Katie Browns Outdoor Entertaining or Letters from the Hive

Katie Brown's Outdoor Entertaining: Taking the Party Outside

Author: Katie Brown

Katie once again exhibits her relaxed approach to entertaining in style. From the backyard barbeque to the perfect beach afternoon, from a colorful children's party to a herb garden retreat, readers will find more than 110 creative and easy recipes, craft projects, and garden ideas. This book is a sensational companion to Katie Brown's Workshop, a new lifestyle series on PBS. Each chapter is organized to follow the signature approach of the Workshop segments: Cook, Nest, and Grow. The show's episodes will be directly tied into material from the book.

Entertaining and enjoying the outdoors are a daunting combination. Katie believes in keeping it simple, and will show you how.

Table of Contents:

Introduction     8
Backyard Reunion     11
Down by the Sea     39
Garden Party     71
Herbal Delight     99
Here Comes the Sun     115
Rustic Woods     157
Picture Index     185
Acknowledgments     192

New interesting book: Global Marketing or Business Management of Telecommunications

Letters from the Hive: An Intimate History of Bees, Honey, and Humankind

Author: Stephen L Buchmann

They work hard, are devoted to family, love sex, and know the importance of a good piece of real estate. Honey bees, and the daily workings of their close-knit colonies, are one of nature's great miracles. And they produce one of nature's greatest edible bounties: honey. More than just a palate pleaser, honey was once an offering to the gods, a preservative, and a medicine whose sought-after curative powers were detailed in ancient texts . . . and are being rediscovered by modern medical science.

In Letters from the Hive, Prof. Stephen Buchmann takes us into the hive--nursery, honey factory, queen's inner sanctum--and out to the world of backyard gardens, open fields, and deserts in full bloom, where the age-old sexual dance between flowers and bees makes life on earth as we know it possible. Hailed for their hard work, harmonious society, and, mistakenly, for their celibacy, bees have a link to our species that goes beyond biology. In Letters from the Hive, Buchmann explores the fascinating role of bees in human culture and mythology, following the "honey hunters" of native cultures in Malaysia, the Himalayas, and the Australian Outback as they risk life and limb to locate a treasure as valuable as any gold.

To contemplate a world without bees is to imagine a desolate place, culturally and biologically, and Buchmann shows how with each acre of land sacrificed to plow, parking lot, or shopping mall, we inch closer to what could become a chilling reality. He also offers honey-based recipes, cooking tips, and home remedies--further evidence of the gifts these creatures have bestowed on us.

Told with wit, wisdom, and affection, and rich with anecdote and science,Letters from the Hive is nature writing at its best. This is natural history to be treasured, a sweet tribute that buzzes with life.
From the Hardcover edition.