Review: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market

Fresh From the Farmer’s Market

By Janet Fletcher

Reviewed by Chris Garbutt

It’s been a slow year for farmer’s markets for me, which is sad, because I’m as crazy about farmer’s markets as any downtown foodie. (Hey, I grew up in rural Southern Ontario, a town which had its own stockyards and vegetable stands  every Saturday, so I come by this love of markets honestly.) But for some reason, I just didn’t incorporate the markets into my routine.

Maybe it was the fact that the one on my way home was located next to an outdoor rink that doubled as a garbage dump during the municipal strike. Still, I was pretty loyal to my favourite grocery store, called Fresh From the Farm, which is just as good.

Janet Fletcher’s Fresh From the Farmer’s Market is all about how to make those markets a regular part of your life. It’s divided seasonally, with recipes based on the ingredients of the moment. Of course, since it’s an American book, you can’t always translate those seasons up here: the winter farmer’s market in most of Canada won’t have much fresh that didn’t grow in a barn or a greenhouse. Citrus and cabbage in winter? Yeah, that’s gonna be coming from south of the border.

It being autumn and all, we tried a seasonal dish – butternut squash risotto with white truffle oil. The squash came from Fresh from the Farm, but I got the arborio rice from Organic Abundance around the corner and the truffle oil* at a nearby Italian shop that sells olive oil, balsamic vinegar and premade pasta dishes. Not exactly a farmer’s market extravaganza, but still a seasonal delight.

And a delight it was. Though I overcooked the squash a little, and the constant stirring gave me cramps in my upper arm, the  final product was worth it. Next stop: winter. Something with citrus and cabbage, I’m sure.

* The first place I went to offered a truffle oil bottle for $51. A little out of my price range. The bottle I settled on was a mere $18.

 

 

UPDATE: Here’s a similar recipe with less stirring and actual truffles!

Review: Fresh Food Fast

Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast: 5 ingredient, 15 minute recipes

Edited by Mary Kay Culpepper

Review by Chris Garbutt

My wife and I have a new game  – I pick a cookbook, and I have to cook any recipe she chooses from it. When I gave her Fresh Food Fast, she had her work cut out for her. There are more than 250 recipes, which all look easy and delicious.

So, would it be the Turkey Burgers with Cranberry-Peach Chutney? Or the Scallops in Buttery Wine Sauce? Pork Medallions with Spicy Pomegranate-Blueberry Reduction?

Wait a minute. I didn’t notice that one before. That last recipe has both of our favourite fruits (pomegranates – hers, blueberries – mine). Well, some other time.

My wife settled on the Halibut with Quick Lemon Pesto, served with Grilled Zucchini and Red Bell Pepper with Corn. Our fish place didn’t have halibut, though, so we went with black cod. And we had run out of propane so our grill pan had to replace the barbecue. This was a quick and tasty meal, served on a weeknight, with little cleanup. My kind of meal.

I will say that very few of these recipes have the titular five ingredients (most have eight or nine). And some of the “ingredients” feel a little like cheating – calling for Parmesan and roasted garlic dressing “such as Newman’s own” doesn’t seem fair. I mean who just happens to have that exact kind of dressing in their fridge?

On top of that, I suggest that you never believe a cookbook that offers you 15-minute recipes, unless the instructions end with “remove from microwave.”

Still, our meal, while not ready in 15, was still on the table in less than a half-hour, and I can’t argue with the taste. Fresh food fast, indeed. This one is destined to be a regular on the kitchen shelf.

Review – Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea

Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea

By Alice Waters

Review by Chris Garbutt

Those who know about Alice Waters are familiar with her celebrity. Chez Panisse, her restaurant in Berkeley, California, is one of the most famous in America. The restaurant was started in the sixties, based on the idea of making good French food with local ingredients. She’s an advocate for local eating, and the author of eight cookbooks, including The Art of Simple Food, which sits on the prime cookbook shelf in my kitchen.

What you might not know is that before becoming a chef and foodie hero, Waters was a Montessori schoolteacher. About 15 years ago, she brought together these two careers, which is what Edible Schoolyard is about.

Waters and some dedicated staff at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley decided that it was time for the crumbling facility to be rehabilitated. The school sat on a relatively large piece of land, much of it covered by concrete. The concrete was torn up to make way for a garden, which grew year by year, and was supplemented by a renovated outbuilding that became the school’s kitchen classroom. Students were given the responsibility, for credit, for tending the garden and cooking the fruits (and vegetables) of their labour.

“It’s a way of making sure that children grow up feeling the soil with their own fingers, harvesting the bounty in the American sunshine, and watching their own hands make the kind of beautiful, inexpensive food that can nourish the body and the spirit,” Waters writes.

I’m not sure what the book is trying to be, exactly. The text is pretty thin, though the story is pretty inspiring. There are pictures of the kids working the garden, and cooking in the kitchen. There are a few recipes – cucumber-lime cooler, carrot-raisin salad, spring vegetable ragout, bread salad, red bean stew and potato smash with kale (that’s all of them). There are also images of the children’s reflections on their experience eating, which even for a food-lover like myself, provide a stark reminder of how out of touch we can be with where our food comes from. These notes are moving in their transformative power.

But at 80 pages, I was left wanting more. More stories, more recipes, or more photographs. It feels like a coffee-table book, but it’s not big enough to display. Waters has moved me here, but not quite enough for a prized place on my bookshelf.

Monday Review: Sunday Soup

Sunday Soup: A Year’s Worth of Mouthwatering, Easy-to-Make Recipes by Betty Rosbottom

By Stephanie Dickison

One of my favourite things about Fall and Winter is making soup on Sundays.

I started this tradition many, many years ago.  I don’t know what kicked it off, but it remains a big part of my weekend.

The thing is, that my repertoire is really small.  I can make some amazing soups, but only a limited few.  And as the winter drags on, I start to crave more variety.

That’s why I am besotted with Sunday Soup.  It has seasonal soups with a reasonable amount of ingredients that are easy to prepare and yet, they are simply sublime – and much better than anything I could come up with on my own!

There are many reasons to love this book:

1.  This is one of the few cookbooks, soup cookbooks no less, that actually says it’s okay to use store-bought broth!  I know!  How incredible is that?  I know my lovely Co-Editor Chris will be flabbergasted that people do such things when making it from scratch is so easy, but I am one of those folks at the supermarket with a cart full of veggies, meat and a few tetras of broth.  Please don’t hold that against me…  And I am grateful to the authors for their Shortcut Chicken or Beefstock Recipe that gives life to store-bought broth.  This makes me feel a little better about not being as authentic as others.

2. The photos are enough to start your saliva glands go into overtime.  I dare you to look at the photos and not crave a big steaming bowl of homemade soup!

3.  The simplicity of the ingredients and the recipes means that you can make one or two soups in an afternoon or evening and have enough to eat through the week.  This means, more time doing what you want to do instead of hovering over complicated recipes, trying to figure out how to deglaze a pan or braise leeks.

4.  Unlike most soup cookbooks, Rosbottom has given thought to what we eat with our soup and included a vibrant selection of salads, toasts and sandwiches.  What a fantastic idea!

5.  The combinations selected for each season are intoxicating.  Take a look:

FALL - “Cool Nights” Chili with Chicken, Corn, and Chipotles; Fall Brodo with Acorn Squash, Swiss Chard, and Bacon; Wild Mushroom Melange; Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Walnuts and Rosemary; French Lentil Soup with Garlic Sausage

WINTER – White Bean Soup with Chorizo and Kale; Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Prosciutto and Parmesan; Cream of Chicken and Fennel Soup; Ribollita – The Tuscan Minestrone; Celery Bisque with Stilton Toasts; Tomato, Dill and White Cheddar Soup

SPRING – Cream of Parsley Soup; Carrot Soup Scented with Sesame and Chives; Spring Risotto Soup; “Just Greens” Soup; Emily’s Springtime Salmon Chowder; Watercress Soup with Pan-Seared Scallops; Thai-Style Lemongress Soup with Shrimp

SUMMER -Avocado Soup with Fresh Tomato Salsa; Icy Cucumber Soup with Smoked Salmon and Dill; Victorine’s Gazpacho; Cold Curry Creams; Chilled Melon Soup – Two Ways; Zucchini Vichyssoise; Summer Squash Minestrone with Pistou.

Mmmm!

And guess what I did yesterday?  Yep, I made soup for my fella and I – and not my usual Curried Butternut Squash Soup or Minestrone.  And now we’ve got exciting lunches or dinners for throughout the week as well.

I am so inspired by these delectable dishes that now I want new big and deep soup bowls to enjoy them in!

Monday Review: He Said Beer She Said Wine

He Said Beer She Said Wine by Marnie Old & Sam Calagione -DK Books

By Stephanie Dickison

If you are looking for a fun, offbeat foodie present this holiday season, this book certainly fits the bill.

He Said Beer, She Said Wine guides you on pairing all types of foods with beer and wine – something that will come in handy with all those hosting gigs you’ve got coming up these next few weeks.

Marnie Old, an esteemed sommelier, and Sam Calagione, owner of the renowned craft brewery DogFishHead are the experts, but they let you know what to look for in simple, easy to understand language.  This means that you’ll be able to not only learn the guidelines, but you’ll be able to navigate the wine and beer landscape on your own soon enough!  They also make sure that the book comes across as a fun guide for beginners and not a heavy-handed serious tome for seasoned oenophiles.  Marnie and Sam introduce themselves and give you their philosophies in a very lighthearted fashion, with step-by-step instructions.

There is a beer primer, wine primer, pairing each with different foods such as cheese, vegetables, poultry and desserts.  But my favourite part is the last one – The Great Debate at Home.  This is where they give instructions on hosting your own beer versus wine party and have the most wonderful recipes for you to make at home and have a photograph and description of both a wine and a beer that pairs beautifully with the dish.

For the parties that we are having this season, I’m going to make the Fig Compote & Red Onion Confit, Vegtable Samosas and Merluza Salsa Verde (or Cod with Green Sauce).

And now thanks to this book, I’ll be able to pair them beautifully.

And just think about how much fun that will be – and how many different wines and beers you’ll get to try along the way!

It’s the best kind of homework, wouldn’t you say?

Monday Review: Salad Days

Salad Days fromThe Australian Women’s Weekly

By Stephanie Dickison

I know that many food outlets and publications will be focusing on comfort food cookbooks at this time of year, but I am still craving salads – almost as much as during summer months.  And there are heartier, bolder salads that are just as suitable in winter months, so I thought I’d share this book with you.

First of all, the photography and layout is gorgeous.  It has the clean Donna Hay look that so many British and Australian magazines and books have.

Secondly, the salads are to die for – there are starters, sides, mains and dressings, along with a glossary and conversion chart.  There are 100 recipes that have been tripled tested, which means that you can make these quickly before an event or party and know that it will turn out just right.

This week I’m going to make a number of the starter salads: Crab and Green Papaya, Avocado and Prawn, Fennel and Ruby Red Grapefruit.  At this time of year, along with wanting the creamy comfort of shepherd’s pie, mashed potatoes and roast chicken, I also want piquant, sour and fresh tastes that bring my tastebuds alive.

These ought to do it.

The best thing about this cookbook, along with the variety of salads that it offers, is that each salad’s ingredients are pretty minimal, yet the recipes are quite decadent, restaurant-quality.  So I can make the Beetroot Salad  with Honey Balsamic Lamb without feeling intimidated or beyond my limits.

This is one of those cookbooks that you go back to time and time again no matter what time of year.

I’m off to make tonight’s dinner – Thai Beef Salad with Chili and Lime.

I can’t wait!

Buy My Book – The 30 Second Commute: A Non-Fiction Comedy About Writing and Working From Home!

I have written a book about my career as a pop culture, book and restaurant critic. It will be available in just a few months – February 2009 – but you can reserve a copy for you (and everyone you know!) RIGHT NOW!

Many thanks for your support!

Warmest wishes,

Stephanie Dickison

Monday Review: Food 2.0

Food 2.0: Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google by Charlie Ayers, DK Publishing

By Stephanie Dickison

The basis behind Charlie’s cooking at Google was, he says “I want to help people eat better.”

When he was hired at Google back in ‘99, it was to create food that would energize people, stimulate them and introduce healthy, organic and sustainably-sourced food into their diets.

That’s quite a lofty list – trying to persuade programmers and computer folk to eat well AND eat local.

But Charlie made over the office cafeteria into a feast for the eyes and stomach, all the while serving healthy food, including at least 2 raw salads a day.  He says that “You can save time and enzymes by eating raw foods,” and offers 5 easy ways to go raw.

In Food 2.0, Charlie lays out what every cook should have in their pantry, with fun and interesting options.

In fact, the book is laden with helpful hints and tips, whether you are a cook just starting out or an avid foodie who never leaves the kitchen.  The whole first half of the book is actually just information – what condiments to stock, how to freeze meats and broths, and why you want to invest in a rice cooker.

The second half is all recipes, which is what I am most excited about.

And in keeping with the pro-health lifestyle that Charlie writes about, the recipes begin with yogurt, smoothies and fresh juices and shakes.  The Wake-Up Shake-Me-Up Power Shake with black tea, rice milk, honey and strawberries?  Now that’s how I want to start my day!

And for lunch, I’m going to make his Dragon Breath Noodles with fresh egg noodles, peanut butter and chili flakes!  Don’t worry, I’ve got gum for afterwards…  And then there’s the Apple and Brie Quesadillas, Seattle Jim’s Pea Salad and Silicon Valley Split Pea Soup.  This is what lunch should be like every day – fresh, invigorating and yet so very healthy.

The dinner options are just as exciting – Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce, Snapper in a Yogurt Coat and Filet Mignon with Crisp Bacon, Seared Polenta and Wilted Spinach Salad.

I am not afraid to say that there are bits of drool on some of these here pages now.  I was trying to decide what to make for dinner.  I think it’s down to the Wild Salmon and Warm Beet Salad, but it’s still early.  I may yet go with Spinach Latkes and a salad or start all over again.  The photos and layout make it completely enjoyable to flip through over and over.

For some reason, maybe because he worked at Google and that says to me big corporation and lots of computers, I was expected a very different book – a more straight-ahead cookbook of standard recipes (read: boring and expected).

But this is a lively, very of the moment book with a lighthearted, yet easy-to-follow guide of fresh recipes that are good for you and lots of advice that may just change the way you cook – and the way you eat.

This is a great gift for the upcoming holidays.  And you might just want to go ahead and order yourself a copy while you’re at it…

Monday Review – How to Cook Everything & Bon Appetit’s Fast Easy Fresh

How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food, 2nd Edition by Mark Bittman & The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh: 1,100 Quick Dishes for Everynight Cooking by Barbara Fairchild

By Stephanie Dickison

They arrived at my doorstep with a big enough thud that the cat and I both jumped.  A big box containing two looming cookbooks meant that I was going to have to rearrange the bookshelves -again.  These were the mightiest cookbooks I’d ever seen outside of my lovely food and cooking encyclopedias that I cherish so deeply.

The one good thing about their size and weight is that really, if you are just starting out or are looking for big, basic cookbooks to cover a little bit of everything, these have got it.  All of it.

And while I know a lot of you have your own go-to cookbook like The Joy of Cooking, I’m highly recommending these.

They are so vast in knowledge and so easy to use and follow that really, no kitchen should be without them.

Here are my thoughts on each one:

A little while ago, I told you how much I loved Mark Bittman’s Recipe Cards.  Well, the book, How to Cook Everything, 2nd Edition, just knocked my socks off.  Really.  I mean, it’s got everything: illustrations that you can follow along with, like tying meat or preparing tomatoes.  Easy-to-make recipes that are neither tired or repetitive (unlike my roster of dishes).

And here’s the best testimonial of all – On Saturday night, I stopped by the grocery store to get meat.  I had been to 2 others, but hadn’t seen anything of excitement.  However, at my third stop, I came across a fairly good sized beef tenderloin roast for $5.86.  Now, I had only ever made 2 roasts before this, so it’s not something I usually get, but it was so inexpensive and beautiful that I couldn’t resist.  However, I had no idea how to cook it.

That is, until I got home and turned to page 735, where the Roast Tenderloin with Herbs recipe awaited me.  I marinated the meat for only an hour as my Mom had stopped by for a visit.  It turns out neither Mom, me or my fella have roast beef outside of weddings and funerals, so I felt a little pressure for it to turn out well.

The recipe was an easy mixture of oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs and the only thing I had to do was check the meat with a thermometer after 20 minutes.

Folks, while it is not the best roast I’ve ever had, it was absolutely wonderful.  And I truly couldn’t have possibly done it without this book.  Later this week I’m going to tackle 22 Picnic-Perfect Salads and How to Season Simply Cooked Seafood.

This is my new cooking bible and yes, you can borrow it anytime…

The title, The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh: 1,100 Quick Dishes for Everynight Cooking says it all, doesn’t it?  It’s from Bon Appetit, so you know it’s trustworthy (and probably anything you make from this will be better than if you’d gone it alone) and it’s all about making quick and easy dinners, which let’s face it, at the end of the workday, can be one of the most challenging meals to make and make well.

I mean, I would never in a million years think to make Crabmeat, Corn and Cumin Salad in Endive Spears, but doesn’t that sound absolutely lovely?  And what about Oaxacan Chicken Mole?  That sounds much better than the usual roast chicken breasts that I make!

My favourite thing about this cookbook is the recipes never include more than a handful of ingredients and instructions, so I can actually make pretty fancy fare in a short amount of time, which is really what I strive for most every night I cook.  And now thanks to this cookbook, I can actually rev up my own standbys.  So instead of my usual steamed spinach, I’m going to make Pesto Creamed Spinach and instead of my usual orzo, I’m pumping it up to Carrot Orzo.  Sure, they are simple changes, but I find that these suggestions and ideas really get me out of my usual cooking rut and go-to items.  It helps keep things exciting in the kitchen and I remain excited about cooking and making dinner every night, which I’m sure you know can be a challenge at times!

I am so excited by all of the new possibilities that I’m off to get some ingredients for dinner tonight!

These are the best books and really, a must have for anyone who spends anytime at all at the stove.  And hey, they’ll make the very best presents this holiday season.  I mean, there are recipes in each of these to please everyone!

Monday Review: Dinner at Your Door

Dinner at Your Door: Tips and recipes for Starting a Neighbourhood Cooking Co-Op by Alex Davis, Diana Ellis and Andy Remeis. Gibbs-Smith

By Stephanie Dickison

In these tight economic times, I think that preparing meals at home and sharing meals with friends, family and neighbours will become a part of our routine, just as more people will take transit, stay in to watch movies and generally cut back where they can.

But that doesn’t mean that it has to feel like a sacrifice.  In fact, I think that this getting back to sharing meals and stories around the table is a good thing!

So when I received Dinner at Your Door, I thought – this is absolutely the perfect time for this!

The premise of the book is this:

“We love to cook. But every night? No way! On the other hand, we don’t want to eat out or have frozen pizza. On the nights we don’t cook, we want something delicious-a balanced meal with quality ingredients. Come to think of it, what we really want are home-cooked meals made by somebody else and delivered!
Welcome to co-op cooking, possibly the best idea since Pyrex with a lid. With the plan set up by Dinner at the Door, you cook one fabulous dinner a week and have two or three equally sensational meals delivered to your door, hot and ready to eat. If you love to cook but the pressure of doing it every night gets you down, a dinner co-op is for you. Instead of slamming together three or four 30-minute dinners a week, you can take your time crafting one superb weeknight meal and enjoy receiving the other meals automatically.”

So basically, you and a group of friends, family members and neighbours – anyone who lives in a close proximity – sets up a dinner co-op where you all cook and share the food that you make.  And it’s pretty easy when you think about how much effort it is to cook for two – think about how little extra it is to cook for say 6!

And the benefits of setting up a co-op are plentiful – you get to try new foods, dishes and ingredients, you get exposed to new ideas and presentations and you get a couple of nights off to spend with the kids or read that book for your book club or whatever it is that you want to do, but can never find the time for.

This book goes through everything you need to know – questions to ask yourselves and others before becoming involved, what to do when someone leaves the group, options on delivering the food and forms and worksheets to use.  It really is the bible of setting up a neighbourhood cooking co-op!

But what I like most about the book is how approachable everything is.  Normally, I would have never considered doing such a thing, but the damn book makes it seem like you’d be crazy not to – after all, these are the few steps you need to take! I really think that this book could not only change the way we eat and cook, but our lives.

And the recipes – oh my God, the recipes!  Not only do I want to make these dishes, but I can’t wait to share them with friends and neighbours!  Check out the first recipe – Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Chile Maple Pecans.  I am making that this weekend for sure!  And there’s:

Spinach & Edamame Soup with a Touch of Cream

Salmon with Fresh Strawberry Relish

Hunter Chicken with Artichoke Hearts

Cobb Sandwich on Fresh Bakery Bread

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Orange Chipotle Glaze

The photos are tremendous and the book is laid out so really all you need to do, is follow their guidelines.

I’m off to write cards to friends and neighbours to kick off my own neighbourhood co-op.  Thanks to this amazing book, I actually feel like I can do this!

I’m so excited!