My sister is always after me to eat healthier.  She's been into sprouting and fermenting and using whole grains for a long time now.   She really makes some interesting and delicious foods which I have enjoyed and which is why I was really excited when I was offered the opportunity to review a new cookery book  . . .  At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, celebrating the art of eating well, by Amy Chaplin.

One of the many perks of being a food blogger is that I occasionally get sent cookery books to review.   I love it when that happens as I really love cookbooks.  I was recently sent the book, Kids Cook French, by Claudine Pepin, with illustrations by Jacques Pepin to review.  This one is a delight!

I grew up in Canada watching Jacques Pepin cook on PBS along with Julia Child, and so I was excited to get this book, which has been written by his daughter Claudine.  It only seems natural that Claudine (an accomplished home cook and wine educator who married a chef), should publish a cookbook for kids, since she grew up with the fine cuisine of her father and now cooks most nights for her own family.



This book was designed for the foodie chile and in a way which is sure to inspire children to want to get in the kitchen and cook and we all know that a way to get children to eat healthier and to eat a more varied diet is to get them in the kitchen cooking.  Kids LOVE to cook what they eat!




As a keen artist myself, and a writer of my own small illustrated cookbooklets, I really enjoyed the illustrations done by Jacques Pepin himself.  They are bright and colourful and quite entertaining.  The recipes range from uncomplicated to somewhat complicated,  with recipes for everything from croque monsieur to roasted cauliflower to apple tarts with almond frangipane.

There is a note to each the child and the parent to begin with, followed by four chapters . . .  To Start (appetizers and beginnings), To Continue (main courses), On the Side (delicious side dishes) and To Finish (as you would expect some tasty desserts).  Also included are a range of tasty menus using the recipes from the book.



Everything is in both English and French, which may even inspire your children to learn a second language.  I find it quite charming . . .

 

There are also little tips interspersed throughout in colourful little boxes . . .  ie. "Everything you cut, dice, slice, or chop is going to be eaten by someone, so take care and do it well."

True to Claudine’s guiding philosophy . . . that there is no such thing as “kids food,” only “good food” . . .  Kids Cook French doesn’t look or read like a children’s cookbook. You won’t find rebus-like directions in large print with little measuring spoons, or yet another “recipe” for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This is not to say that the recipes are overly complicated, only that adult supervision is required for what are clearly family projects.

I love the idea of families cooking together.

 

And once again, the illustrations truly are delightful.

I always like to try at least one recipe to show you from the cookbooks I review and so this time I chose Gougeres.   Gougeres are a delicious cheese puff type of appetizer, which is composed of choux paste, which can be somewhat complicated to cook.   The instructions were quite easy to follow however and I think you will agree that my Gougeres turned out just lovely!




Bake at 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6 for 10 minutes, rotating the tray if necessary.   Turn the oven temperature down to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 3 and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Gougeres should be brown and firm on the outside and light and airy on the inside.



If you haven't already gotten a gift for the special Father in your life for Father's Day on Sunday, I think this would be a fabulous gift.   Nothing like getting Dad and the children into the kitchen for a little bit of family bonding over some cookery and good food!

All in all I think this is a purely delightful book, for parent and child alike.   It's just complicated enough to make it interesting to the older child and adult, but not so complicated that it can't be understood by a younger child with supervision!

Kids Cook French
Les Enfants Cuisinent a La Francaise
by Claudine Pepin
with illustrations by Jacques Pepin
Cookbook for ages 5+, 96 pp.

ISBN 978-1-59253-953-6
Published by Quarry Books
RRP - $21.99 US/ £12.99 UK/ $23.99 CAN

I wanted to tell you about this fabulously fascinating cookbook that I received recently.  More than just a cookbook, it's also a gardening book.   The One-Pot Gourmet Gardener , Delicious container recipes to grow together and cook together authored by Cinead McTernan lifts cooking into the realms of actually growing what you eat, and even further into the realms of container gardening with the idea in mind that you would actually grow all of the produce/herbs/etc in one pot pertaining to a specific recipe.


GROW ME - COOK ME - EAT ME:
You can grow all the ingredients you need for a single dish in a single pot.  In all there are 25 carefully devised container recipes grouped into Soups and Salads, Main Courses, Picnic food, Quick Suppers and Drinks and Puddings., Smoothies, Sauces and Tarts.

Each one-pot recipe provides every step from sowing to serving.   There's an introductory masterclass on how to grow crops in pots, giving you the confidence and skills to devise your own one-pot recipes.



There are six chapters in the book . . .  with tips on how to use the book and getting started,  picnic dishes that you could eat al fresco and on the road, soups and salads, quick suppers, accompaniements such as salsa's and pickles and of course tasty drinks! This book covers a wide variety of subjects . . .



There are fabulous tips on getting started, how to plant, when to plant, what to plant, etc.   Even the novice gardener would find it quite easy to do.    This would be the perfect book to use in order to inspire your children to eat healthier or different foods.   What child doesn't want to eat what they grow themselves.   Imagine planting a pot with all of the fresh ingredients to make Gazpacho Soup with the children, and then watching them grow together as you baby and help the plants along, right on up to being able to harvest what you have grown to make the soup!    It's a fabulous concept.

 

The photography is beautifully executed by photographer Jason Ingram.  There are lots of photographs to help you every step of the way from preparing the soil, to planting, to the correct time for  harvesting.   It's all there, every inch of the way.

This is the ideal book for people with small gardens or balconies, who have the desire to grow their own food but are lacking in space as the ingredients for each recipe can be simply grown in a container.

I love the concept and I love the book.  I have a container planted,  to make my own Salsa Verde, but . . .  these things take time and so I won't be able to show you my results until a bit later in the year, but I am really excited about what I am going to end up with!

Cinead McTernan is a horticulturally trained writer and  the gardening editor of The Simple Things magazine. (She was previously editor of The Edible Garden magazine and worked on The English Garden and BBC Gardeners’ World magazines.) 

Available in hardback and priced at £16.99 One-Pot Gourmet Gardener is published by Frances Lincoln

ISBN 978-0-7112-3590-8
Frances Lincoln Limited Publishers
UK £16.99
US $26.99
Canada $28.99

Each one-pot recipe provides every step from sowing to serving.   And after being guided throuh an introductory masterclass on how to grow crops in pots, readers will have the confidece and skills to devise their own one-pot recipes!

  Reader Offer Discount:
To order One-Pot Gourmet Gardener at the discounted price of £12.99 including p&p* (RRP: £16.99), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG311
*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

Many thanks to Frances Lincoln for sending me this copy for review.   All opinions are my own.

I was recently sent the most exquisite cookery book for review.  Entitled Vanilla Table, and written by Natasha MacAller, it is a culinary celebration of all things vanilla.  Containing 100 recipes it boasts contributions from some of the elite of International Award Winning Chefs . . .  including the UK's Yotam Ottolenghi, Peter Gordon, William Curley and Galton Blackiston!

 

You would think that a book based solely on vanilla flavours would be somewhat limiting, but with a forward written by Peter Gordon, Natasha MacAller and her friends have  proved that Vanilla is indeed a very versatile ingredient in no less than 9 different chapters covering everything from soup to nuts.




Vanilla is an essential ingredient in my kitchen.   I have beans, paste and extract which I use on a regular basis for my baking and desserts.  I find it is very easy to use, it gives everything a lift and my cakes always taste and smell delicious.    I have also used it in savory dishes . . .  my Pot Roasted Chicken with Raspberry Cider is just one example of how I have done this, but it has been really nice to see just how far you really can go with it via the wide variety of recipes contained in this book.



The photography, by Manja Wachsmuth is just beautiful, and you will find that most of the recipes are accompanied with a very tempting photograph.  I love cookery books with photos.  It's nice to be able to envision what the finished dish should look like.



I was particularly intrigued with the Vanilla Pantry Chapter which shows you how to make your own Vanilla Sugars, Salts, Extracts, Syrups, Oils, etc.  I will be making more than a few of these for sure.

Another bonus is that all of the recipes are presented in North American, Metric and Avoirdupois measures, which means that this book can be used with ease just about anywhere in the world.   This is a real bonus.  There is also a really good source list at the back of the book.



I would stress however that this is not a book which a beginning cook would be able to use with ease.  Many of the recipes are what I would consider of a quality restaurant calibre . . .  ie. "Cheffy Recipes," but . . . on the plus side,  each recipe is well laid out with a paragraph about the story behind the recipe, a table showing the ingredients as well as clear and concise instructions. The photography truly is  outstanding and quite helpful in creating an understanding of  how the dish should look as well as tempting your taste buds.



NATASHA MACALLER is known worldwide as the “Dancing Chef”. A former professional ballerina, after thirty years of performing with companies such as New York’s Joffrey Ballet, the Boston Ballet and on the stages of Broadway, she decided to move on to what she considered another performing art: cookery. She used her seasonal layoffs from ballet to become a professional cook and eventually set up her own catering business, Dancing Chef Catering, which served TV, theatre, film and food industry folks. In 1996, after graduating number one in her class from The Colorado Culinary Institute, Natasha went from strength to strength, and she now holds her own culinary classes and has become an international chef consultant.

I normally like to share a recipe from the book I am reviewing with my readers and the one I have chosen to share with you from this book is a delicious cake.  Two Tone Chocolate Malt Cake.  I chose this one because it is a recipe I think most of you could make.  The buttercream is a tad bit fiddly, but quite do-able and the cake itself is very straightforward.   It's also quite beautiful.




Place one cooled cake layer in the centre of a cake plate.  Spread a layer of buttercream on top all the way to edges.  Place the second cake layer on top, then frost top and sides with the remaining buttercream.  Cut malt balls into random shapes.  Just before slicing, take one handful of malt balls at a time and press into the sides of the cake until completely covered.  Cut into wedges to serve.



 A sampling of some of the recipes in the book which caught my eye and that I want to try:

Starters: Shaved Fennel and KeriKeri Orange Salad, Caramelised Orange Salad, Pate au Poulet with Tipsy Cherries and Heirloom Tomato Bisque.

Main Plates: Slow Roasted Oxtail Pot Pies, Vanilla Lacquer Duck Leg, Seared Scallops with Vanilla Parsnip Puree, Chicken Stroganoff with Chanterelles and Vanilla.

Blue Plates and Brunch Plates: Coronation Chicken on Squashy Poppyseed Buns, Crunchy Cornflake Fried Chicken and Apricot, Almond and Vanilla Clafoutis.

Sharing Plates:  Island Crab cakes with vanilla-grapefruit remoulade,  The Tonga Trifle, Devilish Eggs with vanilla candied bacon and Saturn Peach, Onion and Blue Cheese Pie.

Dessert Plates: Vanilla Spiced Pineapple Roast, Quince Tarte Tatin, Raspberry Meringue Martinis, Creamy Butterscotch Pudding with Tash's English Toffee and The Anna Pavlova.

Cake Plates: Pure Vanilla Layer Cake, Caramelised Pineapple Carrot Cake, Two-Tone Chocolate Malt Cake and Bittersweet Chocolate Torte.

The Cookie Plate: Chocolate Sticky Bits, Espresso Brownie Bites, Gold Ingots, Cranberry Tweed Cardigans and Black Pepper Chai Truffles.

Bevvies and Bar Snacks: Toasty Coconut Chips and Nuts, Vanilla Passion Martini, Pink Ginger Zinger, Carrot Vanilla Gougeres.

Vanilla Pantry: Vanilla Sugar, Vanilla Salt Flakes, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Aioli, Raspberry Vanilla Vinegar and Scooter Pastry Cases/Pie Shells.



Personally I think it is a beautiful book.   Well written and laid out.  Beautiful photos.   Well written recipes.  Easy to follow for the confident cook.

Vanilla Table, the essence of exquisite cooking from the world's best chefs
by Nasasha MacAller
Photography by  Manja Wachsmuth
Published by Jacqui Small LLP
ISBN 978-1-909342-86-6
£25.00 UK/ $40.00 US/ $43.99 CAN

*Special Reader offer 
To order Vanilla Table at the discounted price of £20 including p&p* (RRP: £25), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG301.
*UK ONLY – Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.
Vanilla Table officially releases on 19th March

Many thanks to Jacqui Small for sending me a complimentary copy for review.  Any and all opinions are my own.

I was recently sent this cutting edge cookery book on grains to review.  Entitled Grains as Mains and written by Laura Agar Wilson, it  features a comprehensive collection of modern recipes using ancient grains.

Ancient grains first cooked thousands of years ago are now back in vogue, as more and more people become more health conscious and actively seek out food that is nourishing as well as being delicious.