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By Emily, August 8, 2010 10:00 am

A couple weeks ago, I posted about my favorite recipe websites (still in love with Super Cook, by the way).  Of course, the alternative to the internet is the cookbook.  I don’t have a lot of cookbooks; I figure all the food blogs I read make up for it.  I do like cookbooks though and definitely wouldn’t turn one down.  Seems like every food blog on the internet was wondering about the best and most loved cookbooks this week.

My humble, but sufficient, cookbook collection:

I started thinking about cookbooks this week because Cheap Healthy Good’s “Ask the Internet” column asked what reader’s most useful cookbooks were.  As I’ve said here before, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is my go-to cook book, followed by The Victory Garden Cookbook, which they just re-released this past spring.  Don’t ask why we have 2 cocktail books, we’ve hardly used either of them.  Anyway, the here’s the summation of the responses to CHG’s question.  Mark Bittman came in second, as he should.

The editor of CNN’s Eatocracy answered a similar question, listing the 5 cookbooks that changed her life.  I’m intrigued by the fact that I’ve never heard of any of them.  Good Cheap Eats must have been feeling the cookbook vibe this week, because Jessica posted the 3 cookbooks she loves.

Over at No Meat Athlete, Matt and Christine have just published an e-cookbook,  Fuel Your Run the Tarahumara Way: 15 Chia and Pinole Recipes the Modern Athlete.  If you’re into marathons and superfoods, it might be worth looking into.  I’m just spreading the word because I think Matt and Christine are awesome…but I’m still not going to run 50 miles like he did.  Or 26.2.  Or 13.1.  You get the idea…

The Kitchn wants to know: what was the first cookbook you ever bought?  I think mine was The Classic 1000 Beginners Recipes.  It was in the bargain book department of the bookstore I worked in and I was headed off to my first year living in an apartment in college. I figured a cookbook would be helpful.  Honestly, I haven’t used it much.

Finally, on Serious Eats, Leslie Kelly writes about her “cookbook habit” and inability to get rid of any of her cookbooks.  Again, some good cookbooks to check out are listed in the comments.

Do you use cookbooks?  What’s your favorite?

(Almost) Every Sunday, I choose a theme and highlight blog posts, websites and news articles from my Google Reader which I found interesting (and hope you do too!) If you want more reading, check out “What I’m Reading” on my sidebar.  And don’t forget to add Relishments to your reader or like Relishments on Facebook!

That said, there will be no Highlights next week, because I’ll still be in Chicago hanging out with tons of awesome bloggers!

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By Emily, June 17, 2010 9:09 pm

Last night I had the exciting opportunity to listen to farmer and author Ben Hewitt speak.  Ben is the author of The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. After all the press the book’s been getting (see below), I was surprised he was coming to the Berkshires.  I was also thrilled.  The turn out was really great, as it has been at all the northern Berkshire food events I’ve attended.

Ben’s book, which I haven’t actually read yet, is about Hardwick, Vermont.  Hardwick, down on it’s luck, is undergoing a bit of a rejuvenation centered around the creation and growth of “agri-preneurial” businesses (as in, agriculturally based entrepreneurial).   I sat there like a dork, taking notes.  Something about being in the presence of a published author always brings out the nerd in me.  Ben read 2 passages from his book, then fielded questions from the audience.

Ben noted (reading from the book and quoting one of the characters), that “We can export a lot of things but I think our main gift will be inspiration”. The goal of the book is not to serve as a blueprint for other communities, but to inspire them to create their own healthy food system that works for them.  Hardwick isn’t perfect and still has a long way to go, but jobs have been created and the downtown area is coming back to life.

The discussion that followed the reading made clear one of Ben’s points: the local food movement (and food movements in general) are tricky things; “its easy to get caught up in the excitement about what’s happening, but some people feel threatened by it”.  Farms are businesses and it’s difficult to maintain the line between good business practices, helping the community and making a good profit.  I often oversimplify the issues (“it’d be great if we all ate local!”) and forget the many aspects of food systems.  It was so good to be in a room full of people who, regardless of their individual ideals, want to improve things.  I was reminded, once again, of how strange it is that the products we are most price sensitive to are the things that we need most (food, milk, gasoline); why is it that I’m still so willing to buy cheap food when I know what the real cost is?

Final thought of encouragement from Ben: the closer we can bring people to the soil, the more resilient and sustainable our food system will be.  Clearly, the system we have now has a lot of issues.  It was so good to be reminded again that we all vote with our dollars and have the ability to cause change.  The event organizers promised that the discussion of how local food could change the Berkshires will continue and I’m very much looking forward to it.

I’m also looking forward to school being out for the summer tomorrow so I can read the book.

The Town that Food Saved coverage:

Serious Reads: The Town That Food Saved, by Ben Hewitt (Serious Eats)

Podcast: A close look at the “town that food saved” (Grist)

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By Emily, February 16, 2010 10:17 am

As I mentioned on Saturday, Brian and I are pretty low-key in the V-Day department.  Plus we’re on break from school this week, so our travel plans interfered with celebrating on the big day itself.  So, we “celebrated” our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple last week.

For my part, I offered to make Brian the meal or baked good of his choosing.
Brian told me he bought me something off of my Amazon wish list.

That’s the normal part.  Here comes the irony.

Brian’s request: Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, carrots cooked in butter and dill and biscuits.

My book:

Confession #2: I’ve never actually read any of Michael Pollan’s books.  But I’ve read enough articles and watched enough interviews to know that I agree with him.  My plan is to spend the rest of my school break reading In Defense of Food.

So, did we “Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.”? (That’s Pollan’s basic guideline)  Well…we ate food…probably too much…not many plants…but it was really yummy and we enjoyed ourselves.

And I’m really excited about reading my book.

Don’t forget, you have until Thursday to enter my Frozen Smoothie and Blender Giveaway!

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By Emily, October 16, 2009 5:30 pm

I was really excited a couple months ago when I realized Mark Bittman had a new cookbook out.  As frequent readers can attest, I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with Mr. Bittman.  Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating had a big impact in changing the way I eat and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is my go-to cookbook.  One day my mother called me from work to tell me that Mark Bittman was on a morning news show–and we don’t even have television!  Needless to say, I got my hands on a library copy (always try before you buy!) as soon as I could.

Bittman’s latest offering,  Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, didn’t disappoint me.  Kitchen Express is unlike any cookbook I’ve ever used before (not that I’m an expert)–the recipes are meant to be “precisely imprecise” and are about “speed, flexibility and relaxation”.  With the assumption that the reader has some skill in the kitchen, you’ll be eating “twenty minutes later, max”.  The book’s seasonally arranged 404 recipes provide ideas for every meal of the day, including dessert, and feature many different ingredients and proteins.  Some of the recipes are for popular dishes (burgers, chicken piccatta, fish tacos, gazpacho, etc) and others are combinations I never would have thought of (Squid Salad with Red Pepper and Cilantro, Crisp Fennel Gratin, Moroccan Lamb Chops with Couscous, Apple Cider and White Wine Slushy)

Recipes, some as short as three lines, are written as paragraphs.  They often have no measurements listed, simply “a handful”, “a bunch” or “several”.  At first, this took a bit of getting used to.  As I’ve mentioned, I like really specific instructions when I cook.  But having some flexibility to make the dishes my own added to the fun and lowered the stress of “doing it right”.

Brian and I tried four recipes from Kitchen Express.  The dishes I chose were pretty basic and “comfort food-y,” but the book definitely contains items that are more unique.

Fall #11: Curried Coconut-Butternut Squash Soup

Fall #98: Brown Sugar Apple in the Microwave (no photo)

Winter #60: Chicken with Apples and Sage

Fall #84: Penne with Vodka Sauce

I was really pleased with all of the recipes we tried.  They were, as promised, simple and delicious.  Some took me longer than 20 minutes to make, but I’m willing to make allowances for the time it took me to dice my first butternut squash and peel, core and slice 2 apples (my knife skills are horrible).  I, surprisingly, found the lack of specific instructions liberating.  Without a “real recipe” in front of me, I felt comfortable adding additional spices or adjusting the amounts.  Hopefully, that sort of approach will transfer to my everyday cooking.

I highly recommend Kitchen Express for the intermediate cook who is looking for a cookbook of varied recipes that are great they way they are, but also ripe for innovation.  I’ve added it to my wishlist.

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By Emily, August 25, 2009 10:04 am

Welcome to the newly improved Relishments…where cooking actually happens! Today will hopefully be the first of many recipes and recipe reviews to follow.

In an effort to find new vegetarian recipes to try out, I picked up my husband’s (and I guess now my) copy of The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash. The book is really useful because each chapter covers a different type of vegetable (everything from asparagus to turnips) and provides a wealth of background information about it ncluding yields, storage and hints.  And of course, there are recipes, centered around the vegetables.  I don’t know how I spent 6 weeks living with Brian without opening this cookbook.  It’s definitely going to be a go-to in my kitchen.

I decided to try making “Red, White and Blue-Black Eggplant”, based on the appetizing photo and the fact that I really like all of the ingredients.  By the time I was finished cooking, I’d made several alterations.

Striped Eggplant, Tomato and Cheese (serves 4)

You’ll need:
1 medium eggplant
Salt
2 medium tomatoes, sliced thin
10 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices
olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 tsp dried basil

1. Wash the eggplant.  I peeled mine per Brian’s request, but the original recipe leaves the skin on, hence the “black-blue” in the original title.  Cut the eggplant into slices about 2″ by 4″ by 1/2″ (this can be done by cutting the eggplant in half widthwise and slicing from there.  Mine were pretty randomly sized, actually)
2. Salt the eggplant (this is exactly what it sounds like: sprinkle salt on the eggplant.  Don’t be embarassed, I had to look it up too).  Place the eggplant in a colander for about half an hour.  This removes the excess liquid from the eggplant.
3. Preheat oven to 375°.
4. Saute the onions in 2 tablespoons of oil for 7-10 minutes, until the onions are soft, but not brown.  Place them on a plate.
5. Use paper towels to pat the eggplant dry.  Brown the eggplant in oil several pieces at a time using the pan from the onions.
6. Lightly oil a 8×8 baking dish.  Put half the onions and 1 tsp dried basil on the bottom of the dish.
   



7. Layer the eggplant, tomato and cheese slices vertically in the pan, creating visible stripes.
   



8. When the dish is full (and hopefully you’re out of ingredients), cover the stripes with the remainder of the onions and basil.

   



9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
   

Review:

This recipe was a little less simple to make than I expected.  Besides the fact that the original recipe left me with a tomato and a half too much, it also seemed to require more dishes than should be necessary to create what is actually a pretty simple dish. It’s also a little messy to serve:

The end result was less pretty than the picture in the book (big surprise, I know) but tasted really good.  It was a mess to serve and at first it appeared that there was a lot of liquid in the bottom of the dish.  However, by the time we’d eaten the entire dish, the amount of juice it seemed more reasonable.  The cheese and basil really helped make the dish for me and the amount of baking time left the eggplant super soft.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that I’m satisfied for a while after just one meal, but I’d certainly make it again.  This is a handy recipe to make for a group, just double the ingredients and use a 9×12 or larger pan.

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By Emily, August 4, 2009 5:08 pm

Clearly getting married and then getting settled into my new life has kept me busy, because I was totally unaware that Mark Bittman published a new cookbook early last month! (Thank goodness for Facebook!)

The book, Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, has 101 recipes for each season and according to the review they’re “delicious”, “sophisticated” and “simple”.  Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about this discovery.  I’m definitely seeing if I can get it from the library soon…though I’m pretty sure I’ll end up owning it.

Just when I thought my Mark Bittman obsession was fading…

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By Emily, May 27, 2009 9:30 pm

Posting’s been thin lately, but I have a good excuse (I think).  My sister and I were on vacation in Quebec City.

If you’ve never been (and we hadn’t), I highly suggest you go.  We had a wonderful time shopping, going to the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec, walking through The National Battlefields Park, and, of course, eating.

I’m sure Quebec isn’t the end all, be all of fine cusine, but I took my mini-vacation seriously and ate whatever I wanted, not necesarily in terms of quanity-we stuck to 3 meals a day, and relatively cheap ones because we’re like that- but I ordered whatever I felt like off the menu, vegetarian or not.  We were only there for 3 days and it was vacation after all.  Everything we ate was delicious (who doesn’t love crepes?), and despite our lack of ability to speak French, the waitstaff in all the restaurants we tried were accomodating and helpful.

We finished up our wonderful trip to Canada by stopping at the Empire Grill in Skowhegan, Maine on our way home.  For those unfamiliar with the novel Empire Falls by Richard Russo, the Empire Grill is the restaurant owned by the main character.  The Empire Grill in Skowhegan was used as the site for the filming of the HBO miniseries based on the book which starred Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Newman, after which time the restaurant kept the Empire Grill name.  Empire Falls is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, so stopping at the Grill was a “must do”.  The restaurant far exceeded my expectations.  The portions were huge (I think they served my sister an entire fish with her fish and chips), the prices reasonable and the food delicious.  Even if you don’t care about Empire Falls (though you really, really should!), the Empire Grill is the perfect place to eat if you ever find yourself in Skowhegan.

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By Emily, April 12, 2009 11:17 am

It took me longer than it should’ve (I need to work on making reading a priority), but I finally finished reading The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner. It was certainly one of the most educational books I’ve read on my venture towards eating better.

The book’s goal is to educate ordinary people (such as myself) about easy ways to eat less meat and be healthier. It contained tons of helpful information, such as the number of various types of nuts in an ounce (eating 1 oz of nuts five days a week has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease by 30%, p. 30), a good list of umami foods (p. 32), a list of what fruits and vegetables are available during each season (p. 38) and a chart of grain cooking times (p. 44).  Surely this information can be found elsewhere, but its wonderful to have it explained clearly in one book.

The Flexitarian Diet also contains 100 recipes. Now, if we’re being honest, some of the recipes aren’t “recipes” as much as they’re guidelines for what is healthy eating, but I appreciated being reminded of healthy, simple snacks such as baked pita chips and peanut butter on celery, and the actual recipes are appetizing and simple.  I would add, however, that the two recipes I have made from the book resulted in much more food than expected (each recipe is supposed to make 1 serving).   Double (or more) the recipes with caution, or you’ll end up with more food than you may want.

All the information was a bit overwhelming at times and I had to remind myself that it’s acceptable to make one or two changes to my diet at a time.  It’s not necessary to do everything Blatner recommends overnight. One of the most important lifestyle changes I made immediately was trying to only eat grains with “whole wheat” as the first ingredient (processed grains lack 25% of the grain’s protein and 15 of the key nutrients, p. 43).

This is not a cookbook for foodies, but if you’re a new flexitarian (or vegetarian) its a great resource for eating nutritiously and cooking simply.  I found it very useful in trying to make meat-free meals that have high nutritional value.

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By Emily, April 5, 2009 8:00 am

Yesterday I finally got around to making Lime Sugar Cookies with Pumpkin Seeds from the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook.  I borrowed the cookbook from the library months ago, and the cookies were one of the few things that really intrigued me at the time.  I found them both easy to make and delicious.

Generally speaking, cooking is still not something that comes naturally to me, at least creatively.  I never would’ve thought of these cookies on my own.  It’s just occurred to me, however, that it’s just a sugar cookie recipe with lime zest, lime juice and rough chopped pumpkin seeds (pepitas).  I really should work on coming up with these sorts of ideas myself.

Anyway, I highly reccommend them, and the cookbook, which probably deserves another look from me.  Everyone in my family is eating these cookies, which really says something.

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By Emily, March 25, 2009 3:00 am

The Garden:
@matthewharris tweeted this great map of the White House garden this morning. Impressive.  Someday I would like to have a garden of my own, but I suspect it will be on a smaller scale.

Bill Niman and Nicolette Hahn Niman of The Atlantic agree that the new garden is great, but would like to see it taken one step further. Should the Obamas add a flock of chickens to their garden?

Books:
Another cookbook aimed at flexitarians like me was just published this month. Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond was mentioned in the New York Times, along with three of the book’s recipes.  Definitely adding it to my “to read” list.

That reminds me, I have The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner sitting at home.  At first glance (which is really all I’ve given it) the book seems a little overwhelming and features too many specific plans for my taste (I’d rather just have a cookbook), but I’ll give it another look and let you know what I think.

All this talk about cookbooks reminds me that I really need to get back in the kitchen.  I’m not sure where I’ve been spending all my time the past few weeks, but it certainly hasn’t been cooking.  However, my lunches are becoming increasingly depressing and I’m ready to try making some new stuff.  One thing I know, I’m making another version of the granola bars.  Food shopping after school, we’ll see what comes out of that!