Tomato: A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook

Tomato: A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook

Author: Lawrence Davis-Hollander

Publisher: Storey Publishing (2010)

When it comes to produce at it's prime, Summer means one thing and one thing only: tomatoes. It's hard to argue that anything tastes better than a fresh, sun-kissed beefsteak or handful of cherry tomatoes sliced onto toast, tossed with a simple salad or simply fresh off the vine. However, if you have ever grown tomato plants yourself, you know the inevitable glut that comes near the middle of August when you just can't think of another way to use them. Meeting this need for late-season (or any time) inspiration is Lawrence Davis-Hollander, founder of the Eastern Native Seed Conservancy and Director of Horticulture at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, with his latest book Tomato: A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook.

Tomato is packed with 150 recipes from all over the globe, including those from famous chefs like Massimo Capra (of Toronto's Mistura), Daniel Boulud and Rick Bayless. Every course is incorporated into the pages - sauces & salsas, starters, soups, salads, pizzas & sandwiches, vegetable mains, meat and fish mains, sides and even desserts like the strangely appetizing Candied-Tomato Tart with Five-Spiced Hazelnut Crust (p. 220). Davis-Hollander even includes a critical chapter of preserves (p. 227), with information on freezing, drying, juicing, pickling, canning and even confiting your harvest for the long winter ahead. Ideas for using your preserved (or storebought canned) tomatoes are also entwined with the book's recipe collection, from a Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Bread (p. 132) (which coincidentally goes wonderfully with the Green Tomatoes on Toast on the next page) to canned diced tomatoes in Tomato, Lentil and Almond Soup (p. 86) and the juice (of course) in the Bloody Bull (p. 65) and Spicy Tomato Cocktail (p. 66). A guide to saving tomato seeds to plant next year is also included on page 259.

Confit Tomatoes (p. 251)

Mouthwatering photography in this book is provided by Sabra Krock - I just wish there was more of it, and incorporated into the flow of the book itself. As a reader I look for photos accompanying the recipes, and while I appreciate the inclusion of photos at all, searching for an example of a stellar-sounding dish in only 8 pages is often a letdown.

The recipes in Tomato themselves are generally nothing short of spectacular - I have made the Confit Tomatoes (p. 251) three times this season, and packed some home-dried cherry tomatoes in olive oil (p. 250) for holiday gift giving. The beginning and end of the season (when the tomatoes in our backyard were not quite at their peak ripeness) saw impromptu half- and quarter-batches of the Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce (p. 20), which capitalized on the available sugars in the fruit but was too sweet for our palates. Luckily, modifying the acidity and salt is a simple technique for any cook, and when the basic recipe is as foolproof as this Market Kitchen offering I even ventured to roast the onions and garlic as well. This modification proved to be a great boon to the outcome, adding a slightly bitter edge to the candy-sweet tomatoes, and a kiss of lemon juice with a dash of salt rounded out the flavours.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce (p. 20)

For those less inclined to fire up the oven or stove who enjoy absorbing a wealth of food knowledge, Tomato is also filled with information on the crop's heirloom varieties (p. 253, as well as throughout), growing in containers (p. 7), choosing the best variety for the recipe (p. 9) and even the economics of the food and it's associated products. I loved reading the article "America's Love Affair with Tomatoes" (p. 69), where I learned that almost 22 pounds of fresh (and 72 pounds of processed) tomatoes are consumed per capita in the USA, but that China, not a western country, is the largest producer of them! For the truly tomato-crazy, Davis-Hollander shares some of the festivals around the USA, and for those interested in the chefs behind some of Tomato's recipes, biographies are included near their offerings.  "Top 10" lists of various foodie's favourite varieties also lace the book, which is a great resource when selecting a cultivar to plant or buy.

While the season in the northern hemisphere may be drawing to a close, the treats and information in Lawrence Davis-Hollander's book are timeless. Whether you are looking for a use-up for an over-productive garden, trying to jazz up a can from the store or searching for ideas as to what next year's crop will be, you'll find something of use. For tomato lovers (and those who cook for them) Tomato: A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook is an easy to savour addition to the culinary library.

Available on Amazon

The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow and Enjoy

The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow and Enjoy

Author: Charles W.G. Smith

Publisher: Storey Publishing (2010)

Borage (p. 29) Blossoms

My family is fortunate enough to have a large and varied backyard garden providing us with months of organic produce every year. From heirloom tomatoes, carrots and beets to my stepdad's favourite hot peppers and Romano beans, we run the growing gamut as it were - we even have a vineyard, strawberry patches, and both fig and Meyer lemon trees! When it comes to appreciating this bounty, we try to keep things as simple as possible, but after a while we fall into a rut with our flavour pairings. Sure, salt and freshly ground black pepper on still-warm tomatoes is fantastic, and hot peppers are wonderful on sandwiches and pizza, but fresh herbs have the ability to elevate even the most pedestrian, store bought items to new heights. While we often buy our herbs at the grocery store, they are easy and certainly more economical to grow at home - whether in the garden or in planters on the windowsill. What to choose for your kitchen herb garden, how to grow it and - most importantly - how to use it are the tenets of Charles WG Smith's book The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow and Enjoy.

Oregano (p. 107)

Smith's book is small and succinct in that it only contains 26 of the hundreds of culinary herbs available. However, this 143-page manual contains everything a gardener could need to know about those herbs, and the ones chosen for inclusion in Edible Herbs really are some of the most quintessential in classical European and North American cooking. The beautifully photographed images in this book lend assurance to the reader that they are buying the correct item once at the nursery, and I have brought this guide with me on occasion so that the staff could help me find a particular plant. This was incredibly helpful, especially in the case of herbs like calendula (p. 36), borage (p. 29), bee balm (p. 26) and the hyssops (pgs. 11, 80), since these plants are more often grown for their gorgeous blossoms than for their culinary applications. Some readers may even find that a flavour goldmine is sitting in their own backyards!

Catnip (p. 46) Leaves and Blossoms

Once the herbs for this season (at least) are chosen, Smith really begins his strongest work. If the reader is unsure about growing anything at all (I know several "black thumbs" out there), the introduction to Edible Herbs addresses the best places to plant in general, "companion" herbs and vegetables, preventing the common "herb sprawl" (with a clever little piece titled Beware the Garden Huns (p.3)) and general care and tending. There is even a handy "yield guide" (p. 6) to prevent the gung-ho gardener having to give away (or worse, throw out) armfuls of mint or lemon balm halfway through the season. I only wish I had read this book sooner, since with only two catnip plants I've been giving away tons of it, not to mention "doping up" our three cats almost every day! Each herb in the book is given it's own chapter, which is divided into "garden" and "kitchen" sections. The "In the Garden" sector covers seeding, final planting and harvesting techniques, as well as providing a simple-to-read chart of ideal soil and  light for that particular plant, as well as whether it is considered an annual or perennial.

Dried Calendula (p. 36) Petals

Once the bounty of herbs is harvested, the "In the Kitchen" component of each of Edible Herbs' chapters comes through, providing ideas as to just what to do with each part of the plant that is considered edible, flavour pairings to try, and general tips on usage. These tips are along the lines of when to add an herb to a dish for best flavour (beginning, midway through or as a finishing touch), if the herbs should be cooked with the other ingredients or only used raw, and whether it's best to choose a fresh or dried version in a recipe. After reading that calendula (p. 36) was considered a saffron substitute, I immediately bought three plants for my own herb garden with grand plans for paella. Unfortunately, the combination of unseasonably warm weather and our hungry backyard wildlife meant I only managed two harvests before they all perished or were eaten, but what I could save I dried, now I can't wait for my first batch of rice pilaf with "Canadian saffron".



Drying Calendula (p.36)



The thing I find confusing with this book is that the recipes and culinary guides are not always cohesive with the herb chapter they appear in. For instance, Making Herbal Vinegars (p.101) is nestled between Marjoram and Mint, yet neither of the two recipes offered contain either of those herbs. Also, while I don't expect complete innovation in terms of recipe suggestions, I did hope for something slightly more than a pizza (p. 110) for oregano and pickles for dill (p. 65). That said, the recipes themselves are good, solid formulae, and once our vegetables catch up I'm looking forward to enjoying the spicy-sweet Red Onion, Mango and Chile Salsa (p. 60) and bowls of the hearty Beta Soup (p. 25) well into the fall and winter.

A "Lemon" Variety of Thyme (p. 137)

For so few herbs included in the pages of Edible Herbs, the level of inspiration available to the reader is astounding. From budding gardeners to old pros in the dirt, kitchen newbies to seasoned gourmands, one of the twenty-six is likely to find a niche in your household. Some herbs may be completely foreign to your eye and palate, while others will be old favourites, but Charles W.G. Smith brings them all together in an accessible, approachable guidebook. With The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow and Enjoy, there is no excuse for not going green in your diet and your yard.  

Available on Amazon

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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