Cookbooks are about journeys, and I don’t just mean the vicarious trips we’ve been taking over the pandemic by cooking recipes from far-off places. Here, I’m referring to the personal journeys that some authors offer in their books. Such as the journey Shahir Massoud takes in his cookbook, Eat, Habibi, Eat! . Massoud’s journey goes from being a Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Eat, Habibi, Eat!”
Even though my husband and I were vegetarians long before my daughter was born, I really didn’t give much thought to what we ate. We were both working outside the home, so most meals were pasta-based, with lots of cheese and a side of bread. Whatever was quick and inexpensive, but between us, Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Occasionally Eggs”
It is very funny to be back here, again. This time last year, the world was drifting through the first wave of the COVID pandemic. While people flocked to their kitchens to develop their skills and repertoire of recipes, I think, and I’ll speak for many when I say this: in our kitchens we found comfort and solace in both the familiar dishes that were well-loved in the “before times” as well as the prospect of learning new recipes that might carry us through. As the lockdowns relaxed, people carried on and, while it still seemed the same, everything had changed. Fast forward through a year and Nova Scotia has entered its third wave, and I’m trying to find more recipes to feed my family. Ones that we can enjoy together, ones that might carry us through.
A good cookbook offers an invitation in which home cooks are asked to try recipes and immerse themselves in the scents and flavours of someone else’s food, stories, and traditions. I’m sure it could go without saying — food is deeply personal and, cookbooks which are rooted in personal experiences tend to be Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: My Shanghai”
In my last review, I looked at how Claire Saffitz’s Dessert Person worked to give home bakers more confidence by offering recipes and explanations that improved home bakers’ skills and techniques. Her positive affirmation: I am a Dessert Person really connects to the notion that anyone can become a baker through practice. Looking at what happens in home kitchens Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: The Flavor Equation”
Baking, like anything else in life, is a skill acquired and developed through practice. I used to say when asked, “I can cook but I’m definitely not a baker!” because it always Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Dessert Person”
Whether people are trying to make choices based on the environmental impact of their cooking or their changing dietary needs, choosing to eat more plants is more common now than it was when Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Scandinavian Green”
There is no one way to approach cooking or baking with kids. Being in the kitchen with my daughter reminds me of when I used to be a primary school teacher — there were certain hands-on activities that would make me feel anxious Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Kid in the Kitchen”
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Looking at the cookbooks released this autumn, there is a definite trend towards flavour — there’s Ottolenghi Flavor by Ixta Belfrage and Yotom Ottolenghi, Nik Sharma’s Flavor Equation, Bob Blumer’s Flavorbomb, James Briscione and Brooke Parkhurst’s Flavor for All, and Dan Kluger’s Chasing Flavor just to name a few. I think this flavour odyssey is about making the most with what we have to cook with and being able to identify ways to enhance the flavour of a dish whether it’s through the use of particular techniques, ingredients or both. Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Ottolenghi Flavor”
2020 has been a year. When my daughter started back at school in September, I felt like I hit the ground running. Suddenly, each day had a name again and a purpose. Weekdays and weekends, slipping from late summer then Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Home Cookery Year”
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