Love Soul Food

When I saw that I had the option to review "Soul Food Love" I jumped at it. Although my Southwestern upbringing had been adventurous, my mother's culinary tastes had never veered towards the South.

Soul Food Love is a cookbook of "Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family. Alice and Caroline run through a variety of recipes, nearly all of which they describe as "perfect". Each recipe includes a fun history piece which often includes a description of the original recipe (before the healthy makeover) and there were several times I wish they had included those as well.

Instructions are easy to read and follow without being overly complex. However Alice and Caroline do not include estimated cooking times; something I find immensely important.

My roommates and I tried the Cauliflower Crown (delicious, although I may try to replicate the original recipe the duo hints at that involves wine). It went nicely with our Tacu Tacu de Palta (Peruvian Avacdo and Rice Fritters--once we perfect them I'll include the recipe) and Meringues.

Cauliflower Crown:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 bay leave
1 large head cauliflower, any greens removed
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large pot, combine the vinegar, rosemary, and bay leaf with enough water to cover the cauliflower, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower and reduce the heat. Simmer the cauliflower until you can easily stick a knife through it, about 30 minutes.
3. Drain the cauliflower and transfer it to a baking dish. In a small owl, whisk the olive oil with salt and pepper to taste, and pour this evenly over the cauliflower. Bake, standing upright on its base, until well browned, about 3 minutes.

The Cauliflower Crown

Meringues 

My Sous-Chefs: Matt and Kevin sitting down to enjoy the meal

The Paleo Chef

Apologies for the long delay between recipes! I've been pretty sick and haven't had as much time to cook or blog.

The last cookbook; the Paleo Chef. In the latest craze that's been sweeping the nation. In a cooking frenzy Matt, Kevin and I made a feast:

Tyrokopita
Indian Chicken
Rice Patties
Salad
and Orange


Heres a modified recipe from The Paleo Chef, Pete Evans
Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

avocado ranch dressing
ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp each chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and dill
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder

salad
1 Granny Smith apples (cored and thinly sliced)
1 head lettuce (chopped)
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp walnuts

mix dressing ingredients
add to lettuce and mix thoroughly

This is one of the best salads I've had in a while! Enjoy!

Overall: the cookbooks good on meat dishes (although the dishes require some more exotic ingredients). Desserts: awful. We made the avocado mousse. I know avocado has become popular in dessert dishes recently, but they haven't turned out great for me. So, enjoy!

Relae: A Book of Ideas

As one might imagine, most cookbooks are similarly organized. In chef and restaurant owner Christian Puglisi's guide to cooking and eating the recipes are intricately linked. Instead of searching out specific ingredients to make a dish, the book strongly advocates using the ingredients you have on hand to find a recipe.

Relae delves into the history of Puglisi's restaurant of the same name. An interesting idea and an even more fascinating reality, the reality of Puglisi's dream restaurant in Copenhagen makes me want to simply wander on in (if only).

Relae's originality and unique format may be the start of a trend. We'll have to see if more writers take up this manner of addressing cooking.

However, I accidentally left this book at home over Winter Break, so I'll update my experiences with the recipes once I get it back.

Overall Recommendations: A very fun cookbook, abet a bit pricy.