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Summer reading: food books

July 29, 2013 12 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Dirt Candy by Amanda Cohen and Ryan Dunlavey
This is the best cookbook I’ve ever read. Amanda Cohen runs a well reputed vegetarian/vegan restaurant ‘Dirt Candy’ in New York. Set in comic strip form, this book talks about the problems setting it up and going on Iron Chef.  She talks about feeling insecure, dealing with staff and she also gives some innovative vegetarian recipes: smoked cauliflower, cheddar powder, coconut poached tofu. This is not high-octane Gordon Ramsay alpha-male style, but a seriously talented female chef who has humour, humility and is completely honest about running a restaurant. So many times I thought: I recognise that, I’ve had that problem. This is a funny, human book with amazing recipes. Get it.

Food DIY by Tim Hayward

Firstly this book is beautifully designed, with great photography, before you even get to the writing. Tim, as always, writes wittily and succinctly. The first chapters talk about meat, charcuterie and cold smoking, subjects upon which Tim has been writing for ages, being a pioneer in urban home smoking. There are many useful DIY food techniques: for instance, pickling, sourdough and a little bit about canning. I couldn’t write about this book without mentioning that everybody in the food world is seethingly jealous of Tim’s massive advance for this book, over 250k, unheard of for a non-telly chef. (Most people get between 5k and 25k.) You could say he’s the male Pippa Middleton (also signed with Penguin for a ridiculous 400k), although I don’t know if his arse is as nicely shaped. Although this book has clearly been released to coincide with the barbeque season, this book would be a great Christmas present for dads, husbands and boyfriends too.

 Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson

This is my toilet book right now, which is not an insult, it means I want a chance to re-read short passages of the book at my regnant leisure. Bee Wilson is a food historian who comes from a good pedigree, her dad is writer A.N.Wilson. There are no photos, so you could download it onto your kindle app on the iPad and read it on the beach. I love the fact that there is a whole, albeit short, chapter on the importance of rice cookers to Asian life. As a kitchenalia freak, who can hardly pass a car boot sale or a cookery shop without buying yet another piece of cookware, this book is right up my street. There is a chapter called ‘Measure’ which explains why America is frustratingly ‘volumetric’, and is essential reading for anybody writing recipes. Similar to ‘A history of the world in 100 objects’, however, in Consider the Fork, those objects all relate to cooking. Which is just as accurate as a record of humanity, for what distinguishes us from animals, is cooking and clothing.

Cooked by Michael Pollan
Written in an accessible way, this book has good pacing, reading like a food adventure story. Pollan never talks down to the reader and seems excited by what he is discovering. Trish Deseine and I have had rows over this book and how to educate people about food. She believes it’s unrealistic to talk about cooking from scratch in this way when people are resistant to cooking at all. As a food geek, of course, I love his journey into food, and hope that this approach to cooking will eventually filter through to everyone. The issue of food poverty have been much talked about in the media recently. As a single mum who spent years on benefits, during the previous tory regime, prior to New Labours’ more generous benefits, I can honestly say we never went hungry. Apart from cooking from scratch, I skipped food from bins. Lidl is great for that, you get free unopened food in perfectly good condition. I didn’t feel humiliated by this, I felt resourceful. It helps that we didn’t eat or expect meat and that fish was a rare treat. So, if you are poor, go veggie for gods sake! Buying basic ingredients such as flour, which don’t cost much, and learning how to make your own bread, is something anyone, who isn’t working full-time, can do.
The real problem is twofold: fuel poverty (you need fuel to cook with and cheap foods often require slow cooking) and lack of food education, and this is what Michael Pollan is giving here. It’s great to hear that the government is bringing back cookery classes into schools. We need dozens of Michael Pollans spreading the word about sourdough and other ‘from scratch’ techniques. We need a whole food programme on the dole, giving people a leg up by helping them start a micro food business.

Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts by Gizzi Erskine
Love the style and pizzaz of this book by Gizzi in which she reunites the ‘cook yourself slim’ of her early career, her rock n roll image with her genuine interest in street food and Korean food. This book ascribes to the 80/20 theory of healthy eating, which is if you eat fairly low calorie 5 days a week, you can feast 2 days a weeks. Most of the 5:2 diets are the other way around, you eat what you like 5 days a week and fast on 500 calories for 2 days a week. Frankly Gizzi’s book makes more sense, otherwise it’s just too good to be true. (Mind, I tried the 5:2 diet and by 5pm on my first diet day, felt so hungry I just thought ‘screw this’ and succumbed to roast potatoes.) However the food in this book, skinny or wicked, looks so delicious it’s hard to believe that it might be ‘diet food’.

The Forager’s Kitchen by Fiona Bird
I first saw this book for sale in Alberquerque in a very chic cafe/bookshop. I haven’t heard too much about this book over here, so I’m guessing Fi Bird is big in America. Fiona was a runner up on Masterchef and has been teaching cooking to school children. She’s passionate about eating well and education. She has plenty of kids herself, about five I think, and lives with her doctor husband in the outer Hebrides. I’ve always been interested in foraging and this book demonstrates in depth knowledge while beautifully illustrated with photographs. Although for some reason the photographer is not credited. Fiona forages not just at the hedgerow but at the beach. There are enticing recipes for seaweed popcorn, Douglas fir chocolate pots, minted pea and ramps soup, plus things to do with berries, herbs and flowers. It’s inspirational and another way to eat on the cheap: forage! 

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Comments

  1. drumshag

    July 29, 2013 at 7:32 pm

    I'm definitely investing in both Wilson and Pollan for my loo reading material. But as for Hayward, I think I will go to the library instead.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      July 30, 2013 at 8:52 am

      I recommend all the books on this list! I do love a loo book.

      Reply
  2. Nora

    July 30, 2013 at 8:37 am

    Oooh, interesting. Consider the fork sounds fascinating. And Cooked. And Dirt Candy… It's really nice to hear about some books that are food writing, not just recipe books. Not to mention the goss from the food writing world (250k!!).

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      July 30, 2013 at 8:53 am

      Thanks Nora for your comment. Yes, it's a great deal of money, but the book is doing well, so maybe their investment was worth it!

      Reply
    • Nora

      August 1, 2013 at 3:48 pm

      Oh yes, I'm sure they wouldn't have paid if they didn't think it was worth it. (And I've added it to my long list of books I want!) It's just that working in quite a different type of publishing, I'd never see advances like that – so I'm interested to learn that's what can happen in food writing.

      Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      August 2, 2013 at 10:31 pm

      But I've also heard that publishers are willing to have loss leaders, such as with Pippa Middleton, because having her is prestigious even if her book loses money.

      Reply
  3. Kirsten

    July 30, 2013 at 9:05 am

    Great post! I've seen some of these books but not bothered to pick them up as I wasn't sure what they could offer me. Now I will go back and give them a proper look. Apart from Consider The Fork – I'm not sure I can cope with a book like this without pictures . . .

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      July 31, 2013 at 10:52 pm

      Hi Kirsten, Consider the Fork is actually a very easy read…

      Reply
  4. Holly Bell

    July 31, 2013 at 9:03 pm

    As usual your honesty and clarity keeps me smiling as I read your posts from my bed of a morning. You really are a tonic. I wish I could keep you in my house.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      July 31, 2013 at 10:53 pm

      Aw thanks Holly. I wish I could stay in your house and enjoy all your lovely baking!

      Reply
  5. Sally - My Custard Pie

    August 2, 2013 at 7:58 am

    I now want all these books….and only you could make me start imagining what Tim Hayward's arse might look like in a book review!

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      August 2, 2013 at 10:06 pm

      Tim Hayward does have a fairly good arse but nobody can compete with Pippa. I like to think mine is pretty pert too.

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

msmarmitelover

I wrote this long read for @scotnational about the I wrote this long read for @scotnational about the anti G8 camp in Stirling to protest against the G8 in Gleneagles. I partipated in the camp & protest along with my daughter @siennamarla playing in the samba band, part of the Pink Bloc. The camp was an incredible experience- the possibility of a different type of politics, of horizontal democracy. It was also a lot of fun. But our protest was tragically overshadowed by the 7/7 bombings in London. We wanted to create a new world but by the actions of a few disaffected British Muslim terrorists our positive movement for change was drowned out by hideous violence against normal ordinary people. Here is my account. 20 years anniversary #7/7 #londonbombings #scotland #antig8 #protest #gleneagles
Cheap stuff. Since the pandemic money has been tig Cheap stuff. Since the pandemic money has been tight. I shop at Lidl and aldi for food, Vinted, Portobello and Primark for clothes. The first pic is gazpacho with a banderilla from Lidl. They often have Spanish weeks and other nationality foods at a bargain price. I love those huge cartons of gazpacho- I glug it down like juice, especially in the heat. The banderillas are sold by the jar. Second pic is me in a primark vest, cardi, with an Anthropologie sale belt and old denim shorts from 10 years ago. Sorry about the mess behind, I sold a piece of furniture, a desk I found on the street, painted enamel green with ‘bamboo’brass handles which I sold on eBay for £225 #needsmust #thrift
My tea book Msmarmitelover’s secret tea party is My tea book Msmarmitelover’s secret tea party is now out on the cookbook app @ckbk it’s now out of print but you can still buy some print copies via me or Amazon. However you can see all the recipes ( like my sour cherry icecream which I served last week) on this site which is like a Spotify for cooks. Arguably afternoon tea is a meal which the English do better than any other country. #cookbooks #afternoontea #supperclubs
Saturdays midsummer supperclub was mostly a bbq on Saturdays midsummer supperclub was mostly a bbq on the @biggreenegguk I divided the meal into fragrance families: vegetal, fougere (fern), green notes, fresh: asparagus, garden artichokes on the bbq, dolmades made from my garden vine leaves. Then citrus fragrances with yuzu, 🍊 🍋 bergamot glaze, salmon, smoked tofu steaks, vegan smoked salmon carrot. Next spice which in perfume is oriental spices: bbq mini aubergines with paprika seed oil, home ground garam masala, a tahini caper dressing. Then wood and resinous fragrances using rosemary oil brushed bbq mini peppers, pine syrup on labneh, mushrooms a la grecque with juniper, finally the floral family of fragrance with sour cherry and rose icecream, lavender shortbread  hearts and orange flower water meringue kisses. It was a lively warm evening- children were welcome. There was a bonfire, lots of wine and laughter. I buy welding gloves £12 from Amazon  to use with the bbq. I also use @pomoragoodfood oils #london
With my home grown artichokes, grown from seed for With my home grown artichokes, grown from seed for tonight’s supperclub.
Sour cherries from the garden for my midsummer sup Sour cherries from the garden for my midsummer supperclub in the garden this Saturday 21st June. Tickets available, link in bio. Also at this link: https://substack.com/redirect/5a700a44-49c1-4e6d-834f-8d4851f98f45?j=eyJ1IjoiMWUzYm4ifQ.njFJL9K8WpzSqVZ5HFSvq84gnJeUD7reFZV9LrDwYtI #midsummernightsdream #supperclub #og #sourcherry
Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favou Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favourite food writers @kitchenbee it’s got everything: kitchenalia, divorce and food. Did you know that what we call heartache is actually stomach ache? It’s now recognised that rejection actually causes physical as well as psychological pain. A study shows that pain relief medications such as paracetamol can alleviate heartache. Some of our emotional pain is autonomic: it’s referred to as polyvagal theory. #heartbreak #foodwriting #lovehurts #takotsubo #dopaminewithdrawal
Midsummer supper club 21st June. The theme is frag Midsummer supper club 21st June. The theme is fragrance and scent. Tickets are £45  and you can bring your own drink. Starts 7.30pm and the nearest tube is Kilburn on the jubilee. Parking is free outside. Exact address given on booking. https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-2025-scent-and-fragrance #london #supperclub
Oil portraits of me painted at Burning Van festiva Oil portraits of me painted at Burning Van festival by artists @cristina_vercesi (left) and YouTube sensation and Royal Portrait gallery exhibiter @alex_tzavaras. It was an utter privilege to sit for these wonderful artists- a real highlight. I’m taking them home and framing them. It was easy to sit still for 90 minutes with the amazing DJ set @leonidas_lovetoparty More deets later. #portraiture #festivals #oilpainting
Went with influencers to @standrewslakes in Kent w Went with influencers to @standrewslakes in Kent with @ourfinland @lakelandfinland @pcagency to experience Finnish food such as Karelian pies with egg butter, cinnamon buns, blueberry pies, and pea soup which they have with mustard and sour cream. We did zip lining, kayaking, saunas, whipped ourselves with birch sticks, ate in a gorgeous wooden bbq shed @arctic_cabins at the end of all this activity we were all tired but happy. @miramakeup @holidaywiththeheathers @amie_jane__ @onehungryasian @iamtimchung @travellingtuesdays @helimendetravels @charlotteemilyprice #presstrip
@camille.osullivan @camilleosullivanpics and @grah @camille.osullivan @camilleosullivanpics and @grahnort @wiltonsmusichall god this woman is talented. She did a solo show of The Rape of Lucrece. Her voice! #theatre #shakespeare #london
My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique m My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique meeting of east and west, for @ckbk It's a blend of Ottoman, Eastern and middle European, Austro-Hungarian empire and cowboy food. #food&travel #foodanthropology #hungary
Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvad Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvadasz book The Pickle Jar. At @katzsdeli in New York they sell half sours and full sours. I reckon these are 3/4 sour. The white mould is fine btw. These are delicious #pickleperson #fermentation #guthealthy
London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, plum blossom, 🌸 you don’t need to go to Japan for the Sakura season- it’s all here- london at its most beautiful. #london
Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incr Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incredible: similar to lily of the valley. These are actual English bluebells - a deeper colour & more delicate than Spanish bluebells which are rather invasive. #london #walks #april #bluebells
Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese fo Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese folar de pascua bread from Lisboa patisserie,  a gorgeous mosaic table from Fez, my favourite antique shop @muirshindurkin, Alice’s shop, an Easter hat, the best wisteria I wrote a substack on portobello road: https://open.substack.com/pub/kerstinrodgers/p/where-to-go-in-portobello-road-the?r=3873k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #london
I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter yesterday to try one of their viral wobbly bunnies. We also tried the multi layer Oreo pancake cakes, the onigiri shaped croissant. My sister had the black sesame latte and I had yuzu tea. I spent £35 in a short space of time as each dessert was £5 but it was a fun experience. Ophelia said ‘lovely flowers’ which shows a degree of sophistication for a 2 year old. I preferred the strawberry to the coconut flavour . #londondaysout #grandmacore #easter
A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smo A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smoked tofu.  @pomoragoodfood olive oil then an aubergine cut into thick slices then quartered. Fry till translucent then add the chunks of red pepper. 2 fat garlic cloves sliced thinly, a block of smoked tofu in chunks, 2 bay leaves, a small handful of maldon salt. A courgette cut into thick half lengthways- then sliced into half moons. I might chuck in a handful of pantelleria capers in vinegar to give some acidity. Serve hot or cold. #sololunch #protein #vegetables
Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used his dill pickles to make one of my favourite recipes for lunch - a potato, sour cream & pickle soup. Recipe on the blog. #soup #pickles
One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook wh One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook whole button mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice, a little white wine vinegar, salt, bay leaves, whole coriander seeds, thyme, and white wine if you have it to hand. I used @pomoragoodfood olive oil. You can eat it straight away or leave it to marinate longer and eat the next day. #vegetarian #vegan #mushroomrecipe
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