Cookbook of the Seven Seas

Dagmar Freuchen's Cookbook of the Seven Seas, pp.[4] 256; 1968 published by Evans, is a culinary tale of adventure. Upon first glance of this book I got this overwhelming sense of riding the high seas... casting the anchor and exploring culinary delights. Considering that the boat is still in the habour and that I haven't left my kitchen... I've probably been watching one too many pirate movies. Recipes range from gourmet to exotic. Glancing at the cover art one may think this cookbook offers mostly seafood dishes, it does not. There are plenty of meat and vegetable dishes. Desserts too! There are seven sections... hence the title... and they are:


1) The North and Baltic Seas - Denmark, Scandinavia, N. Europe, Russia and Greenland
2) The Mediterranean Sea - France, Spain, Italy and Greece also N. Africa and Near East
3) The Red and Arabian Seas - Arabia, East Africa, Pakistan and India 
4) The Seas of China and Japan - also includes Korean and Vietnam  
5) The South Seas - the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand 
6) The Caribbean Sea - Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica also continental Latin America  
7) The Sea Around Us - New York, Connecticut, Fire Island and International cuisine of America  

Each section has an introduction which is a personal recollection regarding Dagmar and her husband Peter, an Arctic explorer. In part this book becomes and homage to her late husband and their travels or should I say culinary adventures together. The introductions to each section read like a diary entry rather than an explanation. Making it all that more personal and interesting to read. No full page photographs just fun illustrations throughout. You also learn about Smørrebrød. Smørrebrød are Danish open sandwiches. Lots of recipes to consider but I don't think I will be making the Avocado Coffee Milkshake anytime soon. - JW  

Salmon

Last nights dinner was salmon baked in a parchment paper pocket with butter, fresh dill and lemon slices. In my view parchment paper is one of those glorious kitchen must haves. Very versatile, disposable but worth every cent. 
Just cut a piece of parchment paper according to what you are going to fill it with. Add the salmon. On top of the salmon add a dollop of butter, fresh herbs... in this case dill and follow with fresh lemon slices. Fold all edges underneath to create a pocket. You could also seal with melted butter. Bake at a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.        

I served it with a side of fresh peas and Perishke, baked perogy, in a dill cream sauce. The perishke I bought at Two Baba's & A Stove from the framer's market. Why mess with perfection! Dinner was very tasty, fresh and filling. - JW 

Quinoa Salad

Here is a quick and easy salad. Rinse and drain quinoa and follow the cooking instructions. While the grain is boiling chop all your veggies. I used cucumbers, radishes, yellow peppers and spring onions. Then in a glass jar mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some salt and pepper and fresh thyme. Put the lid on and shake well. When the quinoa absorbs all the water fluff with fork and transfer into a serving bowl. Letting the quinoa cool down a bit. Add the veggies and toss. Then drizzle the dressing over top and toss again. Add some fresh chives. Serve and enjoy. This is a very filling salad and I enjoy it during the winter months as well. Have a great weekend!  - JW 

The Blender Cookbook

When the weather gets hot my appetite tends to turn down and I crave lighter meals. I no longer want to devote myself for long periods at a time around a kitchen. Meals become less labour intensive. Baking is all but a minimum. Fast and fresh come to mind. Now at some point we have either received a blender as a gift or felt the impulse to buy one. Marvelling at this montrosity it always seems to get pushed to the back of the cupboards. Only to make it's appearance one summer day while you are hosting a barbeque dinner to make a round of margaritas. Or in my case hummus. I have a fond childhood memory of the blender... making milkshakes. That memory is bittersweet due to the fact that one time I forgot to put the lid back on the blender, pressed pulse and the milkshake came shooting out all over the place. To my dismay and embarrassment I frantically wiped up every ounce! After that I became very cautious around blenders. 

The Blender Cookbook by Anne Seranne and Eileen Gaden; Doubleday, first edition 1961; pp.[10] 288, has a wide range of recipes for you to grind, grate, crumb, pureé, and chop in no time. This cookbook has thirteen chapters. They are: 1) Dips, Sandwich Spreads, and Butter 2) Soups 3) Cheese and Egg Dishes 4) Hot Main Dishes 5) Main Dishes for Hot-Weather Menus, and moulded Salads 6) International Specialties 7) Vegetables 8) Savoury Sauces 9) Preserves 10) Hot Breads 11) Cakes, Cookies, Fillings, and Frostings 12) Deserts and Dessert Sauces and finally 13) Beverages. The book states there are more than five hundred recipes that cover all courses. Fourteen of them are "beat the heat" recipes. You can go from start to finish with the help from one of your most powerful and precise small appliances. There are step by step photos for the more intricate recipes. Unfortunately all photographs are in black and white and are rarely full pages. I always adore black and white photography however this is one of the few times I do not. Colour photography should always be used in cookbooks for the obvious reasons. 

This cookbook has made me look at the blender I have slightly more differently. I already use the blender to make smoothies, crêpes, hummus, sauces and bean dip. Perhaps I could extend the blender a little further in the kitchen especially when the weather gets warmer. -JW 

Zucchini

Looking for an easy side dish this weekend? Then how about try grilling zucchini. Wash and then cut the zucchini lengthwise. Not too thin. Drizzle a bit of olive oil and add some salt and pepper and toss. Then place them on the barbeque or in a pan. A few minutes each side. Until they have those classic brown markings and not too transparent. It's a delicate balance. When serving them I usually drizzle balsamic vinegar, tis the season. I use balsamic vinegar a lot in the summertime. Some other alternatives would be to grate or shave parmesan cheese over top and serve. You may also like to add fresh rosemary and lemon juice with the oil and salt and pepper. Regardless, grilled zucchini can accompany any of your summertime dishes with ease. Have great weekend! - JW 

Vintage Tea Party

I picked up this book sheerly because of it's coffee table/recipe quality. Sometimes I like when things can be multipurpose. Vintage Tea Party by Carolyn Caldicott; Photographs by Chris Caldicott, first edition, 2012 published by Frances Lincoln Limited is a quaint book that can sit on a bookshelf, lie on a coffee table or stand in the kitchen. With it's charming photography and thirty... I am estimating here, recipes it gives you just about everything you will need for an old-fashion tea party. Making you relax and enjoy your company without all the stress and strain of a dinner party. The book goes through all you need to know and the history of tea parties in the section Teatime and other sections include; Preserves, Tea in the Drawing Room, High Tea, Tea in the Garden, Fireside Tea and Nursery Tea. Of coarse each section has a variety of recipes. Classic recipes include: Victoria sponge, cucumber sandwiches, English muffins, scones, date and walnut cake and of coarse a Flapper's favourite Earl Grey tea mixed with gin and lemon. Vintage Tea Party let's you romanticise in a nostalgic era that has all but past by. However it is making a comeback. Check your local area for a tea room near you.      - JW     

Euro 2012

Monday I went to the Italian Centre to do some regular shopping and thought I would stop and have a bite to eat. Their sandwiches and lattés are fantastic and their bakery is to die for! Unknowingly when I sat down at my table all three t.v. screens in the small café were blaring the EUFA Euro 2012, England vs. France game. The place was busy and packed! I was just able to watch the few remaining moments of the game where it ended in a tie, 1-1. Not bad... and the sandwich and latté went down nicely as well! - JW  

Yellow Tomatoes

Red tomatoes are everywhere. In many sizes and shapes. Movie goers will remember the green tomato. Yellow, purple and orange tomatoes are understated. We hear less about them. Yellow tomatoes have less vitamin C and less lycopene than red tomatoes. however they are high in niacin and folate. For people who suffer when they eat acidic food, yellow tomatoes are lower in acid which is good news for your digestion. Due to it's low acid this tomato may have more of a natural sweet flavour. You can easily replace red tomatoes for yellow tomatoes with the majority of any recipes. They would be great for salads and sauces. They certainly would make for an interesting ketchup!    -JW 

Asparagus

Tall green stalks that resemble trees or the tall grass you would hold in your hand, asking a friend tree or a bush... knowing full well it was going to be a bush by pushing your thumb and finger up the shoot to shave all the little buds off.

I couldn't resist walking by the asparagus table at the market, it was piled high so the chances of actually missing it were very slim. I bought two fair sized bundles, that were crisp and delicious. Asparagus is a great source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium, zinc, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, protein, folic acid... the list goes on! There is white asparagus mostly grown in Northwestern Europe and green asparagus is the more popular and worldly known. 

My favourite way to serve it is to steam the asparagus, drizzle it with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then sprinkle some grated parmesan over top. You can replace the olive oil with butter. I also like it steamed with some freshly squeezed lemon juice over top. Simple and delicious! -JW   

Seasnax

When I saw these my first thought was... hmmm... okay, how does it taste? Sometimes we try the new fandangled snack only to be left feeling a bit flat. I was intrigued to give them a try. I broke off a piece from the wafer thin sheet and let it melt in my mouth... waiting, pushing my skepticism aside... I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty these actually are. I even got my kidlets to try them and they were a little unsure at first, then quickly came around to them. They have original, chipotle and wasabi flavour. With *no* GMO's, trans fat, cholesterol, MSG and sugar. They have 4.5% vitamin A and 2.8% vitamin C! You can find them at Blush Lane Organic Market here in E-town. I was thinking that you could break the sheets up into pieces and add them to steamed rice for a bit of a flavour burst. -JW  

The Crêpe Pan

I know I wasn't going to buy a crêpe pan but I did. It always seemed like a frivolous purchase to me. I christen it over the weekend for Sunday brunch. It's a fair size and due to it's shallow sides it does make it easy to tackle the crêpes. From a previous post you might recall that I was using a smallish fry pan to make crêpes. The only issue I have with this pan and it could be a mere design flaw on the part of Lagostina, is the handle. It has an all metal handle which gets very hot. Making it uncomfortable to hold unless you did what I did and wrapped a tea towel around the end of it. I guess using a pot holder would do the trick too. I think a heat resistant covered handle would be far better. I managed not to burn myself or singe the tea towel.   

   

With little fuss and what seemed like magic here are the crêpes. Waiting for the whip cream and mixed berries before being devoured by all. -JW  

Jubilation!

This weekend marks Queen Elizabeth's 60 years of reign. What better way to celebrate than champagne and Pimm's. Mix together, 2 ccl of Pimm's and top up with champagne and you get the Pimm's Royal Cup. Very refreshing on a summer day and a lovely way to ring in her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. God Save The Queen! - JW   

Savory Baking

With a title like this I couldn't resist picking this cookbook up. When I crave something more often than not it is something salty or savoury. Very rarely is it something sweet. Although just the other night I reached for some dark chocolate with ginger pieces to satisfy my craving... Anyhow the art of pastry making is something I could learn more about.  

Savory Baking: Warm and Inspiring Recipes for Crisp, Crumbly, Flaky Pastries by Mary Cech, Photography by Noel Barnhurst; first edition 2009; pp.[9]168 published by Chronicle Books LLC, has some very unique recipes for everyone. Just after the introduction the cookbook has a section on Tools for Success. It explains everything from ingredients, equipment and techniques to help you. Each section has anywhere from 10-15 recipes. They are divided into these: Quick Breads, Flaky Pastries, Rustic, Pastries with Puff, Cookies, and The Side Show. Glossary and index, of coarse are at the back and something I always find useful, The Table of Equivalents. Regardless of the cookbook I am using I can always appreciate a page like that. It just makes it easier when converting measurements. And shows that the author has thought through the baking process.

Majority of the recipes sound wonderful, are easy to read and photos are close up. The few recipes that caught my eye are the Stilton Cheesecake on a Candied-Walnut Crust, Canadian Bacon Bread Pudding, White Cheddar Zucchini Pancakes, Chicken Dijon Brown Betty, Potato Cheese Fritters and Sour Cream Fig Spirals. They all sound comforting and creative. Again, this cookbook is for everyone despite your level of kitchen comfort. It brings cook and baker together with pastry being at the forefront, appetizers and main dishes rather than at the end of your meal, the dessert. - JW