Book Review: Eating the Greek Way
18-Dec-2007
I’d been wanting a good Greek cookbook, so when I was offered this book for review I jumped at the chance to take a look at it. I wish I could recommend this book and maybe it’s appropriate for some folks but in my mind it’s just another one of those fad things where everyone has some angle as to why eating some particular ethnic cuisine is healthier than anything else.
This book, Eating the Greek Way: More Than 100 Fresh and Delicious Recipes from Some of the Healthiest People in the World, is basically this Greek doctor’s version of a diet. The first 50 pages are all about eating healthy and provide background for his particular theories.
, is basically this Greek doctor’s version of a diet. The first 50 pages are all about eating healthy and provide background for his particular theories. Then the book is divided into the normal categories for chapters. So far, so good. But, since the doctor’s theories revolve around the glycemic load you’ll find that the recipes only contain fructose – no sucrose, glucose, honey or maltose (beer).
And it’s not even natural fructose, but fructose powder is used in place of sugar in recipes – with no alternative given. And since fructose powder is sweeter than sugar you can’t just do a 1 to 1 conversion, you’d need to experiment to turn these into non-fructose versions. But the thing that I found disturbing was that fructose was added to recipes I wouldn’t add sugar in the first place – tomato soup, salad dressing, moussaka, baked eggplants – if we are so concerned about glycemic load, wouldn’t an option be to reduce sugar all together?
So while the recipes are appetizing I don’t buy into the concept and while they can be converted, I’m sure, I found the book to be disappointing.
Book Review: Street Food
17-Dec-2007
Looking for a last minute gift idea for a foodie friend? If they have a sense of adventure and think travel is all about eating, this might be the perfect gift for them. Now, there are many books by this name Street Food, so make sure you get the one by Tom Kime.
, so make sure you get the one by Tom Kime. Tom eats the way I like to eat when I travel – he searches out the street food, the little places where the locals eat. And now he has documented those street meals in this lovely cookbook. The one thing that strikes me as I read the recipes is that some of the recipes seem to include an awful lot of ingredients and I generally think of street food as being more simply prepared. But still the recipes ring true and seem very authentic.
Tom covers a lot of ground in this cookbook. There are recipes from:
- India and Sri Lanka
- SE Asia – lots
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Southern Europe
- Middle East and North Africa – lots of recipes from this region!
And he uses slightly different (but they will make sense) categories to group the recipes:
- Best in a bowl
- Fresh crisp salads
- Finger food
- A meal in itself
- Hot wok and smoking grill
- Breads, pizza, savory pastries
- Dips, sauces and condiments
- Desserts and sweet treats
If you have a friend who loves to explore local culture through food, they’ll love this cookbook – and there’s nothing that says you can’t buy it for yourself, either!
I’ve marked lots of recipes to try! Here are just a few: Moily haldi – coconut and turmeric fish soup made with prawns, squid, lime juice, coconut milk; Picarones – sweet potato and pumpkin doughnuts; Kebab b’il karaz – lamb meatballs with sour cherry sauce. And there are lots more.
Panera Bread
17-Dec-2007
Sunday morning I found myself out and about a little too early. A couple of stores I thought had early openings didn’t. So I had about 20 minutes to burn while waiting for the doors to open. I decided to wander into the new Panera Bread at Northgate Mall. Panera is a chain but this was my first encounter with the bakery.
There was a pretty large array of breads and pastries. Two things caught my eye – one for then and one for later. The Pecan Rolls called my name – I love sticky buns and cinnamon rolls and this one was so nicely browned! The other thing I noticed was a loaf of Asiago Bread and they had a demi size which was perfect for a trial run. I also ordered a cup of tea to go with my Pecan roll.
My Pecan Roll was disappointing – not bad just nothing to write home about. The pecan topping was so crisp that it was hard to cut into bite-size pieces – or at least without sending part of it flying across the table. The inside was nice and tender but strangely tasteless. I only ate about half of it before deciding that it wasn’t worth wasting the calories on. I did like that when I said that my order was "for here" that my tea was served in one of those great heavy old cafeteria style mugs – they stay hot and hold a lot!
The Asiago bread meets my approval though! Some cheese is mixed into the batter and then the top is sprinkled with more. So the cheese flavor runs through the bread but is not overwhelming. Good on it’s own, toasted with a little butter or accompanying your meal, it’s pretty versatile.
It also turns out that they have free WiFi – that’s a nice benefit. I may stop in again to give them another try although, so far, it’s not a place I’ll be telling anyone, "you just have to go to Panera!". But it’s certainly worth another try.
Another batch of cookies down!
16-Dec-2007
Tonight’s batch of cookies – Chocolate Crinkles! You’ve probably made them or at least eaten them at some point. Sweet, cocoa -y, a little chewy. Everything good in a cookie….. And here’s a recipe if you’d like to make them yourself.
Star Cookies
16-Dec-2007
This is another cookie that I make every year. It was one my paternal Grandmother always made. I love them and also make them especially for my Dad. These are much easier to make with a good electric mixer and a food processor but for years I made them by chopping the nuts by hand or with a little nut chopper and using a hand held mixer.
So it can be done!
So it can be done! You can find the recipe here.
Striped Icebox Cookies
16-Dec-2007
The Holiday Baking continues. I love these striped cookies. They look more difficult to make than they are. And one recipe makes a big batch. It’s the same recipe as these Bull’s Eye Cookies but each flavor of dough is divided into 4 pieces, rolled out to a 3½" x 12" rectangle, wrapped in plastic chilled for 30 minutes, then stacked in 4 alternating colors (so you have two stacks). Wrapped and returned to the fridge overnight and then sliced and baked at 375°F for about 10 minutes.
Lots o’ Fruitcake
15-Dec-2007
Yesterday I finally got all my fruitcakes baked. It’s a tad bit late as fruitcake is best after a couple weeks – once the flavors have really melded – and I’ll be handing them out to my family in a week. And, yes, they do like them!
As I’ve mentioned in past articles the trick to making good fruitcake is to use good ingredients – hold off on those fluorescent cherries and pineapple! Use real candied citrus or lots of dried fruits, like I do. Brings fruitcake to a whole new level.
In the photo the round ones are gifts and the "bread" shaped loaves are mine for an upcoming party and just to eat!
More info and the recipe here.
Tennessee Sugar Cookies
15-Dec-2007
Finally got the Tennessee Sugar Cookies made this year! Normally they are the cookie I start with but it didn’t quite work this year. But now they are made and I’m feeling more like Christmas. :-) I’ve talked about these before so you can find the recipe here.
Forelle Pear
14-Dec-2007
I came across the most adorable little pear a couple days ago. It’s a Forelle Pear. And I really should have added something to the photo to give a bit of perspective to it, as it’s pretty small. You may be familiar with Seckel Pears, and these are very similar in size. This one is just a little over 2½" tall. I had never seen a Forelle before so I bought one to try it out.
I ate it for a snack today and was a little disappointed as it was still a tad bit green. But it had promise! It reminded me of the more common and much larger Bartlett, which is one of my favorite pears. And with its size it’s a perfect little midday snack. I think they would also make a great pear for a nice dessert – maybe poached and served with blue cheese, for instance. With their smaller size they would be a nice petite finish to a meal.
A Little Treat – To Give or Keep
14-Dec-2007
Looking for an elegant and tasty way to remember someone during the holiday? You can’t go wrong with any of Fran’s products but I love the salt caramels! These are the Gray Salt Caramels (dipped in dark chocolate) but there are also Smoked Salt Caramels (milk chocolate) – or you can get a combo box. And I love the festive red box (7 pieces for $11.50). Check out the stores or website for other great gift ideas… even if the gift is for you – as this box was for me!
Culinary Fool 