Cookbook Review ~ Whitewater Cooks with Passion by Shelley Adams

Shelley is back and this time she is cooking with passion! The fourth and latest book in the Whitewater Cooks series, Whitewater Cooks with Passion, sees Shelley cooking new recipes using inspiration from her trusted family and friends as well as plenty of inspiration from around the world.

The paperback book continues with the same theme as the other books in the series with lots of beautiful, mouth-watering photographs to accompany a lot of the recipes. There are 7 chapters dedicated to recipes including Breakfast, Starters, Soups, Dinners and Desserts.

It didn’t take me long to start bookmarking plenty of recipes and in the end I tested 6.

Tested Recipes:

Green Curry Chicken with Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers

Mango Cucumber Salad with Mint and Sweet Chilli Vinaigrette

Italian Wedding Soup

Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

Chickpea Flatbread

Indian Artichoke Hummus

The first recipe to be put to the test was the Green Curry Chicken with Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers. We love Thai curries so I couldn’t resist this recipe especially as it was so easy to prepare – you literally put the ingredients in an ovenproof dish and pop it in the oven and forget about it. I was very hesitant about the amount of curry paste suggested but since I had the same brand as she suggested I stayed true to the recipe and I am so glad I did! The end result was absolutely delicious. It was a perfect Thai curry made without any fuss. I would serve this to friends coming round for a relaxed dinner without any hesitation. I did skip the cucumber you put on at the end because I couldn’t get the mini cucumbers suggested but also because I served the curry with the Mango Cucumber Salad with Mint and Sweet Chilli Vinaigrette which takes me to the second tested recipe.

I absolutely love mango salads with Thai curries so I had to make this to accompany the above recipe. The recipe does have quite a lot of ingredients but it’s still simple to make and really just a case of some chopping and assembling. The dressing makes a lot and to honest in future I don’t think I would use quite as much oil but it was delicious and full of wonderful flavours. As for the salad it was packed with bright flavours, great texture contrasts and lovely fresh and vibrant flavours. It was also a huge hit and brought a wonderful ray of sunshine to our plates and palates on a miserable rainy, grey January day!

A New Year and a New Direction......

Happy New Year!! Sorry it's a little late but I've been on the down low for the last month as I was back in Scotland staying with my family for Christmas and New Year. I had the most amazing time (as usual!) but unfortunately the time flew by and we're now back home in Canada. That being said I am excited to get back into things, especially where this blog is concerned.

For those of you that read Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops on a regular basis (well as regularly as I update!) you will notice that last year I didn't post nearly as much as I wanted to or had initially planned to. It was all down to time I'm afraid and a lack of it. I'm still cooking as much (and still loving it as much) it was just hard to find the time to develop new recipes, test them a few times and then photograph them and write the post. You may also have noticed that what I was posting, especially the last few posts, were book reviews which I really enjoy, and so for the time being I will be focusing on that. If I get the opportunity to post a new recipe then I absolutely will but for now I want to concentrate on reviewing and testing out cookbooks.

For me, reviewing a cookbook takes some time. To truly test and review a book I think that you have to test the recipes. It's all very well saying a cookbook looks great, is filled with mouthwatering photographs and that the recipes sound good but what if they don't work? In my opinion it's a major fail because honestly why would you want that book?! Therefore I go through each book several times, reading the introductions and initial chapters and bookmarking the recipes that appeal to me. I then test as many as I can but for the point of the review always 3-4 which are tested by following the recipe exactly. If you have read any of my reviews you will know they tend to be quite lengthy but again that is because I am really testing the book and trying to provide as much information to you as possible.

Pros and Cons I see within the book are always top of the list, whether you need Specialty Ingredients that are difficult to buy and if I have learned anything new all feature in my reviews. Basics like whether there are photographs to accompany the recipes are always included and by providing a list of recipes that I have bookmarked I try to share a range of some of the recipes included and not just the ones that I have tested.

As well as that though I am always open to suggestions of anything else you consider important when deciding whether you want to buy a book or not, so please feel free to comment on what you want to see from a cookbook review.

I hope that despite a lack of my own new recipes (all my existing recipes can still be found in the Recipes Page) and rather a concentration on reviews you will continue to read Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops and enjoy the reviews that I do. With that being said I am really excited as I am currently reviewing three cookbooks (with more on the way) and can't wait to share them with you!

Happy New Year again! Let's hope 2015 is a wonderful, happy, healthy and safe year for everyone.

Lynds x

Cookbook Review ~ The Macaroni's in the Basement by Fran Claro

When I was given the opportunity to review The Macaroni’s in the Basement I couldn't resist. The name alone sold me on this book so I was really excited when it arrived. The book is a collection of stories and recipes from author Fran Claro involving four Italian-American grandmothers who lives in post-WWII Brooklyn revolve around  family, church events and of course food.

The book is divided into Seasons and accompanying each reminiscent story is a traditional Italian recipe courtesy of one or more of the Nonne. As you would expect from 4 opinionated, no nonsense Italian Grandmothers (Maddelana, Giuseppina, Concetta and Aniella) there are many disagreements as to whose recipe is the best but it is accompanied by wit and charm that makes you instantly feel right at home with them and more so eager to pull up a chair in their kitchens and fill your plates with their wonderful food.

Within the book there are 66 recipes and out of those I tested 5.

Tested Recipes:

Fig Pizza (From ‘Covering a Fig Tree’)

Chicken Milanese & Salad (From ‘Fire Hydrant Days’)

Sausage and Peppers & Bread Salad (From ‘Hurry Up…. The Bride’s Getting Out of the Car’)

Cookbook Review ~ Clodagh's Kitchen Diaries by Clodagh McKenna

I've been so busy lately that I have completely fallen behind with my book reviews! This one I actually tested in April and May so it's a little late on being posted but with it being a year-round book it really doesn't matter.

For those of you unfamiliar with Clodagh McKenna she is an Irish chef that has her own restaurants, television shows, cookbooks and writes regular columns for a variety of magazines and newspapers. Clodagh's Kitchen Diaries is her fourth cookbook and was published in 2012 and then later released in the US in 2013.

The first thing I love about this book is that it's a year-round book with each chapter being a different month of the year, so not only are the recipes relevant to what is in the season at that particular time of year but she also intertwines different occasions that may happen such as Valentines Day and St. Patrick's Day. As well as occasions there are additional themes including trips to New York, her Birthday (May if you are interested!), Summer Picnics and Movie Nights. If I ever get round to writing my own cookbook this is exactly how I always dreamed of doing it so it gets big plus points from me!

So the layout is good but what about the recipes? Well after reading this book several times I knew I was going to have trouble choosing just a few to try as really so many appealed to me. As it turned out I ended up sticking to recipes primarily from April and May.

Tested Recipes:

Mini Cupcakes in an Egg Box

Zippy Fresh Mint Sauce

Lemon Meringue Pie

Oat & Cinnamon Health Muffins

Cookbook Review ~ The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight

After the excesses of Christmas, a celebratory weekend in Seattle and then 3 weeks on holiday back home in Scotland I needed to lose some weight so I ordered this book with the hope it would inspire and encourage me with some new recipe ideas. The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight isn't a new cookbook (it was originally published in 2012) but from what I have read it has received a lot of praise so I was keen to give it a go.

For those of you unfamiliar with 'The Hairy Dieters' they are more commonly known as 'The Hairy Bikers' or Si King and Dave Myers. Over the years they have become national treasures in the UK, and have 12 cookbooks as well as several accompanying television series behind them. These guys know what they are doing and love food. Of course that love of food led to a large weight gain between the two so they decided it was time to watch their waistlines and work on losing some weight. The result was a combined loss of 6 stone (84lbs) and a cookbook dedicated to healthy recipes that will help everyone lose some weight while still loving food.

Now I realise that for a lot of you a review of a diet book may not be too interesting, however to me this really isn't a diet book. On first glance when I looked through the book, my initial thought was 'this is how I cook anyway'. It is simply good recipes where you use sensible choices to cut calories and control your portion size.

There are 10 chapters dedicated to recipes including 'One-Pan Dishes'; 'Grills and Roasts'; 'Pies'; 'Pasta & Rice' and me favourite, 'Fakeaways'. There is also a very useful chapter on Menus for your First Week to help you get started with you weight loss plan.

After bookmarking a lot of recipes I managed to narrow things down and tested 5 recipes.....

Cookbook Review ~ Simple Dinners by Donna Hay

I am a huge fan of Donna Hay. I have the majority of her books, I always buy her magazine and quite often you can find me looking on her website as well. But it occurred to me that maybe I am just a fan of her simple, clean style and amazing, drool-worthy photographs since I rarely (and I mean rarely!) have cooked from her books. I have no idea why not, especially when I spend so much time staring at the beautifully photographed pictures, so I decided it was time to remedy that and finally put one of her books to the test. In the end I picked the latest book of hers that I have which is Simple Dinners. I picked this book for a couple of reasons (and not just because it's the most recent one to add to my collection) as having just started working part time and my husband away a lot I need easy meals that are quick to prepare, will be liked by whoever is eating them and also don't cost a fortune to make by requiring expensive ingredients. This book seemed like a good fit.

The book has 13 chapters devoted to recipes and are divided up by ingredients which I happen to like. Included within those chapters are 'Eggs', 'Noodles & Rice', 'Chicken', 'Fish & Seafood' and 'Chocolate'. I tested 4 recipes from this book with many more bookmarked for future meals.

The Tested Recipes:

Pork Meatballs with Chinese Noodles

Cheat's Ricotta Gnocchi with Sage Butter

Lamb and Feta Burgers

Spiced Yoghurt Grilled Chicken Skewers

Cookbook Review ~ Fired Up by Ross Dobson

Who doesn't love a barbecue in the Summer? In fact to me, Summer is all about barbecues and nothing beats the smell of barbecued food rising up and enticing us by wafting gently from garden to garden and grill to grill. At the same time though a lot of us need a bit of help when it comes to the gold old barbecue and this primitive form of cooking. Let's be honest I'm sure at one point or other we have all been to a BBQ where the burgers are a little too charred (ok black!) and the chicken a little too pink! Thankfully for me my husband is what I can only call “King of the Grill” (and he has the apron to prove it!). He has been barbecuing since he was 16 so has gotten pretty darn good at it over the years. Needless to say whenever anything needs barbecued he is the one who jumps to it. I do the 'inside cooking', he does anything involving 'outside cooking'. Now that being said I have cooked a few things on the BBQ over the years, especially when he is working away from home so he has taught me pretty well but admittedly I could do with a little more confidence, especially when it comes to cooking poultry so I was really excited to put Fired Up: No Nonsense Barbecuing to the test and see how my skills would match hubby's! But in order to really put the book through the ringers I wanted hubby to try out some of the recipes as well and see what his opinion was.

Over 20 recipes were bookmarked, taken from every chapter the book had to offer which includes 'Bird'; 'Beast'; 'Fish' and 'Sides' (unfortunately no desserts chapter). In the end we tried 6 recipes.

Cookbook Review ~ Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai

Since I've recently rejoined the gym and am on a bid to get healthier and lose some weight this book seemed like a natural choice for June's Cooking the Books. Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai is a cookbook filled with recipes that keep calories to a minimum but don't skimp on flavour. The Chapters are divided up into different courses such as Brekkie & Brunch, Soups and Salads but also into categories including Fins & Shells, Veggie Mains and Lean Mean Protein. And since this model-turned-chef believes that nothing should be off-limits there is also a chapter on Skinny Sweets & Splurges.

Finally just when you thought it couldn't sound any better the book has a big emphasis on how to be budget conscious and is full of tips on how to make your money go further when shopping for food – a big bonus with today's economy.

Since the book claims to be full of “lean and lovely recipes for a healthy, happy new you” I was excited to start testing the recipes and see whether they delivered or if it was just too good to be true!

The Tested Recipes:

TDF Sliders with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Beverley Hills Fries with Honey-'Cue Sauce

Skinny Tofu Pad Thai (with Asian Almonds)

“Creamy” Tomato Soup

Totally Un-Croque Monsieur Fingers

Potato & Herb Gnocchi

Toasted-Almond Sticky Buns

Albondigas (Meatball) Soup

Cookbook Review ~ Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson

It's no surprise that Nigella Lawson's latest book, Nigellissima, is an Italian cookbook since she is so emphatic about how much she loves Italian food and culture, and all of her previous cookbooks feature a lot of Italian or Italian inspired recipes. And in all honesty what else would you expect from someone who spent a gap year working and living in Italy and has (at last count) around 500 Italian cookbooks! It was definitely time for her to add her own name to her collection!

That being said, I wouldn't necessarily classify Nigellissima as an Italian cookbook but it certainly is as the cover clearly states, an Italian inspired cookbook. In this latest book the Domestic Goddess has taken some of her favourite Italian recipes and influences and turned them into her usual no-fuss, no nonsense, speedy recipes that can be made in your home kitchen with minimal ingredients and hassle.

The book is divided into 5 chapters which includes 'Pasta', 'Flesh, Fish & Fowl', 'Vegetables & Sides', 'Sweet Things' and 'An Italian-Inspired Christmas'. All of the chapters feature a good variety of recipes bound to inspire you to get into the kitchen and start cooking with some Italian flare! I bookmarked a lot of recipes but in the end I tested 7.

Cookbook Review ~ What's for Dinner? by Curtis Stone

I've been familiar with Curtis Stone since his debut TV show 'Surfing the Menu' that he co-hosted with his friend and fellow Australian chef Ben O'Donoghue in 2003, however surprisingly this is his first cook book that I have bought. What's for Dinner? is a collection of recipes for time-saving meals for every day of the week that take into consideration how busy our daily schedules can be but recognise the importance of sitting down every day to eat a balanced meal. The recipes are designed to be straightforward and easy to prepare with everyday ingredients and minimal appliances. Chapters are divided into each day of the week with incorporated themes such as “Motivating Mondays” to kick start your week, “Time-Saving Tuesdays” for when you are in a rush, “Thrifty Thursdays” for feeding your family on a budget and “Dinner Party Saturdays” for when you want to entertain and “bring out your inner chef”.

The Tested Recipes:

Having read through the book several times and seeing plenty of recipes that I wanted to try it was time to put the book to the test and start cooking. I managed to test 6 recipes from the book but that was really just the tip of the iceberg as this book really does have a lot of recipes in it that jump out at you waiting to be cooked and devoured! In the end I picked the following recipes.....

Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

Spaghetti with Garlic, Lemon, Kale & Parmesan

Chicken Masala with Cucumber Raita

Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette

Grilled Salmon with Orzo, Feta & Red Wine Vinaigrette

Olive Oil Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

~~~

The first recipe to be put to the test was the Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad which looked so good in the photograph I just couldn't resist! The dressing was absolutely delicious - packed full of strong, punchy flavours but a perfect combination of each ingredient that went so well with the salad. The salad itself was very straightforward to make and tasty, my only complaint was that I felt it could have done with some more veges in it so next time I make it I would add in some peppers and sugar snap peas for a bit more crunch and variety and to make it go a little further. Overall though it was a very nice, healthy and delicious salad that hubby and I enjoyed.

Next up and for a super quick and easy Friday night meal I made the Spaghetti with Garlic, Lemon, Kale & Parmesan which we were lucky enough to enjoy outside. I did half this recipe since it was the 3 of us (but more like 2 ½ when it comes to eating!) but also because I didn't buy nearly enough Kale. I bought one big bunch thinking that would be more than enough but after weighing it once home it turned out it was pretty much only a quarter of what the recipe called for! That being said it was more than enough for the halved recipe and I definitely didn't need any more so in future when I make it again I would keep it to the lesser quantity. I would also perhaps cut back on the amount of olive oil used although it was of course absolutely delicious with the amount suggested! The overall dish was really tasty and so quick that I would be crazy not to make it again, especially since Wee One enjoyed it. I couldn't resist and added some finely chopped red chilli to ours which for our taste buds it needed, but if you aren't a chilli lover just stick to the original recipe and you will be more than satisfied.

The third recipe to be put to the test was the Chicken Masala with Cucumber Raita. I don't normally think of having a curry on a Monday (definitely more of a 'Friday night curry' kind of gal), but not being one who is able to resist a curry recipe and needing a recipe I could prepare in advance so I could go to the gym I couldn't not make it! In this recipe you keep the chicken breasts whole which is definitely a little different for a curry recipe but it did mean the chicken stayed nice and moist. The sauce had good flavour and the addition of the spinach finished it off perfectly. Since there was no cream added it was a nice healthy curry which we really enjoyed. Unfortunately though the Cucumber Raita was not so successful! I have no idea what happened (whether it was the new brand of Greek Yogurt I used or the lemon was particularly sour) but it was far too bitter – to the extent it was just not enjoyable. I don't necessarily think it was the recipe so I would try it again, although next time I try it out I would certainly half the recipe as there was far too much for the 4 servings suggested.

Next up was the Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette. This recipe is included in the “Time-Saving Tuesdays” chapter and seemed like a nice light recipe with the bonus that it wouldn't take long to prepare. The vinaigrette had quite a few ingredients including obviously orange and pine nuts, but it was amazing. I have to admit when I first tried it on it's own I was a little hesitant as to how the finished dish would turn out but it was fantastic and by far by favourite of the recipes tried so far. It was so light and refreshing with so many bright flavours and definitely a perfect meal for Spring and Summer. The fish and spinach were very straightforward and the dish didn't take long to make at all. I will definitely make this dish time and time again and would use the dressing for lots of other dishes as well as it was just so good.

Following the success of the Halibut dish I couldn't resist trying another fish dish and made the Grilled Salmon with Orzo, Feta & Red Wine Vinaigrette. It was another hit and everyone really enjoyed it. I did feel that the Salmon could have done with something extra as it is cooked with just a little oil and then served on top of the salad – but perhaps maybe just save some of the vinaigrette to spoon a little over. (I had used all of mine on the salad as instructed so just spritzed over a little lemon which was good.) There was a lot of the pasta salad but it meant we just had leftovers for lunch the next day so no complaints there. This was another nice and simple meal with good flavours that kept everyone happy.

I couldn't finish reviewing the book without trying something from the Something Sweet chapter so after much debate (there are a lot of delicious looking sweet recipes!) the final recipe to be tested was the Olive Oil Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote since the Strawberries and Rhubarb were jumping out at me in the supermarket! A nice and simple cake recipe that didn't take long to make or bake. Since we were heading over for dinner with our family I decided to take it over for dessert (so that I wouldn't eat it all myself!) and the general consensus was that it tasted like a lemon pound cake as it was nice and fresh flavoured although I didn't really taste the rosemary in it. The edges were a little dry (I cooked it for exactly 35 minutes as instructed but it could of perhaps done with a minute or two less) but the rest was lovely and moist, however it was not nearly as risen as in the picture – in fact compared to the pic it looked a little like a pancake! Thankfully though it still tasted good. The Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote was a delicious accompaniment to the cake and made it that little bit more special and a perfect dessert. I will definitely make this cake again.

Out of the 6 recipes tested my favourite was definitely the Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette, however I enjoyed all of them and there were certainly no disasters or bad recipes. I still have a long list of bookmarked recipes that I am keen to try, including.....

Bookmarked Recipes:

Korean Steak Tacos

Steak & Green Bean Stir-fry with Ginger & Garlic

New Orleans “Barbecued” Shrimp with Amber Ale

Shrimp Rolls with Herb Aioli

Bacon, Corn & Potato Chowder

Kimchi Fried Rice

Asian Beef & Vegetable Lettuce Cups

Conchiglie Pasta with Chorizo, Peppers & Spinach

Chipotle Pork Tacos

Thai Red Curry with Butternut Squash & Chickpeas

Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks & Green Beans with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette & Chilli-Gorgonzola Butter

Grilled Halibut & Asparagus with Melted Leeks

Seared Scallops & Spring Vegetables with Coconut-Lime Sauce

Classic Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes

Barbecued Spareribs with Apple-Bourbon BBQ Sauce

New York Cherry Cheesecake (see below)

Lozza's Sticky Toffee Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Pots de Creme

By far the biggest pro to this book is the typical relaxed, easy-going approach of an Ozzie chef! The recipes are straightforward and uncomplicated and as the book intends perfect for cooking 7 days of the week. I love how the chapters are divided into the days of the week for something a little different and instant inspiration. The majority of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful photographs to inspire and guide you but also of course, to make you drool and the Chapter on “Something Sweet” is reason alone to buy the book!

The only slight downside to the book was that it has a bit of a wintery feel to it as a lot of the recipes seemed fairly hearty and bold, more suited to colder seasons. I probably noticed that more since when I first bought the book we were going through a mini heatwave and a lot of the recipes didn't appeal as they were too hearty but it does mean it will keep you going throughout the year, especially those of you living in colder climates! Other than that though there were no real complaints. A few editing issues perhaps (for example the recipe for Chipotle Pork Tacos says to see the Kitchen Note regarding the chipotle chillies in adobo sauce, however there is no Kitchen Note) but that again is small and not a big deal.

Specialty Ingredients to buy?

There wasn't anything particularly special that I had to buy for the recipes in this book as it is really based on simple home cooking but he does love to cook with shallots and spinach so I had to be well stocked with both of those ingredients! I really wanted to try the recipe for Kimchi Fried Rice but I couldn't find any Kimchi so I guess that could be listed as a specialty ingredient, other than that though everything else though was definitely supermarket ingredients which is great.

Learn anything new?

I don't think I learnt anything specifically new with the recipes that I tried as they are so straightforward and aimed for even a novice cook, but I did use rhubarb for the first time in a very long time, so for me that's a bonus as I love cooking with new ingredients, trying different recipes with the ingredients, or being reminded about ingredients I haven't used for a long time. The book has also provided me with some new delicious ideas for cooking with fish which I'm really happy about as I am trying to eat a lot more fish.

Overall this book is a very family friendly cookbook with a lot of variety but all of the recipes are pretty straightforward so it really is a book everyone would enjoy to give you new recipes to help you get through the week whatever your schedule. I gave the book to my Mother-in-law to have a look at and she liked it so much she went and bought a copy for herself and tried the Grilled Halibut & Asparagus with Melted Leeks which she said was great, so if that's not a seller I don't know what is!

What's for Dinner? By Curtis Stone definitely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

*After posting this review I made the New York Cherry Cheesecake. Normally when I make cheesecakes I prefer the unbaked versions but this one looked so amazingly good in the photo I knew I had to try it. Definitely not a healthy option (not even close!) but absolutely delicious, this is a must-try recipe for next time you are entertaining. Click here to see the recipe for it.

Cookbook Review - Jamie's 15 Minute Meals

It seems like Jamie Oliver is always after a challenge. Not content with bringing us the fantastic (but perhaps a little unrealistic) 30 Minute Meals book, he has now brought out Jamie's 15 Minute Meals. With the emphasis on eating well but not spending a long time in the kitchen, Jamie has set about trying to show us how we can cook a well balanced meal in less time that it would take to get a take away delivered.

Working with a team of nutritionists this book is full of recipes that are lighter and healthier with the nutritional information included for each recipe so if you are counting calories you don't have to worry. The chapters are divided up into Categories such as Chicken, Pork, Fish, Vegetarian and Pasta so it's easy to just go to your chapter of choice depending on what you want to cook.

Now I have to say my initial thoughts about this book was that making a delicious, nutritious meal in 15 minutes seemed far too good to be true but I was more than happy to try it out, especially after watching the episodes on TV. As usual I bookmarked over 20 recipes but in the end I tested 5.

The Tested Recipes:

Thai Chicken Laksa, Mildly Spiced Noodle Squash Broth

Mushroom Soup with Stilton, Apple & Walnut Croutes

Golden Chicken, Braised Greens & Potato Gratin

Modern Greek Salad, Spinach, Chickpea & Feta Parcels

Chicken Pasta with Herby 6-Veg Ragu

Ok so it was time to put the first recipe to the test so I started by making the Thai Chicken Laksa with Mildly Spiced Noodle Squash Broth. Having learnt my lesson from 30 Minute Meals I knew I had to be prepared so I boiled the kettle, got the griddle pan on full whack and got my ingredients out....well most of them. I have to say it was definitely quite a bit less stressful that 30 Minute Meals but unfortunately I didn't manage to make this one in just 15 minutes (was I surprised – no not really!). That being said I think the final time was about 25 minutes and you could definitely whittle that down with a few tries. The chicken was delicious and definitely benefited from being chicken thighs otherwise I would have dried them out while I was focused on the Noodle Squash Broth. Thankfully they were deliciously moist and full of flavour. The noodles were really good as well – lots of great flavours and I loved the addition of the grated squash but they soaked up all of the broth despite me adding extra water to them. Next time I think I would cut down the quantity of noodles as we had so much (more than 4 servings) and no broth. Other than though it was a typical Jamie Oliver meal full of great flavours and ways to tweak it to make it your own.

Up next and I couldn't resist the Mushroom Soup with Stilton, Apple & Walnut Croutes as a treat to myself for lunch. I'd recently watched this episode on TV so I knew it looked good and fairly straightforward but then I've come to realise that Jamie makes every recipe look completely straightforward and effortless and for me they don't quite turn out that way! The stopwatch for this one stopped at 23 minutes which isn't bad I guess but certainly not 15 minutes and to be honest the soup could have done with a bit longer as the rice wasn't quite cooked enough which made it a slightly chunkier texture than I wanted. Taste wise though it was good, it needed thinned down a little for my liking as it was super thick but the flavours were there, although I did find the flavour of the rice to be a little overpowering so I would use less next time. The Croutes however were a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I will definitely make those again with or without the soup! Only problem with them is how you are supposed to get them in your mouth as they aren't the easiest thing to eat but since I was eating alone I had no problems!

Next up and it was another chicken recipe. The idea of having Potato Gratin in roughly 15 minutes (lets be realistic – I knew it would never take me 15 minutes but still!) was too good not to try so I made the Golden Chicken, Braised Greens & Potato Gratin. To be honest I didn't even bother timing this one but what I can say is that it was fabulous. The Gratin was so easy to do, had a lot of flavour and a lot less calories than a normal Gratin but still all of the taste. The chicken and vegetables were also fantastic and the whole meal was straightforward to make and although it didn't take me 15 minutes it was still on the table fairly quickly.

For the 4^th recipe I went for a vegetarian option and made the Modern Greek Salad with Spinach, Chickpea & Feta Parcels. I knew I was pushing my luck a little with the parcels as my husband doesn't really like chickpeas but I hoped the Greek Salad would make up for it. As it turned out the Salad was fantastic – very fresh and full of wonderful flavours that we all enjoyed. The parcels didn't go over quite so well but they were still enjoyed to an extent, especially when you had them with the yogurt and salad. On their own the texture was a little off for our liking so next time I would maybe not blend them quite as much and possibly add a little extra feta. It was still a nice meal to try and visually the whole meal looked fantastic, it just needs a little work for our tastes.

The last recipe I tested was the Chicken Pasta with Herby 6-Veg Ragu. Since my son loves pasta I thought this would be a great, quick mid-week meal for the family. Once again I decided not to bother timing it since I wasn't able to focus solely on cooking plus I had a little 'helper' and also because I knew it was never going to only take me 15 minutes (and it definitely didn't!). The end result was good but there was FAR too much sauce for the pasta. I should have used my head and removed some of the sauce from the pan as I knew looking at it there was going to be too much, but alas I didn't and we ended up with far too much sauce on the pasta. I think to be honest I pureed up the vegetables far too much and so it was more of a paste than chopped up vegetables which probably contributed to the excess sauce, but what I did love about this recipe was how you sprinkled the golden chicken and bacon mixture on top of the pasta rather than mixing it in. I'll definitely make this again as it was a hit, next time I'll just make sure I don't blitz the veges so much and if need be take away some of the sauce to keep for another day.

So there you have it. Five recipes tested, none of which took 15 minutes (the first time anyway but I know I could cut down the time once I've repeated them a couple of times) but all of which were tasty. Some appealed to our tastes more than others but I love how inventive and slightly different the recipes are.

When I first looked through this book there were so many recipes that I wanted to try (and if I listed them all this review would turn into a small book!) so on top of the 5 that we tried here are a few of the other ones that I bookmarked to try in the near future:

Mexican Chicken, Wicked Mole Sauce, Rice & Veg

Gorgeous Greek Chicken, Herby Vegetable Couscous & Tzatziki

Sizzling Beef Steak, Hoi Sin Prawn and Noodle Bowls

Beef Stroganoff, Fluffy Rice, Red Onion & Parsley Pickle

Cajun Steak, Smoky Baked Beans & Collard Greens

Glazed Pork Fillet, Cajun-Style Pepper Rice & BBQ Sauce

Lamb Lollipops, Curry Sauce, Rice & Peas

Crackin' Crab Briks, Couscous Salad & Salsa

Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties & Cucumber Salad

Crab Bolognese, Crunchy Fennel Salad

Sausage Gnocchi, Warm Kale & Bean Salad

Chicken Cacciatore Spaghetti & Smoky Tomato Sauce

Mexican Tomato Soup, Chilli Nachos, Veggie & Feta Sprinkles

The Best Fish Baps, Mushy Peas & Tartare Sauce

Tasty Daal Curry, Warm Tomato Salad & Naan

This book is packed full of recipes with influences from all over the world which I love because ultimately what it is giving you is a ton of exciting, different recipes to liven up your meal times. On top of that he has also gone for a healthier slant on the recipes to lighten things up a little and with each recipe the nutritional information is included. You definitely need a food processor for this book (it's too bad one doesn't come with the book!) otherwise there is no hope of being even remotely close to 15 minute meals and you need to get used to cooking everything on a high heat (something I don't normally do) to get things cooked in time, but it is definitely less chaotic than Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and it is a book that I will continue to use, not necessarily for the time aspect of the recipes but for the fact that they seem to have something a little different to them which I love. This book absolutely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

Cookbook Review ~ Bill Granger Easy {And Marinated Steak Rolls with BBQ Sauce}

When I bought this book (over the internet so with only a brief preview) I was a little worried that the recipes might be a little too easy and simplified since Bill Granger's books are generally always filled with fairly straightforward, relaxed recipes, however, I shouldn't have worried. What fills the pages are beautiful recipes that aren't too complicated but still have a bit of oomph to them so that I wasn't bored or had seen the recipes hundreds of times already. It became obvious very quickly that this was a book that I really wanted to cook from and with 100 recipes I had plenty to choose from.

One of the first things that I loved about this book was the fact that the chapters are divided up by specific ingredient such as 'Piece of Chicken', 'Slab of steak', 'Mince & Sausages' and 'Carton of Eggs', (to name a few). I found this approach really helpful cause it means you can go raid your fridge or freezer, decide what you want to cook with and then just jump straight to the chapter for instant inspiration. There were so many recipes that I wanted to try that I literally gave up bookmarking them since it seemed I was putting a sticky note on almost every page! In the end I managed to try 6 recipes but I still have quite a few that I want to try!

The Tested Recipes:

Orange and Oregano Marinated Pork

Marinated Steak Rolls & Barbecue Sauce

Light Butter Chicken

Spanish Fish Stew

Individual Baked Beans with Eggs

Chilli, Sausage and Broccoli Pizza

Cooking the Books....Again!

After a much longer than intended absence from 'Cooking the Books', I'm back at it with the intention of cooking from 1 or 2 books a month. A picture of the book(s) will be posted on the right sidebar at the start of each month so you can see which book(s) I'll be cooking from and reviewing for that month. As always if you have that particular book I would love for you to join along with me, cooking whichever recipes you like the sound or look of and letting me know how you get on!

Up first and I have picked one of my newest cookbooks to be added to my collection which is Bill Granger Easy. After the busyness and overindulgence of Christmas and New Year this seemed like the perfect choice especially since it has so many recipes that I am desperate to try! Since I'm late on starting this month (with being in Scotland) I'll only be doing 1 book but will do 2 for February. As always at the end of the month I'll post my review of the book and will also include a recipe for one of my favourite dishes that I tried!

So what are you waiting for? This is a great way to start really using your books and putting them to the test and hopefully getting lots of delicious meals in return!

To see this review click here.

Cookbook Challenge Oct. 2012 ~ 31 Days; 10 Books & 1 Challenge!

The Challenge – To cook at least one meal a day from a cookbook of choice for the month of October. The recipes must be followed exactly so as to properly test them and the budget must be no more (and hopefully less!) than an ordinary month.

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That's right folks, for the month of October I am challenging myself to cook at least one meal a day using a cookbook! Now while that might not sound like a challenge for a lot of you, for someone who owns over 1000 cookbooks and rarely cooks from them, this is a challenge for me! Inspired by the bloggers challenge 'Random Recipes' hosted by Dom over at the lovely Belleau Kitchen, I have stepped things up a few notches so that I am not making one recipe a month from a random book, but rather one a day!

With that said however, this challenge isn't quite so random as I have picked out 9 books of choice (fairly randomly and without looking through them) in order to help with meal planning and shopping. The final book for the challenge - book number 10, was picked by you - the readers (through facebook). For those of you that missed it I selected 5 books from my 'library' and the one with the most votes was the lucky book to join the challenge, which turned out to be the Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten. The other 9 books were fairly randomly picked - I tried to do a real mix and choose books that I thought might be fairly familiar to people..... so here they are the 10 books I will be cooking from in October.....

Random Recipes # 18 - Something a little different

Sagging Bookshelves # 1 & 2
{unfortunately with the bed being in the way you can't see that there is another row underneath}

Having been absent from the last couple of Random Recipe Challenges I couldn't resist taking part in this one since this month the lovely Dom of Belleau Kitchen (and host of Random Recipes) challenged us to something quite different. Rather than cooking randomly from one of our books, the challenge was instead to photograph and share where we keep our books. Now I know most people have been posting theirs with lovely “normal” sized shelves located in different rooms throughout their homes but for me that's not quite the case......(and no I don't have any in my bathroom!!)

You see any guest walking into our house for the first time would quite rightly be forgiven for thinking they had taken a wrong turn when walking into the guest room. For this is not your usual guest room – instead it looks like as if by magic and in the blink of an eye you have some been transported to a different place altogether. Most accurately it looks like you have walked into a small but cozy book shop! The sight of all of the books is perhaps a little overwhelming but once I let everyone know they are actually all cookbooks the reaction turns to complete disbelief!

The walls on two sides are lined with bookshelves which are crammed beyond belief with hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks (631 at last count – give or take!) and if it wasn't for the bed taking up the rest of the room it really would not resemble a guest room at all. I can't imagine Martha Stewart putting her guests up in such accommodation!!!

Bookshelves 3 & 4

To me however it is my favourite room in the house (which is saying something considering I've put it before my kitchen!!). It is warm and cozy and at times when I get a spare moment I can think of nothing better to help me to relax than to come through and lie on the bed and read a cookbook or two – even more so if I have a glass of wine with me!

I've tried to organise them as best as I can and being the ridiculously over-the-top person I am when it comes to things like that they seem to be fairly organised....Celebrity chefs start the collection off then on to restaurant cookbooks; reference and technique books; home cooking and cookbooks published by magazines; desserts, chocolate and drinks then ending that one side of the wall is baking (phew!).

Next wall is all regional including Indian; Asian; Middle Eastern; Mexican; French; Spanish; Portugese; Greek; Italian (lots of Italian!) and British! The last two shelves on the smallest bookcase are specialty books including Meat; Soup; Fish and Vegetarian!!! The books on the very top shelves are there as I had run out of room on the other shelves so are a bit of a mixture! Wow – that's a lot of categories and I guess a lot of books!

The majority of the books were inherited but still I can't stop myself from buying new books throughout the year. In fact that last remaining space on the top of the smallest shelf which is meant for guests to put their bits and pieces on(!) is now home to the books that are the latest additions to my collection which I managed to cram into my suitcase after this last recent trip home to Scotland! Some are brand new, others are ones I bought last time I was back but didn't have room for. I still have about 50 or so books sitting in my bedroom shelves in Scotland so whenever I'm home I always try and bring a few back.....but then I can also never resist buying some new ones as well!! You would think I would learn especially since I actually don't have any space left for them but I'll always find somewhere and so I will always continue to buy more books!

So there you have it – my cookbook room filled with plenty of books to help you sleep at night (or alternatively just make you incredibly hungry right before you go to sleep!) I do have a small shelf of books in the living room next to the kitchen (open plan Canadian style house so the living room literally is right next to the kitchen!) which is where I try and put the books I'm using/ reviewing and basically just wanting some inspiration from! I say small shelf but it still holds 35 books which I am aware is probably what most people would have for their entire collection, but there you have it! Worst of all is that I still have close to the same amount of books packed away in boxes in storage....for those I need a bigger house! And don't even get me started on my magazine collection which just might happen to fill the bottom of the wardrobe in the spare room!!! Sorry guests!! 

The bookshelf in the living room.
{Maybe this challenge should have been called "Where's Nigella" since everyone seems to have her tucked away somewhere!}

Cookbook Review ~ My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow

Not content with being an Oscar winning actress, mother, wife to one of the world's most successful rock stars and founder of GOOP.com.....Gwyneth Paltrow has now also added cookbook author to her resume. My Father's Daughter (or Notes from my Kitchen Table which is what she called the UK version) was published in April 2011 and is Paltrow's first cookbook.

I have to admit due to completely preconceived ideas I wasn't sure what this book was going to be like. I thought it was going to be all healthy food (not that there's anything wrong with that!) based around her following various macrobiotic diets in the past......I couldn't have been more wrong. There are recipes of all kinds throughout this book, both healthy and perhaps not so(!), but they are recipes for every occasion and include plenty of vegetarian and vegan recipes along with recipes that you can make-ahead, or quick recipes when you are in a hurry and of course lots of recipes for sharing with family and friends. She doesn't eat red meat so there are no recipes using beef or pork but instead she focuses on chicken, duck, turkey and plenty of fish. If you are a big fan of red meat though you could definitely substitute it in some of the recipes. The chapters are divided into the standard Soups; Salads; Pastas; Main Courses and so on, so it's easy enough to find what you are looking for.