
Summer is an excellent time of year to be a foodie. From whipping up go-to summer BBQ party foods to spiking your fave desserts with fresh summer fruit, the delicious bounty of the season is definitely infused into our grub. After perusing a few indie food magazines to see what’s trending, read up on these 13 cookbooks out in June to really make your recipes sizzle this summer.
1. Brooklyn Rustic: Simple Food for Sophisticated Palates by Bryan Calvert ($21): From the chef and co-founder of Brooklyn eatery JAMES, this foundational cookbook seamlessly pairs comfort food with decadent dishes. Using simple and easy-to-find ingredients, Bryan’s gift for experimentation is definitely apparent in this must-try collection.
2. K-Food: Korean Home Cooking and Street Food by Da-Hae West and Gareth West ($17): Do you love Korean nosh but are too afraid to try it yourself? Check out this how-to guide to Korean and Ameri-Korean cooking for lessons in everything from how to cook bulgogi burgers to the proper etiquette next time you’re out for some Korean BBQ.
3. Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum and the Cult of Tiki by Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate ($18): How much do you really know about tiki culture? If you answered “not very much” — or if your mind suddenly went to the tiki room at Disney — you’re not alone. Luckily, tiki experts and owners of Smuggler’s Cove, a popular San Francisco Polynesian-inspired spot, are here to give us the DL on the legend, history and recipes of tiki culture.
4. Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion by Theresa Carle-Sanders ($23): Fans of the Outlander series will love this companion cookbook by Carle-Sanders. With recipes like Black Jack Randall’s dark chocolate lavender fudge and Auld Ian’s buttered leeks, it’s just as delicious as it is fandom-approved.
5. The Spiralizer 2.0 Cookbook by Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen ($10): Spiraling is something that falls in and out of cooking fashion — and right now it’s big. Whether you’re new to the trend or a diehard spiralizer, this guide and recipe hub for spiral dishes will definitely leave your guests wanting more.
6. A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Tyler Kord ($15): When the chef and owner of No. 7 restaurant and No. 7 sub shops in NY isn’t commenting on pay phones or getting drunk in the shower, he’s most likely in his shop, coming up with fantastic sandwich recipes that take lunch to a whole new level. A debut author, Tyler’s buzzworthy cookbook will be prized by sandwich lovers (ourselves included) all summer long.
7. A la Mode: 120 Recipes in 60 Pairings by Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein ($16): Let’s get one thing straight: You can never have too much dessert. In this new classic, Mark and Bruce not only teach us how to make over 100 crazy-delicious desserts, but they also tell us exactly what type of ice cream to pair it with. Win-win!
8. Meat on the Side: Delicious Vegetable-Focused Recipes for Every Day by Nikki Dinki ($16): Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian or just veggie-inclined, Food Network star Nikki Dinki has tons of amazing recipes to help you cut back on your meat intake. You’re welcome in advance.
9. Food from Across Africa: Recipes to Share by Duval Timothy, Folayemi Brown and Jacob Fodio Todd ($25): Just looking at this expansive compendium of classic and modern African recipes is enough to make your mouth water. Featuring everything from tamarind-flavored pork to baked broccoli falafel, it’s a culinary adventure that just might have you booking a flight across the globe once you’re finished.
10. Tanya Bakes by Tanya Burr ($17): If you’ve been on YouTube for more than an hour, odds are you’ve heard of London lifestyle guru Tanya Burr. Towing the same line as other YouTube celebrities who have released successful cookbooks — from Hannah Hart to Rosanna Pansino — Tanya’s latest endeavor takes the form of delicious treats for every occasion.
11. The Slider Effect: You Can’t Eat Just One! by Jonathan Melendez ($12): Hostesses and snack enthusiasts will swoon for this recipe-packed cookbook dedicated to one of life’s smallest joys. It includes recipes for homemade breaks, buns and sauces to really make your apps a hit.
12. Nadiya’s Kitchen by Nadiya Hussain ($20): The 2015 winner of Great British Bake Off is debuting her new cookbook this June, and we couldn’t be more excited. With recipes like white chocolate and peanut slice za’atar and lemon palmiers sour cherry and almond bundt cake, we can’t wait to explore all 270 pages of Nadiya’s delicious treats.
13. Melt by Claire Kelsey ($20): Ice cream is having a moment, and Claire Kelsey of Ginger’s Comfort Emporium is leading the charge. With ice cream recipes that are both simple and too-good-to-share, this is a cookbook you need to get your paws on fast.
What’s your all-time favorite cookbook? Tweet us by mentioning @BritandCo.
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures