No more school, no more books…or maybe some books! Looking for some summer reading to keep your kids entertained? School may be out for the summer, but keep it fun by checking out the Whose…? Animal series by author and photographer Wayne Lynch.
 
Even though I (and others here at Whitecap) can be classified as a grownup, we still enjoy flipping through the Whose…? Animal series to see if we can identify Whose Teeth Are These? or Whose Nose Is This? And coming soon: Whose Eyes Are These? Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
 
For more information on our children’s titles, check out our Walrus Books Blog for fun summer reading.
 
(By the way…the answer to the above question is—a walrus!)

It's time to declare barbecue as a social medium!

Barbecue Evangelist Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is celebrating the release of his new book, Barbecue Secrets DELUXE! with a fun contest that challenges Canadian barbecue fans to come up with Twitter-friendly messages about outdoor cooking. Call it Barbecue 2.0.

Here's how it works: use the trendy web messaging tool Twitter to tweet a barbecue tip, recipe or story that starts with @rockinronnie and you could win a copy of Barbecue Secrets DELUXE! -- and have a chance at some sizzlin' grand prizes including grills, barbecue tools and Ravenswood Wine!

The challenge is to describe your tip, recipe or story in less than 140 characters. Check out this New York Times article to learn about tweeting recipes.

Ronnie will give away one of his new books to the best barbecue tweet every Friday from May 7th to the week before Father's Day.

On Father's Day the very best tweets, as judged by Ronnie, be awarded these prize packages:

Grand Prize:

    * Weber Q120 portable gas grill from Johnstone's Barbecues
    * Bottle of Ravenswood Zin, and a Ravenswood set of barbecue tools with matching straw cowboy hat
    * Complete set of all three of Ronnie's cookbooks
    * Set of Ronnie & Denzel's NATURAL CHAMPIONS BBQ Sauces
    * Package of cedar cooking planks from Westcoast Lifestyles


Runner Up:

    * Cobb portable charcoal grill from Johnstone's Barbecues
    * Bottle of Ravenswood Zin, and a Ravenswood set of barbecue tools with matching straw cowboy hat
    * Complete set of all three of Ronnie's cookbooks
    * Set of Ronnie & Denzel's NATURAL CHAMPIONS BBQ Sauces
    * Package of cedar cooking planks from Westcoast Lifestyles


Third, Fourth and Fifth prizes:

    * Copy of Barbecue Secrets DELUXE!
    * Bottle of Ravenswood and set of Ravenswood barbecue tools


Rules:

    * Anyone can participate, but to qualify for prizes contestants must reside in Canada and be 19 or older
    * Submissions must be no more than 140 characters, including @rockinronnie
    * Submissions must be straight text and cannot include a link (Check out this New York Times article to learn about tweeting recipes)
    * Abbreviations are fine; be as creative as you want but it has to be understandable
    * Can be sent via Twitter, posted on the Barbecue Secrets Facebook fan page, or sent via e-mail to rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com
    * No obscene or profane language
    * Ronnie has sole discretion as to which tweets will be awarded prizes, reserves the right to cancel or change the contest at any time, and takes no responsibility for lost or stolen tweets
    * No limit in number of entries


What are you waiting for? Get tweeting!

Charmian Christie, creator of the blog Christie's Corner has been an amazing supporter of Whitecap Books and has agreed to help us launch our new food and wine focused Facebook fanpage, Whitecap Cooks with a contest!!

Today, on her blog, Charmian reviewed three Whitecap books and has asked her readers to become members of Whitecap Cooks Facebook fanpage. Readers that join the fanpage and write a message about Whitecap or Christie's Corner will be entered into a draw to win the three books Charmian reviewed today and an additional three Whitecap titles chosen by Charmian herself.

Not familiar with Charmian's blog? You can still participate by becoming a member and writing a note on our wall, but if you like food and cooking, make sure you check out Christie's Corner. She's a great writer and posts great stuff.

Pastry scares me. Well... making my own pastry scares me. Eating it is something I actually quite like. So, when I first saw Michel Roux's new book, Pastry: Savory & Sweet, I thought it would be way over my head. When I actually had the chance to flip through it, though, Michel inspired me to face my pastry-making fears and follow his expert guidance.

I think what I like best about this book is how Michel breaks down the process behind making great pastry. With detailed illustrations and descriptions of how to make 10 different types of pastry, you'll quickly learn what it takes to master the techniques Michel shows you. Once you've mastered the technique (or if you're a pro and you already have mastered them), Michel provides you with a host of delicious looking recipes to make with each type of pastry dough.

Wow, I can't wait to start trying these recipes out! Posting a recipe for this book is a bit complicated with all the illustrations, etc. and I want you to have the best possible experience with it, so hit your local bookstore and take a look. I think you'll really enjoy it.

 If you give this book a try, comment here and let us know how you did with Chef Michel's expert guidance!

It sure is grey out there, and if you're anything like me, you sometimes have a hard time remembering what the ground looked like before it started snowing. There is some hope, though. Spring is not that far away. Really! Did you know that there is no better time than now to get ready for a beautiful spring/summer west coast garden? Vancouver Sun garden columnist, Steve Whysall sure does.

In his book The Vancouver Sun's Best Plant Picks, Steve gives month-by-month tips on planning the perfect west coast garden. Some of January tips? How about  browsing seed catalogues and placing an order? Or beginning seeds indoors getting them ready for the warm days ahead? In February you can start planting raspberry canes and other fruit bushes. Yum - I can taste those fresh raspberries now!

Steve also gives the low-down on what plants and flowers are in bloom. In January, you'll notice the yellow flowers of witch-hazel. Clip a few branches to enjoy its exquisite fragrance indoors, out of the cold and rain. Beautiful little snowdrops also bloom in January and February - sure signs that spring is on the way. If you want to plan ahead for the dark days of winter next year, plant these bulbs along with your other spring flowering bulbs in September or October.

Doesn't that make you feel better?

Do you have any winter gardening tips or favourite January or February blooms? Comment on this post!