First of all, in the French Women Don't Get Fat cookbook, there was only one recipe that wasn't a dessert that I really wanted to try- Farfalle with Yogurt-Basil sauce. I thought "Savory, creamy sauce... delicious!" ... Not so much.
The recipe started innocently enough with shallots and garlic. Then you add lemon juice and zest... and then the yogurt. Before adding in the pasta, I decided to taste the sauce. ... Yuck. Maybe I'm just not a fan of lemon in my sauces... but it was really unpalatable. I tossed it and instead added peas to the pasta and some alfredo sauce and called it a night.
My ultimate decision on the French Women Don't Get Fat cookbook is that it has a lot of lifestyle ideas and is a really good read and the recipes had a lot of good ideas... but it just wasn't good for me, particularly since I don't cook meat/fish at home. But I definitely recommend it. Does that make sense? I hope so...
When I returned that book, I picked up two new books! Today I will be discussing the Wicca Cookbook: Recipes, Ritual and Lore by Jamie Wood and Tara Seefeldt (second edition).
Background: I was looking for something seasonal to give me inspiration at the moment. What better way to inspire than to cook and read, right? I am a creature of the earth and lean towards Wiccan sentiments at times so at the very least I thought it would be a good read.
For those who don't know what Wicca is, here is a really brief summary: Earth-based, medievally based religion that was started sometime around the 60s as a harkening back to the "old ways." Based on Mother Earth, the Consort, solstices, etc.
And it is. Well, if you're really interested in looking at Wicca, the introduction is great for you. But I already knew that information so I skipped it a lot. There is a section about the medieval kitchen which was pretty interesting but, being a student of medieval history, I already knew that too.
The book also has a section on growing herbs which is great... except I kill everything... as my boyfriend so kindly pointed out to me today. But it definitely had some good info and gave the whole ideological treatise on why it's good to get close to the earth and to always have fresh herbs on hand, yadda yadda yadda.
But the RECIPES, that's the important thing. The book is specifically Wiccan because there are intros to each recipe and some come with spells and blessings. Again, pretty neat, but nothing I'm planning on following through on.
The recipes are split into the different holidays and solstices and each section gives background to the holiday, flowers, colors and herbs of significance, etc. It's really a seasonal cookbook through a Wiccan/Pagan lens.
It just having turned summer, I looked at the Summer Solstice section and found the recipe that I wanted to try, Lillith's Lily Fair Soup- a chilled melon soup. My friend Hilary recently discovered Gazpacho but I am not a fan of cold tomatoey soups... my savory things should be warm most of the time... but I thought this melon soup would be a nice compromise so this one goes out to you, Miss Wayward! I don't want to post the recipe here (I really don't want to get into copyright issues...), but it does exist on the web if you just copy and paste that into your search engine. I promise you will find it.
The basics of the recipe are two components- the melon part and the raspberry part. Puree the honeydew melon, mango and orange juice, chill. Puree raspberries, sugar and Grand Marnier, chill. Serve separately.
What really happened:
I didn't have any Grand Marnier for the raspberry component, sad to say. So I improvised! I had Chambord (raspberry liqueur) on hand and Amaretto (almond liqueur) as well. So I splashed them both in to substitute. It turned out fine.
When I served it, I put the melon in a bowl and then floated a spoonful of the raspberry on top and my sister and I mixed it as we ate. I would advise not mixing it in together, though, as we learned at the end. The raspberry component is a nice and vibrant red, but the melon is a green/yellow mixture and once they mix it looks kinda brown and not appetizing no matter how delicious it really is.
On the whole I really like the recipes in this book and will probably take it out again when I'm specifically looking for something to hit the soul just right. :)
The other book I took out is a Green Kitchen kind of cookbook so I'm interested in devouring that one too.
OH! And make sure to like my new Facebook Page so I know who's reading! :D
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