For over a century, the strange, oily gloop has graced #kosher restaurants, holiday #cookbooks and hand-scribbled recipe cards in Jewish homes across the nation, becoming a (contested) symbol of Jewish American identity and #culinary tradition."
This looks like it might be fabulous, and it was written right here in South Australia. Cherie Hausler is a Barossa Valley-based cook, baker, podcaster, community builder and founder of the plant-based food business All The Things.
Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese Bake. I love artichokes so this was the first recipe I made from my new Half-Baked Harvest cookbook. Pretty easy way to make mac & cheese and it wasn't dry like some other pasta bakes I've made! #cooking#Cookbooks#artichoke#ComfortFood
The Botanical Kitchen: Cooking with fruits, flowers, leaves & seeds
This beautiful book places botanical ingredients at the fore, emphasising the power of a few small ingredients to transform and enhance food the world over.
Elly McCausland guides readers through cooking with botanicals,
looking at their culinary history and diverse uses over the years. Chapters include fruits (tropical, Mediterranean and orchard), leaves, flowers & seeds.
I've almost finished my deep dive into #Annapurni, and love the book but I have to say I have never seen so many mutton recipes in one place before. A bit of a challenge for a vegetarian.
Still, some interesting combinations and ingredients, lots of cultural information, but an under-representation of the wealth of vegetarian dishes in Tamil Nadu. Not to worry (I have so many of those in other books). And the veg recipe I tried the other day was amazing.
Today, I am finally out of Tiffin foods and into "Main cookery and miscellaneous recipes". To begin with, poriyals ("stir-fried" curries). These are extremely to make, as they are without spice-laden sauces/gravies.
Having progressed a couple of chapters - through soups/kuzhambus, and koottus - I am now in the "Some Keralite dishes" chapter.
I smile at the title of this chapter as it brings back a memory - when I first was writing about Indian food, some 20'ish yrs ago, I was very politely corrected when I used "Keralan" for a dish from Kerala. A person or thing from Kerala can be referred to as Keralite or Malayali. I never forgot that learning from a beautiful person from that stunning part of the world.
(Some of the most beautiful saris are from Kerala, imo.)
Today, I am up to the Vathal chapter, having finished Sundals (healthy) and Chips (mouthwatering). A whole chapter on Chips!! 😋 All sorts of chips, from banana and plantain through potato and others, to vegetables like types of green beans that can be spiced and deep fried. A calorie-accumulating chapter.
I have played around with vathal before (recipes using them are in the #Vol1 of the same book). There are not many available in Indian groceries here, but the range is increasing. This chapter is about making them yourself.
Vathal are (generally) dried vegetables or fruits that can be used in cooked dishes such as sambar and kuzhambu, or sometimes used as a snack or side dish. They are made from a range of veg eg Turkey Berry (Sundakkai or Pea Eggplant), Cluster bean, Green Mango, Okra, Eggplant, Potato, Pumpkin, Capsicum, Chillies and other vegetables. They are dried after soaking in salt and turmeric, and sometimes coated in yoghurt.
In South India they are dried on roof-tops. The sun is an essential cooking ingredient in India.
I've finished the Wedding section - oh my! the wealth of snacks, foods and pickles required for a wedding. Ammal also provides menus for a three day wedding, and a shopping list for 3 days for A THOUSAND PEOPLE. It is fabulous reading. Oh those pickles!
I am up to Festivals today - practices and food for a range of the many festivals, observances and celebrations in India.
This Wed at San Francisco library's main branch, there's a workshop for teens to learn how to make food from the Native cookbook, "Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations"
I was so excited to receive a special book this week. The reason for the excitement is because this is the FIRST book that I have seen that looks at the different cuisines within one state of India - Kerala. India food has become quite homogenised over the past decade. Buy one reasonably-sized Indian cookbook, you've bought them all. With a few exceptions. They dismiss the widely varied cuisines that have developed in a small area, let alone a state or geographical region. I am so happy.
Paachakam: Heritage Cuisine of Keraly, by Sabita Radhakrishna
Published: 2022
Publisher: Roli Books (there are also other covers with other publishers too)
Cost: around $50, but you may find cheaper.
I was so lucky in my first non-work trip to India. I spent some of the time in Goa, and met some local people there who are still friends. In those weeks, they showed me a lot of Goa, each with an historical context. I learnt early and quickly about invasions, occupations, different cultures, different cuisines, all within the tiny area of Goa. It was fundamental to my understanding of Indian foods.
Kerala, another tropical paradise known as God's country, and further down the coast from Goa, has a similar rich tapestry of history. And outstanding food. I've been lucky to spend some time there, including cooking classes.
1 / 🧵 / An Everlasting Meal : Cooking with Economy and Grace / Tamar Adler
Do you have An Everlasting Meal : Cooking with Economy and Grace, by Tamar Adler? It is a must-have book for people who love to cook well but are on a budget. Isn't that all of us these days?
It is a book to read, rather then browse recipes. Many of her "inspirations" are embedded in the text, rather than formatted as "proper" recipes.
My copy is from 2012 but there are also very recent editions. Not surprising, as people are looking for more economical ways to eat. See the different covers (2012 vs 2023/4) in the pics.
Potato & homemade chorizo tacos with a side of pineapple margarita. At first I used too much oil for the potatoes but I rescued them by putting them in the oven to brown and crisp up and they turned out great after all 🤓 Recipe from Tacolicious cookbook by Sara Deseran. #cooking#CookBooks
1 🧵 /Plant Based /Alexander Gershberg / Short Review
I approached this latest book with a fair amount of scepticism - oh yeah, another plant based book that has no care for the needs of people on a plant based diet.
But I was nicely surprised. And as I browsed this book while eating plant based food at Topiary in Adelaide's north east, I fell in love with it. This recently published book is a translation from Dutch - Alexander is a Netherlands-based chef, cooking teacher and cookbook author (https://alexandergershberg.com).
Plant Based, by Alexander Gershberg
Published: 2023
Pages: 300
Publisher: Smith Street Books
Price: around $42AU, but look around as prices vary. Ebooks are often cheaper.
Ok, let's get my one negative out of the way. The PR says "The ingredients Alexander uses are 100% vegan and organic, preferring locally grown vegetables and whole foods rather than processed and commercially refined foods." But he uses dashi made from dried fish in one of his recipes. It is only a side-note that you can, in-fact, make dashi in other ways. I was disappointed by this one slip.
2 🧵 /Plant Based /Alexander Gershberg / Short Review
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Other than that small slip, the recipes are great! There is a adequate protein throughout the book ✅ 💃 and some definite favourites. One such favourite is Malaysian Vegetable-Stuffed Tofu with Spicy Peanut Sauce - I have made this dish forever and a day after it was given to me by a Malaysian Indian in the Central Market as we both bought fresh tofu. Those were the days before the Central Market Admin kicked out the best Asian shop in the market #shame
I love that there is an in-book class on making dumplings.
The photos are wonderfully vibrant, the recipes are modern and mouth-watering. The book does not have a bookmark, more is the pity, but postit notes will do. The index is tiny and organised around ingredients NOT recipe names 🤔
He divides the book into chapters on
🔖 Whole Grains
🔖 Beans and Proteins
🔖 Root Vegetables
🔖 Sweet round vegetables
🔖 Green Vegetables
🔖 Sea Vegetables
🔖 Pickles and Fermentation
🔖 Fruits and Desserts
There are 80 umami-packed recipes in total.
This book is recommended for all starting out on or already committed to a Plant-based diet. Love it. 😍
I switched servers just under a week ago so I figured I should do a proper #Introduction post. I’ve been on Mastodon since 2017 but never actually written a proper intro!
My name’s Sally Monster (she/her) and I’m a British northerner who immigrated to Southern California a bit over a decade ago because I fell for guy named Viss on Flickr after he posted a photo of a #HalfLife HeadCrab he made out of bread!
I’m a bit of a #KitchenWitch at heart; sharing #Food with people I love gives me a sense of wellbeing. I believe wholeheartedly in BenGingi’s motto, “We are all bread.”
I’m happiest when I have soil under my finger nails, I have a favorite tree, I talk to birds, I chase creepy crawlies and I love growing weird and wonderful #Plants especially #CarnivorousPlants and #SpicyPeppers.
I love it here on Mastodon. I have met so many amazing people here and I am so grateful for this community. Sending love and hugs out to all of you. 💚 🧡