101 Cookbooks

Ottolenghi Red Rice and Quinoa

2008-05-12T07:51:29-08:00

I might be getting ahead of myself (it's only May after all), but I suspect I've discovered what will become my favorite cookbook of the year. Written by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook is a collection of 140 recipes from the hugely popular UK-based Ottolenghi establishments. This is my kind of food - abundant family-style platters, big color, bold flavors, and generous use of whole grains. Today I'm featuring Ottolenghi's beautiful red rice and quinoa recipe - a substantial, color-flecked platter showcasing citrus-dressed grains punctuated by pistachios, dried apricots, and arugula. I have to say, choosing which recipe to try first was no easy task.

To get a better sense of the type of food you'll find throughout the rest of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook I'll share it's opening paragraph, which (appropriately) sets the tone from the start,

"Our feast is, literally, a feast of bold colors and generous gestures. It is driven by an unapologetic desire to celebrate food and its virtues, to display abundance in the same way that a market stallholder does: show everything you've got and shout its praise whole heartedly."

Accordingly, many of the beautiful photos featured in the book show platters overflowing with rustic, colorful, generous food - peaches grilled and shimmering with juices, a tray of muffins crowned with ripe red plums, lemon slices nestled in a hill of fava beans. You get a full range of Ottolenghi greatest hits here, both sweet and savory. Sections in the 288-page volume are broken up into beautifully photographed sections - pulses and grains, macaroons and meringues, bars, biscuits and truffles, fish and shellfish, poultry, soups, and plenty more.

Seeing a series of Ottolenghi platters lined on the cover you realize everything a contemporary deli or buffet counter could (and should) be. Open the book and the pages show you the way.

Congratulations to Yotam and Sami on a bright, beautiful, and dynamic book. I look forward to visiting one of the Ottolenghi locales in person someday - in the meantime the book should keep me quite occupied and inspired.

Related Links:

- Ottolenghi Website
- Ottolenghi blog
- Yotam Ottolenghi's 'The New Vegetarian' column on the Guardian

Continue reading Ottolenghi Red Rice and Quinoa...

Big Slurp Dumpling Soup

2008-05-08T09:21:30-08:00

Serve me this soup daily for lunch and you'll hear no complaints. Tender, translucent pasta pillows, pale green from their pea-stuffed bellies, are buoyed by yellow split peas in a simple clear broth. Golden puddles of olive oil are suspended across the surface, pooling in various cracks and crevices. Your lips will glisten after a few slurpy bites.

Remember the pea dumplings I posted not too long ago? I've been using them twenty different ways ever since. This soup was a quick thing I threw together for lunch the other day while trying to use the last of them. There was a bowl of cooked yellow split peas over-staying its welcome on shelf two of my refrigerator and all it took was a good broth to bring the two together.

Don't feel like you need to make dumplings from scratch to enjoy this soup, although that would make the soup extra special. Your favorite stuffed, fresh pasta will substitute nicely for homemade dumplings - ravioli, tortellini, tortelloni, etc.

Continue reading Big Slurp Dumpling Soup...

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

2008-05-04T18:55:59-08:00

This stunning berry-studded breakfast quinoa is from Dr. John La Puma's recent release - Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine. I've written about just a handful of books this year (more to come, I promise!), but I wanted to highlight this one for a few reasons. It's a fantastic healthy-cooking (and eating) primer written by a someone who is both a doctor and chef. The book is text heavy and photo-free, but for those of you who want to dive into some of the ways food can work for you, this is a good overview. A chapter in his book opens with the following passage,

"...I have begun to think of a home kitchen in much the same way I think of a health spa - a place where people can come to be restored, feel better, experience pleasure, and become healthier. And this is how I'd like you to start thinking about your kitchen. Your kitchen is at the heart of your health.

In your home, you probably keep your medicine chest in the bathroom. I'm offering a second medicine chest, one that helps prevent diseases and symptoms and that you keep right in your kitchen cupboards, fridge, freezer, and pantry."

There's a lot going on here (in a good way). One chapter outlines the fifty foods that should be part of your pantry - those of you already cooking from a natural foods pantry have a big head start. To make the cut each contender had to demonstrate "that if eaten regularly it could prevent, and in some cases, actually treat - specific conditions and symptoms." The good news is, many of the fifty foods are flat-out delicious in their own right, and for those of you who are regular readers here, you'll find a cast of familiar characters - oats, quinoa, lentils, beans, greens, and agave nectar, avocado, and berries. Another chapter tells you which foods to eat (or avoid) based on forty common conditions.

The quinoa berry bowl is typical of what you'll find in the recipe section. Broadly speaking, the recipes are concise and approachable, with every ingredient working for you on both the flavor and nutrition fronts. You'll find recipes that are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, and many that are easily adaptable either way. A few other recipes that caught my attention; Butternut Barley Risotto, Cinnamon Orange Dreamsicles, and Walnut Scented Dessert Pancakes. Now I know many of you will only buy cookbooks that have cover-to-cover photography, but I hope the shot at the top with give you a little glimpse of what you might be missing.

My diet is far from perfect, but I've learned over the years that if you surround yourself with delicious, healthy, real ingredients you'll discover and create amazing ways to use them. This book is full of ideas, helpful information, and ingredient-based inspiration. At the very least flip through it the next time you pop into a bookstore, and in the meantime enjoy the quinoa berry breakfast bowl you see up above.

Continue reading Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa...

Favorite Cookbooks: Whitney Moss & Heather Flett

2008-05-01T08:51:51-08:00

Whitney Moss and Heather Flett are two crafty, creative ladies - I'm lucky to call them both friends. Remember the cute baby shower (waaaay back) where guests painted onsies and made do-it-yourself waffles? That was at Whitney's house. Some of you might already know them because of their Rookie Moms website or new book (The Rookie Mom's Handbook) - today they are going to share their favorite kid/family-friendly cookbooks with us.

WHITNEY & HEATHER'S COOKING STYLES:

Whitney keeps it simple in the kitchen preparing healthy fresh foods and saving the cookbooks for entertaining. She and her husband, much like their three year old son, don't mind having the same things over and over again, so when a new favorite evolves, it's sure to show up on their table every week. Latest discovery: Veggie Tikka Masala from Cooking with All Things Trader Joes

Heather on the other hand obsesses over being June Cleaver in the kitchen- every night expecting the family to sit together at 6pm for dinner no matter what. Except that she's ditched her Ohio roots culinarily-speaking in favor of the variety of crazy California produce available in Berzerkely. If she makes meat and potatoes, it's likely organic free range chicken and organic sweet potato fries.

FAVORITE COOKBOOKS (the ones Heather & Whitney turn to most):

- With the little guys at our sides: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. This was a gift from Heather's mom and Holden and Julian (3 year olds) love it! Shows pictures of ingredients and the steps of the recipes.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Best 30-minute Recipe: A Best Recipe Classic (Best Recipe Series). Fast, fresh, really good. From the folks at America's Test Kitchen, this cookbook appeals to Heather's geekier nature. Although, c'mon with a preschooler at your leg and a baby climbing up the stool, nothing is a 30-minute meal.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Six O'Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families. The website even has printable grocery lists to make the trip to Berkeley Bowl a little smoother. All meals are seasonal and easy.

- Encyclopedia of baby food: Super Baby Food. The gold standard for getting started making your own baby food as far as we're concerned. Heidi note: Ths is one of the books I bought for Whitney when she was pregnant with Julian - a great resource.

- Beautiful baby food: First Meals (New Expanded Edition). Creative with gorgeous presentation, a book to turn to when you need a spark of inspiration.

To keep up with the Heather and Whitney, check in with them at the Rookie Moms website.

Related links:
- Rookie Moms Website
- Rookie Moms Blog
- Rookie Moms on Amazon.com

- Past cookbook list: Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi shares his favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Grace Bonney of design*sponge shares her favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Cookbook author Eric Gower shares his favorite cookbooks.

A big THANK YOU to Heather & Whitney for sharing their favorites with us.

Continue reading Favorite Cookbooks: Whitney Moss & Heather Flett...

A Simple Spring Salad

2008-04-28T08:15:17-08:00

Perfect lettuce glows. I don't know a better way of describing it. Unfortunately, the glow doesn't last long. From the minute lettuce is picked, you're in a race against time and the elements. Tick, it is getting smashed by your other groceries. Tock, it's starting to wilt. Great lettuce emanates a color and vibrancy that makes you believe it is still alive. Chances are, by the time you encounter lettuce in your local grocery store the glow has long since faded. I hate to be too snobby, but you really have to go to the farmers' market to seek it out.

Once you get in the habit of enjoying salads made from just-picked baby lettuce, it becomes increasingly difficult (if not impossible) to reach for those bags of pre-washed lettuce or spinach. While not much of a recipe, I thought I'd share a simple spring salad I threw together for lunch the other day - peppered with black olives, oranges, and walnuts. My hope is that it might encourage you to seek out (or grow your own) perfect lettuce this year. I just planted a bunch of lettuce on my back patio, but I'll save that story for a separate post.

A few tips:

- Good shopping is the key to making a memorable salad. Buy the freshest lettuce you can find and completely baby it. Bruised lettuce is bad lettuce.

- Wash and dry your lettuce as soon as you get it home, this way you'll have it at the ready for days to come. I use a salad spinner to wash AND dry my lettuce. Place the lettuce in the basket of a salad spinner. Place the basket of lettuce in the bigger outer bowl and fill the entire thing with cold water. Gently swish the leaves around to loosen up any dirt or grit. Drain off the water by lifting the basket out and dumping out the dirty water. Repeat once or twice more. Now spin the lettuce dry. Place (along with a paper towel or two) in a bag in your refrigerator until ready to use.

- Don't cram your lettuce into the bag. Let it have some space. Think of your bags of lettuce as pillows - you don't want all the lettuce smashed together. Instead, aim to have it fluffed and even throughout its storage bag.

- Resist the urge to drown your salad, and keep in mind that you can always add, but never take away dressing. And I know you've heard it before, but it's important enough that I'll say it again - dress your salad just before you are going to serve it. Right that moment. Not five or ten or (god-forbid) twenty minutes ahead of time.

Continue reading A Simple Spring Salad...

Spring Ragout

2008-04-24T08:07:26-08:00

This spring ragout can take five minutes to pull together or fifty - depending on how much shelling you are willing to do. The basic idea is this - take fava beans, fresh green peas, and skinny green asparagus stems and cook until bright and vibrant - barely any time at all. Finish them off with the smallest splash of cream, a hint of lemon zest, and a dusting of freshly grated cheese. I'll be the first to say a recipe like this really shines when you use farmer's market fresh favas and peas - but I recognize that not everyone has the time (or inclination) to sit around double shelling fava beans. Never mind the fact that some of you are still snowed in ;)

The good news is that you can make a quick, end-of-a-busy-day version of this spring ragout using whatever fresh ingredients you have prepped on hand, supplemented by an ingredient or two from the deep freeze. Frozen peas work nicely in a recipe like this, and I've even come across frozen pre-shelled fava beans at Whole Foods Market. All told this recipe creates a skillet full of beautiful, bright, healthy, deliciousness. And for those of you looking for a vegan version, omit the dairy and you still have a wonderful springtime plate to enjoy. While I enjoyed the vegetables all on their own, my mind kept wandering to other serving ideas. How about:

- ladled over a serving of pan-fried gnocchi.

- served in a shallow bowl of simple broth with a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

- spooned over a family-style quiche or frittata.

- mixed into a bowl of short pasta for a twist on pasta salad.

- as a component in a spring version of a ravioli salad

- Inside some skinny omelettes or crepes.

While I used fava beans, peas, and asparagus here, feel free to explore other spring ingredients. The only thing to be mindful of is cooking times - some vegetables will take more time to cook than others. For example peas are going to cook much more quickly than a thick cut of asparagus or potato. One way to even the playing field (so to speak) is to cut ingredients into into like sizes, or cook each ingredient seperately and combine them in the end. Keep your eyes peeled for baby spring carrots, fiddle heads, baby squash, morel mushrooms, baby artichokes (trimmed and quartered), and/or tiny potatoes. All would be right at home in a dish like this.

Continue reading Spring Ragout...

Plump Pea Dumplings

2008-04-21T07:50:12-08:00

Back in the late 1990s, my friend Beatrice had a tradition of hosting dumpling parties. She'd make a few fillings ahead of time and then a bunch of us would spend the afternoon sitting around stuffing, folding, sealing, pinching, steaming, chatting and eventually eating. If you've never tried making your own dumplings you might consider the whole process a bit fussy, but the next time you have a bit of extra time on your hands, and/or a few nimble-fingered helpers, consider giving it a try. The filling for these particular dumplings is bright and light, focusing on the peas as the central flavor. That being said, the lemon zest is the magic ingredient that sets everything off. It permeates the pea and ricotta puree punctuating each bite like a bolt of sunshine. Dumplings are often served with a dipping sauce, but I found that all these needed were a thin drizzle of olive oil and a few grains of salt.

I'll warn you in advance, some people are natural dumpling darlings - able to crank out row after row of identical pillows. Others? Not so much. You'll quickly discover which camp you fall into. Either way, here are a few tips (I've learned the hard way) that might be helpful:

- Keep wrappers covered, they dry out quickly becoming brittle and impossible to work with.

- Exercise restraint when filling your dumplings - they key is to avoid overfilling. Also, ease out any air pockets before sealing - they expand when heated and will cause problems.

- When stuffing and folding dumplings use an assembly line method. Line counter with a dozen wrappers, drop filling onto each, seal and fold each. Instead of doing one at a time.

I cooked these two ways. You can see how the pan-fried version looks in the above shot, and they were de-licious. That being said, the steamed version were even more exceptional. The recipe below includes techniques for both.

- There are various ways cooks keep dumplings from sticking to a steamer. You might line the steamer with banana leaf, tamale leaf, or a large leaf of lettuce. I didn't have any of those on hand this time around so I kissed the back of each dumpling with a touch of olive oil (where the dumpling would touch the steamer), and hand no problem with sticking.

- You might not want to immediately steam every dumpling you make. That's ok, they freeze perfectly. To keep them from freezing together in a big clump, freeze dumplings for an hour flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate. Now place them in a freezer bag. You can go straight from freezer to steamer.

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Strawberry Panzanella

2008-04-17T08:22:07-08:00

This strawberry panzanella recipe was inspired by a childhood of picky eating. Extremely picky eating. My sister Heather was the fruit eater of the family. I, on the other hand, threw away every apple placed in my lunch bag from the time I was in kindergarten all the way through sixth grade - five days a week. Not a fact I'm proud of. The one fruit I did like was the strawberry, but only if my mom allowed me to dunk the perfect berry in plain yogurt, and then in a bowl of brown sugar. I wish I was kidding. With all the delicious strawberries turning up at the market right now, I decided to remix these favorite childhood flavors into a sweet strawberry panzanella. I tossed the bread cubes with a sweet brown sugar glaze, mashed the better part of a basket of strawberries into a dressing, and then served it up with a dollop of slightly tangy yogurt - simple and delicious.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, there are some rules to know when you enter panzanella country. As you can imagine, success starts with your choice of bread. Not all bread lends itself to a stellar panzanella. Choose wisely or all your efforts will be for naught. I encourage you to seek out bread that is the opposite of, say, Wonder Bread. Seek out a loaf that is dense, crusty, hearty, dark, and country-style. If the gods are smiling on you, you'll find a loaf that is all of these things, and is nut-studded as well. The bread needs to be dried out - let it sit out for a day, maybe two. This way it that will retain its structure (and not go to mush) in the midst of all that sweet berry juice - a key to a good panzanella whether you are talking strawberry or a more typical summer version. To further deter the mush (and to add another layer of flavor), I used a buttery, brown sugar glaze on the bread cubes before they went in the oven - it becomes a sugar crust.

I'm going to remix this recipe a hundred different ways throughout the remainder of the year using different fruits, berries, nuts, and the like. It's totally hassle free, pretty on the plate, and unbelievably flavorful. Perfect as a brunch component, or as a not-to-sweet dessert served family-style. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Continue reading Strawberry Panzanella...

Spring Tabbouleh

2008-04-14T07:46:24-08:00

I'll start with a confession. I avoid parsley. It's not that I hate it, or won't eat it - nothing quite that dramatic. I just don't love it in the same way I love chives or basil, rosemary or thyme. Many of you are familiar with tabbouleh, the Middle Eastern grain-based salad. It features parsley prominently alongside tomatoes, lemon juice and mint. As I dropped bags overflowing with peas, asparagus, and farm-fresh eggs onto my kitchen counter after a Sunday morning trip to the Marin market, I thought a spring-inspired take on tabbouleh would make a nice meal. Chives would stand in for the parsley, and the asparagus and peas would edge out the tomatoes.

For those of you who haven't cooked with bulgur (cracked wheat) before, you're missing out. I know many are deterred by grains in part because they are perceived as having exhausting cooking times. Not so with bulgur. Bulgur based salads (and other preparations) can be fantastically delicious and quick to make. In this case the bulgur cooks in a flash while you are prepping the other ingredients.

There are so many ways you can build on a simple bulgur salad like this. For starters you might cook the bulgur in liquid other than water. I can imagine a thinned-out tomato juice, flavorful broth, or some sort of white wine spiked base would be fun to play around with. And feel free to experiment with other seasonal ingredients.

Continue reading Spring Tabbouleh...

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

2008-04-10T08:23:12-08:00

If you can imagine coconut macaroons in pancake form, you'll understand where I'm headed. Moist, golden, coconut-packed, with just a hint of sweetness - these are decadent and delicious. I'll start by telling you, this recipe was a total accident - but an accident in the best way imaginable. I was working on a coconut cookie recipe and had a bit of leftover batter. I looked at the batter, looked at my favorite skillet, and thought to myself - I bet this would make an unbelievable pancake. Just eight ingredients and about ten minutes separate you from a stack of these.

With my head in the clouds, I somehow managed to forget to add the sweetener to my coconut cookie experiment. I meant to, but as the cookies were baking in the oven, and as pancake numero uno was closing out the last of the dough/batter, there it was, the sweet stuff, still hanging out on my counter top. My heart sank a bit, because I knew the cookies would suffer, but then realized all would be fine in pancake land. No one wants a too-sweet pancake. That being said, I knew they would need a touch of sweetness to set off the coconut flavor, so I sprinkled sugar onto the batter once it was in the pan. A quick flip, and the sugar was kissing the hot pan giving each pancake a crusty, caramelized, coconutty exterior. Almost perfect. I added a shot of honey to the batter of the second batch I made which seemed to bring everything into balance.

You can make the batter the night before and store it in a pitcher. Give it a stir in the morning and you're ready to go. Also, if coconut isn't your thing or if you're looking for other pancake ideas, here are two of my favorites from the archives: Whole-Grain Pancake Recipe with Blueberry Maple Syrup and Poppy Seed Pancakes.

Continue reading Coconut Macaroon Pancakes...

Cumin-spiked Tofu

2008-04-07T07:53:46-08:00

My friends are a diverse lot. Some are sixteen, others are seniors. They are technophiles and technophobes. On the culinary front they run the spectrum from honey-shy vegans to those who hunt and butcher their own meat. I'm not at all interested in spending my time with people who are just like me with interests and beliefs that are just like mine, and when it comes to mealtime, more times than not, I'm the only vegetarian in the room. As you can imagine, all this mixing and intermingling leads to lively conversation. On occasion the topic is tofu. There is a subset of my friends that can't be convinced tofu is anything other than flavorless, amorphously textured, hippie food. Trying to convince them otherwise is an exercise in futility for me. But as I was going about making the fragrant cumin-yogurt slather for this recipe, the heady smell of the cumin and crushed garlic wafted up at me and I thought to myself - this is one of those recipes. I think of them as gateway recipes, where an ingredient (in this case tofu) is featured in a way that is appealing across the board. Even those who think they might not like tofu find comfort and familiarity in the grill marks and are willing to give it a go. And as I mentioned last week, the cumin-spiked tofu and this carrot salad make a great pair.

It is a bit early in the year (even here in California) for grilling, so I use my Le Creuset grill pan. It leaves great marks and because there is minimal surface contact between the tofu and pan, you keep much of the marinade/cumin-slather intact throughout the cooking process. That being said, there is no reason you can't bake the tofu slabs on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Try 350F degrees for 20-30 minutes.

If you are new to tofu, it is important to know not all tofu is alike. There is a wide range available and they vary widely in taste and texture. I encourage you to try a range over time. For a recipe like this, look for an extra-firm tofu that will hold its shape and not fall apart in the cooking/grilling process. I use more delicate, creamy tofus for other recipes, but structure is important for a recipe like this (or for kabobs). While I'm using tofu here in a more elaborate fashion, I'll also mention that a simple piece of high-quality, artisan tofu, with just a touch of salt, it wonderful. It's hard to beat simple preparations when using the best tofu you can find.

Other favorite tofu recipes:
- Caramelized Tofu Recipe
- Garam Masala Tofu Scramble Recipe
- Garlic Soba Noodles
- Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe
- Grilled Kabob Recipe with (outrageously good) Muhammara
- The Otsu recipe in Super Natural Cooking

Continue reading Cumin-spiked Tofu...

Sunburst Carrot Salad

2008-04-03T21:42:42-08:00

What you see up above is a vibrant, flavorful, shaved carrot salad. I intended to serve it under thick slabs of cumin-spiked tofu. Sounds simple enough, right? It actually took a few tries on my part to get the carrot salad right. My failures were by no means spectacular, but they are notable. This is a long-winded way of saying that after spending exponentially more time on the carrot portion of the recipe (the tofu was a breeze), I realized the carrot salad warranted it's own write-up. The tofu recipe will follow on Monday.

As I worked toward the ideal carrot salad, I tried a bunch of things that didn't work very well - culinary dead ends. Each time I'd back up, rethink my approach, and try something different. For example, I thought it might make sense to barely blanch the the carrot ribbons in a pot of boiling salted water, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Not the best idea. The carrots ended up limp and lifeless, and they all stuck together. Thinking that I might be able to salvage the attempt, I gave them a spin in the salad spinner - didn't help. Swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction I tried a raw approach - uncooked carrots softened up by the acid in the citrus juice (I tried both lemon and lime juices). Not quite what I was after either. In the end I preferred the melding of flavors that came from zapping the carrot ribbons in a hot skillet w/ a bit of salt and olive oil. I finished them off with lemon zest, finely chopped serrano chiles, a quick squeeze of lemon juice, and lots of cilantro.

I sidelined my favorite deep magenta and red carrots in this carrot salad. They stain everything around them. You could do a version just using the more saturated carrots and be fine. I also realize they are harder to come by for many people, so I went for more forgiving hues of spring carrots.

Continue reading Sunburst Carrot Salad...

Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad

2008-03-30T20:56:24-08:00

When the San Francisco skies are clear, bright, and blue I like to pop into Greens Restaurant where in addition to table service, they have a robust take-out menu. I usually grab a tofu sandwich on seeded bread, a side of their famous black bean chili and then walk the short distance to a nearby picnic bench where I enjoy the sailboats, seagulls, and sunshine. As I was reaching for my sandwich the other day I noticed a stack of containers packed with peanut-slathered noodles - inspiration strikes. It has been ages since I've had a good peanut noodle salad, so I decided to throw one together today for my lunch. I couldn't be bothered to walk to the store for ingredients (hence the lazy title), so I tapped my pantry for inspiration. In the end I had myself a perfect, colorful bowl of peanut-slathered soba noodles punctuated with spring onions, tofu, more peanuts, and asparagus.

This makes a big chunky batch of peanut noodle salad. Serve it up family-style on a platter at a potluck, party, or buffet - it holds up perfectly at room temp. I'm taking the leftovers with me on a flight tomorrow. :)

Continue reading Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad...

Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies

2008-03-27T08:27:41-08:00

My favorite line in Alice Medrich's buckwheat butter cookie recipe is when she writes, "these cookies can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month." I had to smile and then wonder where Alice hides her cookies. Friends and neighbors in my vicinity polished off a batch of these in under an hour. I'm excited to highlight Alice's Pure Dessert book (along with her nibby buckwheat butter cookie recipe) for a few reasons. I'll start by saying, I don't find myself buying dedicated dessert books much anymore. I suspect part of the reason is because it is hard to find ones that use the types of ingredients I like to use. This book is more my speed. Alice uses many fresh ingredients and interesting underutilized flours and sweeteners - today's twist on a traditional butter cookie is a great example.

These nibby buckwheat butter cookies couldn't be easier to make, and the recipe is indicative of the type of treats you'll find in Pure Desserts. In this case, a handful of ingredients and a sliver of active time yields dozens of cacao freckled, butter-bronzed buckwheat cookies made from a blend of all-purpose and buckwheat flours. You can slice them or do as I did and roll and stamp them into whatever shapes you please. Those of you who have been readers for a long time know I have a weakness for a scalloped edge, so that is the route I took.

Other recipes in the book highlight and explore the flavors of some of my favorite grains, nuts, and minimally processed sweeteners as well. She does a shortbread and pound cake using kamut flour, a whole wheat sable cookie, and corn flour tuiles. On the sweetener front Alice serves up a honey ice cream and panna cotta, she also writes of muscovado bread pudding, a raw sugar toffee sauce, and a raw sugar flan. Don't get me wrong, this book has it's fair share of white sugar and all-purpose flour, but for those of you who are looking for a gateway book into delicious, fool-proof baking with some percentage of whole ingredients, Pure Desserts is a great place to start.

Give the cookies a try, if you like them consider trying some of the other recipes from her book as well. There is an amazing range of more minimally processed ingredients out there to explore - the flavors, colors, textures are exciting, unique and unfamiliar to many. Alice's book is a great place to dabble a bit, see what you think, without having to overhaul your entire pantry.

Related Links:
- Traveler's Lunchbox Q&A with Alice Medrich
- Cook & Eat: No Quince-idence
- Molly's take on these buckwheat cookies
- Luisa does Alice's whole wheat sables
- Grace highlights Pure Dessert on her favorite cookbooks list.

Continue reading Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies...

Spring Wild Rice Salad

2008-03-24T07:58:27-08:00

It's unfortunate, but aside from the holiday season wild rice seems to be all but ignored. For an eight week stretch as the year comes to a close I typically see it used in two ways -in stuffings, or as a side salad punctuated with dried cranberries. Then nothing for another year. Wild rice is such a unique and nutritious ingredient, I made a note-to-self to try to work it in to my day to day cooking more often. As we start getting more warm days, the nuttiness of the rice plays beautifully off many springtime ingredients. For lunch yesterday I decided to make a spring inspired wild rice salad - vibrant asparagus, yellow split peas, and wild rice tossed in an almond butter dressing and finished off with a bit of goat cheese and chives.

For those of you who don't cook with wild rice often, there is a whole world of wild rice to learn about. The first thing (and many of you already know this), wild rice isn't actually a rice - it's an annual aquatic grass. There are a wide range of wild rices available. Some come from their native upper Great Lakes region, others come from Idaho, Washington, and California. You can buy hand-harvested wild rice, you can buy cultivated wild rice. Connoisseurs will be quick to tell you that wild rice hand-harvested from a canoe is like a fine wine, the creme de la creme, others counter that at $10-$20 per pound not everyone can afford it. As I mention in SNC it can be surprisingly light in color and often takes much less time to cook than it's cultivated cousin - the darker, glossy, brownish black wild rice you are likely familiar with.

We talk a lot about cooking times on this site, and as with most grains (or grain-like ingredients), cooking time can vary greatly from rice to rice depending on the type of wild rice you buy, when it was harvested, and so on - so keep that in mind as you go into any recipe that features wild rice.

Semi-related rice recipes:

- Poached Eggs Over Rice
- Red Rice Salad
- Coconut Rice
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