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Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today
$24.95
This is the best beginner cookbook I've come across.

I bought it for my nephew who's off to college this year. When I went off to college, my mother gave me a beginner's cookbook (Craig Claibourne's). It proved invaluable after I got my own place and wanted to entertain young ladies and escape from the dreariness of fast food.

This book is even better, providing simple instructions on one hand, and more detailed information for those who want to delve further into the culinary arts. Either way, if you can read and follow easy directions, you can serve up plenty of tasty dishes, from the simplest of simple recipes (the baked chicken is a good example), to the moderately complex. It provides menu options, information on basic kitchen equipment and techniques, and more.

My only quibble would be with a lack of information about microwave cooking, particularly in regard to vegatables.

Still, a big winner. Particularly for the young man or woman with little cooking experience off to face the world.

Cooking With Kids, Exploring Chinese Food, Culture, and Language
$19.95
Interesting DVD. My family enjoyed watching it together. The shopping trip to Chinatown was fun to watch. We've made the chicken stir-fry and it turned out great! It's good that the recipes are on the website so we can download it to use later.

Indoor Culinary Herb Garden Starter Kit- Start Growing Fresh Cooking Herbs & Spices- Great Gift Idea!- Seeds: Parsley, Thyme, Cilantro, Basil, Dill, Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Chives, Savory, Garlic Chives, Mustard, Sage
$34.95
I received this kit over a month ago. I followed the directions pretty closely, although I wouldn't call myself a green thumb. Everything sprouted but about half of the seedlings didn't make it in the long run. Certain plants seem more hardy: cilantro, mint, oregano, chives and basil all have since been transplanted and are doing well. This is a great, easy way to start herbs from seed and the tray is reusable. It also comes with more of the starter "pods" than will actually fit in the tray, so you can always try a second batch later after you have transplanted the first batch to larger containers.

Start The Panic
$0.89