New Recipes of this Academic Year

Cooking is one of my favourite hobbies and my local public library continues to be a source of wonderful new cookbooks to try. I'd especially recommend Ripe Figs by author and broadcaster Yasmin Khan, who traveled to the eastern Mediterranean to record the stories and food of the region's refugee communities. It's not an easy read, but it is a powerful one, and the food is absolutely delicious.

Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan

 

A second recommendation! I started cooking from Deb Perelman's popular food blog, Smitten Kitchen, over a decade ago. Her site is one of the places I regularly go for cooking inspiration and reliable recipes, so I was excited to receive a copy of her third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, as a Christmas present. While the first recipe I tried from this book was not a winner (the crispy oven pulled pork was salty to the point of being almost inedible--I think there might be a misprint of tablespoon for teaspoon in the ingredients list), I would happy make the other three recipes I've tried again--in the words of the book title, they're keepers.

Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman

September

1. Dolma from Supra by Tiko Tuskadze
2. Granola with dried cranberries from Nordic Baker by Sofia Nordgren
3. Tiger Prawn and Cabbage Fried Rice from Stir Crazy by Ching He Huang
   

 October

1. Spiced cornbread with feta from Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan
   
2. Pumpkin and cardamom soup from Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan
3. Beetroot and fennel salad from Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan
4. Saffron and almond biscotti from The Nordic Baker by Sofia Nordgren

November

1. Salted fried yellow bean pork with baby corn and sugar snap peas from Stir Crazy by Ching He Huang
2. Peanut butter sandwich cookies from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2013
3. Black-eyed beans and rice with pumpkin from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey
4. Chickpea soup from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey
5. Cauliflower soup from The Kennedy Kitchen by Neil Connolly
   

December 

1. Crisp-braised duck legs with aromatic vegetables by Mark Bitman from New York Times
   
2. Chocolate hazelnut cookies by Genevieve Ko from New York Times
3. White chocolate macademia nut cookies by Sohla El-Waylly from New York Times

And more (spending the holidays with my family was a great opportunity to cook and bake!) 

 January

1. Crispy oven pulled pork from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman
2. Pumpkin snacking cake from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman
3. Turkish braised carrots and leeks from Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan
   
4. Kotnis lobio from Supra by Tiko Tuskadze

February

1. Rosemary, sea salt, and sesame popcorn in Natural by Love Food
   
2. Holubtsi from Mamushka by Olia Hercules
3. Carrot tarte tartin from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman 
4. Cabbage and kielbasa with rye croutons from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman
5. Toasted ricotta gnocchi with pistachio pesto from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman
6. Kashmiri Potato Curry from Indian Slow Cooker by Neela Paniz
7. Carrot Raita from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey
8. Family Style Crème Brûlée from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman
9. Curried Red Cabbage with Cranberry Juice from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey
10. Deruny (Ukrainian potato pancakes) from Mamushka by Olia Hercules