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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

More FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS IN REVIEW

THE NOURISHED KITCHEN (Ten Speed Press, 2014, 314 pages, ISBN 978-1-60774-468-9, $27.99 US paper covers) is by Jennifer McGruther, a food educator and blog owner at www.nourishedkitchen.com. It comes with log rolling from Deborah Madison and others. It can be summed up as "farm-to-table recipes for the traditional lifestyle, featuring bone broths, fermented vegetables, grass-fed meats, wholesome fats, raw dairy, and kombuchas". – nutrient dense real food. A traditional diet allows for grains, unlike a paleo diet, and for cultured dairy such as kefir or yogurt, fermented food with pro-biotics, and organ meats. The important to remember is that raw dairy, fermented foods, and organs should always be organic. Arrangement is by location: foods from the garden, the pasture, the range, the waters, the fields, the wild, the orchard, and the larder. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. At the end she has a glossary and a list of resources, including a listing of food advocacy groups.
Audience and level of use: those seeking a healthier lifestyle.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: rabbit pie with bacon and chanterelles; mincemeat hand pies; red berry kvass; beetroot relish; greek salad with buttermilk herb dressing; dulse and potato soup; salmon baked in cream with thyme and dill; squash, butternut, and white mean mash with garlic and sage.
The downside to this book: not much is stated about the importance of "organic" foods, although much is implied.
The upside to this book: good treatment.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.




10.HEALTHY DISH OF THE DAY (Weldon Owen, 2014, 304 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-665-1, $34.95 US hard covers) is from Williams-Sonoma, and is one of a series from them on 365 recipes for every day of the year. Kate McMillan, owner-chef of a catering company and food  educator, is the author. There's two or three preps on a page, along with a calendar and  photos. It is seasonal, so for February 19, there is chicken cacciatore, for which you can use frozen chicken and canned tomatoes from the larder, to avoid shopping trips and outofseason veggies. For July 18, there are fresh eggs poached in fresh tomato sauce with crostini. One dish a day does it, the other two can be leftovers or no-cook preps. It's pretty straightforward and its value lies in "healthy" and "365 recipes". So you could have two a day, and repeat some faves. There is something here for everyone and for every occasion (quick weeknight meal, entertaining on weekends, healthy classic comfort dish. The arrangement by calendar precludes a quick dip for a type of course, so there is a traditional index by ingredient and an index by type (burgers, curries, pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches, soups, stews, stir-fries, vegan, etc. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mainly avoirdupois and some metric measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those looking for healthy meals.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: I'm writing this review on April 2, so I should be having pasta with English peas and morels tonight, followed by tomorrow's asparagus-pea and fava bean stew, then Friday's salmon satay burgers with cucumber-onion relish, and then stuffed artichokes, spinach frittata, spring veggies, and pan-seared chicken.
The downside to this book: the preps require an extensive larder if you stick with the plan. It also weighs a lot.
The upside to this book: good database of preps, like other in the series.
Quality/Price Rating: 86.


11.THE CREAMERY KITCHEN (Ryland Peters & Small, 2014, 128 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-494-1, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Jenny Linford, author of some 15 books including Food Lovers' London. Here, in 45 recipes, she delves into fresh dairy products such as butter, yogurt, labneh (yogurt cheese), sour cream, cream cheese, ricotta, cottage cheese, feta and others. These are all easy to make, and seem straightforward in an uncomplicated way. There are many colour photos of techniques, and recipes that use the cream products. All of this, of course, tastes better when made with raw milk, but accessibility in North America is spotty, unlike the UK (but it is banned in Scotland). Certainly organic pasteurized milk can be a compromise. Preparations have their ingredients listed mostly in avoirdupois with some metric measurements, but there is no table of equivalents given.
Audience and level of use: homemade artisans, the adventuresome.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: for example, under labneh yogurt cheese, there are lamb skewers with za'atar labneh, asparagus-pea and labneh salad, dukkah flatbreads with herbed labneh, and saffron & cardamom labneh with mango.
The downside to this book: I think it needs more recipes.
The upside to this book: homemade artisanal foods are trending.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.


12.THE VEGAN PANTRY (Ryland Peters & Small, 2014; distr. T. Allen, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-489-7, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Dunja Gulin, a teacher-chef in Zagreb who has authored other raw and vegan cookbooks. Here she presents a primer of 60 basic preps, with data on important vegan ingredients, substitutions when needed, getting essential vitamins and minerals, and – most importantly for the book – how to stock and maintain a pantry (grains, dried legumes, pasta, oils/vinegars, salt, nuts/seeds, herbs/spices, thickeners) and a fridge (condiments, non-dairy milk). Arrangement is by course, and includes breakfast, apps, mains, salads, sauces/dips, soups/stews, and desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed mostly in avoirdupois and some metric measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those seeking the vegan lifestyle.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: millet croquettes; eggplant and date chutney;  quinoa, fennel and arame salad; sweet potato wedges; curry tofu; Mediterranean green lentil loaf; zucchini and walnut canapes.
The downside to this book: has basics that many vegans may already know.
The upside to this book: a good primer
Quality/Price Rating: 86.




13.FRESH FROM THE FARM; a year of recipes and stories (Taunton Press, 2014, 250 pages, ISBN 978-1-60085-904-5, $28 US hard covers) is by Susie Middleton, former editor of Fine Cooking magazine and now cookbook author and free lance food writer and blogger. This is part memoir, part recipes – taken from a year on her farm, which she began commercially on Martha's Vineyard in 2010. There are 125 seasonal recipes, 35 finished-dish photos, and 181 lifestyle photos. Her culinary storytelling evolves in the memoir style of trials, failures and triumphs. It should be noted that the recipes are not all vegetarian. It is arranged by season, from late spring to early fall. She concludes with four designs for garden or farm. Since the book is seasonally arranged, the two indexes are useful: by course, and by ingredient. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are no tables of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: for those looking to start their own veggie farm
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: summer veggie-palooza paella; greens, sausage and tortelloni soup; roasted parmesan-crusted cod with baby potatoes and bell peppers; corn-off-the-cob and yellow bean saute with bacon and herbs; molasses crinkle cookies.
The downside to this book: some of the memoirs run as continuous sidebars through the recipes, and can prove to be distracting.
The upside to this book: good marketing advice, good business plans.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.

Dean Tudor, Wine Writer, www.deantudor.com

 

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