen comes in!

The Stocked Kitchen™ is the first complete meal creation system with only one standard list of groceries. If your kitchen is "Stocked" with these ingredients you will always have what you need to create any of the 300 delicious recipes found in this book. These recipes have been used for all of the authors' own dining needs, including meals for drop-in guests, special occasions, and every-night family dinners. The Stocked Kitchen encompasses all parts of the meal creation process from shopping, to storing, to cooking, to serving. The results are delicious, “guest worthy” meals made from real, basic ingredients.