I haven’t gotten around to doing any posting of new recipes yet, but I’ve tried quite a few new dishes already in 2009. Tonight’s dinner was roasted vegetable couscous (photo here) and which you can find online at MyRecipes.com here. I followed up with some tea-poached pears in chocolate sauce made from the cooking liquid, served with a little Greek honey yogurt (recipe from The Veganomicon).
So far 2009 has been good for getting my head back in the cooking game. I received some gift subscriptions to cooking magazines over the holidays, though I am sad to note that Bon Appetit is now half the magazine it used to be (literally! I compared the March 2009 issue to the March 2001 issue still on my shelf and it’s half as many pages). My latest new cookbook is the aforementioned Veganomicon. I’m in no danger of converting to the lifestyle (“I’ll eat your food, but I won’t join your cult!”) but I would very much like to have more modern, less hippy vegetarian recipes at my fingertips. I like vegetables! I like soy! I am not satisfied with the old school vegetarian recipes (“slather tofu strips in barbecue sauce, broil.”) any more than I’m satisfied with the old school family recipes that involve opening a couple of cans of condensed soup, mixing with hamburger, and calling it a “casserole”.
The Veganomicon has potential but the authors are already running afoul of one of my hardcore recipe peeves: don’t measure things in “one carrot” or “a small onion”! What is a small onion to you? What if I don’t have a small onion, only a jumbo onion? How much chopped onion do you want me to end up with? That kind of easy-breezy writing style has a place but I prefer a little more precision in recipes. I might branch out or do my own thing after I learn a recipe but I grit my teeth every time I have to stop and figure out for myself what they’re asking for when I’m first trying out a new dish.
Anyway, maybe I’ll get back to the Veganomicon later.
Recipes I’ve tried but haven’t written up so far in 2009:
Mixed Vegetable Biryani
Buttermilk Oven-Fried Chicken
Gratin of Belgian Endive with Bacon
Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemons
Kalamata Olive Bread with Oregano
Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans
Cherry Tomato Spaghetti with Toasted Pine Nuts
Roasted Root Vegetables in Maple Glaze
Pork Chops with Ancho Chile Rub and Raspberry Glaze
Peanut Crusted Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
Sesame Noodles with Broccoli
Satay Burgers
Roasted Tomato-Beef Goulash
Lemon Chicken with Olives
Baja-style Grilled Tempeh Tacos
Creamy (vegan!)Tomato Soup
Kasha Phyllo Pie
Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemons
Tagine is one of my secret agenda items for this year. Once I find a store that sells preserved lemon.
Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemons
Tagine is one of my secret agenda items for this year. Once I find a store that sells preserved lemon.
If you can’t find packaged preserved lemons, there’s a really easy recipe for making your own here: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001815how_to_make_preserved_lemons.php
I’m lucky that it’s easy to find preserved lemons around here. Nearly every grocery store in the area has a robust section for either Latin American, Southeast Asian, or Middle Eastern cuisine (if not all three).
I’ve read that many magazines are smaller due to fewer ads rather than less content. Maybe that’s the case here?
I’ve read that many magazines are smaller due to fewer ads rather than less content. Maybe that’s the case here?
Good point! I tallied up the recipes for 2001 vs. 2009 and we’re at 89 vs. 59. There are also articles (features on travel, housewares, chefs and other “foodie” personalities) in each issue but it was late and I didn’t get around to tallying those for 2009. In 2001 there were many more two-page spreads and “special advertising sections” in the magazine. Not sure how the rest of the content stacks up.
Good point! I tallied up the recipes for 2001 vs. 2009 and we’re at 89 vs. 59. There are also articles (features on travel, housewares, chefs and other “foodie” personalities) in each issue but it was late and I didn’t get around to tallying those for 2009. In 2001 there were many more two-page spreads and “special advertising sections” in the magazine. Not sure how the rest of the content stacks up.
If you can’t find packaged preserved lemons, there’s a really easy recipe for making your own here: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001815how_to_make_preserved_lemons.php
I’m lucky that it’s easy to find preserved lemons around here. Nearly every grocery store in the area has a robust section for either Latin American, Southeast Asian, or Middle Eastern cuisine (if not all three).
You’re killing me with those pears.
Do you have a favorite foodie destination in London? I’ve already been turned on to Borough Market, thankfully.
You’re killing me with those pears.
Do you have a favorite foodie destination in London? I’ve already been turned on to Borough Market, thankfully.
When you’re at Borough Market, be sure to check out Neal’s Yard. They make the most awesome cheese. I wanted to grab and a wheel a do a runner when I was there.
When you’re at Borough Market, be sure to check out Neal’s Yard. They make the most awesome cheese. I wanted to grab and a wheel a do a runner when I was there.
What food magazines are you a fan of? I’ve been thinking about getting subscriptions to a couple but haven’t been able to narrow it down yet.
What food magazines are you a fan of? I’ve been thinking about getting subscriptions to a couple but haven’t been able to narrow it down yet.
What food magazines are you a fan of? I’ve been thinking about getting subscriptions to a couple but haven’t been able to narrow it down yet.
My all-time #1 favorite is Cooking Light. I’ve been a subscriber for a decade and it’s a wonderful publication. Fat with recipes that are very often winners.
Cooks Illustrated appeals to the nerd cook in me but I’m not always interested in all the content and it’s paper thin (so if you don’t like one or two of the articles in a month, the whole thing is pretty much a waste).
Saveur is fun if you want to read about food more than create the food that’s shown. I enjoy the content of the articles more than the actual recipes in that one.
Gourmet and Bon Appetit both go in and out of rotation with me. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t. I get a subscription and then decide not to renew, wait a year or two, do it again.
My all-time #1 favorite is Cooking Light. I’ve been a subscriber for a decade and it’s a wonderful publication. Fat with recipes that are very often winners.
Cooks Illustrated appeals to the nerd cook in me but I’m not always interested in all the content and it’s paper thin (so if you don’t like one or two of the articles in a month, the whole thing is pretty much a waste).
Saveur is fun if you want to read about food more than create the food that’s shown. I enjoy the content of the articles more than the actual recipes in that one.
Gourmet and Bon Appetit both go in and out of rotation with me. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t. I get a subscription and then decide not to renew, wait a year or two, do it again.