Books for Cooks

D and I are both avid bibliophiles. The walls of our house are lined with books of all types but I have a special passion for cookbooks. About 90% of my collection is vegetarian ranging from 1902 to the present day. I love searching out old books from the sixties and seventies especially ones from restaurants that were around at the time. It's amazing to see how the cuisne has evolved over the years as we've learned more and more about nutrition.

Jen gets to use my collection as her own personal lending library so I thought she'd like a visual catalogue of what's available. So here goes:




Bottom shelf is my magazine collection. Mainly BBC Vegetarian Good Food, Vegetarian Times, Donna Hay, VegNews, Herbivore and some other random food mags.




Theres a few more small paperbacks hiding in the kitchen and a pile by the side of the bed but that about covers it.

Dal-ightful

More dal recipes for dinner this week - perfect winter comfort food.

First up moth bean dal with mango. Moth beans cooked with tumeric, panch phoran (fenugreek, mustard, nigella, fennel and cumin seeds, toasted and roughly ground), chilli, curry leaves and grated unripe mango. Served with spinach and garlic greens and chapati.


Next up, urad dal with ginger, garlic, chilli and poppy seeds from Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything Vegetarian'. There's some basmati rice hiding under there somewhere.


Finally last night's dinner, and shock horror it's not dal. Stir-fry (or super-fry as we call it). Tofu triangles with orange and green peppers, sugar snap peas, baby corn and carrot cooked in ginger, garlic, soy and mushroom ketchup.

Dal-icious

Another bean recipe for dinner last night. This one comes from "The Ultimate Dal Cookbook" by Mona Verma and is simply called 'Delicious Black Beans'. It uses black turtle beans which I found in Tesco and which are pretty quick cooking. I've cut down on the oil suggested in the recipe to make it more diet friendly and served it with Gujerati courgettes and chapati.

Delicious Black Beans
(serves 4)
1 cup black turtle beans soaked overnight
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp coriander seed
2 tsp minced ginger
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chilli powder (to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
400g chopped tomatoes
2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp lime juice

- Drain and rinse the beans, put them in a pan with the turmeric and plenty of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 40 mins or until tender. The cooking time will depend on how long they have been soaked for.
- While the beans are cooking, lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds and then grind them to a rough powder.
- When the beans are ready, heat the oil and add the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, garam masala and chilli and cook for a couple of minutes on a low heat until fragrant and combined.
- Add the chopped tomato and dried fenugreek, cook for a few more minutes.
- Add the beans and lime juice and simmer for 10 mins, then serve.

Gujerati Courgette Salad
(serves 2)
2 medium courgettes
2 tsp oil
1 tbs black mustard seeds
1 tbs lemon juice

- Coarsely grate the courgettes and drain them on kitchen paper to remove excess moisture
- Heat the oil in a lidded pan and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds start to pop against the lid, add the courgettes and stir the mustard seeds through.
- Add the lemon juice and and stir until everything is heated through.
- Serve immediately.

Bittman's Bites

When I first heard the title of this book I have to say my first response was "Oh really, everything huh?" but cookbook addict that I am I couldn't resist so into the Amazon cart it went.

Once it arrived I settled down on the sofa, sticky tabs and tea at hand, and worked my way through the 996 pages. There are some great aspects to this book, most notably the green information boxes and the recipe variations. The information boxes were full of really interesting and useful information and not just the standard conversion charts and bean/grain cooking times (although they're in there too). Some of my favourites were:

- Rice Salad Variations: Hippie, Cuban, Wild, French etc.
- 10 Good Fruit Cheese and Nut combinations
- 25 Fast and Easy Ways to Spin Tomato Sauce
- Substituting Leaveners
- Vegetarian Thickeners at a Glance

Along the same lines were the recipe variations. These were included at the end of many of the recipes and ranged from how to change the character of a dish completely (Braised Lentils Spanish Style become Moroccan, Ethiopian etc) to subtle changes and substitutions.

There's a huge section of the book that lists vegetables alphabetically giving information on what they are and how to cook them. Much of this section could have been replaced with a few more of the information boxes so that rather than a recipe in every section that explains how to steam that vegetable, there could be a box with basic instructions and steaming times for all veg. If you're entirely new to cooking with and eating veg then this section is probably very helpful, but if you've been veggie for a while you might find it a bit dull.

That said, there were plenty sticky tabs hanging from the pages by the time I'd finished but they tended to be clustered around the salad, bean and grain chapters where all the individual components in the book come together. I was very much drawn to the bean section where almost every second recipe was rewarded with a marker. There's some really unusual recipes in here full of complex flavours. After a tricky short-listing process here's what I tested:

Autumn Millet Bake

Inspired by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks I launched my testing with this recipe, adding a can of chickpeas to turn it into a complete meal. The combination of cranberries, squash and sage is deliciously savoury making this the perfect winter comfort food.



Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Red Pepper Vinagrette
Tasty, but next time I would add more roasted peppers to the dressing.

Braised Lentils Spanish Style
I substituted black beluga lentils for the brown called for. Slow cooked with garlic, saffron, smoked paprika and wine. The results were delicious served with crusty bread and a few strips of roasted red pepper.

Esspresso Black Bean Chilli
I didn't have any dried black beans so used chickpeas instead and I only added one tablespoon of the quarter cup of sugar suggested. The coffee and cinnamon lend this chilli a subtly complex flavour. Another hit.

Mung Bean Dal with Apples, Coconut and Mint
Again I ditched the sugar in this Thai inspired Dal as I felt the apples made it sweet enough. It's very rich due to the coconut milk so this would be special occasion only. It's really crying out for some chopped fresh tomatoes as a garnish but we didn't have any.

Spicy Red Beans, Indian Style
This recipe called for a spoonful of almost everything in my spice drawer (ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and tumeric) producing an incredibly fragrant dish. Next time I would cut the ground cardamom from one tablespoon to two teasspoons as the flavour is quite prominent.
Other recipes I plan to try in the future include:
- Faux Pho
- Quinoa Salad with Lemon, Spinach and Poppy Seeds
- White Beans Tuscan Style
- Urad Dal with Poppy Seeds and Cilantro
- Fruit and Nut Bread (or at least one of the 11 variations)
- The smoked tea (Lapsang Suchon) and Chinese spiced variation to the esspresso chilli

I do feel that this book is larger than it needs to be but once you get past the encyclopeadia section there are some real gems.

Highly Recommended.

Resolving, Revolving

As promised the recipes around here are taking a turn for the lighter side. Once again I find myself at the start of a new year resolving to eat more healthily and shed a few pounds. Perhaps it'll be easier to keep it going this year with the eyes of the blog world (or at least a couple of you) on my dinner plate.

Today's dish is an old favourite inspired by a recipe in Rose Elliot's Bean Book. The directions are a little vague but unless your baking there's always a little room for manoeuvre in a recipe. This is perfect comfort food for me, easy to make, filling and mellow. No one ingredient shouts for attention everything just cooks down into a delicious stew.

For the rest of this week I'll be cooking recipes from Mark Bittman's new book 'How to Cook Everything Vegetarian' and will post a review and the results at the weekend.

Butter Beans with Aubergine and Mint

1 tablespoon olive oil (use more or less to taste)
1 onion, chopped
1 aubergine, chopped into medium bits
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried mint
1 can butter beans, drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
Fresh mint to garnish

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan (I use a wok), add the onions and fry for a minute or so. Add the Aubergine and continue to cook, stirring often until the aubergine has browned and is beginning to soften. Add the garlic, mint and beans and stir through. Add the chopped tomatoes, turn the heat down and allow to simmer until the aubergine is cooked to your preference - I like mine meltingly soft. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar (if the tomatoes are too acid I add a teaspoon of sugar), sprinkle with fresh mint if you like it and serve.

I had mine with bulgar wheat but this stew goes well with most grains, is good on toast or a baked potato and can even be eaten cold for lunch when the microwave at work is broken (ahem).

Dentists Beware

If you work in the dental industry I advise you to look away now. The following recipe is for tablet, a traditional Scottish treat, and probably partly responsible for our terrible health record (that and the infamous deep fried Mars bar).

This particular batch was made as a gift for my in-laws on boxing day and is the perfect accompaniment to an after dinner cup of coffee.

This is the last of the sugar and butter extravaganzas for this holiday season. January is fast approaching and tradition dictates that we'll all be eating more healthily - at least for a short while ;)

Walnut Tablet

2lbs / 900g unrefined sugar
4oz / 100g unsalted butter
1 can condensed milk
1 teacup of milk (not skimmed)
8oz / 200g walnuts (very roughly chopped)

There are very few ingredients in this sweet so use the best you can as poor ingredients have nowhere to hide. Don't break the walnuts up into tiny pieces or the end result is gritty. I generally chop the walnut halves into four but leave a few larger pieces for texture.

- Butter two baking sheets, line them with greaseproof paper and butter the greaseproof paper.

- Put the butter, milk and condensed milk in a pan and heat very gently until the butter has melted.

- Add all the sugar to the liquids and stir to combine.

- Gently heat the mixture, stirring all the while, until all the sugar has dissolved (this may take some time). Use the spoon to see if all the sugar has dissolved. If the mixture running off the spoon is shiny and has no sugar granules in it you're ready to move on. If there are still sugar granules on the spoon, increase the temperature a little at a time until they are gone. Do not let the mixture boil until all the sugar has dissolved or your tablet will be gritty.

- Once the sugar has dissolved turn up the heat and allow the mixture to boil gently, stirring constantly.

- Test the mixture after 10 mins of boiling by dripping some of it into a cup of cold water. If the drops form individual balls and do not all melt together at the bottom you're ready for the next stage. If the mixture doesn't pass the test continue boiling it and test it every minute or so. Try not to over boil the mixture. It should darken slightly but should remain creamy beige and not turn nutty brown.

- Take the pan off the heat and place it on a folded tea-towel or trivet on your counter top. Beat the mixture vigorously until it starts to thicken.

- Add the chopped walnuts and continue beating until the sugar starts to crystallise.

- Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared baking sheets and tap / wiggle / shoogle them until the mixture is evenly distributed (you may need to redistribute the walnuts if they have all migrated to one corner). Don't be tempted to use a finger, this stuff is hot.

- Place the baking trays somewhere flat and cool and free from cat hair (we use the porch).

- After five minutes, the mixture should be setting well. Score the top with a knife to make it easier to cut later. This stuff is tooth achingly sweet so keep the pieces small.

- Once the tablet is completely set cut into pieces and store in an air tight container. If you don't it will go rock solid making it a double threat to your dentistry

Health Warning:
Aside from the fact that this stuff is incredibly bad for you, please be careful when boiling, beating and pouring out the mixture as it gets incredibly hot. Needless to say this is not a recipe that children should help out with.

Pucker Up

This blog is at serious risk of morphing into an homage to Dorie Greenspan. Reading her book makes me want to head straight for the kitchen and work some magic with the measuring cups. My contribution to the family feast this festive season was her 'Tartest Lemon Tart', the perfect pick me up ending to a very rich meal. They'll be no snoozing on the sofa after this zingy dessert (ok well maybe just a little).

Despite involving homemade pastry (eeek) it came together easily and looked very impressive. There were a few scary moments in the oven towards the end of the cooking time where the filling bubbled up and then merrily bubbled over the edge of the pastry case onto the baking sheet. No harm done. Dorie does warn that this might happen and I think it's actually a cunning plan to
allow the baker a sneaky sample of good things to come.

As the filling uses whole lemons the end result is stickily sweet and sharp with a slight hint of bitterness - like lemon marmalade. Gorgeous with adollop of freshly whipped cream.

Heaven's Kitchen

Drum roll please.....

The kitchen is officially complete. Unfortunately I don't have any before photos for comparison but just imagine a 1976 Formica kitchen painted dark blue with no work surfaces. Add the worst cooker you can imagine, a leaky fridge and some ancient linoleum. Hold that picture in your head. Got it?

Well...taa daaa!
This one corner has more storage space than the whole of the last kitchen. I love the dresser unit because it means I can have all of my favourite pottery on display but behind glass so it's not covered in cat hair - an important feature of tableware I think you'll agree.

Dishwasher (woo hooo) and the ubiquitous cat - in this case Oscar.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous induction hob and double oven.


Dolly the sheep keeping my teapot warm and the biggest fridge freezer I've ever seen with a liberal scattering of magnetic poetry (food edition naturally).

And just in case you missed him in the cooker shot, a close up of Mr Gingerbread.
Finally, some food. Lemon poppy seed muffins with lemon glaze baked as a treat for my Callanetics class. Thanks to Ms Greenspan again for the recipe.

.....and spice

Just to prove that we don't just live on cake....

...tonights dinner


Quorn chilli with guacamole and brown rice.

Yumm.

Sugar....

A weekend of baking firsts for me. I christened my new oven with a batch of fairy cakes for Keira's 5th birthday and (you'll never believe this) it was also my first ever Victoria sponge. Crazy to think it but I've never made a basic Victoria sponge before. I must've made hundreds of batches of muffins, dozens of chocolate cakes and cookies galore but never a plain egg sponge.

The recipe I used came from 'Pretty Party Cakes' by Peggy Porschen (pleasingly alliterative) and forms the basis for the cupcakes I'm planning for a wedding cake next year. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to practice both the sponge and the icing. Overall they were a great success but I learned two things. One, that creaming together butter and sugar with my current electric whisk leads to explosive results no matter how soft the butter and two, that I'm not a fan of plain eggy sponge cake (or butter icing).

Luckily Keira and her nursery school friends were, and pink cakes with heart shaped sprinkles went down a treat.


I was on a roll (and had another party to go to on Saturday) so I threw together a batch of classic brownies from Dorie Greenspan's book, 'Baking: From my Home to Yours'. I say threw together because compared to the fairy cake faff these were a breeze and tasted amazing. If you don't already own this book then buy it now (or speak nicely to Santa).


Finally, as if I hadn't used enough butter and sugar this weekend, I made my first ever batch of tablet. We decided that it would make the perfect Christmas gift for D's Dad who has a really sweet tooth. I spent 45 mins on the phone to my Mum whilst stirring and stirring and stirring with her giving me instructions and advice. Four further phone calls later and I had the perfect slab of creamy coloured, hyperactivity inducing sugar rush. This was a test batch so D and I packaged it up to distribute it among our colleagues and we get to do it all again next weekend!


All in all, we got through two kilos of sugar, one kilo of butter and ten eggs - oh well, 'tis the season.