Weekend Cooking: The Restaurant of Love Regained

Title: The restaurant of Love Regained
Author: Ito Ogawa
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Subject: Food, Family
Publisher: Alma Publishing Company
Release date: July 2011 (First published 2008)
Length: 193 pages
I got this book: Bought it on a book market

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Returning home from work, Rinko is shocked to find that her flat is totally empty. Gone are her TV set, fridge and furniture, gone are all her kitchen tools, including the old Meiji mortar she has inherited from her grandmother and the Le Creuset casserole she has bought with her first salary. Gone, above all, is her Indian boyfriend, the maître d’ of the restaurant next door to the one she works in.

She has no choice but to go back to her native village and her mother, on which she turned her back ten years ago as a fifteen-year-old girl. There she decides to open a very special restaurant, one that serves food for only one couple every day, according to their personal tastes and wishes. A concubine rediscovers her love for life, a girl is able to conquer the heart of her lover, a surly man is transformed into a lovable gentleman – all this happens at the The Snail, the magic restaurant whose delicate food can heal any heartache and help its customers find love again".

Personal opinion:
I found the blurb really promising but I can tell you this book wasn't as good as I had hoped. In the beginning it was interesting enough even though the plot was thinner than I expected. Even so, I enjoyed it as a light read. The little stories of the visitors of the Snail were nice to read inbetween the main story. However nearing the end of the book, things take a really weird turn that is very vegetarian unfriendly, to say the least. And while I know that from their point of view it is a sign of respect, it took a lot of the fun out it for me. Mainly because everything was very detailed, I had to skip some pages during that part of the book. Normally I would say I did like the book for light summer reading, but that part just leaves me with a bitter aftertaste. If you are not a vegetarian and you are looking for a light read, than this might be enjoyable for you, but it isn't as special and unique as I hoped it would be.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: Foodies Reading Challenge
Other reviews: In Spring it is the Dawn, Always Cooking Up Something, Chasing Bawa,
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

This post is part of Weekend Cooking. Please make sure you check out the other participants for reviews on foodie books and other food related content.

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Project 365: November 2011

Or I should say: my month in food because most pictures that I took are from food. Anyway, I attempted project 365 before, where you take 1 picture every day. But it was too much hassle, getting my camera out and such, decided what to photograph and when I finally went somewhere, I forgot to bring my camera ;) Now there is an project 365 app on the iPhone and I tired again on my 3Gs because I had it with me all the time. It went better, but the 3G couldn't do any night pictures or indoor pictures so that didn't work either. Well now I have a iPhone 4 which makes better pictures (not that great but it is acceptable to me, I tried again in November and guess what?! I managed to take a picture EVERY day in the past month. Soooo even if it is mostly of food, which is the highlight of my mostly indoor days, here are my project pictures for November 2011.

Click on the image for a larger version

1) Dinner: Rice with mixed beans
2) Dinner: Homemade vegetarian sushi
3) Breakfast in bed with cat-table
4) Vegetable bag
5) Cookies!
6) DnD Sunday (Dungeons and Dragons with friends)
7) Workshop painting at by Kris
8) Lap-Warmer while watching TV
9) Dinner: Pasta with Quick Tomato Sauce
10) Dinner: Roti with potatoes and beans
11) Vegetable bag
12) Gooood morning to you too!
13) Bomb and tentacle in my shoe from Sinterklaas
14) Dinner: Mushroom Stroganoff
15) Dinner: Quick Lo Mein
16) Lunch: "Beschuitjes" with cheese, tomatoes and rocket lettuce
17) Lunch: Pizza Muffins
18) Vegetable bag
19) Lunch: Kohlrabi Soup
20) Cat demands attention
21) Dinner: Stuffed Pumpkin
22) My bento for school
23) Sick day with cheeky kitty
24) Snack: Cucumber with nori and soy sauce
25) Vegetable bag
26) Dinner: Samosas with cucumber-yoghurt dip
27) Celebrating Sinterklaas with friends - these are the snacks
28) Dinner: Pesto Pasta and Fennel Beans
29) Dinner: Baked potatoes and rutabaga in peanut sauce
30) Dinner: Sunchoke Soup and bread

So how was your month? After seeing this, I wonder if I shouldn't have posted this on my other blog: She Likes Bento. But I used to post my project 365 pictures here before. Speaking of my other blog, if you are curious about some of the above dishes, you will be able to find a recipe for most of them there. Here is a link to the list of recipes on She Likes Bento :)

Don't forget to visit Weekend Cooking if you are interested in anything food related. The posts from all the participants are a great source for new inspiration!

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Weekend Cooking: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School

For this Weekend Cooking I have a double review with Leeswammes. We both read the book around the same time and asked each other questions (see below). Make sure to check out her review as well!

Title: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School
Author: Kathleen Flinn
Genre: Non-Fiction
Subject: Cooking, Food
Publisher: Viking Adult
Release date: September, 2011
Length: 304 pages
I got this book: From the publisher for review through NetGalley.

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"The author of The Sharper Your Knife tells the inspiring story of how she helped nine others find their inner cook.

After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, writer Kathleen Flinn returned with no idea what to do next, until one day at a supermarket she watched a woman loading her cart with ultraprocessed foods. Flinn's "chefternal" instinct kicked in: she persuaded the stranger to reload with fresh foods, offering her simple recipes for healthy, easy meals.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School includes practical, healthy tips that boost readers' culinary self-confidence, and strategies to get the most from their grocery dollar, and simple recipes that get readers cooking."

Personal opinion:
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fun to have a peek in the eating habits of the participants and to be able to follow all the changes they made throughout the course. In between the story there are snippets of information about healthy cooking. So not only the participants but also the readers gain the insights on how easy it can be to cook more healthy. In between chapters there are all kinds of easy and useful recipes and I am convinced that there is something to learn for everyone in this book. I do have to admit that I did skip two meat chapters because I couldn't read about how people cut up a chicken. I don't eat meat myself for the very reason that I know where the meat comes from and I don't need another lesson on that ;) I can recommend this book to all foodie book lovers and especially to the people who eat a lot of processed foods. This book is a great eye opener.

I really liked it!


Questions:
Judith: Did the book inspire you to cook more healthily?

Uniflame: I am not sure if I can call it more healthy because I
already cook out of the box on most occasions, but I do want to expand
what I am doing even further, thanks to some new information in the
book.

Judith: Do you think the women in the book are representative for the
women in our own country (the Netherlands) or do we generally cook
healthier than them?

Uniflame: Yes and no. I do see more and more people cooking from boxes
because they don't know how to make their own pasta sauce but here the
counter movement is already on it's way. I do still think that
families eat more whole foods because of our potato, vegetable, meat
culture but that students and singles live more on processed foods
because that is easier. I think we are right in the middle of the
battle between companies are advertising processed foods at the moment
and the counter movement of eating healthier. It is a bit of a mess
currently in the Netherlands.

Judith: Was there something that surprised you in the book, something
that you had no idea about?

Uniflame: The thing that keeps surprising me when I read certain
American foodie books, is that people can live on their own for so
many years without being able to cook. That fact isn't so common in
the Netherlands. While this fact isn't new to me, it amazes me again
and again. Another thing is the fact that people often don't really
know how food is made. To me it seems rather impossible not knowing. I
don't mean anything bad by this at all, it is just such a huge difference
in our food culture.

Purchase links: Amazon
Other reviews: Leeswammes, Beth Fish Reads
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

This review is part of Weekend Cooking, a weekly meme on everything food related. Please check out the other posts as well.

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Weekend Cooking: Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

I am going to include my both blogs in this weeks weekend cooking :) I will share a book review here and a recipe from the book at my other blog She Likes Bento.

Title: Lunch in Paris
Author: Elizabeth Bard
Genre: Non-Fiction
Subject: French Culture, Food, Romance
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Release date: February 2011 (first published 2010)
Length: 352 pages
I got this book: Borrowed it from the library

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Can an American and a Frenchman live happily ever after in Paris? In her charming memoir, Bard, a New Yorker with a penchant for good food and fine culture, tells a tale of romance, punctuated by mouthwatering recipes that evoke the very soul of the City of Light.

Elizabeth and Gwendal's courtship (yes, that's his real name) unfolds over visits to the local fish market, repasts of traditional andouillettes and savory cakes made with bacon, chervil, and figs. Their liaison is not without complications in cultural expectations and linguistic limitations but culture shock is always softened by a satisfying meal. In Paris, the pleasures of five-hour lunches clash with American standards of success, leading Elizabeth to question both sets of values. Her poignant homesickness is expressed in comforting recipes like My Mother's Noodle Pudding, and Grandma Elsie's Spaghetti Sauce, but over time, Elizabeth warms to her adopted city, as evidenced by her mastery of a summery ratatouille and a whole fish baked in sea salt (note to chef: have a hammer and ice pick at the ready).

While Elizabeth explores Paris's ancient cobblestone streets, inimitable boutiques, and museums, she envisions a place where people take career risks and have time for personal pleasures, where one can get a buttery croissant and a perfect bagel. As she learns, such a place doesn't exist, but her journey of discovery couldn't be more appetizing and enjoyable."

Personal opinion:
This is a non-fiction book but it really reads like chick-lit. It is not a genre I pick up often, because I am not all that much into it. But I love to discover new cultures and cuisines, so I decided to read this book anyway. Each chapter ends with some recipes and I found that a welcome addition to the story. I really liked how Elizabeth described her life in Paris and manages to tie almost everything to food. This made it a very interesting read for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in France cuisine or culture and is looking for a quick entertaining read. It won't disappoint.

I liked it!

Purchase links: Amazon
Other reviews: A foodie bibliophile in wanderlust
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

I have made a wintery cauliflower soup from this book. You can find the recipe on She Likes Bento.
Don't forget to check out the other participants of weekend cooking! It features great recipes, foodie book reviews and other related topics.

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Weekend cooking: Durable grocery bags

Normally most of my weekend cooking posts are made on my other blog: She Likes Bento, however for this week I want to turn the spotlight on something different, namely a greener way of shopping for groceries. I think you all know the problem of getting loads of plastic bags while doing your groceries. For example all the plastic around your fruits and veggies or bread for example. I like to look at alternatives myself to reduce the plastic I use in the household and one way to do that is bring your own bag while shopping. And getting my fruits and veggies on the market where they use mainly paper bags.

Copyright Daisy Janie

Janneke of Eco Beauty has brought something to my attention that is even better than paper bags and I would like to share that with you. Since it requires creativity in some cases, I thought this blog would be better suited :) This fabric produce bag shown above is one of the great alternatives that Janneke featured on her blog and you can find a pattern for free on Daisy Janie.

Copyright by LunchSkins

Another great alternative to save plastic is by replacing the plastic sandwhich bags. Those are almost used daily and you can only imagine how much pastic is used by all those families. I don't used them myself very often because I mostly use bento boxes, but on the rare occassions that I do use them I find these sandwhich bags from Lunchskins a good and pretty alternative. And us Dutchies can buy them at Gezinnig.

Copyright by Pink and Green

Lastly I want to focus on these reusable fruit, veggie and bread bags by Again and A-gain. It seems to me that these will come in handy to save a lot of plastic packaging while buying the food we use the most. For the Dutchies available on Pink and Green.

I have to say that I do not yet own any of these items myself, but I hope I will be able to save up and purchase them soon because this is one of the easy ways to make a difference :)

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