Reading, Writing and Cooking

The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose

2011-12-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose Author: Barbara Kafka
Publisher: Artisan Publishing (2011)

At group events, and especially at holiday time, it’s becoming increasingly inevitable that at least one member of the party will have some form of food allergy, intolerance or special dietary need. Whether you are the afflicted person or the understanding host, it can be a stressful time orchestrating who can (or will) eat what, if “safe zones” of contaminant-free eats are required, and what both parties can do to ensure that the night goes off without a hitch. From my own personal experience, the extent and severity of an allergy situation can lead to a life of mono-dieting and even resentment from others over meals that are not “normal” under conventional norms. Barbara Kafka, author of several cookbooks including the best-selling Vegetable Love, addresses two of the most common dietary restrictions – gluten and lactose – in her latest work The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose.

The 230 page book is filled with 300 recipes which the front cover proudly declares are “for every day and every need”. This claim is partially true – many of the time-blessed, omnivorous foodies living in well stocked city centres will find most of these meals no issue to create. However, if you eschew meat and seafood, or live in an area where the local grocery does not carry items like sorrel, samphire, and chervil, or come home at 7:30PM on a weeknight to a hungry family and whatever’s in the fridge, Intolerant Gourmet is simply too gourmet for frequent use. While I’m sure the author means well in her quest to write this recipe-packed book, I think it may fall into disuse by many home cooks who are turned off by the gratuitous inclusion of offal, game birds, pork rind and caviar.

It is clear that Kafka is nowhere close to writing vegetarian-friendly dishes as a constant, either. Every soup or other dish calling for broth or stock utilizes chicken broth, which granted is easily substituted but still a disappointment when looking for an inherently vegetarian option. A whole appetizer section is dedicated to pâté. Of the main courses (including salads), only eight are meatless, and only five of those are vegan. Sweets and baked goods are not even worth mentioning with regards to this work, which is a shame since many gluten and lactose free individuals find these items the hardest to replace.

There are, however, a few gems in Intolerant Gourmet. Quinoa-Crusted Chicken (p. 87) is ingenious and works equally well on extra-firm tofu slabs. Magical Green Tomatoes (p. 156) are no lie in their name – though the amount of oil called for is far too much (Kafka has written ½ cup, while I found a tablespoon or less to suffice). Zesty Rice Paper Chips (p. 24) and Hummus (p. 28), though almost too basic to put in any cookbook, were still well-received offerings at a recent dinner party. If I was a meat eater, I would agree with my mother that the Roast Chicken with Garlic Sauce (p. 87) would tempt my tastebuds as well.

The Intolerant Gourmet also finds strength in Kafka’s extensive research sections. Detailing everything from “Perfectly Poached Eggs” (p. 19) to a full-page chart of the best gluten-free pasta varieties (p. 39), the book also includes an entire chapter on starches and beans, featuring charts for the proper cooking of grains (p. 222) and using flours (p. 223) as well as a glossary of the varieties Kafka features in her recipes. These informative sections are worthy of their own, separate book, as they are truly things that the everyday, all-occasion cook can use regardless of dietary preferences, allergies or other restrictions.

For the adventurous, time-gifted cook, The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose by Barbara Kafka is a book worth perusing for ideas come the next dinner party. It is not a “30-minutes-to-table” work, though I don’t believe it was ever really intended to be one. For the rest of us time-, cash- or resource-poor individuals, it is a book to read not so much for the recipes as for the information laced through it.

Available on Amazon

Wholesome Kitchen: Delicious Recipes with Beans, Lentils, Grains, and Other Natural Foods

2011-10-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Wholesome Kitchen: Delicious Recipes with Beans, Lentils, Grains, and Other Natural Foods

Author: Ross Dobson

Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small (2010)

More than any other topic in the health and lifestyle world, the poor nutrition quality of the modern diet is big news. Typical Western fare has lead to ballooning obesity rates, more (and younger) diabetes patients, and staggeringly low vitamin and mineral diets – but with the increase of public interest in preventative healthcare, a growing investment in the meals on the table has taken root as well. Be it for ecological, ethical, or medical reasons, the tide is turning in favour of a whole-food, mostly vegetarian approach to mealtime; embracing legumes and whole grains in a variety of forms. While it may be second nature to some (generally those in the younger generations without years of “home cooking” behind them) to embrace this new manner of eating, those who grew up on pre-made foodstuffs or with the ideology that a meal isn’t complete without the combination of “meat and starch” can find the prospect of a vegetarian menu daunting. Ross Dobson, author of Kitchen Seasons: Easy Recipes for Seasonal Organic Food proves in his new book Wholesome Kitchen: Delicious Recipes with Beans, Lentils, Grains, and Other Natural Foods that a more healthful way of nourishing yourself is not only simple and economical, but decadent as well.

Far from being a “preachy” piece of nutrition lore or a vegan manifesto, Wholesome Kitchen is first and foremost a book for those who simply love good food. Full-colour photographs throughout the piece capture the very essence of Dobson’s credo – fresh ingredients at the very peak of their taste, texture, appearance and nutrition potential. The entire book is divided into simple, useful chapters: appetizers (including dips, spreads, fritters and even a terrine), soups, salads, sides, main dishes and desserts. Though I might argue as to the placement of some of his recipes (particularly in the Sides chapter, where Southern-Style Red Beans and Rice (p. 82) and Mujaddarah (p. 88) could easily form a full meal), I am likely in the minority and those looking for a vegetarian main dish alternative to the four Dobson includes could easily peruse the other sections (including the filling soups and salads).

Each recipe is a simple, yet elegant preparation that never overshadows the beauty of Mother Nature’s bounty. Both meat eaters and vegetarians alike are catered to throughout the book – from Real Chili Con Carne (p. 111) to the hearty Three Sisters Soup (p. 33) featured on the front cover. A handful of vegan (or easily veganized) recipes are also included – making this book a great resource for incorporating regular “meatless Mondays” in your menu plan. The meat dishes in Wholesome Kitchen are not overbearingly carnivorous – Dobson uses the animal protein as almost a condiment in the sense that they are parts of a bigger whole.

Regardless of whether or not the dish in question contains meat, readers can be assured that plenty of fresh, nutritious ingredients are front and centre. Legumes abound in everything from salads to desserts, and whole grains are much the same (a boon for anyone’s health!). Many different cultures are also embraced by Dobson, endearing Wholesome Kitchen to household gourmets (or would-be gourmets, like me) everywhere. I fell in love with the spectrum of flavours and textures in the Spicy Three-Bean Salad (p.59), although it was slightly too oily for our overall tastes.

Although Dobson includes many fairly conventional recipes in this book (including oatmeal cookies, bran muffins and a fruit crumble), it is clear that he is a cook rather than a baker. I wanted to try one of the slightly more unique items he featured, and having made a wide array of chocolate chip cookies, from vegan and whole grain to butter and sugar-laden, I was immediately drawn to the eggless Quinoa Choc Chip Cookies (p. 131). After following the directions to the letter, it became clear that there was a distinct problem with the formula. Rather than becoming drop cookie dough (of any kind that I could envision), the bowl looked like it was filled with something similar to coarse sand. It took almost 1/3 cup of extra liquid to bind together and allow the chocolate chips to be stirred in. Once baked and cooled, however, the taste (albeit a bit too sweet) was phenomenal – slightly nutty from the ground quinoa and oats, peppered with chocolate and with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that was so tender that you have no option but to cool them completely on the sheets before moving them. For those wanting to hazard this recipe, aside from more liquid I would suggest using a coffee grinder or powerful blender to grind the quinoa and oats (not a food processor as Wholesome Kitchen states), invest in parchment paper or a silicone mat to bake on (rather than grease the pan as is implied – but not overtly stated – in the final step mentioning “prepared” sheets), and cool the cookies entirely on the sheets (don’t “[t]ransfer to a wire rack to cool” immediately, as stated).

It is clear that Dobson is invested in bringing the love of good food to the tables of the world. This is not a “low fat” or “low calorie” book, but it is not intended as one. Rather, the impression Ross Dobson clearly broadcasts is aiming to enhance overall nutrition with a wealth of whole foods, benefiting the body on every level. Wholesome Kitchen: Delicious Recipes with Beans, Lentils, Grains, and Other Natural Foods is unique in its variety of cultures, cooking techniques and dietary lifestyles, and is useful for those of practically any age in any season. With stunning photography to lure the reader in, and the delectable meals to trap them, it will assist many of those who want to turn the tides of modern-day health.

Available on Amazon

The Safe Food Handbook: How to make Smart Choices about Risky Food

2011-09-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Safe Food Handbook: How to make Smart Choices about Risky Food
Author: Heli Perrett, PhD

Publisher: The Experiment (2010)

Do you worry about the food you eat? Not the calories, fat content, allergy risk or carbon footprint, but the safety of your dinner menu every night? Parasites, bacteria, viruses and chemicals are all present in the culinary world, from the farms and processing plants to the delivery trucks and store shelves. Even the home and restaurant kitchens are not immune from the dangers that are exposed to our food every day. But what are the most significant risks, why, and who is responsible for controlling them? Heli Perrett, a former senior technical advisor at the World Bank, professor and sculptural artist examines these concerns in The Safe Food Handbook: How to make Smart Choices about Risky Food.

Approaching this book, I’ll admit that I was a little jaded in my expectations. After two years of intensive food and nutrition management and a third in holistic health and nutrition, I was fairly aware of the dangers in “risky foods” that existed (or lurked as the case may be, depending on whom you talk to). The problem with a book like Safe Food is that because regulations, outbreaks, health cautions and even the banning or allowing the sale of a product change so quickly, by the time it hits the store the information within may well have changed. While Perrett makes a good point regarding the risk of Mad Cow Disease in beef, she only specified Canadian cattle were the sole problem, rather than sharing the blame with the US and UK herds. The melamine fiasco in China is labelled as food terrorism, and she stresses how it “can happen so easily” (p. 199). Although it is risky to consume unpasteurized dairy, the author gives warnings regarding the consumption of yogurts with “live bacterial cultures” (p. 181) is less safe than more typical American-style, heat treated yogurts. I take exception to this particular mention because it is the very live bacteria in the yogurt which makes it such a nutritious choice. Far from causing infections and other ill effects, the organisms (Acidophilus and Bacillus in particular) compete with the overgrowth of toxin-creating organisms in the gut and “tone” the immune system to respond readily, preventing those issues as well as many others [1]. Those who were not aware of this would likely start at the words “live bacteria” and swear off the food forever. While Perrett is correct in her statement that canned produce, by virtue of the pasteurization process, contains almost no risk of bacterial infection (p. 48), it is at the expense of the nutrients found in most fresh or frozen goods. Modern grinds of meat (i.e. hamburger) are truly less at-risk for parasites and bacteria (p. 143), but what Safe Food omits is that these parasites are often eliminated by treatment with commercial ammonia [2].

I appreciated the author’s attention to the importance of industry labelling and guide to common “buzzwords” and phrases like “COOL” (Country Of Origin Labelling), “Certified Organic”, “Natural” and “Hormone Free” .This knowledge is truly of value to the average consumer, who may only be concerned with the general contents of their shopping choices and not each individual “what if” scenario in a meal. I also found each chapter’s inclusion of regulating bodies (or “Who Keeps it Safe?”) both intriguing and worth noting specifics of, especially when “mixed” products are concerned. “Try Regulating a Sausage” (p. 134) details the difficulty in controlling the entire process’ safety and consistency, with mention of the existing regulations as to the type or grade of meat, fat and filler contents, and type of casings. Sushi lovers like myself, anyone planning a pregnancy, or those with youngsters who eat seafood regularly will want to bookmark Perrett’s list of mercury levels in fish (p. 110), especially those on the coasts (since over 2500 pounds of the metal are dumped off the shores of San Francisco each year). Although I’m not overly concerned over the potential toxicity of the herbs and spices in my cupboard, Safe Food’s chapter on the subject (p. 267) is an interesting read in itself.

I did find it a bit odd – and in a way a bit contradictory – that after compiling this tome of personal risk “ratings”, the cause and reduction of food dangers, and the specific risks in produce, fish and shellfish, meat and poultry, dairy, eggs, grains, beans, nuts and even herbs and spices the author spends almost four pages convincing the reader that it isn’t all that much of a concern. Her final paragraph in the chapter “There Are Smart Ways to Cut your Food Risks” (p.28) includes the line “don’t let concern about the safety of your food become a straitjacket, unless it really has to be” (p. 32) and the mention that we consumers should, above all, enjoy our food. Her backpedalling in this section of Safe Food causes me to doubt how confident she is of her own statements, regardless of what her research may show. This is especially due to my discovery of her background not as a nutritionist, chemist, doctor or food scientist, but as a World Bank advisor, artist and Adjunct Professor of Public Policy Studies. Unfortunately, the list of references that would allow the reader to peruse Perrett’s comments is missing from the back of the book, although the author does include a list for “further reading” (which is not necessarily where she gleaned her own information).

While it is true that being an informed consumer is being a wise consumer, The Safe Food Handbook: How to make Smart Choices about Risky Food borders on the edge of fear-mongering in Heli Perrett’s quest to pick every nit in the food-consuming world. While there is good, valid information in this work, it is difficult to separate the significant dangers from those which generate the most “wow” factor in an audience without prior information, thus negating the need for much of this book’s writing.

Available on Amazon

[1] University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (February 3, 2010). "'Good' bacteria keep immune system primed to fight future infections". ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 22, 2011 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127095945.htm.

[2] Michael Moss (December 30, 2009). “Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned”. New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html.

Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables

2011-08-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables
Author: Andrea Chesman
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (2007)

For those who follow my food blog, What Smells So Good?, it goes without saying that my family and I are big gardeners. Where we excel at organizing, spacing, weeding and digging, we fall short in terms of using our bounty to it’s full potential. Those who wait eagerly for the first farmer’s market to open, or the ground to thaw enough to put in those first few seedlings, are often beset by gluts of produce which without proper attention rot and become compost. Thankfully, with the upswing of gardening and local eating’s popularity has also resulted in a rise in the number of guides – not for growing the foods, but for eating them. One of these welcome additions to the bookshelf is Andrea Chesman’s piece Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables, a 512-page guide to almost everything veggie-lovers need (or want) to know.

Chesman takes a thoroughly seasonal approach to the inclusions in Harvest, using not simply the four “standard” quadrants of the year but the transitional periods – Spring into Summer, Early to Mid-Summer, Mid- to Late Summer, and Fall into Winter – to organize the crops by “readiness”. Within each chapter readers will find produce in alphabetical order, from more commonly available vegetables like carrots (p.360) and zucchini (p. 168) to fairly obscure Jerusalem artichokes (p. 386) and fennel (p. 258). Even the ugly celery root (p. 202) and much maligned okra (p. 266) find a place in Harvest, with recipes that will entice even the strongest skeptic to look for them on their next grocery run. A piece titled “Height of the Season” completes each season, a veritable menu of recipes that make use of prime combinations from that period. Chesman opens each individual crop’s section with a quick reference page, featuring information on seeding and harvesting, preparation techniques, cook times and nutrition. The most beneficial inclusion on this page is arguably the “math” – or equivalency – of volume to weight to actual units of vegetable – helping any cook to convert recipes based on what they have on hand regardless of owning a scale. Mouthwatering recipes follow, from simple “Roasted Brussels Sprouts” (p. 343) to a gourmet, Gruyere-laden “Roasted Leek Tart” (p. 408) and the unusual but delicious “Zapplesauce” (p.182). Thanks to the four “Well-Stocked Pantry” pages making up the first chapter, no recipe is made unapproachable, even for everyday “home” cooks who don’t grow their own.

Chesman even manages to address the most basic of cooking methods in Harvest, along with “Master Recipes” for gratinée, roasted, sautéed, grilled, stir-fried, tempura and various noodle applications for the vegetables to follow. For the tail end of the growing year, when gardeners are most often beset by too much of a bounty, a handy guide to “Preserving the Harvest” (p. 473) includes pointers on drying, canning, freezing and cold-storing. All the recipes are enclosed at the end of the book in a vast index, along with a resource guide and supplier list. I only wish that an index of the types of recipes was also included in Harvest’s pages, as it would make it that much easier to embrace the seasonal wealth.

Harvest is also a compilation of personal stories from Chesman and those she admires. Far from being a textbook, her non-recipe articles include a piece on “Plant a Row for the Hungry” (also called “Grow a Row, Give a Row”) (p. 280), the use of a home garden as a dating tool (p. 390) and a Massachusetts’s CSA as a produce source for both paying consumers and the local Food Bank (p. 74). For those who never gave gardens a second thought, these tales are inspiring, and for seasoned green thumbs will re-ignite the passion that started their hobby.

It shows in Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables that Andrea Chesman is undoubtedly a mistress of both garden and writing. Her thorough, creative and engaging exposure to the delights of gardening is more than welcome in a world with a struggling economy. Her equally varied and useful approach to choosing and enjoying the fruits of your land and labour is the gateway to a way of eating that any and everyone should embrace: more produce, more often, in any way possible.

Available on Amazon

The Baking Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask

2011-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Baking Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask
Author: Lauren Chattman
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (2009)

Some of us grew up in the kitchen clamouring to stir cookie dough and knead bread with nary a box mix in sight, especially if Mom, Dad or Grandma was around to guide the process. While mixes and pre-made foods clearly still have a consumer following, the trend now is to eliminate the excess processing and additives that go into those items and return to the call of scratch baking. So what then of the ones who grow up without an intuitively baking parent – or who were too busy racing around as children that the kitchen didn’t hold that same allure? Scratch baking is not out of reach for the average kitchen elf thanks to the wealth of comprehensive baking guides on bookstore shelves. Arguably one of the most concise and well organized of these resources is Lauren Chattman’s work The Baking Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask.

In Baking Answer Book, readers will find 350 pages of common questions and their detailed, practical answers in an easy to read, no-frills format. Chattman includes only the information that the common baker would find useful in day-to-day applications, and her information spans an array of topics from Ingredients (p. 1) and Equipment (p. 38) to complex Layered Pastry (p. 277) and the often-problematic Yeast Breads (p. 308). The author also includes recent additions to the baker’s kitchen by addressing questions on non-stick, insulated and silicone bakeware (p. 43-46). Chattman also incorporates applications of her answers, with simple and reliable recipes for classics such as Low-Fat Wheat-Bran Muffins (p. 136), Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (p. 162), New York Cheesecake (p. 220) and the quintessential No-Knead Bread (p. 332). By no accounts, however, is Baking Answer Book a recipe manual. The goal is to inform and ease the creation of the modern cook’s own recipes, not build their cookbook repertoire from ground zero.

This book is one that all bakers, aspiring and experienced, will find useful. Chattman’s tips on freezing batters (like muffins (p. 133) – an application I had never thought of) and doughs (breads are “risky” (p. 337) while cookie dough is better than baked in this respect (p. 191-193)). While I don’t need her help on the subject of pastry bags and tips or cake-frosting techniques (p. 231-238), having taken classes at George Brown College and making up my own solutions for many issues, I did love the author’s glossary of the varieties of cake (p. 201), and her charts of pan volumes (p. 47), as well as metric equivalents (p. 356) as a reference. Having also made many a pie by my mother’s side, much of the help Chattman offers on this subject (p. 240-276) was wasted on me. However, Chattman includes the invaluable conversions of whole to crumbled cookies for crusts (p. 271) and a handy storage guide for the baked pies (p. 274-275). Detailed resource lists for any and all things baking related, including Chattman’s most valued cookbooks, fill the final pages of this book. Those living at high altitudes will be delighted to know that Baking Answer Book includes a special appendix of these answers as well (p. 351).

The only minor issue I do take with Chattman’s piece is in her discussion of specialty flours. While those who out of necessity keep gluten-free diets will already know their “can” and “can’t” grains and flours, others may not realize that soy flour is completely gluten-free (not “substantially lower” as the author notes (p. 12)) as is buckwheat (lumped into a list of specialty flours but whose status is ignored while the other grains have mention (p. 13)). Again, this is a minor oversight but is one of the reasons why information from a variety of sources is always preferable on a subject such as this.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Baking Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask by Lauren Chattman – it is truly an incredible resource and has both piqued my interest in the “whys” of baking, and answered many questions I have asked over the years. I look forward to sharing the knowledge with those bakers around me and applying it to my own kitchen experiences.

Available on Amazon

The Peanut Allergy Epidemic: What's Causing It and How to Stop It

2011-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Peanut Allergy Epidemic: What's Causing It and How to Stop It
Author: Heather Fraser

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (2011)

Does your work or school have a “no-nut-no-peanut” policy? Allergies to tree nuts, as well as to the botanically unrelated legume known as the peanut, are rampant in modern Western society, with over 4 million cases of peanut allergy currently diagnosed in the United States alone. Why the

Western community falls victim to this hyper-reactivity while those countries building their cuisine on the backbone of these legumes is the focus of Heather Fraser’s book The Peanut Allergy Epidemic: What's Causing It and How to Stop It.

It needs to be noted before utilizing Epidemic as any sort of authority on peanut allergies that Fraser is not a medical professional in any sense. Rather, the author is a historian by trade, whose child suffered an anaphylactic reaction to peanut butter at the age of thirteen months. Her love of historical details shows strongly in this book, as Fraser spends three full chapters on the subject (only one of which regards the peanut allergy in particular). In fact, the bulk of the first two “parts” of this book are completely removed from the issue splashed across the cover. Fraser covers the history of “mass allergy” and theories behind developing anaphylactic reactions in general long before getting into the “nitty gritty” of the peanut reactions. To be fair, her investigation into this forum, especially it’s impact on children, is fairly detailed, with comparisons of socio-political, economic and clinical factors and a worldwide statistical contrast in the final chapter of the book.

While I’m sure Fraser means well with this publication (the second in her peanut allergy series, which began with The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic), it is all too clear that she is on a mother’s one-track mind as to who she blames for her son’s reaction. My main issue with Epidemic is that Fraser incessantly blames the vaccinations given to children for the rise in peanut allergies to the exclusion of any of the other 15 theories she glosses over in Chapter 2. The culprit she cites is the mercury used as a preservative in the serum, as well as the peanut oil that was once used as a carrier for the inert virus. Today, however, the only adjuvant legal for use in the US and Canada is aluminium hydroxide, and discernable mercury traces are only found in the flu shot and Hepatitis B vaccine administered around age 11 – long after anaphylactic allergies make their presence known. Fraser also neglects to mention at all in this book that these severe allergies she is focusing on are all mediated by an antibody class that is determined by genetics and in-utero conditions before birth and generally are not modified by external forces. It also raises the question as to why beef, chicken and egg allergies aren’t equally as prevalent due to the fact that beef extracts are still a large part of vaccine sera and many of the virus cultures are generated on chicken embryos and egg whites.

While I do appreciate the need for an awareness vehicle when it comes to the increase in severe childhood allergies, Epidemic borders on the extremist with respect to the anti-vaccine campaign. I had hoped for a more balanced investigation on the variable causes listed in the index, as the topic is an interesting and ever-popular one, but instead I felt a bit like I was reading a fear-mongering manifesto. Given my own background in holistic nutrition and homeopathy, I was left wondering whether a book written by an alternative health practitioner (not a “common” doctor) would be in a similar style.

For a purely historical reference, The Peanut Allergy Epidemic: What's Causing It and How to Stop It by Heather Fraser is worth a perusal. However, it is not a reliable medical text, nor should it be used as a parent’s sole source of information when choosing whether or not to vaccinate their child. I would not generally recommend this historian’s book to those looking for an answer to their allergy woes.

Available on Amazon

Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season

2011-07-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season

Author: Hannah Kaminsky

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (2011)

Hannah Kaminsky is nothing short of a Jill-of-all-trades. The author of an award winning and well written blog (bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/) packed with delicious recipes, gorgeous photos and fantastic tips, she also finds time to create and share adorable knitted creations, have a personal presence on Twitter, and pen several cookbooks. Five of these are e-books, ranging from lunch box goodies to homemade candy and even ice cream, while the two she has in print concern some of the fancier or more complex dessert options that exist. Every single recipe and aspect of her blog is completely vegan, and while she does include savoury mains and other items, it is clear that her passion lies in the art of baking. Coupling her gift at writing with her love for all things sweet, Kaminsky’s second cookbook, Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season, will make a dessert lover out of anyone.

This compact, beautiful recipe collection is composed of over 100 offerings: pies, ice creams, cookies, crisps, cakes and muffins to name a few. What makes this book a joy to cook from is it’s attention to the seasonality of the kitchen – the recipes are divided by the seasons, and are “heavier” or “lighter” accordingly. Kaminsky stresses ingredients that are as fresh, seasonal and nutritious as possible, and as a result many of the desserts featured in this book are allergy-friendly as well. Allergen-appropriate offerings are included under their relevant headings (gluten-, peanut-, tree nut- and soy-free) in a separate index (p. 236). The inclusivity of all those with a sweet tooth is refreshing in a dessert book when so many are filled with these, along with eggs and dairy. Kaminsky also includes an intensive “dictionary” of sorts regarding her choice ingredients, tools and substitutions (p. 3), and for those who are a bit greener in the bakeshoppe (vegan or otherwise), there’s also an interesting and helpful “troubleshooting” section filled with her personal experiences and solutions (p. 16).

Given that the ingredients Kaminsky chooses to utilize are dependent on the seasons and often reflect her own personal grocery availability, some of them are not what you would usually expect to find on the dessert table. Recipes like “Olive Oil Ice Cream” (p. 56), “Black Pearl Truffles” (p. 172) with black sesame seeds and wasabi and “Raspberry Lavender Cupcakes” (p. 103) were a bit beyond me, although I know they probably taste fabulous and variations are seen at fine restaurants worldwide. There are certainly “tamer” recipes included in Vegan Desserts as well – rugelach, biscotti, and Raspberry Mocha Semifreddo (p.104) make appearances and (as with every recipe) are accompanied by bright, full-colour photographs.

I did find the courage, after seeing Kaminsky’s generous use of herbs in sweet treats, to attempt one of the more “unusual” cookies in Vegan Desserts – a tender cookie she calls “Sweet Basil Shortbread” (p.68). Laced with lemon juice and zest and rich from the vegan margarine and powdered-sugar base, tiny little specks of green pepper the otherwise flawless face of the sweets. Not having any basil in the garden (and loath to buy some as I personally cannot stand the flavour), I utilized what I was growing out in the backyard – lemon thyme, lemon balm and pineapple sage. The flavours of these herbs really shone through in the dough (as I’m sure the basil would have done) and everyone who tried them referred to them as “refreshing” and perfect for the warmer weather – even though it is a traditionally rich dessert! I can’t wait for the early fall apples begin appearing to try out the “Apple Spice Scrolls” on page 122, and my omnivore, “butter and eggs need to be in cake” mom even bookmarked the unique (and very Italian!) “Torta Al Vino” (p.166) which uses red wine, Champagne grapes, pine nuts and almond flour! While we aren’t growing the Champagne variety in our backyard vineyard, I’m sure we’ll find another sumptuous grape to match.

Like all good books, this one is not without it’s faults. However, Kaminsky has an answer for that too on her blog, under “Cookbook Errata” (bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/cookbook-errata/). Every issue I noted while leafing through Vegan Desserts was caught by Kaminsky or another source and compiled in numerical page order, and many of them are minor adjustments to ingredients or method that would not have any major impact on the outcome of the dish. Updated photos of some of the recipes are also on her site or FlickR page, but rest assured this book is a photo album for any gastronome.

I really enjoy the layout, writing and recipes I found in Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season. The appeal to my sweet tooth was just as great as the ability to use my local and seasonal produce was, and as a baker and lover of good food in general the uniqueness of the recipes provided food for much more than thought! Anybody with a sweet side to their tastebuds will find something to enjoy in this work – regardless of their diet, region or season.

Available on Amazon

Superfoods from the Garden

2011-06-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Superfoods from the Garden
Author: Michael van Straten
Publisher: Cico Books (2011)

Gardening is big these days. It’s for good reason – the sluggish economy, the ever-stronger locavore movement, vegetarian and vegan diets becoming the new “perfect” way of eating and the universal desire for everyone to simply feel healthy all play right into the greening of thumbs worldwide. While the desire to “grow your own” may be as strong as the zucchini crops every summer, there is always the dilemma of what to grow, what will grow, and what will you do with all those tomatoes and zucchini once they explode in August? Michael van Straten addresses these, and much more, in his gardening and cooking manual Superfoods from the Garden.

Superfoods is an eye catcher right from the get go – a bright, colourful cover opens to pages of full-colour temptations. Nine chapters are devoted to everything from roots to leaves, squash, fruit and herbs, and each item van Straten includes is carefully researched, well worded and a delight to read. There are no pretentious selections or complicated instructions for growing your own: the focus is on helping the everyday person grow good, delicious and nutritious produce in a way that’s as simple as the food itself. One of my favourite parts about the “gardening” portion of this book is the little harvesting, nutrition and cooking notes that van Straten incorporates in separate sidebars. For the gardener or foodie that just wants to quickly check when is best to pull beets or can’t stand another salad to deal with their lettuce crop, this is an invaluable resource. Not only will that gardener see that orange-sized beets are ideal and that the crowns will give you an idea of when that is, but that steaming or baking them is the best way to cook them unless you enjoy them raw in salads first (p. 74). The cook will find that not only can lettuce become soup or even be braised with peas (van Straten includes his recipe on page 101), but that it’s also full of B vitamins, folic acid and manganese (p. 92). Each vegetable, fruit or herb page is accompanied by stunning photography, and the few things that do need a bit more explanation to grow well (like scarlet runner beans, p. 56 or potatoes, p. 70) have photo-by-photo instructions that would convince even the most cynical home grower to try it out.

And then there are the recipes. Van Straten’s book is a gardening manual, first and foremost, but at the end of each chapter a few relevant recipes are included, many with gorgeous photos of the prepared dish. While not every recipe has an accompanying photo and most are without much detailed in

structions (unfortunate, since the rest of the book is so rich with these), those that do will make you hungry for more. Some elements for the recipes, too, are not overly common additions to the American or Canadian menu – crème fraiche and rabbit, for example – which take some exploration (and would occasionally require online purchases in less urban areas). A couple assumptions are also made that readers of this book know offhand how to make components like béchamel, bread-like ginger cake and phyllo pastry crusts with their eyes closed. That said, the skilled or determined cook will take delight in treats like Honey and Apricot Pizza (p. 166) and Garlic, Onion and Tomato Chutney in a “Mille-feuille” of Sliced Tomato (p. 47). The photo of the latter is enough to make the average gardener yearn for their tomatoes to balloon to flavourful baseballs overnight. Seafood, beef, chicken, pork, duck, quail, pheasant, lamb and even blood sausage make appearances throughout the book, though there are many vegetarian (bean-or egg-based) and vegan inclusions as well. Vegans would need to supplement the recipes in this book with protein based sides for dinner, but a lunch of van Straten’s Timbale of Beets (p. 80) or Barbecued Summer Squash Salad (p. 144) would win anybody’s vote. This book is also friendly to those needing to keep gluten-free, who will find most of the recipes either inherently so or easily modified.

The tail end of Superfoods is likely the greatest appeal to the nutritionist in everyone – while it is understandably devoid of photos, van Straten makes up for it by listing two pages of “vital vitamins and essential minerals” (p. 187), a section of “useful addresses” for recipes and seed supplies and even a dedicated half-page of information regarding what he terms ORACs, or Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity units (p. 189). These ORACs are antioxidants that exist only as synergistic compounds in whole foods whose effects are destroyed by segregating the individual compounds into refined supplements or processed foods. A score of 10/10 was awarded by van Straten to the notorious prunes, which provide 5770 per 100 grams, and the author includes many other of the “buzzworthy” superfoods on the list as well. Where the recommendation for the highest protection against heart disease, most cancers, artery damage and even aging put forth by the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging at Boston’s Tufts University is 5000, taking a look at this new measurement of food’s “goodness” is not only interesting but health-promoting too.

There is a reason that Michael van Straten chose to title his latest work Superfoods from the Garden. Like any good garden, this book takes the healthy seeds of desire and love for good food and lets them grow. The passion, knowledge and drive that van Straten brings to his craft creates “super foods” from even the most mundane vegetables and fruit, and his decadent way of preparing your harvest turns these individual foods into medleys of flavour. While some of them may be unfamiliar, odd-looking or even scary to grow, and some of the recipes may be for things you would never dream of cooking, this book is worth picking up – it may just turn your brown thumbs a bit greener.

Available on Amazon

Quick and Easy Vegan Bake Sale: More Than 150 Sweet and Savoury Vegan Treats Perfect for Sharing

2011-06-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Quick and Easy Vegan Bake Sale: More Than 150 Sweet and Savoury Vegan Treats Perfect for Sharing
Author: Carla Kelly
Publisher: The Experiment (2011)

Bake sales are one of the most well-received fundraising techniques around. It’s hard to pass up a table or two laden with grab-and-go treats like cookies, muffins or wrapped slices of banana bread, especially when it’s for a good cause. Though the school year (prime time for the events) is briskly drawing to a close, portable snacks are still in hot demand with the camp-kid set and the BBQ potluck crowds. With the popularity and obvious economic benefits of selling batches of sweet treats piecemeal, there is always the worry of alienating those with restricted diets or worse – causing an allergic reaction due to the ingredients that commonly fill these foods. Luckily, vegan treats eliminate the need for the eggs and dairy concern – but can be rife with nuts. Carla Kelly addresses all of these concerns, and more, with her decadent new book Quick and Easy Vegan Bake Sale: More Than 150 Sweet and Savoury Vegan Treats Perfect for Sharing.

Kelly pens this cookbook with a witty, approachable tone – confidently declaring in her introduction that she is “not a dietician, a nutritionist, or a professional chef” (p. xii) and adding that the recipes are ideas for both special occasions and everyday treats as well as saleable fare. Adaptation and substitution are even encouraged with helpful sections on those topics in the introduction as well as blank “Remember” boxes for your own notes. Kelly also writes a primer on bake sales and sharing, covering everything from the economics of it all to location and marketing – a must read for any potential host. Newbie chefs and bakers used to using a box mix will appreciate her exposé of the equipment, ingredients, and basic “how-to’s” for the bakeshop, although experienced cooks and most harried parents will skip these parts along with the somewhat inconsequential “history” section.

The recipes in Vegan Bake Sale are tantalizing, well written and varied – covering not only the “traditional” bars, quick-breads, cupcakes with frosting, cookies, muffins and pie, but also yeasted and savoury treats that will appeal to almost anyone. Whether you’re on the hook for two dozen vanilla cupcakes for the next Girl Guides meeting or just want to make a killer lunch entree on the weekends, one of the titles will fit your bill. For those with allergy concerns, Kelly declares nuts, soy, peanuts, and wheat at the top of each recipe, and again at the back of the book (in a piece titled Allergy and Suitability Information (p. 253) along with a refined sugar-free and child-friendly recipe listing. Regardless of what recipe you opt for first, the ease of making it and the excellent taste will bring you back for more. Your waistline may not appreciate you (another point she admits) but those around you surely will!

I opted to test one of her more “coffee-break”, adult-friendly quick-breads: Chai Chocolate Mini Loaves (p. 78). Taking her approval of substitutions to heart, I chose to use half whole-wheat flour and some of our chai tea in the batter instead of the black and the other spices (except an additional dash of cinnamon). Even with using the specific tea, there was a distinct lack of flavour “oomph” in the batter, but upon doubling the amount of tea the rest was smooth sailing. The scent coming from the oven was enough to cause even non-chai lovers’ mouths to water! I followed Kelly’s preparation instructions easily, and took advantage of her handy “muffin” variation – which, as proscribed, made exactly 12. There was no discernable “weight” or taste from the whole grain flour, and the little pops of chocolate (I used miniature chips instead of a grated bar) were the perfect addition to the not-too-sweet concoction. My taster group loved that an oil-free muffin or quick-bread batter was so light, moist and flavourful, while the non-vegans never knew that they were egg and dairy free too. Once my rhubarb plant takes a bit firmer stand in it’s growing season, page 67’s Rhubarb Squares are on my list!

With so many delicious recipes and clever tips, it’s a shame that Vegan Bake Sale doesn’t include more pictures in it’s pages. Given that Kelly is herself a blogger at Vegan Year and takes fantastic photos, it should go without saying that her recipes be peppered with eye candy to ensnare those who just “flip though” cookbooks for inspiration. Granted, there are 8 pages of colour photographs positioned between the “Ingredients” and “How to Bake” sections, but it is impractical for most visual chefs to constantly flip back and forth. Thankfully the food speaks for itself once it’s in the process of being made, and if nothing else – it’s a bake sale! Make the treats as ornate or rustic as you please to suit the potential clientele!

Whether you’re a steak and cheese fanatic or have been animal-free for years, it’s hard to go wrong with recipes as consistently rewarding as those in Vegan Bake Sale. The simplicity, approachability and practicality of the treats in this book speak volumes about the author’s love for sharing good food, and might just inspire you to do the same.

Available on Amazon

The Cleaner Plate Club: More Than 100 Recipes for Real Food Your Kids Will Love

2011-02-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Cleaner Plate Club: More Than 100 Recipes for Real Food Your Kids Will Love

Authors: Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin

Publisher: Storey Publishing (2010)

“Additive and preservative free!” When was the last time you saw anything marketed to children with that label on it? More common are the phrases “99-cent BIG BAG” and “now with more chocolate!” when it comes to the labels of “kid-friendly” fare. At the top 13 restaurant franchises in the US, perusing the “kids” menu found 93% over the acceptable calories and 86 % over the appropriate sodium intakes for their target clientele (p. 29)! There’s no wonder that the Western world is ballooning, given our shameful manner of feeding ourselves as adults – but the sad part is that the next generation is picking up all our bad habit crumbs, and without drastic changes to everyone’s diet, has no chance at all. Food lovers and moms Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin are on a quest to make that fate turn tail and run – for both us and our kids. After putting their heads together (and their families through multiple taste tests), the two penned The Cleaner Plate Club: More Than 100 Recipes for Real Food Your Kids Will Love.

Getting kids to adore their veggies is lofty goal for sure, especially when the issue is compounded by a foreign and occasionally “scary” looking produce section in the supermarket. Bader and Benjamin have done your homework for you, though – the first 153 artfully illustrated pages of the work read like a passionate encyclopedia on everything from portion control, shopping both grocery stores and farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture and information of almost every vegetable under the sun. To me, as a certified veggie-lover after years of steak-and-potato adoration, it was certainly enough to make me want to run to the nearest farm stand (too bad it’s the middle of a snowy February!). What I really loved was the huge amount of trivia “bites” (forgive the pun) included in these beginning sections. Lots of statistical comparisons and revelations of the common marketing ploys used in the industry are included in a fun-to-read format that only slightly borders on “preachy”. I’m sure that if a parent is picking up this book in the first place, they know the Standard American Diet is shameful – while extra information is interesting the lack of control most parents feel over their child’s eating habits doesn’t need to be crammed down their proverbial throats. Thankfully, the bulk of the “Meet Your Vegetables” pages are more food than fear, and there certainly are a basketful of colourful recipes to make.

I have to say that while the recipes in this book are certainly nutritious and tasty, any parent of a typical, modern-day child will have great difficulty incorporating most of them into their daily dinners. Kale soup? Delicata squash and Swiss chard sauce? Even all but the most “health foodie” adults out there will likely still balk at some of the recipes – Lima Bean Hummus (p. 239) with Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips (p. 241) and a dessert of Rhubarb Crumble with Rosemary and Thyme (p. 252) are probably not going to be hits at the next dinner party. While I’m no kale-hater, the fact that Bader and Benjamin claim to be catering to the “everyday adult / parent” out there means the majority of foods included in Cleaner Plate are simply impractical to suggest.

Of question for me as a nutritionist (both conventional and holistic) were the recipes Bader and Benjamin include in their vegetarian section. While I applaud the authors for including one at all, I was expecting both more and more varied options. With a few exceptions (Carrot-Quinoa Biryani (p. 229), Curried Eggplant and Long Beans (p. 226), and Potato Salad (p. 228)) it seems that if you are vegetarian, pasta is the only thing you can dish up that’s both full of nutrition and kid-friendly. The problem here is that these pasta recipes are not even balanced from a macro-nutrient perspective: aside from a handful of cheese here and there, protein is absent from the pages. Given that growing evidence continually promotes the meat-restricted eating plan as a prime practice for longevity and the avoidance of disease, I was disappointed that a greater effort to include a variety of delicious, kid-appealing vegetarian and vegan meals in Cleaner Plate was not made. Considering that the authors include and promote ingredients like artichokes, fennel, lamb and capers, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to include a sweet-and-sour tofu stir-fry or “crispy breaded tofu sticks” in the childhood diet.

The fault with The Cleaner Plate Club is certainly not in its thoroughness, charm, or good intentions. For the well-schooled home cook who has the time, money and willingness to scope out the farmers’ markets every Saturday while joining a CSA, and who hasn’t yet introduced their family to the occasional alluring call of the drive-thu, it’s a great anthology of vegetable recipes. The problem lies in the marketing – like so many of the common “convenience” foods on the store shelves, it looks like a book your kids will grow up loving food from. For many busy families, though, getting kids to start eating (and enjoying) a healthier diet will be more successful by reducing the junk in the house, offering a few baby carrots and grapes after school and tossing in green peas with that night’s mac and cheese.

Available on Amazon

As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto

2011-02-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto

Editor: Joan Reardon

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2010)

The art of writing is a dwindling one these days. Memos, newspapers, family updates and even wedding invitations have become electronic – fragments of data firing at light speed across the globe to any number of recipients... all of whom can reply just as fast. Pen pals in the traditional sense are a rare breed now, almost like mankind has forgotten how to put pen to paper unless it’s to endorse or write a cheque. I’m proud to say that I do, for the most part, handwrite my notes in class, jot rough drafts of papers on good old Hilroy lined sheets, and physically mail my Christmas cards. I also have a conventional pen pal out in England, and let me tell you, nothing beats the excitement of opening the mailbox to find a triple-stamped air mail envelope from her. I can only imagine the elation Julia Child must have felt during her correspondence with Avis DeVoto as an American ex-pat. Readers can get an inkling, however, by paging through the anthology As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto compiled by biographer and editor Joan Reardon.

The beginnings of this story of the two women’s correspondence will be known to anyone who has read My Life in France or seen the film Julie & Julia – an accidental fall of fortune to be sure. But what readers of As Always will gain that is impossible to glean from the words of other authors is the unbridled emotion and connection exhibited by the personal words of the women. The book spans the creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, right from Child’s initial writing in France (where she opines on her “moral obligation” to the small publisher Ives Washburn and the possibility of recipe stealing, p. 18). Fascinating, too, as an aspiring cookbook author myself, was DeVoto’s original take on the book’s wording and general style as both a literary agent and, most importantly, an American home cook (p. 24). This little diatribe included notes from both Avis herself and the author Dorothy Canfield Fisher (via DeVoto) and provides a type of “inside peek” at the world of publishing. Imbedded in the letters, too, are bits of fascinating trivia about the art of cooking as a whole – that aluminum in the cooking liquid can cause eggs to turn green just as much as too much iron can, that frozen elk can be thawed and re-frozen without incident, and even a list of the “basic” fish to be included in a true Bouillabaisse (p. 99). Avis DeVoto even supplies Child with a recipe herself, for a five-hour-long pasta sauce concoction originally from John Ciardi (p. 61). The only shock came from the early history of their letters, where Julia defends the use of canned soup in cooking – a very un-French (and un-Julia!) notation.

When not cooking, it was obvious that the woman known to most as the Queen of the Kitchen still adored food, from shopping for it to dining out in the many countries the Childs moved to. After Paul Child was finished in France (known for lavish and well-executed meals) they were relocated to Germany, Norway and finally “home” to the United States, where Julia explored both the native cuisine and some of the more “outlandish” fare such as fledgling Chinese fare in Berlin.

It is clear that the letters in As Always were written by not only food lovers, but food writers. The subtle, yet distinct flair the two use in their language and understanding of each other rings of the exacting standards of classic English teachers... and not just due to the era of their penning. The style of their writing, however, does make for a book that is rather “chewy”. While filled with good information and certainly not lacking in emotion, the book is also packed with anachronistic political talk and sayings which often warrant a footnote for explanation. It is more confusing for those readers who did not grow up in the 1950’s and never “caught up” on the general gossip of the time, especially if they do not hail from the U.S. Admittedly, that confusion coupled with the sheer length of each letter (admitted in passing by both of them to be excessive!) does lead to dryness in As Always, and most readers will find their attention straying out of boredom. Granted, the letters were picked out of what must have been an extensive array for their content, but the “food-minded” audience this book would appeal to will find the political satire lost on them.

It is a shame that Avis DeVoto’s story and true gifts to the concoction of Mastering the Art of French Cooking are not widely known. Had she been in France at the beginning of the Trois Gourmandes, the trio would have undoubtedly been a foursome. DeVoto was an excellent cook and writer in her own right, and easily could have written an “American cook’s” cookbook even before her introduction to the world of Julia Child’s cuisine. However, Julia Child is Julia Child, and her infectious personality and energy even in the depths of misery (following the Houghton Mifflin rejection) is one of the driving forces of the compilation. In As Always, Julia, the combination of the two women create a recipe for letter writing as wonderfully emulsified as a perfect Caesar dressing – it’s just tart enough, full of zip and goes down easy.

Available on Amazon

The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips

2011-01-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips
Author: Jessica Harper (@thecrabbycook)
Publisher: Workman Publishing (2010)

It’s easy to envy the pros. No matter what they seem to do, whether it’s shooting hoops, playing the piano or making their kids dinner, if it’s their specialty they put the poor laymen of the world to a crying shame. Why don’t we ever see Tony Parker tripping on his way out to the court, or hear Elton John’s accidental striking of a B-flat on the radio? The rich folks among the stars (and lets face it – that’s most of them) don’t have to even think about the last task of cooking. Heck, if they wanted to, they could hire a chef for as long as they wanted or needed, and throw in a nutritionist and personal trainer while they’re at it too. Why bother messing with the mundane bits of life when you’d never have to deal with the snags along the way?

Of course, it isn’t every celebrity that’s like that. They are all busy people (aren’t we all?) and I’m sure those that do choose to rely on hired help have their reasons. But sometimes, wouldn’t you like to hear an account of something gone awry to one of these invincible idols, but see them use their own ingenuity and brainpower to come up with a solution and “save the day” without becoming a victim of “woe-is-me-itis”? Take the example of dinner: when do you hear of Brad Pitt cooking breakfast for the brood of however many there are now, with one child clinging to his leg, another making faces with syrup on the table and a pan that’s just a little bit too hot?

If you are searching for one of those “sometimes reality sucks” manuals for yourself, it may seem counterintuitive to pick up one written by an actress. But then Jessica Harper flies in the face of most standard celebrity tactics, and cookbook-writing logic, by penning The Crabby Cook Cookbook: 135 Almost-Effortless Recipes plus Survival Tips. In it, readers will find a host of recipes that Harper makes or made over the years as a home cook and mom: from pancakes to potato salad to fish sticks, if it’s a home-cooked , reliable meal that is simple to whip together you’re after, Crabby Cook fits the bill. Harper ups the ante with her hilarious recollections of these meals past... it’s safe to say I enjoyed the book as much for the anecdotes as I did for the food! Some of my favourite tales (and their delicious accompanying recipes!) had to be of her brother in law’s experience with chicken soup on page 45 (pupik, anyone?) and a hilarious examination of a Real Simple magazine’s survey results (p.126). Parents will appreciate her exasperation at dealing with picky eaters (namely her children, who went through a “white” phase) after growing up with an “eat it or starve” type of mother. As someone with a gifted home-cook mother, I could relate to the frustration of trying to make something the family will enjoy (like her and the pasta sauce recipe on p. 49) when “grandma’s is better”.

Crabby Cook also proves that us “commoners” are not the only ones to try making a celebrity’s recipe. Whether it’s the ousted Thai prime minister’s dubiously named “pig’s legs in Coca Cola” (p. 80) or a Food Network casserole that she puts through it’s paces as something achievable in half an hour (p. 71), nothing, and indeed no one (even Richard Gere!) is safe. But, as Harper details, lessons are definitely learned along the way.

I only wish there were photos of her pursuits, no matter the beauty of their conclusions. A picture says a thousand words, and if they are as relatable, touching and funny a thousand words as what she jotted in this book, I’m sure we’d all be in stitches. Then again, I’m as guilty as she is – while the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (p. 254) and pancakes (p. 7) went down a treat over the Christmas break, I’ve discovered that in real life, nobody is pausing for a photo when there is anything good on the table! I did find it rather amusing that a quirk I had attributed to just our family of breakfast lovers – chocolate chips – is a key inclusion in Harper’s mother’s recipe, and that the chaos of several hungry teens home from school made me nostalgic.

The Crabby Cook Cookbook is not under any circumstances a read for the perfectionist, the singleton or the overly serious professional chef. But it doesn’t claim to be. It is an honest, amusing and interesting story of life as a human being with a kitchen and stove, and the tricks to getting out of there (and sometimes even the dishes) alive.

Available on Amazon

The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets, and More

2011-01-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets, and More
Author: Melisser Elliott
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (2010)

There are a handful of the same problems that plague cooks at home: the same few things get repeated. You know the drill - the same proteins cooked in the same way with the same sides at the same time each day. While omnivores often claim that they have a broader palette to dip their proverbial basting brush in, the growing population of flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan “foodies” is out to change the misconception that meatless always equals monotony. Regardless of whether you are just trying to reduce the meat in your diet, are a “brand new” vegan, or are an old hand at the practice, fresh options are always welcome. Melisser Elliott does one heck of a good job of not just dishing up good eats but also providing a side of tips for daily animal-free living in her new book The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets, and More.

Packed with information on all things vegan, Guide to Life is almost a manifesto. Elliott breaks down a host of possible reasons for choosing to adopt the lifestyle, from the stereotypical “animal rights movement” to the health benefits and environmental bonuses lent by an animal-free existence. Twenty pages of nutrition basics follow, including my favourite heading: “So, Where Do You Get Your Protein?” (answer: it’s a heck of a lot easier than the national Food Guides would have you think). Also mentioned are strategies to cope with food allergies, healthy eating through pregnancy and even an address of the stereotypical, hurtful correlation between veganism and eating disorders. Elliott includes a personal story from one of her close friends who battled the disease and won hand in hand with a vegan diet. Those looking for more personal accounts of living an animal-free life will adore the interviews peppering the book’s pages throughout, including those with fellow female bloggers, friends and business owners.

And the recipes! Those who read food blogs will notice some fairly prominent names in Guide to Life in addition to Elliott’s: from Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet to Kittee Berns from Cake Maker to the Stars. The sprouts and polenta preparation from Elliott’s Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Tempeh over Soft Polenta (p. 161) were delicious, while tempeh is a food I can’t enjoy due to my dietary restrictions. A friend of mine looking to include more protein sources in her diet (proof that vegans get perfectly fine amounts!) tried and adored the Thanksgiving Dinner Cutlets (p. 172) over the holiday season. I can’t wait to whip up Cookin’ Crunk author Bianca Phillips’ Sweet Tater Bread (p. 183) either – and I happen to know a few willing taste-testers to try it!

When you’re done making the goodies in Guide to Life, Elliott has some great how-to’s on presentation, packaging and storage too in the chapter “Do it Yourself”. If a green thumb has you going, vegan gardening (who knew there was such a thing?) tips abound as well, and for the textile-minded crafters there are awesome patters for Reusable Produce Bags (p. 199), Cross-Stitching (p. 203) and knitting projects from Kristen Blackmore (p. 213) and Kaminsky (p. 215) too.

Apart from the fact that all the interviews are with women (and the marketing power a female-centric book has), there is no reason why this book needs to be labelled as a guide for girls alone. I know several men who make the transition to a meat-free life and need some inspiration for their daily menus. If they can get past the (dare I say) sexist connotation of every vegan as a woman, the purchase of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life: Cruelty-Free Crafts, Recipes, Beauty Secrets, and More is well worth anyone’s purchase – and who knows, you might just make at least a part-time veggie out of your meat-eating mama!

Available on Amazon

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies

2010-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies
Author: Alice Medrich
Publisher: Artisan (2010)

As a baker, whenever I make cookies for a group I know that it’s always asking for trouble in one form or another. There’s always those that want their cookie treats soft, others chewy, and still others want a good crunch when they bite in. The contents (or lack thereof) filling the bakes are another sticky point – do you want to be presented with a quarter pound of chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, oats and fruit? Or are you more the “less is more” type, who is perfectly content with a graham cracker or a simple sugar cookie? What about bar cookies – where do they fit in on the spectrum? For any cookie-lover or cookie-baker with a spectrum of tastes comes a book from one of the queens of cuisine, Alice Medrich. Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies is a title enough to make your mouth water, and Medrich covers all those categories, and more.

With all the other baking and dessert “bibles” out there, with a good amount authored by Medrich herself, do we really need yet another cookie book? The unique aspect of this book is that it is incredibly inclusive of all kinds of cookies. Organized by texture, the chapters encompass crispy, crunchy, chunky, chewy, gooey, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth offerings, sure to win over anyone. With a highly cross-referenced appendix and index, Chewy even includes cookies perfect for those on wheat-free diets or are trying to lose weight. If not inherently low-fat or wheat free (like meringues), many of the recipes have fairly easy modifications included. There are even whole-grain cookies included in the book – a rarity in any other “mainstream” baking manual... but do not be fooled – this is no diet cookbook! Fat and sugar are still in abundance, and there is no hiding of the fact that cookies are a treat. Medrich also gives a comprehensive list of recipes for special "[c]omponents" (p. 335) of her cookies such as flavoured sugars, fillings and glazes in the back of the book, most of which are equally at home in any baking application.

The one thing Medrich’s book does not contain is a gluten-free recipe modifier, so while there may be no wheat in her Golden Kamut Shortbread p. 332 they are not the Christmas cookie of choice for your celiac best friend. There are also few vegan cookies in the book, but Medrich is not out there to proclaim Chewy as a book for any specific diet. The very fact that specific modifiers for several of her recipes should be applauded as a move towards accepting the variety of special needs out there.

My only pressing issue with Chewy is that Medrich’s book is fairly tricky to bake from if money’s tighter than you’d like it to be (like around Christmas, for example!) and you don’t want to shell out for expensive ingredients. While many of the recipes are fairly simple in their design, is there no lack of somewhat more “gourmet” goods, nor is there skimping on the quantities of rich ingredients. Your butter and egg bills, for example, will be significantly higher than normal if you’re not in the habit of purchasing them often! Medrich also seems to adore calling for chocolate and all kinds of nuts in Chewy. Most of the brownies (a weakness of both my taste-testers and I) contain half a pound of unsweetened chocolate for an 8” square pan, though she does (thankfully) include two cocoa-based recipes as well. For everyday bake sales or home snacking, her Cocoa Brownies (p. 222) and Less is More Overnight Brownies (p. 206) are more than passable... in fact, I preferred them to the melted-chocolate filled ones.

One thing I absolutely adored about Medrich’s latest work is her creativity with such an old bake sale treat. Cookies are the kind of dessert or after-school snack that are subject to becoming tiresome, since there really are a finite number of ways to re-purpose your old chocolate chippers. I thoroughly enjoyed picking out some goodies in Chewy to try, though it was agony not to make almost all of them! Luckily for me, I do have a (very) well-stocked pantry and basically had my pick of the lot when it came to selecting my Christmas giveaways. With the nutritionists at school clamouring for something yummy and energy-packed during exams, when I happened upon Medrich’s Honey Hemp Bars (p. 157), I knew I had to try them out. While it took up twice the room (filling the bottom of a 9x13” pan instead of an 8” square), the recipe only gave me 12 bars, rather than her stated 16-20. They were definitely worth the bake though! However, I would definitely exercise caution with these! Expensive ingredients aside (for me the pan came to almost $8), hemp seed and some of the other additions to these rich bars are a bit of an acquired taste. I couldn’t get a single child to try it, but then again when the cereal aisles are chock-full of little more than candy bars I wouldn’t expect puffed millet and date paste to exactly draw them in. As for the adult set? Well, the ones who got a taste certainly enjoyed them – and I say those who got a taste because as soon as the word was out that a bar better than the school’s storebought ones was on the table they disappeared!

The award for the prettiest cookies I’ve made from Chewy to date, though, has to go to an “upgrade” Medrich gives for her (also to die for) Peanut Butter Clouds (p. 296) using tahini and sesame seeds. A basic egg-white and sugar meringue gets made, then the decadence of the seed paste and seeds are folded in and the mixture is piped into cute little kisses. If you are a sesame lover at all, you must try these crisp morsels... and being nut- dairy- and gluten-free (not to mention great keepers!), they are a good bet for a holiday potluck or office party.

If you are an experienced baker with a yen for discovering the vast world of cookie-making, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies is one of the most unique, well-referenced and inclusive baking bibles currently out there. It’s a book so detailed and complex in it’s offerings that completely novice chefs may feel overwhelmed by, and it’s sometimes pricey additions can further stall them for fear that they might fail. The benefit of any cookie-making experiment is that you can usually still eat the “failures” – and Medrich make a point to educate and help in any way possible though her glossary entries and resource list. No matter what kind you fancy, I’m confident you’ll find something sweet!

Available on Amazon

The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes

2010-12-10T05:22:00.000-08:00

The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes
Author: Susan K. Delaine
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (2010)
Imagine: you and your child, in a shopping mall, the Saturday before Christmas. Santa and his elves are ringing bells, dancing around in bright, sparkly get-ups. Kids nearby are screaming for the latest toy. Harried shoppers shove their way through the crowded department stores with armfuls of packages. All the while, the cheery holiday music is blaring over the sound system, interspersed with announcements of the latest door-crasher sale. It’s enough to cause an instantaneous migraine.

Only it’s not December. Nor is it a weekend in your city’s major shopping centre. The two of you are just in your local grocery store on a completely unremarkable day. Yet your young one is treating the excursion as if it was Christmas Eve. Because, to your child, every trip to a public place is an experience akin to those holiday – rush mall crawls. Like 1% of the population, your child lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a condition that affects social and behavioural development patterns. ASD can present in a rainbow of symptoms, like withdrawing into silence and avoiding eye contact or acting out in “temper tantrums” brought out by innocuous events. There are many associated conditions that come along for the ride – most commonly gastrointestinal difficulties like allergies and intolerances. Problems digesting gluten, casein and many chemical additives are widespread, often forcing individuals with ASD and their families to rely on medically prescribed drugs and specialty foods. Even the most dedicated individual with a basic cooking background can be balked by the list of “cant’s”, and the completely foreign style of living and eating often throws any meals once innately prepared out the window. Often the special “ASD-approved” recipes are just as confusing and complicated as the condition itself – and the last thing any parent needs is to spend hours reading up on that night’s dinner components.

The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes was compiled by one such parent of an autistic child. Susan K. Delaine’s book is not directly marketed as a book of child-friendly recipes, but the bright, photo-packed cover gives away her intentions. Simple, nutritious recipes are the rigueur de jour here, and for busy families coping with cases of food allergies, the promise of quick and easy food is nothing short of a godsend.

The Apple Bread (p. 122)

Unfortunately, that feeling of salvation is short lived with this book. While Delaine has good ideas, the “quick and easy” mentality and her obviously rushed lifestyle are all too apparent. Of the “one hundred and one” recipes included, none of them contain a yield notation. While the dust jacket boasts that there are twenty raw recipes, the introductory note mentions twenty-three, and if you were to check the lengthy index you would not find a single entry under “raw”. A manual count of each recipe designated as a raw food in parenthesis reveals only ten in the category. In reality, there are actually 23 of those specialty recipes in the pages of The Autism Cookbook, as described in the “Why Raw?” section of the introduction, and the variance is not overly staggering, but consistency throughout the book would have been beneficial.

What I did find staggering, however, was the amount of glaring errata in the actual recipes. I tested out several different recipes and each of them was a complete, inedible failure – and by reading the ingredient ratios and methods it’s no wonder why. For example, the scone recipe on page 171 gives no temperature for baking, nor any yields (a common theme in the book). It also calls for 1 ¼ cups of dry ingredients, using only a single (and very “strong” tasting) flour without a single binding agent, and yet 1 cup of liquid. In that liquid ingredient ratio is a ¼ cup of vinegar – and half a cup of agave nectar! Then it instructs the would-be baker to “form a dough”, then “cut [it] into wedges”. Well, it doesn’t take a professional baker to realize the outcome of my “verbatim” experiment – a waste of (expensive) ingredients and a bowl of sweet, sour and funky-smelling grey mush. The Brownie Bites recipe on page 167 looks appetizing in the photo, but calls for flour in the directions and omits a listing for it in the ingredients. If you wanted to try one of Delaine’s raw recipes, and decided on the enticingly-named “Velvet Pudding” (p. 204) you will have to look elsewhere – the recipe under the title is for some sort of oily muffin that’s baked at 400F for 25 minutes.

On the savoury side, there is a turkey or beef-stuffed turnover recipe on page 54. The filling itself is great - flavourful and a good texture for making tacos or burritos with. But the pastry recipe and assembly directions included alongside this gem is problematic – like the scones and the Apple Bread (p. 122) I tried, there was too much liquid for the (single) flour, no binder to keep the dough together, and the author expects the cook to knead, roll out, fill, crimp and seal 2" squares of dough!

Chocolate Chip Scones (p. 171)
- after a lot of tweaking and a lot
less liquid!

One of the biggest issues I have with The Autism Cookbook is that the photos are completely inaccurate representations of any of the recipes they accompany. Not a single baked good shown could possibly be made with buckwheat flour as Delaine calls for, nor would a frosting recipe made with blueberries like the one on page 228 look anything like the shock of electric colour in it’s representative photo. If you are hoping to find the chocolate cupcake recipe used for the front cover’s main shot, unfortunately it, like all of the other photos, is there more for style than substance: there is not chocolate cupcake recipe on offer.

While the book is clearly written by a mother with the best intentions, it was not written by an author or a cook, nor tested or proofread prior to publication. If I had bought this book with the pressing need for nutritional support that many families with food-related issues have, I would be extremely angered by the waste of money on it. As it is, I am very disappointed at the obvious lack of testing and editing this book was subject to and am even more dismayed that it is being marketed to families with food-allergic children who are desperate for a semblance of “normalcy” in their daily living.

A World of Cake...Traditions from Cultures Around the World

2010-11-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

A World of Cake: From Honey Cakes to Flat Cakes, Fritters to Chiffons, Meringues to Mooncakes, Tartes to Tortes, Fruit Cakes to Spice Cakes... Traditions from Cultures Around the World
Author: Krystina Castella
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (2010)

Chocolate, vanilla, carrot or kiwi – it seems that everyone loves cake. Probably the fanciest and most variable desserts around, cake recipes span the globe in hundreds of variations. Some are simplistic loaf concoctions with a drizzle of melted chocolate or powdered-sugar glaze, while others are stacked seven tiers high with fillings, frostings and fondant decorations galore. Almost every occasion worth marking – at least in modern society – features something that is usually rich and alluring enough that everyone stops to take notice. Wedding and birthday cakes are by far the most well known Western creations today, but the varieties are as extensive as the imaginations of pastry chefs globally. One hundred and fifty of these special dessert recipes are shared, with a mosaic of beautiful imagery, by Krystina Castella in her book A World of Cake: From Honey Cakes to Flat Cakes, Fritters to Chiffons, Meringues to Mooncakes, Tartes to Tortes, Fruit Cakes to Spice Cakes... Traditions from Cultures Around the World... and that’s not all.

It is no stretch of the imagination to call this book an encyclopaedia. Even if you’ve never baked a cake (or even wanted to) in your life, there is almost as much information on the sweets as there are recipes in the pages. Pretty much everything you could ever want to know about cake, from it’s historical roots in Egypt to the impacts of cultural and technological inventions on it’s production, is covered in fascinatingly intensive detail in Cake’s first ten pages. A four-page calendar of “cakeable” events worldwide ensues, in which I discovered more holidays I even knew existed: each with a page reference for further perusal. Easy to read and illustrated definitions for every cake “type” featured in the book and an extensive “field guide” of textures, ingredients, equipment, preparation, construction, decoration and even storage of these also pack the first chapter. Don’t feel like reading a dissertation piece? Pick a country from the 13 regions listed in Castella’s table of contents, or search for a specific recipe in the carefully cross-referenced index. Unfortunately, the contents page does not list the recipes under each region it mentions: a bit of a pain if you, like me, are inspired to make a recipe based on whether or not it sounds good. A substitute draw is in the colour photography, which deserves to be in an art gallery. That said, as pretty as they are, they also broadcast an air of inapproachability – the food is so artfully garnished that the lay baker may give up on trying out the recipes before reading the words on the page. While Cake does make a rather – if you pardon the expression – appetizing coffee table book and reference work, those brave enough to actually break out their (specialty) cake pans are in for a journey.

Like all good journeys, the travels through Cake are blessed with a great map. The instructions for baking these sweets are incredibly detailed for the most part – from lining the moulds to mixing the batter and baking. Recipes requiring extra preparations such as a caramel, soaking syrup or elements like candied, toasted or ground nuts will find these “sub-recipes” included under their own headings – conveniently in the order the recipe calls for them. As well, any assembly steps or key garnishes for the finished cakes are described, from the simplistic sprinkling of chopped nuts on frosting to the intricate kanji characters on her Japanese Friendship Cake (p. 282) and careful construction of the cream-filled croquembouche tree with spun sugar (p. 98). Given that most cakes simply aren’t themselves without a crown of frosting or a luxurious filling; if Castella uses a particular recipe the page numbers are provided. Though a lot of the recipes are still more complex than the average home cook would ever want to make regularly, if you happen to be on the hook for a special occasion dessert or are baking for a “world exposition” type of event you’ll find your key to success with Cake.

I was lured to one of the more unusual recipes for a Vietnamese sweet when I first flipped through the pages of this book. Known in English as “Cow Cake”, Castella’s recipe promised the outcome of a beautiful gluten-free, vegan cake with a uniquely rippled surface. While the photos looked promising enough – a dense crumb with scattered pockets of air in both white and pink – I admit my result was anything but. I should have realized that, without any sort of binding agent in the rice flour and coconut milk mixture, there would be no way that any bubbles could help make those coveted, pretty ripples. What emerged from my oven – after I gave up on having it ever bake through – was a very flat, very dense object with an almost burnt top crust that cracked away to an almost molten batter underneath. While I’m sure it would have tasted fine, it was nothing like the picturesque slices shown in the book and after being asked by my mother just what it actually was I wound up scraping it into the compost bin. A later dip into the internet’s wealth of global food information revealed most recipes had eggs – some as many as 6 – and the single vegan variation I came across was bound with a hefty dose of tapioca starch. Given that there is no mention of either food in Castella’s ingredients or methodology for this cake, I am unsure if the omissions were merely errors in edits and final proofreading or a bona fide intention for the recipe.

I had far better luck with one of the more “traditional” recipes in Cake – a New Zealander butter cake with kiwifruit, nut and white chocolate flavours. I know: how could you go wrong with those three ingredients? Not having the macadamias called for on hand, I went for an equally delectable variation that Castella mentions – an Indian (as in Asia) Cashew Cake (p. 306). A pinch of cardamom perfumed the mixture so much that I worried it would overwhelm the more delicate fruit, but the cupcakes I made with the recipe for my taste testers mellowed out beautifully while baking and the sinfully rich white chocolate buttercream formed a saccharine contrast to the tart and spicy base.

For the dedicated baker or globetrotting foodie, A World of Cake is a wonderfully detailed resource. It is not your run-of-the-mill, hand-holding manual for the complete kitchen novice, nor is it intended to be one. The knowledge of the basic mechanics of baking is essential to achieving the full benefit of Castella’s work by baking through this culinary atlas. In many cases, even old hats in the kitchen will learn something new – and no matter where they hail from, everyone will come away hungry for more.

Available on Amazon

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur: Over 140 Simply Delicious Recipes That Treat the Eyes and Taste Buds

2010-11-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur: Over 140 Simply Delicious Recipes That Treat the Eyes and Taste Buds
Author: Kelly Peloza
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (2010) (www.skyhorsepublishing.com/)

It used to be that vegetarianism was only a movement led by pot-smoking, unshaven hippies. The general population’s entire knowledge of the phenomenon known as veganism was that it was followed by those same hippies who just marched on Parliament and threw cans of paint on their hamburger-grilling neighbours. If you, as an omnivore, was invited to a vegan’s home for dinner, you’d be dreading it – because after all, the only vegan foods in the universe had to be brown rice and black beans, a nut and lentil loaf or – God forbid – a dish with the spongy white block known as tofu. It’s not surprising that the mentality of vegan food as being bland, boring or even downright scary has persisted in today’s lay community, especially in my parent’s generation and older. Most conventional restaurants today are incredibly meat-centric, and the traditional “breakfast of champions” is still bacon and eggs, and until very, very recently you couldn’t buy a single prepared vegan product outside of a health food store. There is still a major imbalance in the modern grocery stores, even the most well stocked of the bunch: while you’ll find whole aisles dedicated to shrink-wrapped cuts of meat, a well-stocked deli, and maybe even butcher and fishmonger counters, (not covering the array of frozen, meat and/or cheese-based stuff of many frozen meals), the entire vegan-friendly stock may fill one cooler case and a handful of shelves.

Times are changing, though, and how! Vegetarianism is now as commonplace in society as omnivorous living, whether for health, economic, ecological or ethical reasons. Country-wide movements for the installation of “Meatless Mondays” are occurring in the USA – land of the burger and Texan steak – and Canadians dining on Alberta beef and Pacific salmon are encouraged to do the same. Even vegans are becoming mainstream, viewed by some sceptics or desperate individuals as a new “weight-loss” or “detox” fad, but seen far more frequently as simply another culinary lifestyle just like keeping Kosher or Halal. Vegan foodies are all over the media spectrum; blogging, on TV, and not least in the bookstore. Far from rehashing tired stir-fries and fruit salads while bemoaning the challenges of egg- and dairy-free cookery, authors like Kelly Peloza embrace the delicious and decadent side of life. In her work The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur, Peloza dishes up over 140 recipes for every type of cookie you could ever want. From drop to bar, rolled cut-outs to no-bakes, the sweets are almost endless. Every offering is completely animal free – no dairy, eggs, or honey – and most can be made with ingredients found in any baker’s cabinet. If there is any stigma about the “difficulty” or expense of vegan baking lingering in your mind, Peloza effectively slays it with her chewy Giant Bakery-Style Double Chocolate Cookies (p. 78), spicy Chai Cookies (p. 17) and her Cashew Cappuccino Nanaimo Bars (p. 153).

I couldn’t resist trying my hand at those three sweet treats – being born with a chocolate addiction (inherited from the other women in the family!), a mother adoring coffee *almost* as much as chocolate and a best friend with a love for Chai tea, there was never any question as to the first recipes I’d try out! A skim through the fairly standard ingredient glossary and FAQ – in which Peloza reassures the reader that using a different sugar, agave colour or even flour refinement is totally fine – I dove headlong into the pages.

Even if you just have a single mixing bowl, no electric mixer and a couple cookie sheets, it’s perfectly possible – no, make that essential – to make a batch of Peloza's huge, rich chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. A microwave makes the preparation of the melted chocolate base super-simple (of course you could break out the double boiler), and the fact that you don’t even need to sift the cocoa powder into the batter means you can have CD-sized biscuits ready in under an hour. If you’re not a huge chocolate fan but have a love of soft, spicy cookies like snickerdoodles, Peloza’s written one of the most uniquely-flavoured recipes I’ve come across in her Chai Cookies. I’m not a Chai tea lover myself – the few times I’ve had it in front of me it went unfinished – but the mixture of spices both in and on these cookies smelled heavenly. I know the students coming into IHN clutching their Chai Lattes swooped down on them lickety-split and declared them nothing short of delicious. Being an ex-coffee hog with a patriotic heart, though, I think I looked forward to baking the Cashew Cappuccino Nanaimo Bars most. What can I say... I’m Canadian! I think I was probably asking for trouble after the other two easy successes, but decadence has it’s price, I suppose. Those bakers planning to make the cream-filled bars take note: the base of margarine, sugar, cocoa, soy milk, graham cracker crumbs, cashews, melted chocolate and Kahlua makes twice the amount the rest of the ingredients warrant, and takes a good extra 10 minutes to firm up at the temperature Peloza specifies and I highly suggest freezing the base for 45 minutes before spreading on the creamy filling. Do make sure to get a good brand of ground coffee for the filling as well – and since I didn’t have the optional coffee extract hanging around but still wanted the extra “pop” of flavour, I used both the recipe-stated Kahlua and a teaspoon of instant espresso powder. I was not disappointed with the flavour at all in the end, and the extra base dough that I eventually scraped off of the pan mid-bake made some very delicious chocolate-cashew cookies for my mom.

One of the coolest things I’ve found about Connoisseur is Peloza’s handy “hint dropping” throughout the pages. Whether it’s how to bake cookies in a toaster oven, cope with a food-related allergy or (most useful for omnivorous bakers) how to veganize a prized family recipe, the tips scattered through the book are valuable bits of information that you’ll find yourself using time and again. If you have a penchant for variations, there is no shortage of them here either. Don’t want plain vanilla in your gigantic bombs of chocolate deliciousness? Well, what about almond or coffee? If you love making biscotti every year as Christmas gifts, you’ll love the two “basic” recipes for the sweet (chocolate and vanilla) as well as 8 other variations to make everybody happy.

Needless to say, this is no health manual. Sure, there are no eggs or butter to contend with, but there is plenty of chocolate, margarine, sugar and nuts to make up for that. Really – if you’re out to bake cookies, the last thing you should be counting is a calorie or fat gram! Though there is a special section of the book dedicated to “Healthier Cookies and Baking for Specific Needs” (starting on p. 191), decadence is still far and away the bill of fare in Connoisseur. Regardless of your particular diet (or lack thereof), belief system or personal lifestyle, you are sure to find a host of new favourites in The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur. Many “traditional” bakers will marvel at the dangerously simple versions of “everyday” cookies as well as the ingenuity of Peloza’s inventions, and “traditional” eaters will be none the wiser.

Available on Amazon

Sweet Treats: Just Like My Mother Used to Bake

2010-11-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Sweet Treats: Just Like My Mother Used to Bake (2010)
Contributing Editor: Linda Collister
Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small

Have you ever heard yourself utter the phrase “this is just like Mom used to make”? Or perhaps this tune is more common to your ears: “my mom makes/made this so much better”. I know that even when I’m making a recipe that my mom has physically handed me the card for and watched me prepare, the end result is never quite the same as hers. It isn’t that the taste is bad, or that the texture is horrendous – it’s just not Mom’s. Even when it’s a recipe I’ve written and made a million times – like my basic banana bread – as soon as she steps into the kitchen and dons her (proverbial) apron, something happens that totally transforms the environment and everything she touches. Whatever is made therefore becomes hers, just unique enough that objective tasters can peg that it’s not mine. That it’s special. In no uncertain terms, that it is a whole other class of perfection.

The irony of my mom’s cooking always resulting in a better product than mine is that her entire history of culinary training is a combination of three things: what she learned at my grandmother’s hip, what she did to cope as a young wife and mother of ravenous girls, and what she was able to glean from a handful of high school Home Economics classes. In fact, Mom was quite ambivalent about the whole concept of food, or cooking in general for years. Only when my food-related allergies and intolerances began to present themselves and I began honing my culinary skills did she really begin turning “the corner”, so to speak. I, too, grew up attached to my mother’s side as she made dinner almost every night, even if it was just a box of mac and cheese. Nothing thrilled me more than getting a chance to “help” knead our Christmas loaves of brioche and challah, and the task of shaping the filled ring or the eggy braid each season was something I coveted more than the latest toy or “hot” fashion trend. I was fortunate enough to have a rather intensive Home Ec foundation in elementary school as well, and elected to build on those rudimentary skills in high school under the direction of both a chocolatier – cake decorator and a pastry chef. That time is one that I remember being filled with batches of 32-egg, 8-kg of fat chocolate chip cookies (which also had 4 kilos of chips!) and entirely too many “taste tests”. After the inevitable upswing of my weight and my subsequent success on Weight Watchers (followed by my food-related illness), I found food blogging, took a bakery arts course at George Brown College’s cooking school and finally fell into my current definition as a nutritional consultant, holistic nutrition student and (mostly) holistic and specialty-foods baker. I clearly have the chops (on paper) to make more than acceptable treats. So why don’t I get the “ooh la la” response with my offerings of Mom’s chocolate chip cookies? Simple: I’m not Mom.

So it is a lofty goal that contributing editor Linda Collister describes with the title of her latest book Sweet Treats: Just Like my Mother Used to Bake. Family recipes are works of art that are so personal that there is a reason why a Google string search for “banana bread” yields over 1,180,000 results, over 1,000 of them in the Food Blog Search alone. Treats includes that popular snack and 75 other recipes, not only from Collister’s hand but by Susannah Blake, Maxine Clark, Ross Dobson, Brian Glover, Liz Franklin, Fran Warde and Laura Washburn, all in a very attractive, concisely written package. Colourful photographs pepper the pages, luring anyone who leafs through the book into taking a closer look.

In taking this closer look, one may have to wonder at the incredible variety and complexity of these so-called “mother’s recipes”. None of the photos, not even for the “Classic Choc Chip Cookies”, look anything like anything my mom bakes, and according to her, the things she grew up baking with her mother were nowhere near as “complicated” as those in the book. While the recipes are definitely not multi-step, two-day affairs, they do have a certain panache to them that is a little out of place in a family recipe tome. If you are looking for that rustic, “down home on the farm” style of baking, then you will likely be disappointed by Collister’s book. Unlike many other “baking” cookbooks out there, though, the photographs in Treats are just as honest as they are gorgeous. Far from being pieces of art so artificially posed and shellacked into place, the elements in each shot are almost candid in appearance. This does not detract in any way from the pleasure of the book – if anything, it adds a level of approachability so often lacking in baking guides today. If you are looking for fairly simple, easy-to-dress-up (or down) goodies, with easy to follow instructions and consistent yields, this is a good book to pick up.

In order to get a “feel” for the way Treats reads for the baking set, I decided to test out two of the recipes. To choose those tester recipes, though, I defaulted to my mother, who I believed would best be able to describe the similarity of the goods to recipes she remembered from her childhood. Unsurprisingly, the recipe in the book that was the chocolatiest while inducing the least amount of guilt was her first selection: Clark’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (p. 12). Rife with dark cocoa powder, dark chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips too, these chewy biscuits were delicious just barely cool, and were still fresh 4 days later. In fact, after sitting overnight, the cookies became the epitome of school-lunch cookies everywhere: a crisp exterior just sturdy enough to prevent the baked dough from disintegrating formed a protective shell around an incredibly “moreish” chewy (and not-too-sweet) heart. Likewise, the loaf of Apricot and Honey Rye (p. 154) submitted by Linda Collister that I made as one of my mom’s “weekly loaves” was no slouch in either the looks or taste departments. While it is definitely not something my mother would have ever made during my childhood, it was something she thoroughly enjoyed in her routine.

One of the most useful parts of Treats is the inset “tip boxes” scattered through the pages – providing hints for everything from removing cookies stuck to the sheets (pop them back in the oven for a minute) to reviving seized, half-melted chocolate, and even how to convince butter that’s just this side of un-creamable to beat into fluffy perfection. There is also a conversion chart for imperial to metric weight, volume, length and temperature measurements the very end of the index as well. This chart comes in handy quite often when baking from this book, since the “translations” Collister made for the American chef often lead to some rather interesting measurements (as in a cup + 2 tablespoons) for ingredients, and sometimes less used ingredients themselves – compressed yeast for example. That said, there is almost always an alternative for these “un-American” foods suggested, so even the most inexperienced home cook will be able to create something perfectly delicious from Collister’s book.

Sweet Treats is the kind of cookbook that anyone with the desire to share their love through sharing food should own. It is not simply a catalogue of the simple, everyday recipes that flood the pages of both literal and virtual cookbooks everywhere – it is a how-to guide for building on your own family’s traditions with new spins on classic ideas, and a springboard for creating new customs and favourites with those around you. This work is a great resource filled with basic techniques that, once mastered, can be applied to all sorts of ingredient combinations for a result that is all your own: a recipe that years later you will be proud to hear others claim is “just like yours”.

Oral-B Triumph with Smart Guide Toothbrush

2008-12-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

I’m not what you’d call a “gadget-centric” person. Until very recently I would do pretty much everything I could by hand, even if there was an electronic gizmo to make life “easier”. To me, the manual qualities of something handmade was what made the end result worthwhile, so I was willing to spend the extra time and energy for most kitchen and school tasks. That included mixing, kneading, shaping and baking bread, grating carrots, slicing French-fries out of potatoes and yams and even taking notes in my lectures. Why would I spend money on something I could do myself, and probably better, anyway? I still hold this view, especially when the cost difference is substantial: in today’s economy and my personal situation as a student, pennies are pinched so hard they’re paper-thin.

However, some things have changed in the past couple years to keep up (or down, as the case may be) with my energy and strength levels, though. I now knead bread with my standing mixer (though you will never see me with a breadmaker), my food processor grates my veggies (but only large quantities, like after this Summer’s harvest), and my mandolin slicer helps out with the fry-cutting (but admittedly not much else). I’m beginning to embrace the world of electric gadgetry, so when I was approached by Procter and Gamble to test out and review the new Oral-B Triumph with Smart Guide Toothbrush I figured I would give it a go. After all, what would it hurt?

When the package arrived, I noticed that the box was huge – for a toothbrush I was expecting a little less package-mania. None of the gear inside said box – and there was a lot of it – was assembled, and the manual provided to put everything together was more complicated than my cell-phone guide! Some careful interpretation of the “universal language” symbols later I was ready to go. Sort of. I should have known from previous “rechargeable” gadget experiences, but you can’t use this product right away – you need to allow it to sit 12 hours before it can be used. Though total user error on my part, it was nonetheless annoying since I really wanted to test out the brush and it’s assorted accompaniments!

The sidekicks to the brush were another source of mixed emotions. My problem is that all the new-fangled goodies I accumulate – while perfectly useful – take up space. In my house, that means that if they don’t get used on a regular basis they wind up in the basement (never to be used, or found, again) or in one of the boxes in our garage’s loft. You’ll find our crock pot, extra kettles, pod-espresso maker and various other implements there, along with a few boxes of soaps, loofahs and shampoo bottles from days long ago. I’m sure that an old electric toothbrush “body” is somewhere in that mess too. The body of the brush is sleek and fairly small, but the base (which includes a storage area for new brush heads) is a behemoth on my tiny bathroom counter. Since I plan on using this toothbrush daily I wouldn’t really mind it being there if it wasn’t for the trillion other things we wind up with around the sink! Kudos, though, for giving consumers a rechargeable brush so we’re not wasting more batteries – it’s more eco-friendly to replace just the heads too instead of a full plastic manual brush! The little timer display (called the Smart Guide) is, thankfully, wall-mountable – I wound up sticking mine on top of a wide picture frame where I could see it but it’s always nice to have the option!

So, how does it perform? The product is advertised to “provide extraordinary cleaning and improves brushing habits”, and I have to say it delivers on both those angles. I’ve always had a hard time reaching the back of my (small) mouth when brushing and my wisdom teeth are worse for it. The small tip of the Oral-B reaches all the way back there, though, and it’s manoeuvrable enough that I can clean both teeth and gumline. The brush is powerful enough to do its job without causing pain or raw patches, and I’ve noticed that the amount of plaque build-up on my molars is a lot less than it was. Another benefit of the small head is that I can get in behind my teeth to my retainer wire – a source of constant food snags and tartar accumulation. For the first time since a professional cleaning I’m actually able to feel the wire against my teeth! With the guide display, I know how long I’ve brushed for and (though it seemed a little inane in the beginning) I now love the digital mouth cycle guide. Every 30 seconds, for a total of 2 minutes, a different quadrant of the circle flashes to indicate where you should brush. Not only was I not brushing long enough before, but I was mostly concentrating on the front teeth... a problem no more! I was a chronic “hard brusher” too, apparently, since the sensor also measures the pressure of head-to-teeth and flashes red when you go overboard. I’ve been able to pare down my scrubbing a little bit, which reduces the chance of gum recession!

A “starter kit” for the system (including the recharger base, 2 brushing heads, the brush body, Smart Guide and 2 batteries (for the display) will set you back a fair bit for now: it carries a price tag of $138.82 US at Wal-Mart. A set of 3 replacement brush heads (you should replace one every 4 months or so) is $24.36 US. I hope that the cost comes down soon – even though it’s a boon for our health the brush is not too friendly on the pocketbook.

In the end, if you are a person like me who is always getting the “you need to brush better” gab from the dentist every 6 months, you’ll like this toothbrush. My mouth and teeth feel better in only a week of using it, and I know my bad habits are improving. In any event, I’ll get the official “mouth report” from my dentist tomorrow and I know that it will be a better report. Oral-B even offers a “guaranteed better checkups, or your money back” policy on their website too, and with their faith in the product so strong (and fingers crossed for a lower price), I’m inclined to keep brushing with it.

Thank you, P&G, for the opportunity!

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution

2008-03-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
Author: Alice Waters (http://www.chezpanisse.com/pgalice.html)
Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishing (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

This book is, without a doubt, one of the most talked about culinary works of the past year. One of the original locovores, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, uses a classic, almost archaic look to broadcast her message: simple food can, in fact, be extraordinary when allowed to shine.
Divided into two “volumes”, in a sense, this work is designed to both inform and stimulate the novice chef in their home kitchen, without the need for fancy equipment, ingredients, or training. In the first part (aptly titled “Starting from Scratch”), the reader is (re)introduced to their kitchen – with discussion regarding ingredients, pantry staples and equipment. Ingredient preparation and menu planning are also touched on, with everything from the casual picnic to dinner party fare covered. Pure, simple and practical advice is provided for those unused to cooking for a group: “interview those that share your table and kitchen. Use this information to slowly expand your repertoire, revisiting old favourites with different flavours or refined techniques…”(33). Simple, yes. And that’s the point. In terms of recipes, everything for the beginner cook is covered: salads, bread dough, soup, beans, grains, meats and desserts. For any cook who has even the most basic of training (by their mother’s side as a child or in Home Economics class in junior high), the majority of the methods and recipes Waters discusses will be old news, even tiring to read. However, these are the recipes readers will return to again and again, if not to copy verbatim, to check the roasting time of a chicken or the basic ingredients for a rice pilaf.

The second part of Simple Food is focused on everyday cooking for those more confident in their kitchen skills. Again, the same basic categories are covered, but this time miraculous transformations occur with the simplest shifts in ingredients. Spaghetti and tomato sauce is suddenly filled with capers, olives, anchovies and chile flakes (266), and the innocent sweet potato is jazzed up with saffron, ginger and cilantro (520).

Rather than overwhelm the basics that form the backbone of the kitchen, though, Waters opts to accent them: lemon sauce for a pan-fried fillet of bass sounds fancy, but turns out to be no more than a light blend of oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt (332). Even the tarte tatin on page 366 is devoid of any spice – the apples prove to hold their ground. If any of the cooking techniques or terms seem unfamiliar to the reader, a full explanation is quickly located in the glossary.

The Art of Simple Food is not, by any means, a cookbook set on transporting the reader to far-off lands filled (in reality) with a team of sous chefs and an infinite pantry. Far from a new-fangled, flashy affair, this book lives up to it’s title in every way expected. If there is any doubt as to the Alice Waters philosophy after turning the last page, the back cover will leave you with a note that everyone who grows, cooks or eats will take to heart: remember food is precious.

Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors From the Southwestern Kitchen

2007-11-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors From the Southwestern Kitchen
Author: Bobby Flay (with Stephanie Banyas and Sally Jackson) (http://www.bobbyflay.com/)
Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishing (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

Bobby Flay may not have started out as the household Food Network name he now is, but along with his explosion into the worlds of restaurant ownership and television appearances came an emergence of his fearlessness to serve and promote a “different” type and level of cuisine. The Mesa Grill Cookbook embraces this difference and brings it to the home chef through it’s creative recipes, while the entertaining and informative descriptions, glossaries and foreword bring the impressive Iron Chef to a social equality with the audience.

As with most celebrity cookbooks, Mesa Grill is, at first glance, a glossy self-promotion shelf filler. The portrait of Chef Flay on the dust jacket smiles cockily, as if to dare you to enter his kitchen. Thankfully, once the reader does open the pages the majority of the celebrity slips away to be replaced with a story of almost fairy-tale stature – Flay’s foray into the world of cooking. There is no denial of the massive amount of luck and good fortune that came his way as a starry-eyed student attempting to pay his way through school, and there is thorough mention of his mentors, his benefactors and his family. Each step from dishwasher to famous restaurateur is documented succinctly, but where the love of Flay’s craft becomes obvious is when the writing turns to food. “[T]he cornmeals in a myriad of colors; the dried red chiles that are earthy, smoky, fruity, and spicy…(3)” are just smidgens of the colourful and (if you will excuse the pun) flavourful descriptions in the preface, and the spice carries over the page into the glossary of ingredients.

For those aspiring to integrate more of Flay’s southwestern style of cooking into their own home, the extensive glossary of basics (twelve pages long, a gift in the modern world of any literature) covers ingredients from avocados to tortillas along with every pepper variety under the sun. Also included are basic kitchen techniques such as roasting garlic, as well as more skilful preparations like cold-smoking and blanching methods. Even those going cold into the kitchen will feel a sense of ease with these references at hand, especially since when they are mentioned in the text of the recipes a helpful note of the reference page is provided as well.

The recipe list is extensive as the glossary, from spicy, crunchy bar pretzels (33) to Pumpkin French Toast (268) and even a crème brulee selection (242). Every recipe has “wiggle” room to play in if ingredients are unavailable (a common occurrence in small towns or countries other than the United States), or if a stronger or altered flavour is desired.

An important mention that is unfortunately lacking in this work is that most of the dishes are “layered”, meaning that elements can be added, removed or changed according to individual tastes or time constraints. While most weeknight chefs would never dream of concocting “Black Pepper-Crusted Filets Mignons with Ancho-Red Pepper Sauce and Toasted Goat Cheese” (157), the sauce is a wonderful addition to boiled spaghetti and meatballs, and the steak-crusting method is a wonderful trick any time. Being able to break these gourmet (and restaurant-style) dishes into their respective parts is the key to avoid frustration and doubt in the reader’s kitchen and a sure-fire way to keep this book in use for meals other than special occasions.

There really is something for everyone in this book. Seafood lovers will adore Flay’s take on crab cakes (115), and vegetarians will fall in love with his daughter Sophie’s version of a chopped salad (59). Even Brussels sprouts are given star treatment, with jewels of pomegranate and toasted walnuts (210). Festive picks for the holidays abound as well in Mesa Grill, with the highlight recipe undoubtedly being an Ancho-Maple Glazed Turkey (148). If the spice of the peppers is too much for this year’s table, the same recipe also features a delectable-sounding Cranberry-Mango Relish that may very well leave that canned gloop on the grocery store shelf.

Flay’s imagination translates to the table in such a variety of ways that it would be impossible to fall into a rut of southwest flavour. The colourful photos, thorough and vibrant descriptions and mouth-watering recipes delight and tempt both the eyes and the palate through all 269 glossy pages of the book, bringing both New Mexico and New York to the kitchens of all it’s owners. If nothing else, the Mesa Grill Cookbook gives more than just mere words on paper to it’s readers, lending the powers of inspiration to everyone. The book truly does live up to the subtitle of “explosive flavors”, and with luck more than just the “Southwestern kitchens” will take part in it’s tasting.

Isabel's Cantina

2007-11-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

Isabel’s Cantina
Author: Isabel Cruz (http://www.isabelscantina.com/)

Publisher: Clarkson Potter (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

From the small home beginnings of the kitchen of Isabel Cruz, Isabel’s Cantina is one of the rare books that the reader can judge by it’s cover. The bright and bold colours that adorn the otherwise solid black dust jacket are a testament to the equally striking dishes and flavour combinations that lie within the smooth, illustrated pages. This book is not simply a Latin lover’s cookbook, like the title may suggest. Isabel’s Cantina is a testament to, and memoir of (if you will), the history that surrounds the growth and development of Cruz as a person and indeed a chef. Hiding amongst the mosaic patterns that line the pages are foods of the ocean’s edges – Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican are merged with Japanese and Thai influences to form recipes that are truly unique, and that tempt the adventurous palate with each thorough description.

While most of the recipes in Cantina are (unsurprisingly) Latin in origin (Posole with Pork (p. 100), Ropa Vieja (p. 104) and Arroz con Gandules (p. 119) to name a few), the family stories that accompany each entry break the monotony that other similar cookbooks would suffer from. Even if the flavours of Cuba aren’t what is being sought after on a particular day, the lighter influences of traditional Japanese and Thai cooking create stunning and mouth-watering solutions – Steamed Snapper with Tomatoes and Ginger (p.83), Mahi Mahi with a spicy Jalapeno – Ponzu sauce (p.84) and even a decadent Coconut Tofu Sauce served over fresh fruit (p.170) dot the pages of Cruz’ work for refreshing alternatives. Even vegetarians are well looked after, with delicious soups ranging from the hearty Lentil, Red Pepper, Basil and Chipotle (p.62) to the virtuous-sounding Buddha Bowl (p. 63).

If the names and descriptions of the dishes aren’t enough to cause exclamations of Ole! in the reader’s home kitchen, this delightful news from Cruz certainly will: the majority of meals featured in Cantina are not only comforting and delicious, but they are good for you! This revolution in her cuisine came from a fortuitous change of circumstances: her first restaurant catered to the California beach-body crew, and this along with her own desire to live healthfully led to a creative period of experimentation with delicious results fit for every gourmand at the table. She herself writes in the introduction a statement that I have believed in for years: “…if I was creative, there was no reason for the flavour to suffer just because I cut calories of fat” (p. 11).

From the breakfast meal all the way to the final after-dinner drinks and dessert, Isabel’s Cantina will never fail to leave an impression on your heart or in your mouth. Items from local farmer’s markets as well as the international aisles of the supermarket will become staple items in the kitchen and ingredients in meals the home cook would never believe possible to concoct. Be prepared for a multitude of fresh flavours to make their way into the common household, and for the amazement of how simple it is to create a Pacific getaway of your very own!

Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest

2007-10-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest
Author: Kurt Beecher Dammier (with Laura Holmes Haddad)
Publisher: Clarkson Potter (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

Simply titled, Pure Flavor is exactly that when it comes to it’s contents – recipes with an insistence on the enhancement, rather than the addition to, the best local offerings of the Pacific coastline. The book’s silky, full-colour cover opens with a tantalizing array of pictures, and the photography begs readers to dive into the culinary haven of Seattle’s Pike Place Market before a single word appears on the page. Thankfully, the stories the photos tell are more pleasing to the eye than the introduction, which unfortunately is akin to reading a long-winded advertisement for one of Dammier’s establishments, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, and in fact cheese itself. Though, as an entrepreneur myself, I acknowledge the amount of work and resources involved with starting up and running a small business, it is an unnecessary and out-of-place component in this book, especially considering that this is not a cookbook that specializes in cheese dishes. Since many readers do not, in fact, read the forewords or introductions to the books they choose, this would not impact on their perception of the rest of the book’s contents.

The actual recipe and ingredient sections that follow the introduction are more pleasing to the eye – and taste buds – and will be an informative read for those less schooled in the finer points of the culinary world (i.e. you and me). The dishes are succinctly organized into nine sections: soups and sandwiches, salads, pasta and grains, fish and shellfish, poultry and meat, vegetables and sides, sweets, breakfast, and basics, sauces and spreads. Within each of these sections lie brilliant, rich photography of not only the dishes themselves, which look good enough to lick off the page, but of the areas of the market and farmlands where the ingredients come from. Each elegantly titled (and in some cases complicated-sounding) recipe is prefaced by a short paragraph that highlights the basic idea of the dish, which is a great benefit to the home chef who may otherwise shy away from them. Blessedly precise instructions bring life to otherwise restaurant-grade fare such as Grilled New York Steak with Balsamic-Mushroom Ragout (p. 136-137), and since leftovers are a reality in every kitchen, the reader is also given approximate shelf lives of the prepared goods.

The pride Dammier takes in the origins of his ingredients as well as his fellow culinary artists (such as Gwen Bassetti and Chuck Eggert) is obvious. No less than 19 articles appear on the different (and local) components of his cooking, not including the cheese guides (which are as long-winded as the introduction, unfortunately). Notable emphasis is placed on the fish and shellfish of the region, as well as seasonal fruits and the lifeblood of Seattle itself: coffee. A varied selection of recipes is shown because of the seasonal ingredient shifts, though all have decadent and equally delightful compositions. Though there are undeniably unnecessary inclusions (more Iceberg Wedges [p. 48] or Cobb Salad [p. 54] anyone?) the majority of the recipes are jewels. From a perfect Winter-time Slow-Cooked Orange-Chili Pork Shoulder (p. 130) to a light, Summery Corn, Tomato and Avocado Frittata (p. 212), there is something for every season and craving.

Pure Flavor is a cookbook in the most literal terms: a book for cooks. This is not to say that its contents are to be reserved for the upper echelons of culinary society. In contrast, this book is for the true cooks – the ones that lie dormant within each of us until the right combination of circumstances, like ingredients in a cake, combine to present their gifts to the family dinner table.

(Photos presented are of Red, White and Green Vegetable "Lasagne" [p. 163] and "World's Best" Mac and Cheese [p. 71])

Adventures of an Italian Food Lover

2007-09-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

Adventures of an Italian Food Lover

Author: Faith Willinger (http://www.faithwillinger.com/)
Publisher: Clarkson Potter (2007) (http://www.clarksonpotter.com/)

A smiling red-clad chef with a large bowl of pasta greets you at the cover of this engaging story – turned travel guide, wine list and cookbook. Like all the illustrations, he is in the fashion of a watercolour painting, and with the hand-scrawled title on the dust jacket, the reader gains the sensation that this is a book not just about cooking, but a personal story about the true adoration of food and everything it encases and involves.

Paging through the book is like wandering through the picturesque country sides of Piemonte, Veneto, and all the way through the country to Sicily and the islands at the very southern tip of Italy. An entire third of the book is devoted to the wine and food of Tuscany, where Willinger stresses the true importance of the grapes, olives, and their respective products to Tuscan, and in truth Italian, cuisine. Aside from the Tuscan region, Willinger devotes equal time and space to both Northern and Central Italy and Southern Italy, including Sicily and the smaller assorted islands. Without lifting a finger or turning on a flame, the reader can sense the smells, sounds and sights of the kitchens of these 254 friendly and eager-to-teach contributors to the book. Included in the list of recipe authors is none other than her son (with to-die-for sounding Tuscan Brownies [p. 143]) her aunt Enza (Tiramisu [p. 151]) and even the head of the Italian chocolate creator Amedei [p.152].

As if the charming and honest style of Willinger’s writing, and the equally colourful paintings done by her sister Suzanne, weren’t enough to win me over to Italian Food Lover, her detailed descriptions of the featured vineyards, hotels and restaurants would satisfy even the most clueless of travellers to the country. One could easily use this book as a gastronomic travel guide, as it contains detailed information on each contributor’s locale including addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mails and websites if applicable. It is a welcome addition and a distinctive feature that sets this book apart from the other Italian cookbooks on the shelf.

Perhaps the greatest joy in reading each story preceding a recipe is being able to see the pride and care that each artisan, restaurateur and winemaker puts into their product. No ingredient is deemed unworthy of precious and proper handling, either in their cooking or description. Nothing is spared, even in her introduction to the book Willinger states that she cooks with “pasta made from heirloom wheat, salt-packed capers, canned tuna in oil, dried and frozen chili peppers, artisan-made salumi and cured meats”[p.8]. Later in the book readers are treated to visuals of “swordfish with swords, crates of silvery-blue anchovies, shrimp with tiny turquoise eggs, gleaming whole fish curved with rigor mortis [and] tubs of gelatinous gray larval fish called ‘sea foam’”[p.203] from Cantania’s Pescheria fish market.

Recipes flow like the pure extra virgin Per Mio Figlio onto the reader’s tongues, forming images of foods like Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Flowers, Pacceri Di Gragano with Fish Ragu and Ginger-Apricot Biscotti. Those who are intimidated by the thought of cooking the usual complicated and multi-stepped Italian food they may have encountered in restaurants will be pleasantly surprised by the clear, thorough writing style of the ingredient lists and preparation instructions. Though this book does tend to cater more to the middle-range home cook with additions like Roasted Veal Shank [p. 56] and Pasta with Mussels and Zucchini Flowers [p. 175], it is equally hospitable to all people who frequent their kitchens enough to value good, home-made food. From a simple, hearty bowl of lentil soup made with fine olive oil (written by winemaker Maurizo Castelli [p.101]) to Spaghetti with Spicy Onion-Tomato Sauce by Hotel Cipriani’s director Natale Rusconi [p.50], budding chefs can begin to experience the best of Italian cuisine at home. Those expert chefs among us (or those looking for an impressive dish for their own feast) will appreciate Cesare Giaccone’s more difficult Zabaione [p. 76], made by “whisking the eggs in a copper pot with a rounded bottom and moving it on and off the heat in a graceful ballet of preparation” and Risotto with Almonds and Broccoli [p. 202], prepared by the oldest sister of the Tasca d’Almerita family. If they apply, available substitutions for ingredients are provided in the text preceding each recipe, and in some cases these are necessary changes those who don’t live in the featured town, Italy or in some cases even Europe have to make for sheer availability’s sake. A full list of the recipes, helpfully divided by region as well as listed in a thorough index, is also at the disposal of the readers, though I do strongly recommend reading this book not purely for the recipes but for the joy of the stories attached alongside.

This book is a culinary memoir, In fact, this chef’s tale is probably more at home on your bedside table (like my copy is) than on your cookbook shelf. Just don’t forget to occasionally let your tastebuds in on the feast that awaits you within the pages of Adventures of an Italian Food Lover. It will quickly recruit you as one of its own, and take you along on it’s Mediterranean journey.