Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef
Rachel Schwartz Fagan
8 pages
https://www.instagram.com/word.tonic.press/
https://linktr.ee/rachel.schwartz.fagan

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef is a quarter-sized, black and white illustrated zine of tips that Rachel learned from a pastry chef.

I loved baking and eating baked goods of all sorts, so does that make this zine even more of a comfort read?

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef opens non-traditionally by holding it in landscape orientation and opening from bottom to top. On the inside front cover, we get all the details for Rachel, including when and where the zine was printed. (I like these details because someday I shall make a big map with all kinds of info on zines read, sent, and received.)

From there we jump right in with the tips, starting with a lemon zest tip that seems so simple but I know would have a big impact on the flavour of whatever baked good called for it. We also get tips on everything from handling eggs, to dealing with garlic, to even a handy top on getting even slices when slicing bread.

Each page has its own handdrawn border and accompanying illustration/s, which makes a cosy zine about a cosy subject make me smile all the more. And crave some banana bread, but that’s an aside.

I was totally in the mood today for a zine that would invite me to learn something, and Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef absolutely provided that. If I know anything about baking, it’s that small steps done in the right way can make a huge impact on what you end up creating. Not only did I appreciate the shared tips, I also appreciated the little things Rachel included like the drawings and the wavy border on each page to add visual interest.

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef is a zine going in my forever collection and a fairly quick read I think you’ll enjoy.

Root Cause: Championing Beets, Turnips, Rutabagas, and Other Unfairly Maligned Vegetables
Andy Boynton
12 pages
https://www.reciwee.com
https://www.instagram.com/reciwee/

Root Cause is a full-colour, quarter-sized zine about unfairly maligned vegetables in the grocery store and recipes for how to enjoy them.

Andy had me at comparing the bin of ‘lesser known’ veggies to an Island of Misfit Toys. Poor beetroot.

Root Cause opens right on the inside cover with an introduction to the zine and about it. Andy lets the reader know that this zine isn’t mean to be totally comprehensive but rather an appetizer (ha! food pun for the win) to what can be done with these root veggies.

Each veggie featured has the name, a personal introduction from Andy, a drawing of the veggie, and a recipe to try out. Truly living up to the ‘appetizer’ description given in the introduction.

I must say (or rather, write) that I was surprised to see carrots in amongst this group of veggies. Two words: carrot cake. Even so, I appreciated the inclusion for the carrot muffin recipe that will enjoy trying out. (And eating.)

As someone who enjoys trying new things, cooking, and baking, this is definitely a zine for me. But I also appreciate its existence for the more serious side of things too. We are, by and large, visual creatures, and food wastage is a big problem in a lot of places. Not to mention the health side of things.

A zine that encourages people to try new things they might easily pass over otherwise is definitely a good thing. I liked that it didn’t lecture or berate, rather celebrating that which isn’t often celebrating. Definitely a keeper.

Joyful Girl: Where I Find Joy – Do It Yourself Care #4
Nina Zina of Echo Zines
Mini One-Page-Folded
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/echozines/

Joyful Girl: Where I Find Joy – Do It Yourself Care #4 is a full-colour, one-page-folded A7 mini-zine

“Little reminders for myself that there can be joy even in hard times.”

And don’t we all need that?

Do It Yourself Care #4 opens with those handwritten words written on bright yellow slips of paper pasted onto pink solid and patterned paper. This colour scheme, which reminds me of lemonade and strawberries, continues through the zine as the reader gets to know Nina’s little joys in life.

Do It Yourself Care #4 had me smiling from the get go. Not only has it been a rough week and some so this topic suited me quite well, the first thing Nina listed is glow-in-the-dark stars. I may have not long ago finished putting the little sticky bits on a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars to stick to my bedroom ceiling. Following that with cuddles and snuggles with friends, which I adore, and I felt so utterly cosy and happy reading this zine.

Nina covers all sorts of things. Indoors and outdoors, things she participates in and things she observes. Of course what Nina enjoys is personal, but I do like that there is a variety so people can be reminded of their own joys no matter what kind of person they are.

One thing I wanted to mention is that I like how Nina mentioned enjoying creating things “even if I have to push myself sometimes to get started”. While it may have been an afterthought or side thought, I think it’s important to remember that it can take a bit of a push to get ourselves to do things even if we enjoy them.

In Nina’s usual style, Do It Yourself Care #4 opens up into a full page of even more joys set on a colourful cut-and-paste style page. Including the joy of the silly little tea tags that come on the string of your tea bags.

I love the whole Do It Yourself Care series thus far, and this zine is a wonderful addition to the series. I totally recommend grabbing this as well as the rest of the series as well.

Check out my reviews of:

*Do-It-Yourself Care
*Do It Yourself Care #2: Self-Care During Heat Waves
*Do It Yourself Care 3 – Self-Care During Christmas