An Exotic Bowl: The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook

I am always curious to try unusual fruits and vegetables, because this diversity shows how rich and extraordinary our world is. However, when it comes to introducing them into the daily menu, my brave curiosity stops only at tasting them, one bit at a time. As for now, my best source of 'exotic' fruits and vegetables is my Asian markt but I would be very curious to try other products from South-America for instance, which are almost impossible to be found in Germany in their fresh state. 

Compared to California, the source of products distributed at the iconic Berkeley Bowl market, Germany has a very unfriendly weather therefore, creating local variants is almost impossible. Registered dietician Laura McLively created an unique book based on her own exploration of 'one of the nation's most renowed retailer of exotic fruits and vegetables'. Since the late 1970s, the Berkeley Bowl is following a very simple yet efficient motto: 'If we can find it, we'll buy it', offering to its customers unique and fresh products, mostly produced under the Californian sun. 

The recipes created by Laura McLively sound very exotic, but as long as you have the right ingredients, especially spices, the preparation is going on smoothly and not too much time is required. The names of the recipes are entincing, each being an invitation to a delicious feast. Some of my favorite are: roasted chestnut chocolate tarte, abalone mushroom schnitzel, grilled cheese with mezuna, dates and goat cheese, banana blossom with glass boodles and crispy garlic, vanilla rhubarb jam, malanga masala latkes, persimmon gingersoup smoothie, chrysantenum greens and turnip fried rice, green papaya gazpacho. The selection is really exquisite and my tastebud imagination is soo limited to imagine all those flavors without trying them. A combination of meals for a full menu is also available. 

Even if you cannot try all those flavors and special products, at least this book looks that if they were left on this earth, alongside with other interesting spices, you can try to match them and create unique bowls. The power of imagination is always on the side of those who dare.

The book will be released in the first part of April, so unfortunatelly there is no chance to try any of those unique fruits for this Tu B'Shvat holiday, but at least you can save some of the recipes for a late date.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

More than a Noodle Soup Bowl

For the sake of SEO and other out-of-the context considerations, I will add the label 'cookbook' to this book. In fact though, it is more than a simple collection of recipes, but an anthopological journey of noodles, their meanings and local translations. 

'An epistemology of the noodle soup' - with a continual presence starting from the Bronze Age on the territory on what is today's China - may include the answer to the question: 'How do we know what counts as noodle soup?'. But happily, this book touches upon the limits of other issues associated with them. For instance, the bowl soup, to whose beauty a couple of paragraphs are dedicated. Obviously, 'not every bowl is intended for noodle soup', but there are more subtle observations as well: 'If you want to see through a clear soup, make sure it's a white bowl, either porcelain or made with a white slip'. The author, which for 2 and half years practiced noodle soups every morning for at least 15 minutes, makes bowls too, so the experience talks here too, it seems. Last but not least, keep in mind that chopsticks are 'crucial in constructing the entire noodle soup aesthetic'. In fact, every stage of preparing the noodles and the bowls as such are part of a larger existential exercise. Did you ever think that 'cutting soba by hand is a meditative practice'? 

'There is no denying that dried pasta is just about the most convenient food product imaginable; it's easy to cook, virtually indestructible and can be kept in your cabinet just for those occasions when you don't have a lot of time to fuss'. However, if you read this book seriously - with side notes and specific adnotations - you will realize that you can do your own noodles, but in fact it is not as easy as it sounds. It requires not only practice, but a rich imagination. Otherwise, how someone can figure out how to prepare a reconstructed - noodle soup - dish of a Reuben sandwich, or Baba ganoush?

As for me, I would rather keep reading this book, couple of minutes the day, for getting the right practices as much as my cooking abilities allows, in terms of matching stocks, types of noodles and, why not, bowls too.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Cookbook Recommendation: Totally Eggplant, by Helene Siegel

I do have a rather tragic personal relationship with eggplants. Although at home we used to have regularly fried eggplant often turned into baba ganoush - the only way our nanny knew to prepare it - I never been a big fan of it therefore my interest to this veggie - actually according to some opinions, it is considered a fruit, following the same school of thought which includes tomato in the same category - was limited to observing the long process of preparing it on the stove. But when once I wanted to have a taste of eggplant in a restaurant, it happened that the product was slightly overdue therefore I caught an allergy that was about to cost my precious life. Since then - it happened over 10 years ago - I only tried to do my own recipe only once and the results were just fine, but nothing to make me want to go early in the morning out of the house and buy eggplants for a challenging food tasting and testing. 

I would love to change this situation though, therefore my search for sources of inspiration convincing me to include it in my regular menu. Totally Eggplant by Helene Siegel is a very good beginning in this respect. It includes very easy recipes, for a meal shared with guests, with a very fast preparation time.

It helps the reader - especially the non-experienced one - that it is 'a vegetable of many possibilities not only grilling'. Instead of frying, it offers the healthier and quicker option of roasting, in combination with many interesting ingredients and spices. The most challenging part of the recipes is that you usually need minimum 5 ingredients, because its original taste is quite diverse and matches a large variety of additions, such as curry, miso, onions and garlic, meat, vinaigrette, fish. For instance, one of the recipes I would love to test is: couscous with eggplant and pine nuts (which includes cumin, parsley, cinnamon and onion). Polenta eggplant lasagne sounds good too. Most of the recipes recommend though the new star of the European farmers' markets: the Japanese eggplant, which can be also produced in Spain, corkscrew shaped, longer and thinnier, milder and less bitter than the original variant we are familiar with. The book also has some short historical snaphots, explaining the origin of that product of the earth considered by the 16th century Ottomans as 'the Lord of the vegetables': probably brought to America by African slaves along with okra, watermelon or black eye peas.

Totally Eggplant is an enjoyable read, with a lot of tasty inspiration. Can't wait to get in the right mood to try some recipes, hopefully soon. 

Meet Your Matcha

My love story with green tea and matcha started almost 10 years ago, after spending one full year in Japan and trying to find my way through the local cuisine. I left with a lot of new tastes and eating habits which I proudly carry with me until now. 

However, my matcha dates started a bit later, a couple of years ago when the powerful green powder entered the bars and coffee places of the Western world. 

This beautifully illustrated book with 50 'irresistible recipes' by food writer Joanna Farrow brings on your table a big variety of recipes, including savoury ones, which for me was a big novelty, as up to now I was only considering matcha for a sweet match.

The book is simply written, with easy directions and affordable recipes, both in terms of prices of the ingredients - except the matcha prices which are always high but you don't use more than 1-2 tbsp. for more recipes - suiting the beginner and middle-level chef. 

The ingredients are also healthy, without using too much oil and sugar. The construction of the recipes use a feature outlined by the author, according to which the original matcha flavour can be enhanced based on the ingredients it is paired with. Therefore, it is possible, for instance, to suggest a recipe of matcha soft cheese and smoked salmon open sandwiches, or chicken noodles with matcha dumplings, or even matcha mayo. 

This book is an interesting matcha journey which if you such a lover of this extraordinary ingredient, you would love to revisit over and over again.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Smörgåsbord - the Swedish way of eating

Many of us are experiencing the Swedish food as the tasty reward of long hours of IKEA shopping, but obviously it is much more than that. The beautifully illustrated Smörgåsbord offers an extraordinary lesson of food history, providing not only recipes and interesting directions about preparing a real Swedish meal, but also explains basic principles of life philosophy and style. 

Smörgåsbord means a buffet set up with many small dishes, including bread, butter and cheese, cured fish, meatballs. The dishes can be up to 100, but there is a specific order that shall be followed: first, the pickled herring, the hardboiled eggs, the potatoes and aged hard cheese; after, the fish and seafood dishes; the charcuterie, pickles and salads; the warmer dishes, meatballs or gratins; thereafter, the sweet table with fruits, whipped cream, cookies and cakes. 

Plentiness doesn't mean greediness. 'Overloading your plate just make you unhappy'. Instead, you should learn to enjoy life in small portions, one small dish at the time. 'Take small portions and eat slowly', and this direction helps to keep the balance not only in food, but in life in general. 

The book is also rich in recipes, from various types of Swedish breads to how to make sausages and pickles. 

A good read recommended to any food lover and an inspiration for the food writer and illustrator too.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review  

Cookbook recommendation: Taste of Persia, by Naomi Duguid

Taste of Persia by Naomi Duguid is a fascinating culinary journey into the secret corners of the kitchens in one of the most interesting regions of the world for me. Singled out by a past of conflicts and a present of political turmoil and insecurities, this region promises instead a tradition of peaceful and extremely diverse meals. Through photography and intensive interractions with the people from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and the region of Kurdistan, Naomi Duguid succeeds to present authentic travel and taste stories, mapping the diversity of local products and tastes in over 120 recipes.

The beautiful photographs are adding more colour to interesting recipes with local ingredients not easy to find on the markets outside the region - especially in Europe. Therefore, one can understand the deep longing for home among people from those part of the worl while far away from their traditional cuisines and the hard task to cope with on the shoulders of the traditional restaurants opened overseas. 

Although significant differences - the demarcation between the use of pork in the case of the non-Muslim countries and the abundance of the beautiful wines of Georgia and the sophisticated rices from Iran - there are common ingredients shared in the region. Unfortunatelly, Afghanistan - for obvious security and safety reasons - is not featured which I am almost sure it shares some common features with many of the cuisines featured. For instance, the richness of versatile sauces or the frequent presence of walnuts - in salads, sweets or sauces, a detail I was not familiar with -, the fresh herbs, or the variety of fruits - including dried - consumed together with teas. 

Another great merit of the book is featuring a minority group only recently brought into the world attention and not for a good reason: the Yazidi, the victim in the recent years of a permanent genocide. As in the case of the Kurds, their 

There are many recipes that caught my attention and made me dream of a rich feast: mint oil - very easy to make at home too -, onion salad with barberies, grilled eggplant - including with pomegranate seeds, the variety of the Georgian vegetables pates, pkhali, the herbed yogurt soup, stuffed vegetables and dumplings, the roasted fish with walnut paste, the roasted poultry soaked in saffron water or the tart lamb stew with fried potatoes.

Very well organised, the book is covering the entire region, country by country, from spices and pantry essentials, to sauces, meat and fish, teas and sweets, bread and juices. As I recently developped a fascination - not yet followed by a perfect execution - for everything Persian rices, I would have love more variants and details of this beloved meal, but obviously, the Persian cuisine is more than that. 

The recipes are very clearly written, with simple directions that can appeal also the beginner chef with a lust to try a recipe from one of the most sophisticated kitchens of the world. I personally saved for later two recipes that I hope to try and share in the next weeks. The book has also a glossary of terms and many historical and travel references that bring the region closer to someone getting to know this region for the first time.

I strongly recommend this book which is more than travel dairy and more than an exploration of taste. It brings you more the hunger and the wanderlust which is a fantastic win-win.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Cookbook review: Dining at the Ravens

American cuisine and restaurants in general are frequenty badmouthed by the other part of the world for their lack of rafinament and unhealthy ingredients. In the last decade however, the number of good American gastronomic practices changed dramatically and more and more secret healthy gourmet spots are revealed to the whole world.

One such revelation is The Ravens restaurant in Mendocino, California, where the menu is plant-based, mostly using ingredients produced in the own organic gardens and farm. A book published last year offers over 150 vegan recipes regularly served, with interesting details about the life and food philosophy of the owners, who are the authors of the book. 'I really love food that not only tastes amazing, but also reflects my values and ethics'. 

The book details the various daily stages of the menu, starting with the breaksfast that, 'at the Ravens, is an expression of mindfulness'. The day seen and tasted through different meals looks very appealing and healthy too, with interesting unique combinations. One of the meals that stayed obsessively with me - and will keep doing so until I will offer my own interpretation of the recipe - is citrus polenta with a braised garden greems and a creamy toasted cashew sauce. The recipe is so convincing, especially for someone so reluctant to prepare and taste polenta as I am. Cashews are often used in many meals, from breakfast platest to sauces. 

Part of the owner's philosophy is to treat bread as an accidental companion to the meal, rather than as a necessary presence at the table. 'We look at ordinary wheat breads more as condiments than substantive parts of a meal. At Ravens, bread is available only by request. Some of the bread recipes that found interesting are: jalapeno cornbread and rustic bread. 

Passing through the list of sauces and dips, a kale sauce sounds like a very unique experience, followed in my list of preferences by white beans hummus and mint pesto. For those less familiar with various green ingredients, the chapter dedicated to salads includes a list of possible salad ingredients.

The more I was advancing into the lecture - good writing, with easy directions that make you feel like you are good enough to submit your CV to the Ravens for a chef opening position - the more temptations arose. What about a roasted zucchini soup with pistachio cream and fresh mint - it seems that in the case of many recipes, there are more than 3 ingredients mixed, which is my perfect case scenario for me, especially when it comes to vegan food? Or a seasonal wild mushroom crepe or some eggplant cannelloni too? Maybe the Ravens Sea Palm Strudel, a staple dish of the restaurant?

Last but not least, take a look at their desserts too. 'Their ingredients stimulate the release of endorphins, providing a sense of well-being, aiding digestion, and ensuring that we receive the greatest nourishment from the food we have eaten'. As sweeteners, there are used maple syrup, agave and vegan sugar - such as beet sugar. The list includes, among others: basic sorbet, candy cap mushroom creme brulee - my first time ever when I've heard about candy cap mushrooms - or chocolate ganache tart. This chapter of the book is less spectacular in terms of recipes and ingredients. 

The book is a real star among my recent cookbooks, and an example that vegan food can be sophisticated and tasty, As for me, there is one recipe that I will try in the next days, not a spectacular one, but it makes it a tasty ingredient of burgers, for instance. 

My only disappointment was the relatively simple quality of the pictures, but somehow, after reading the book, this is the only minus of an interesting and balanced book.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review