If I had to choose

Why, you ask? Well, starting from the top.
*The Cranks bible by Nadine Abensur is the cookbook my family used to inspire their wholefood restaurant called Acorn, in Swindon, England. I loved that restaurant and I have very fond memories of the food. I would recommend Abensur's recipe for butternut squash, green beans, goat cheese, with a maple syrup glaze. Everything in this book is fantastic, although some of the recipes are a little rich for my taste.

*The Moosewood Restaurant by the Moosewood Collective low-fat favorites is a sure bet. I usually refer to this cookbook when I have guests who are vegan, also many of the recipes can be quickly adapted to be vegan if they aren't already. I recommend the tofu vegetable dumplings. The recipe makes 48 dumplings, but trust me they get gobbled up quickly, and are a great snack any time of day. I also love the stuffed baked potato recipe. It's just a simple corn and bean stuffing or spicy broccoli filling, but I enjoy it because it is just plain good.

*If you are looking for a little spice, or a lot of spice, this is the one for you. Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. My husband and I both fell in love with her mango curry recipe. Its amazing. She even explains how to cook the perfect basmati rice every time without burning it. My husband loves to make this dish because it always tastes fantastic and never dissapoints. We have probably made this almost 20 times in the last two years. I also love her sweet potato curry recipe. Its not too spicy, which is perfect for my palate.

*Nigel Slater's Real cooking, is satisfying and simple . My husband has now started to eat meat after 4 years of being a vegetarian. Now I can indulge in some of the foods I love; like really good sausages, roast chicken, and root vegetables. This food is hearty, and straightforward. Nigel Slater has a way of describing the best part of eating-the little crispy bits left over that you just love and have to enjoy.

*The Best Italian Classics by the editors of Cook's Illustrated, helps explain what is the best kind of olive oil, what is the best parmesan, how to make the crispiest and best eggplant parmesan, and also how to make italian cooking more authentic. The authors of this cookbook really test each recipe to produce an excellent result in the kitchen, so if you are having guests over and haven't tried the recipe before, you can be sure that these recipes will deliver.

*The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen is similar to the Mooswood Restaurant cookbook because, she is in fact part of the collective. This cookbook is not low fat, so I use this one when I am making any kind of dessert. I love her recipes for blintzes, she offers quite a few versions of a similar recipe so its easy to give it your own creative spin. The entire cookbook is written out in her handwritting, with handdrawn illustrations and diagrams. I love this. I think she made a fabulous and incredibly artistic cookbook.

Winter orange & onion salad

Serves 4










1 thinly sliced sweet onion
2 oranges-valencia or navel
black olives
dressing:
2 anchovies
3 capers
1/2 shallot
1 oz sherry vinegar
2 oz olive oil
1 clove garlic

My step father made this delicious fresh salad on new years. It will wake your palate up for a fine meal. Its important to buy sweet onions, which have a milder flavor. In southern France local onions are used (oignon des Cevennes) which are available from the end of September to the end of April. Made the dressing first by mashing all the ingredients together into a smooth paste. Arrange the ingredients artfully on the plate and pour the dressing over each plate. Bon Appetit

basic crepes

8 oz (200g) of plain flour
2 eggs
1 pint of milk (600ml)
pinch of salt
butter
toppings- sugar&lemon
oil for the pan










A wonderful sunday morning treat when you have time to laze about and eat breakfast.
Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Hollow out a space in the flour to crack the egg into. Add the egg and a third of the milk, Keep stirring gently. Keep adding milk while stirring. Beat thoroughly and add the rest of the milk. Let the batter rest in the fridge for 1/2 hour so that the pancakes work when you fry them. Melt a bit of butter in a frying pan. Pour 1/2 a ladle of batter into the hot pan. Use your wrist to make a twirling motion so the batter covers the whole pan. Do this quickly before the batter sets. Wait for the edges to curl up just a bit. This will indicate that the crepe is ready to flip. Should take a min or so. Flip and wait for little bubbles to appear. This indicates the crepe is done. Put on a plate and keep adding crepes to the warm plate as they are done. Continue doing this until all the batter is used up. If you would like a change from the crepes with lemon and sugar, sometimes I add sliced strawberries and chocolate spread.

chocolate and bacon

When we were living in Vermont one of my husband's classmates made his special recipe Choinklet. This is chocolate covered bacon. I was amazed and never heard of such a thing. I asked for a sample, so my husband relayed the message and this classmate of his made a special batch for me. There was a mishap on the way home from class, the bacon fell out my husband's pocket, and I never got to taste its chocolatey salty goodness. Now I have my chance with the new Vosges gourmet chocolate bacon bar, I am a lucky girl!
http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars

new business cards

New Year's Shortbread

1 lb unsalted butter
4 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp spice or lavender
or for Chocolate cinnamon shortbread
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
A lovely friend of mine made this fantastic shortbread for New Years and she was kind enough to share the recipe. We learned always remember to cut the shortbread when it is hot out of the oven otherwise it will be too hard and crumbly to cut. This is is simple and delicious!
Mix all ingredients together,Bake 350 degreees between 20-40 mins. The shortbread should puff up nicely. Cut and allow to cool thoroughly before serving

Oreillettes (Little Ears)

This recipe was given to me by my step sister. She followed the tradition of offering 13 desserts at christmas which is a catholic tradition in France.


1 kilo flour
6 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 orange
3-4 tsp orange flower essence
60g melted unsalted butter
salt
powdered sugar for dusting

save half the flour, mix with the orange juice and its zest, the orance essence, butter and salt. Crumble with your hands adding little by little the reserved flour. Keep adding the reserved flour until the dough no longer absorbs it. Make a ball of dough and leave it at room temperature for two hours. Roll out the dough and cut into many rectangles. 5x10 cm on a tray coated with oil. Plunge them in a deep fryer with vegetable oil. Add a heavy dusting of sugar and serve.

onion confit (onion jam)

for two jars 200g each. Prep time 20 mins, cooking time 1 hr 15 mins.









500g red onions peeled. 700g before they have been peeled
40g sugar
1 tsp honey
30g butter
1 tsp olive oil
10cl red wine
10cl sherry vinegar
1 tsp creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
salt & pepper

This confit is perfect to serve with bread, cheese, and a few cornichons (gherkin) pickles. This tastes sweet almost like a chutney and it has a little bite from the acidity in the vinegar. (for extra color add a little beet juice. My mom made this and I couldn't resist eating it almost every meal.
Quarter the onion, slice them into slivers, cook them 20 mins in the pressure cooker, covered with butter and olive oil. Mix from time to time. Add two pinches of salt, sugar, honey, vinegar, wine, cover. Leave 50 mins. add salt. Add creme de cassis. Let thicken 5 mins. uncovered, stirring occasionally. Boil jars to sterilize, fill hot jars, tighten lids. Keep in fridge 2 months or freeze.

Sweet Corn Fritters

2 tins sweet corn
8 oz self raising flour
1 red chili finely chopped
1 stick lemongrass finely chopped
1 red onion finely diced
2 tbs coriander
1 tablespoon grated ginger
8 eggs
salt and pepper






This recipe is contributed by my uncle Ben, who is the professional chef in the family. This can be served with sweet chili dipping sauce.
Combine all ingredients, adding eggs to form a thick batter. Deep fry tablespoons of the batter until set in the middle and golden brown.

Thai Fish soup

1 tablespoon Sunflower oil
2 Shallots diced
Red chilli diced (half to one depending on taste)
2teaspoons ginger in sunflower oil
2teaspoons lemon grass in sunflower oil, I buy these in jars but fresh would be better if in season.
1 can Coconut Milk
Equal quantity (1can) water
250gms Undyed Smoked Haddock
Optional. 250gms Cooked Sliced Potatoes.

This recipe was submitted by my lovely grandmother. She was influenced by Thai members of my family. This is a great take on chowder and is a fabulous winter meal.
In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and gently sweat the shallots.After 3 minutes add the chilli and lemon grass and ginger and soften. Add the sweet corn, then the coconut milk and water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 4 minutes.Add the fish chunks and simmer very gently for 3 minutes.
If desired the potato slices can be added before the fish to make the soup more substantial.