Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Cookbooks Of Note


I was recently provided with copies of two cookbooks. The first, The Daily Feast, is by Esther Rose Graber along with her five daughters and one daughter-in-law who each provide their favorite recipes as part of meal ideas. I like that this book brings in quite a few ethnic dishes such as Khmer Chicken Curry (Ann's menu) and Spinach and Paneer (Celebrations menu) but makes them much more approachable for the North American home cook. There is something for everyone in this attractive book, which features photographs of almost every dish along with background information for many of the recipes.


The second book is Fix-It and Forget-It Vegetarian Cookbook which includes hundreds of recipes plus suggested menus, many of which come from home-cook contributors. This book runs the gamut in vegetarian cooking including appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main/egg dishes, legumes, vegetables and desserts. I like the variety here and that you can probably find a recipe with just about every imaginable vegetable. Several of the soups like the sweet potato and corn chowder and the Jamaican red bean stew look especially enticing as does the lemon cheesecake and the tres leches cake with chile-cocoa whipped cream from the dessert section! This would make a great gift for a vegetarian who loves to cook - or needs to learn!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Peaches from Georgia Peach Council and a Cookbook



This summer I was fortunate to be provided with a box of peaches from Pearson Farm through the Georgia Peach Council along with Peach County, GA native Gena Knox's excellent cookbook, Southern My Way: Simple Recipes, Fresh Flavors. The peach crop this year is wonderful and I truly enjoyed eating and cooking with these peaches. I made peach ice cream (my own recipe) as well as a Georgia Caprese salad and a Cornmeal Peach Cake from Knox's book. The cornmeal peach cake was particularly spectacular. I actually made two!



Georgia Caprese Salad with Lime Vinaigrette (Gena Knox's recipe)



My box!



Cornmeal Peach Cake, cooling.



The sliced warm cake with homemade peach ice cream. Gooey and delicious!

If you haven't bought any fresh peaches this year, buy them now - they are still ripe and can be purchased at any of the farmer's markets around town.