BostonZest

Reading Cookbooks Can Be Simply for Pleasure

One of the great pleasures in writing about food is reading a lot of cookbooks. I’m not talking about choosing a recipe and cooking from a book, but rather sitting in a comfy armchair and letting a great writer and storyteller take me to another place, another time, or another culture through their love of the food.

I also read cookbooks to learn more about a particular food, technique, or cuisine. Many of these are stored in my Kindle Fire ebook reader. They offer the perfect alternative reading material when waiting for an appointment or putting in miles on the treadmill on a stormy day. Often essays open chapters or sidebars and tell a story about a recipe’s origin, ingredients, or the person who taught the writer to make the dish.

Acquiring Great Cookbooks

My first choice for acquiring a cookbook is the Boston Public Library (BPL). Buying cookbooks is expensive and storing them requires more space than I have. Therefore I audition potential purchases.

Many times I enjoy the BPL copy and use it to inspire a piece of writing or make notes for future reference. I can borrow it again if I need it.

However some books are so addicting that I will refer to them often, and so popular that I may have to wait to have the library copy longer or borrow it again.

These go onto my wishlist. A recent example is, “My Kitchen in Rome: Recipes and Notes on Italian Cooking” by Rachel Roddy. After reading a few rave reviews by colleagues I respect, I borrowed the ebook from the library. ( I have since purchased the Kindle version)

I read and reread this book in a weekend. Roddy took me to her neighborhood in the Testaccio quarter of Rome and introduced me to the neighbors, vendors, streets, sights, sounds, and aromas she discovered. She tempted me to make the food she learned to make and to enjoy the culture.

It went on my wish list. At that time, the ebook price was not much less than the hardcover price. When the price finally dropped, I added it to my Kindle collection.

More of my favorite cookbooks like this one will be in upcoming posts.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

  

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2012-2017 Penny Cherubino  

(Adapted for BostonZest from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns.)

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A Food History Reading List for Black History Month

Food Writer Toni Tipton-Martin came to my attention when she won a 2016 James Beard award for her book The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks.

In writing about this book for the James Beard Foundation, Maggie Borden praised it as a, “... masterful exploration of the contributions of African-American women to our nation's culinary landscape. Pages after pages of reproduced archival materials and recipes upend the historical stereotype of black women in the kitchen as illiterate ‘Aunt Jemimas,’ proving how instrumental these oft-ignored chefs were to our dinners and diets.”

Toni Tipton-Martin said about her research, "I eventually owned nearly 300 African American cookbooks ..." dating back to 1827. Her work set me on my own search for food writing and cookbooks that would help me better understand the African American contribution to our shared food culture.

Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs

Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs by Psyche A. Williams-Forson examines the roles that chicken, both as the bird and the food, has played in the lives of black women from the past to the present. For some women, chicken led to economic freedom and independence.

This one is not a cookbook but is a fascinating read and, in some ways, connects the others on this list with one food, chicken. This connection with the food lore of the past came to my attention in a contemporary cookbook, Red Rooster by Marcus Samuelsson.

The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem

Samuelsson’s cookbook is about far more than recipes, just as his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster is as much about community as it is about food. Each section begins with an essay about some aspect of the multi-dimensional mission that Red Rooster represents to him and his team.

Chicken plays a starring role in his restaurant and his book as he tells of his two year obsession with creating the perfect fried chicken dish that would be worthy of the Harlem chicken tradition.

In an interesting connection to the The Jemima Code, the basement supper club is named Ginny’s after a woman from Harlem who worked for his partner’s family. He wants it to be a place where all the Ginnys would feel welcome.

Jessica Harris

My first education on foods and foodways of the African Diaspora came from a class that I took with Doctor Jessica Harris. She has authored twelve books on the topic. For the purpose of this list, I would suggest you read two of her books. “Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons: Africa's Gifts to New World Cooking" and “The Welcome Table: African American Heritage Cooking” comprise a well-researched collection of recipes.

Edna Lewis

No list on this topic would be complete without a book by chef and food writer Edna Lewis. Her New York Times obituary recalled an earlier interview in which she said, "As a child in Virginia, I thought all food tasted delicious. After growing up, I didn't think food tasted the same, so it has been my lifelong effort to try and recapture those good flavors of the past." With this in mind, I suggest you read her book, “The Taste of Country Cooking.”

While this column was introduced as a reading list, it is also a cooking list, and I hope you will try some of the recipes and/or menus you come across. All of these books are available from the Boston Public Library.

As a bonus for this online version of this Fresh & Local newspaper column, we have not only linked to the books on Amazon, but also to each author's page, making this a more extensive reading list in case you already know the specific books we selected to feature here.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino adapted for BostonZest from one of our Fresh & Local newspaper columns
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

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Escape Your Cooking Rut with Inspiration from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix

Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix is a wonderful addition to your cookbook collection whether you are an experienced cook or a just beginning to build your skills in the kitchen.

Let's face it, we all find ourselves making and serving our family and guests the same list of favorites. It can be even more of a problem for new cooks who may be afraid to venture beyond the recipes they have made that were big hits. 

Summer is coming and you may have a basic gazpacho recipe you've been making for years. Or you could be hoping to surprise those around your table by coming up with a new twist on this chilled soup. Kitchen Matrix comes to the rescue with a chapter on gazpacho 12 ways!

You'll find other sections that cover chicken wings, soups, asparagus, stir fries, and other ways we look at food and feeding our friends and family.

The Publisher Says...

"For years, Mark Bittman has shared his formulas, recipes, and kitchen improvisations in his popular New York Times Eat column, in which an ingredient or essential technique is presented in different variations in a bold matrix. Accompanied by striking photographs and brief, straightforward instructions, these thematic matrices show how simple changes in preparation and ingredient swaps in a master recipe can yield dishes that are each completely different from the original, and equally delicious. In Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix, Mark’s matrices come together to create a collection of over 400 flexible recipes covering vegetables, fruits, meats and chicken, and even desserts.  Whether you’re cooking up soup (creamy, brothy, earthy, or hearty), freezing ice pops (in fruity, savory, creamy, or boozy varieties), or preparing asparagus (steamed, roasted, stir-fried, or grilled), following Mark’s approach to culinary improvisation will deliver stand-out results."

I say that this book is a brainstormer's delight. You pick it up, open a chapter, and remember what is possible. You look up an ingredient, turn to a page, and are presented with possibilities instead of just one recipe. It would make a great gift for a new grad just setting up a first apartment or for any fan of Mark Bittman's sensible approach to simplicity in food preparation.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? By hopping over to Amazon from here, you support BostonZest. Amazon puts a few coins in our tip jar for any purchase made from a link on this site. 

   

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny Cherubino 

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Learn How to Cook on a Continuum with The Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone

Cooking meals on a daily basis can be daunting or it can be relaxing depending on your approach. I recently discovered the book The Kitchen Ecosystem. Author Eugenia Bone helped me see why it might be easier for longtime cooks to prepare daily meals while the same task could be stressful for the occasional cook.

Having Stuff on Hand

One crisper drawer in my refrigerator is devoted to my cooking basics: celery, carrots, parsley, cabbage, lemons, and apples. With the stocks in my freezer and the onions and garlic in my pantry, I have the beginning of many soups, stews, braises, and salads.

The Kitchen Ecosystem is arranged by 40 common ingredients. For each one, the author provides recipes for dishes that star that ingredient and follows with ideas on what you can make to add to your pantry with not only the leftovers, but also the scraps. (e.g., Who knew that apple peel stock could be handy to have when you need a bit more pectin in a jelly or jam?)

Preserving foods by fermenting, canning, and freezing are part of the author's repertoire. But even if you're not ready to make your own sauerkraut or can chicken, you can make stocks to freeze and prepare a dish that will let you turn the leftovers into a sequence of meals.

Tired of Leftovers?

If you or your family quickly tire of the same food after a day or two, think about preparing a basic version of something and then creating variations on a theme. I do this all the time with chicken soup. I’ll make a big pot of simple chicken soup and then serve it at future meals with different starches like rice, pasta, noodles, dumplings, barley, grains, cubes, etc. In the photo above, I used polenta cubes.

Whenever I have leftover, falling apart, tender meat from a pot roast or braised lamb shanks, I’ll shred the meat and turn it and the braising liquid into a chili by adding beans, chilies, and seasoning then simmering until the flavors blend.

Repurpose

When I make chicken soup, I use enough chicken to have extra poached chicken. This can become the curried chicken salad you see above. That's a cool, crisp, spicy change of pace.

Every few weeks, I make a big batch of homemade dog food for my Westie Poppy. The recipe I use calls for a wide assortment of vegetables and there’s always half a cauliflower, half a cabbage, and a few other things left when I’m done. These become a soup for the human members of the family. One version is the cabbage and kielbasa soup shown below.

If you shy away from buying a whole head of broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower because you’ll only eat part of it and waste the rest, consider soup on day two. It can be vegetarian or you can add meat or sausage to the mix. You might even consider making the soup on one burner while you’re cooking the meal that will have cauliflower as a side dish on the others. Most soups taste better on day two when the flavors have had an opportunity to harmonize.

The Boston Public Library has a copy of The Kitchen Ecosystem that you might want to borrow to start thinking about cooking on a continuum. The book is also available in an ebook format. 

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

   

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino. Cover art courtesy of the publisher, Clarkson Potter.

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Interesting Tidbits About the Boston Common Frog Pond

Another day, another Twitter question to answer. This one came from Adam Gaffin over at Universal Hub. He asked if the proper name for the pond on the Boston Common was "Frog Pond" or "The Frog Pond." I went to the city's web page on the facility that uses "Boston Common Frog Pond," and to the group that manages it which refers to "The Boston Common Frog Pond." 

Then I wondered about what term was used historically to name this spot. As you can see, this postcard (circa 1901-1907) from the Boston Public Library's print collection says, Frog Pond.

Leslie Jones titled this photo (circa 1918 - 1920) Frog Pond Boston Common. (Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.)

 

This 1900 postcard from the New York Public Library's Collection uses The Frog Pond, Boston Common.

Interesting Tidbits

Next I turned to books on the topic to see what those editors decided was the correct term. And it was here I began to find interesting bits of history and lore about the Frog Pond. Some are repeated in a few sources and others can't be verified. 

In his 1903 "Boston A Guide Book," Edwin M. Bacon writes, “Near by lies the historic “Frog Pond,” so called, as the town wits have it, because it was never known to harbor a frog. The real frog pond was the Horse or Cow Pond, a shallow pool where the cows slaked their thirst or cooled their legs, which lay in the lowlands about the present band stand. The present pond is the survivor of three marshy bogs originally within the Common. It was the scene of the formal introduction of the public water system in 1848, for which celebration James Russell Lowell wrote his Ode on Water.”

We do know that in early days, the Boston Common was used to pasture animals and many sources describe three ponds and four hills on the site. Reports vary as to the source of the Frog Pond's water source. Some say it was spring fed, while others say it was just a muddy puddle at the bottom of Flagstaff Hill where the Soldiers & Sailors Monument now stands. 

Postcard from the Boston Public Library Print Department collection.

There are tales of women lighting fires under the great elm that once stood near the Frog Pond to do their laundry on the site. And forbidding smoking by the Frog Pond seems to have a long history. One book notes that in the mid-1800s people could smoke on the Common, only on weekdays and only near the Frog Pond. A later book cites that a law was passed forbidding smoking on the streets or on the Common. And, of course, today smoking is prohibited in all parks in Boston.

In an upcoming post, we'll tell you a bit more about the arrival of municipal water in Boston and the celebrations that took place at the Frog Pond.

 

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  and as noted in historic images.

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Boston Needs a Toast Truck!

We've been talking toast around here because that's one of the things we've been seeing and hearing more about the past few months. It's also something we'd like to see more food folks explore.

If you know someone who has been itching to start a food truck, tell them it's time Boston had a "Toast Truck." Other cities have toast trucks and we think Boston's turn is overdue.

Great Bread is the start of any great toast, so we think the Toast Truck should partner with a great bakery like Clear Flour or Iggy's. Many of the great toast meals we create begin with bread from one of those places.

Select Oyster Bar's Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked Rhode Island Bluefish. (More photos here.)

Maybe the toast truck could follow the lead of Parish Cafe and feature menu items created or inspired by the great chefs around Boston. Michael Serpa from Select Oyster Bar should be one of the first to be asked. 

How many slices?

One great thing about a toast meal is that you can have as many slices as fit your appetite. If you want to snack on a single slice of Banana and nutmeg on toast, you can order one slice. If you're training for a marathon and just did a long run, you can order two or three!

Photo from Wikipedia post on toasters

One reason we often have something on toast is because it's quick – and quick is essential to food truck success. With one of those classic diner conveyor toasters on board, a crew could create traditional "toaster" toast in a jiffy. They could also broil, fry, grill, or oven-toast.

Even the logo and graphics would be easy since most food trucks are already shaped like toasters.

Yes, we think a Toast Truck could be a hit. What would you like to see offered by a Boston Toast Truck?

 

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

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Beef Chili Recipe with Sweet Potatoes from Leite's Culinaria

For today's Friday Link, we are sending you to a shredded beef chili recipe with sweet potatoes from one of Penny's favorite food sites, Leite's Culinaria.

It caught Penny's eye and had her saving the recipe because it sounds a lot like one of our favorite chili dishes from Main Streets Market & Cafe in Concord, MA. We always order a bowl of their chili when we visit that charming town. They call theirs, Main Streets Own Beef Chili, and describe it as lightly sweet with butternut squash and no beans.

Tested Recipes!

One of the reasons Penny loves Leite's Culinaria is because their recipes are tested by cooks like us. You get to read their comments and that gives you ideas to use as you make the recipe. This site also has a great following so you will see comments from readers as well. And, if an answer is needed, the writer comes back to reply. 

We think this is a perfect dish for a cool evening on the roof deck with friends. We hope you enjoy trying it too.

And, if you love the site and would like to add another cuisine to your repertoire, Penny also loves David Leite's cookbook, The New Portuguese Table.  

 

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

  

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: Screenshot from Leite's Culinaria. 

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