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Newest Cookery Reviews (view source)
Revision as of 09:32, 12 December 2023
, 09:32, 12 December 2023no edit summary
[[Category:Cookery|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Cookery]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1454955546
|title=Sugarless
|author=Nicole M Avena
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=''This isn't a diet book. The last thing anyone needs is another diet book.''
There was a time, not that long ago, when it was thought that sugary food was better for you than food with high-fat content. Fat was the demon food which was going to elevate your cholesterol and cause heart disease. Sugar was a carbohydrate, so good. There's a problem, though. Sugar is addictive and can hijack your brain in much the same way as drugs like heroin and cocaine. Does that sound over the top? Well, it isn't.
}}
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{{Frontpage
|isbn=1635866847
|title=The Lavender Companion
|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
|rating=4.5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for you. Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned. You get to fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I ''loved'' this book already.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=3791388398
|title=New European Baking: 99 Recipes for Breads, Brioches and Pastries
|author=Laurel Kratochvila
|rating=4.5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=This is probably one of the most unusual baking books I've encountered. It's built around 99 recipes for breads, brioches and pastries but the recipes are interwoven with some thought-provoking writing on how bread - and baking - have changed in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. We start with the basics - the equipment you'll need (there's nothing extravagant or indulgent) and the ingredients, where the author is particular. You might not have realised that different salts can change the flavour and sensation on the tongue of the finished product but, apparently, they do.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1398508632
|title=The Wilderness Cure
|author=Mo Wilde
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=It had been on the cards for a while but it was the week-long consumer binge which pushed Mo Wilde into beginning her year of eating only wild food. The end of November, particularly in Central Scotland was perhaps not the best time to start, in a world where the normal sores had been exacerbated by climate change, Brexit and a pandemic. Wilde had a few advantages: the area around her was a known habitat with a variety of terrains. She had electricity which allowed her to run a fridge, freezer and dehydrator. She had a car - and fuel. Most importantly, she had shelter: this was not a plan to ''live'' wild just to live off its produce.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1635864674
|title=Tomato Love: 44 Mouthwatering Recipes for Salads, Sauces, Stews, and More
|author=Joy Howard
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=''Think of it as no-whining dining.''
We know it's a fruit rather than a vegetable but the fact that so many people get confused just goes to show how versatile the tomato is. Then there are all the different types, not to mention the cultivars - and you begin to understand why Joy Howard says that she hasn't met one she didn't love. I'd argue with her there - I have no affection for the ones you find in the supermarket ''next'' to the ones labelled 'grown for flavour' to distinguish them from the ones that have obviously just been grown for profit. Personally, I'd prefer a tin of tomatoes to those - and Howard makes good use of these. She's not at all precious if you get the taste.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=0241480442
|title=Healthy Vegan The Cookbook: Vegan Cooking Meets Nutrition Science
|author=Niko Rittenau and Sebastian Copien
|rating=4.5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Emotionally, I am a vegan. Mentally, I am a vegan. I read [[How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance]] and was appalled by the way in which we treat animals in our search for (preferably cheap) food. Practically, I am not a vegan. It worked for a while apart from the odd blip with regard to cheese but then a perfect storm of those events which you hope don't occur too often in your lifetime tempted me back to animal-based protein. It wasn't the taste - I know that I can get plant-based food that tastes just as good as anything plundered from the animal kingdom - it was the ease of being able to get sufficient protein when meals were often snatched in a few spare moments.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1529418100
|title=Bruno's Challenge and Other Dordogne Tales
|author=Martin Walker
|rating=4
|genre=Short Stories
|summary=I'm not usually a fan of short stories - I find it all too easy to put the book down between stories and forget to pick it up again - but I am a fan of Martin Walker's [[Martin Walker's Commissar Bruno Courreges Mysteries in Chronological Order|Bruno Courreges Mysteries]] so the temptation to read ''Bruno's Challenge'' was hard to resist and I'm rather glad that I didn't even try. For those new to the series, there's an excellent introduction that will tell you all you need to know about who's who and the background to why Bruno is in St Denis.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=1787332098
|title=How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World
|author=Henry Mance
|rating=5
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=''When we do think about animals, we break them down into species and groups: cows, dogs, foxes, elephants and so on. And we assign them places in society: cows go on plates, dogs on sofas, foxes in rubbish bins, elephants in zoos, and millions of wild animals stay out there, ''somewhere,'' hopefully on the next David Attenborough series.''
I was going to argue. I mean, cows are for cheese (I couldn't consider eating red meat...) and I much prefer my elephants in the wild but then I realised that I was quibbling for the sake of it. Essentially that quote sums up my attitude to animals - and I consider myself an animal lover. If I had to choose between the company of humans and the company of animals, I would probably choose the animals. I insisted that I read this book: no one was trying to stop me but I was initially reluctant. I eat cheese, eggs, chicken and fish and I needed to either do so without guilt or change my choices. I suspected that making the decision would not be comfortable.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=0008333173
|title=Hungry: A Memoir of Wanting More
|author=Grace Dent
|rating=5
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=I'm always relieved when Grace Dent is one of the judges on ''Masterchef''. You know that you're going to get an honest opinion from someone whom you sense does real food rather than fine dining most of the time. You also ponder on how she can look so elegant with all that good food in front of her. I've often wondered about the woman behind the media image and ''Hungry: A Memoir of Wanting More'' is a stunning read which will make you laugh and break your heart in equal measures.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=Tee_Gross
{{Frontpage
|isbn=0241367875
|title=bookCompletely Perfect: 120 Essential Recipes for Every Cook
|author=Felicity Cloake
|rating=5
|genre=Completely Perfect: 120 Essential Recipes for Every CookCookery
|summary=It's a novel concept for a cookery book: these are not Felicity Cloake's recipes but the best ones she found to do a particular job - the job of delivering the best meal, the ''Completely Perfect'' meal of the title. Think of it as the equivalent of a comparison site for when you want to renew the car insurance and then taking the best elements out of each recipe to make perfection. There's nothing cutting edge here: it's the sort of food which we've been eating for decades and probably will be for decades to come. There's a reason for that: roast chicken followed by apple crumble ''works'' and providing that you don't have a vegetarian or a vegan at table, it's a meal which is unlikely to do other than go down well.
}}
|isbn=Jopson_Science
|title=The Science of Food: An exploration of what we eat and how we cook
|author=AuthorMarty Jopson
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Books about Italian food are everywhere, with recipes for pizza, pasta dishes and all the usual suspects. In a winter which seems to be starting hard all too early what I wanted was sunshine - and the sort of food which you find on the Italian streets and in those bars which only the locals know about. It's the sort of food which you eat on the move, or leaning against the bar - tables and chairs don't usually come into the equation. For the most part, it doesn't aspire to being ''healthy'' - frying plays a larger part than it does in a virtuous diet and it is a little short on fruit and veg - but we can all be a bit naughty on occasions, can't we?
}}
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