New at the Mid-Columbia Library System…

Explore your own backyard with travel guides about Washington State and the Pacific Northwest . While you’re at it, try some tasty recipes for a picnic in the great outdoors.

When the River Ran Wild by George W. Aguilar Sr. Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland , 252 pages

Off the Beaten Path Washington by Myrna Oakley, the Globe Pequot Press, Connecticut , 225 pages

Hidden Washington by Eric Lucas, Ulysses Press, California , 406 pages

 A huge chunk of the fun of a summer trip is the anticipation.

 That’s where travel and “place” books come in. They swell the anticipation and magnify the experience better than a good set of binoculars.

Exploring the Columbia Gorge will take on a new dimension with the words of George W. Aguilar Sr. in When the River Ran Wild. Families will not only better see the beauty of the river and countryside as it exists today, they will sense its past glory and contributions before treaties and dams left their mark on the landscape and on the hearts of Native Americans.

There are still many places to visit on the great river, plants to discover and parks to explore that add to the bounty of the region. Also, the historical and cultural insights offered by Aguilar will create the desire in many to visit the Warm Springs Reservation, south of the Columbia a couple of hours’ driving time.

Mostly it’s the north side of the river and gorge that is covered in new editions of Hidden Washington by Eric Lucas and Off the Beaten Path by Myrna Oakley, also available at the Mid-Columbia Library. But these Evergreen State travel guides do not totally ignore Oregon and suggest various jogs across the river.

Using the phrase “in Mount St. Helens’ shadow,” Oakley reviews briefly the Lewis & Clark Expedition and, on the Washington side, historical Vancouver, Beacon Rock (not nearly as scary to climb as it looks), the Bonneville Dam and Maryhill Museum . But not much is truly off the beaten path.

Nor is much hidden in the other vacation/adventure book by Lucas, but if you want to try windsurfing or fishing, dependable contact names are listed. For just loafing a favorite spot of the author is Northwestern Lake, a park five miles or so above the Columbia River on Route 141.

Shopping, lodging and dining recommendations are also given for the Columbia Gorge and for Puget Sound , the Olympic Peninsula and the Cascades. 

As for good adventures in and around the Tri-Cities neither state travel guide offers more than a bare mention. It would appear that local tourist and economy boosters might consider sending these authors updates of the many activities available in this area, beginning with those fantastic river tours of the Hanford Reach, challenging bicycle routes, and scads of golf courses, sports and wineries.

And for those whose idea of an adventure is shopping, isn’t the Tri-Cities now the regional shopping center for both Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington ? That deserves a mention, too, and adds to the failing of the travel authors to know this part of the state.

--Reviewed by Bonnie Taylor , author and trustee of the Mid-Columbia Library System Board.

Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good with American Diabetes Association, Good Books, Pennsylvania, 284 pages

Yes, crock-pot cooking is making a come back, and a new health-conscience cookbook should help the recovery along.

Fix-It and Forget-It is a catchy title that is easy to remember, and the diabetic cookbook proudly boasts that its contributed recipes are just as easy to prepare.

       Holding down carbohydrates, of course, is essential, but so is good taste.

As the author Phyllis Pellman Good claims, “A diet that’s healthy for persons with diabetes is healthy for everyone.”

Slow cookers are known to be great for stews and soups, but it may come as a surprise that they are also great for making in the morning (or overnight) a cake, breakfast casserole, or hot spiced punch.

The list of snacks and spreads is particularly appealing. For isn’t that where most dieters slip up and consume both too many carbs and processed fats? One easy appetizer that is bound to please is the Crab Dip, submitted by Miriam Nolt of New Holland, PA.

Here’s a shortcut rendition. In a small crock pot combine 1/2 cup fat-free milk with 1/3 cup salsa, 24 oz. fat-free cream cheese, cubed, 1 pound crabmeat (imitation is fine), 1 cup sliced sweet onion and 4 oz. of chopped green chilies. Cook on low 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Have lots of whole-wheat or rice crackers for spreading. This one should be a crowd pleaser for sure. 

It’s no wonder that Good is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 7 million cookbooks. When she says a recipe is easy and really good, she means it.

--Reviewed by Bonnie Taylor

Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Giada De Laurentiis, photographs by Victoria Pearson, c2005, published by Clarkson Potter , New York , NY ; 256 pgs.

Those of you familiar with De Laurentiis’s Food Network program of the same name, will find more of the simple, yet delicious recipes she prepares every week on TV, in this, her first cookbook. Blessed with movie star looks and true enthusiasm for her work, De Laurentiis packs a wealth of tasty Italian dishes into her beautifully illustrated book (and I don’t mean just the photos of her.) The contents are categorized by the courses of a true Italian family meal; antipasti, sauces and pasta, entrees, contorni (side dishes) and dolci (desserts) with lots of illustrations and tips for each recipe.

Besides a comprehensive index, cooks will find a useful conversion chart to help convert U. S. cups and ounces into European grams and liters. Particularly useful if you try imported ingredients in your recipes.

De Laurentiis invites you to try her recipes the way they should be prepared, by the entire family helping in the kitchen, from children to grandparents, having fun together and celebrating a true Italian legacy, family dining. My only question is how can she eat such great food and remain a size two?

--Reviewed by Marsha Bates , employee of the Kennewick Branch of the Mid-Columbia