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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.

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msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Got the sewing machine out last night and hemmed t Got the sewing machine out last night and hemmed the top of these toile de jouey curtains in my summer house shed. The days are lengthening a little which brightens up my mood. Self care= trying to get up and washed. Trying to leave the house once a day. Keeping my hands busy. Finding small ways to be creative. #coronaloner #sewingmachine #curtains #shedsofinstagram #sheshed #springiscoming #supperclub #stayingsane #selfcare #lockdown3
Pasta aglio olio. I’m turning into a vampire. I Pasta aglio olio. I’m turning into a vampire. I get up later and later every day. I’m living in a twilight world- dim skies, getting nothing done. Next week it’s my birthday and every year I’m at my lowest ebb just before my birthday. Lockdown on your own is tough. My motivation, my mojo has disappeared. #lockdown3 #coronaloner #pastadinner #nofilter #january2021 #januarychallenge #selfemployedwomen #single #aquarius #0degrees
On the heath on Sunday. Must. Walk. More. #coronal On the heath on Sunday. Must. Walk. More. #coronaloner
Tonight’s lockdown dinner with my bubble. Proper Tonight’s lockdown dinner with my bubble. Proper pesto alla genovese with trofie, small boiled salad potatoes, steamed green beans (good tip: steam the beans in a colander plopped on top of the potatoes or pasta), good quality pesto sauce ( mine from local microbakery @seansloaf ), good olive oil (@pomoragoodfood), torn fresh basil, a few pine nuts. This turns this student dish into a balanced meal of carbs, veg and a little protein.  It’s cold outside, I’ve lit the fire. Covid rages in Kilburn high road in north west london. The rate is 1 in 30 london wide but I feel it’s higher in this poor inner london area. We have a high BAME population who are particularly vulnerable. It’s a little bit anarchic on my high street: cars perched on kerbs waiting for hijabi women, braving pound shops and Aldi . We are all covered up now. In winter masks keep your face warm, but you have a choice between safety and being able to see. I’ve not managed to prevent the inevitable steaming up of my glasses when wearing a mask. Nothing works.  #january #londonwinter #pestopasta #pestoallagenovese #vegetarian #pasta #trofie #supperclub #covid_19 #lockdownlife #lockdown3 #bubblegang
Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Mi Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Minus Crown and king as I cannot find either. This one is made with Tonka bean. Plus homemade puff pastry (well worth the effort). According to ike delorenzo at The Atlantic:  The tonka bean, a flat, wrinkled legume from South America with an outsize flavor that the US government has declared illegal. Nonetheless, it proliferates on elite American menus. The tiniest shavings erupt in a Broceliande of transporting, mystical aromas.
The taste of the tonka bean is linked strongly to its scent. "Scents," I should say, as the tonka bean has many at once. I register the aromas of vanilla, cherry, almond, and something spicy—a bit like cinnamon. When served cold—say, in tonka bean ice cream—the taste is like a vanilla caramel with dark honey. When warm, perhaps shaved over scallops, it moves toward spiced vanilla. Additionally, the aroma of the tonka bean shavings (it's almost always shaved) is so affecting that it seems like an actual taste in the way that opium, which has no taste in the traditional sense, "tastes" like its rich, flowery smoke.  Here is the recipe: 

Tonka bean galette des rois

Serves 8
Ingredients
* 140 g caster sugar
* 125 g salted butter, softened
* 100 g ground almonds
* 2 eggs, medium
* 1 tonka bean, grated
* 2 packs ready made butter puff pastry on a roll
* 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
Instructions
* Preheat your oven to 200c.

* Blend the butter with the sugar then add the almonds. Make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the 2 eggs one at a time, then add the tonka bean.

* If using a block: divide the puff pastry into two and roll out to 5mm thick. 
* Make two circles about 15 cm’s each in diameter. Lay one circle on a silicone mat/parchment paper on a baking tray and fill with the almond cream leaving a 3 cm border around the edge. 
* Paint the border with the egg yolk. Then lay the other circle on top, sealing the edges with a fork. 
* You could then carve designs into the top. Make a little slit in the middle to let steam escape then brush the top with the egg yolk
Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. T Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. This is a vegan version. ***

Ingredients:
- 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
- 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
- 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of Chinese chilli paste
- 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add to the vegetable stock water.
Prepare the other ingredients so they are ready to stir-fry: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature. Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.  #veganuary #mapotofu #sichuanfood #tofu  #shitakemushrooms #supperclub #londonchef #msmarmitelover #ham&highcolumn #eatplants #lockdown3 #selfisolation #coronaloner #cooking #recipe #cookingfromscratch
Macaroni cheese with odds and sods from the Christ Macaroni cheese with odds and sods from the Christmas leftover cheese board. I’ve used @paxtonscheese truffled brillat-savarin and a mystery hard cheese that’s lost its label. Plus cream and topped it with samphire fried in butter. Haven’t bothered with making a roux- this is the lockdown lazy version.  #lockdownlazy #lockdown3 #supperclub #macandcheese #macaronicheese #truffledcheese #leftovers #leftovercheeseboard #londonlockdown #breakfast #coronaloner
Another thing the Japanese are brilliant at is san Another thing the Japanese are brilliant at is sandwiches. They use the softest, whitest, fluffiest bread. Their mayonnaise kewpie is gorgeous I don’t know why. Perhaps someone here can explain? Here I’ve used sourdough as it’s what I have; kosho which is a Yuzu citrus and green chilli condiment and the aforesaid kewpie Mayo to make an egg 🥚 sandwich.  I’m not a big egg fan but I suddenly had the urge. Also I’ve noticed when I eat eggs it satiates my hunger for hours. All that protein.  #sandwich #sandwiches #japanesesandwich #kewpiemayo #kosho #eggsandwich #sourdough #supperclub #cookingforone #solo #londonlife #lockdownlondon #recipe #snack #sundaysnack #sando
Agedashi tofu for New Year’s Day. With a vegan d Agedashi tofu for New Year’s Day. With a vegan dashi stock, it’s perfect for veganuary. How to make dashi: put a piece of kombu seaweed in water. Soak for half an hour then simmer for half an hour (don’t let it boil). Then mix 2 cups of dashi with 2 tbsps of mirin and 2 of soy sauce.  For the tofu: press soft tofu with weights for half an hour, then cut into cubes. Dust all over with cornflour.  Then deep fry the tofu cubes in 180C veg oil until they float. Set aside to drain, then place say 3 cubes in small bowl. Pour the sauce around and top with spring onion and daikon and togarashi 7 spice.  #easypeasyvegan #veganuary #agedashitofu #tofu #japaneseveganrecipe #newyearsday #freshstart #supperclub #londonsupperclub #msmarmitelover #visforvegan #recipe
Writing about tofu which I think has an unfair rep Writing about tofu which I think has an unfair reputation in this country. It’s so flexible and is a brilliant flavour sponge. Here I’m preparing my soft tofu for a Japanese dish: agedashi tofu. I first pressed it in a clean tea towel with a weight on top to firm it up a bit but not too much. Then I dusted it with cornflour and I will deep fry it in oil. Then I will serve it in a broth of dashi/mirin and tamari sauce, sprinkled with finely chopped spring onions and togarashi pepper from Japan. I would usually add some finely mandolined daikon radish but couldn’t find any. It’s a subtle dish of texture: soft yet crispy. After Christmas I’m desperate for light zingy fresh flavoured food. #supperclub #tofu #vegan #vegetarian #agedashitofu #newyearsday #cookingagain #lunch #asian #japanesefood
Happy new year from my bubble to yours! Keep holdi Happy new year from my bubble to yours! Keep holding on...
#happynewyear #happynewyear2021 #supperclub #hootenanny
Some of my Christmas food 🥘 lots of veg includi Some of my Christmas food 🥘 lots of veg including mashed swede with cheese and butter. I put pomegranate seeds with my sprouts, and cooked my carrots in marmalade ( worked v well), the mushroom wreath fell apart as I was transferring it to a tray 😤, roast potatoes and parsnips, then a cheese spread with fruit nuts, quince cheese (homemade), Chocs @lindtuk 😍 @guylian_uk @disaronno_official @baileysofficial @taylorsportwine and Brazil nuts. Plus a pavlova wreath ready to be topped with whipped cream and persimmons. 
#christmasdinner #vegetarianchristmas #vegetarianchristmasdinner #supperclub #londonchristmas #liqueurs #christmasspread #grazing #cheeseboard #port #pavlova
Christmas has started! Home-cured smoked beetroot Christmas has started!  Home-cured smoked beetroot and aquavit salmon with homemade blinis, creme fraiche, dill, Prosecco.  The fire is lit 🔥, the tree is up, 🎄the presents 🎁 are wrapped, we have a #brexit deal- a Christmas miracle. Peace and harmony. #christmas #christmasinengland #homemade #christmaseve #blinis #smokedsalmon #prosecco🍾 #londonchristmas
Done some doorscaping, the latest trend in Christm Done some doorscaping, the latest trend in Christmas decorating. It might also cheer up passersby. #christmas #christmasdecor #doorscaping #doorsofinstagram #londonchristmas #doorwreath #doordecor #doorsoftheworld #doordecoration #exteriors #london #supperclub #covidchristmas
Look at my gorgeous Nordic pine Christmas tree 🎄 from @pinesandneedles with some family ornaments and beautiful foodie ornaments from @gisela_graham  it’s 7 foot high and no drop. My parents brought over the candle lights. I’ve also used paper ornaments (apples and pears cut from maps) from @dionne_leonard which I first commissioned for a supper club.  #christmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #foodiedecorations #glassbaubles #supperclub #christmasinlondon
More #fbmarketplacefinds I find meeting the seller More #fbmarketplacefinds I find meeting the sellers interesting. It’s often about moving on whether through death, a change of circumstances, moving country, loss of a job. Today I visited a gorgeously renovated Edwardian house where the owners, an antique dealer & a master decorator had died with 18 months of each other of cancer.  The sister was there emptying the house, an incredibly painful experience. The husband who died was an expert in putting up lincrusta wallpaper which I’ve pictured here. All that craftsmanship and knowledge lost now.  The piece I got on Sunday, the teal chinoiserie cabinet, was from a Spanish guy returning to Spain. He’d lost his job as a hotel manager, the hotel, a big one, has now closed. The marble coffee table and arepas grill was from a Spanish couple who’d had a restaurant here for 40 years. They are now returning to Spain. Other slides: green Edwardian fireplace tiles, William Morris wallpaper, 2 small scalloped coffee tables, a knife and fork cutlery hook set.  A fireplace for my bedroom if I can find someone to put it in. #lockdownstories #covidstories #movingon #decor #interiors #bargains #secondhandstyle #edwardianstyle #williammorris #tiles #wallpaper #scallopededge #teal #chinoiserie #whitemarble #vintage #kitchenalia #supperclubrefurb #london #lincrustawallpaper
Another #fbmarketplace find £30. I can’t afford Another #fbmarketplace find £30. I can’t afford proper chinoiserie so I make do with fakes. The gradual doing up of my flat proceeds apace. Need to start on main bedroom. Looking for a storage ottoman (velvet?) bench to turn into a horizontal filing cabinet.  Any ideas? Above is a map of london based on the A to Z map which a minicab office was tossing out. Remember when we all carried mini A to Z books in our handbags? Before google maps? #nocrushedvelvet #chinoiserie #supperclubrefurb #londonapartment #londonflat #norfweezy #decor #organising #storage #interiors
My new/old rise and fall light over the dining tab My new/old rise and fall light over the dining table. Found for £50 on #fbmarketplace  but originally from @thefrenchhouse.net_ one of my favourite shops. Every day, a little more progress. #supperclubrefurb #supperclub #londonflat #interiors #lighting #riseandfalllights #lightingisimportant #frenchstyle #vintagestyle #rusticstyle #turquoise #diningtabledecor
Two vegetarian meal kits, laksa and ramen, from @k Two vegetarian meal kits, laksa and ramen, from @kit.eats.uk. Took only a couple of minutes to cook(see stories) and very good. I’m trying a few meal kits of late to see how hospitality has adapted to the great reset. As a cook I’ve always thought why would I need these but now I get it: it’s like going to a restaurant- the pleasure of food prepared by someone else. Getting jolted off of your normal repertoire, so it’s teaching cooking too.  #mealkits #vegetarian #homecooked #hospitality #covid #takeawayfood #foodpackaging #laksa #ramen #supperclubchef
Still working on my glass cupboard. I’ve hung up Still working on my glass cupboard. I’ve hung up all my wine bottle openers and cork screws. My favourite is the zigzag bottom left. If you find them at a flea market in France, if you are lucky you may get it for around 35 euros.  #supperclub #londonflat #londoninteriors #corkscrews #frenchkitchenalia #zigzag #tirebouchon #oakcupboard #diy #diyprojects
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