Book Review: The Art of Simple Food

Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food is not just a cookbook.
It is also a primer of essential culinary techniques, with basic recipes for the neophyte to memorize and expand upon creatively.
It is also a guide to building up a pantry with basic items which will allow one to cook good, simple food from […]

Chinese Noodle Cookbooks: A Handful of the Best Titles

There have been a strong handful of cookbooks written on the subject of Chinese and Asian noodles over the years; unfortunately, the best of them are out of print. But, luckily, they are reasonably easily found through Amazon as used books, or, if you have issues with Amazon, you can always try Bookfinder or ebay. […]

Book Review: Cooking At Home With Pedatha

“From food all creatures are produced. And all creatures that dwell on earth, by food they live, and into food they finally pass. Food is the chief among beings. Verily he obtains all good who worships the Divine as food.” –Taittiriya Upanishad
This quote is the text chosen as the opening to Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha […]

From India’s Vegetarian Cooking: Smoky Lentils With Tomato

When I reviewed Monisha Bharadwaj’s excellent book India’s Vegetarian Cooking: A Regional Guide, I wanted to be certain to try a recipe from each of the broad geographic areas covered in the book. So, I presented recipes from the north, the east and the west, and now, it comes time to present one from the […]

From India’s Vegetarian Cooking:Broccoli With Five Spices

I know that I just wrote about a stir-fried recipe from the eastern region of India that featured whole spices.
Well, that recipe came from the eastern region of India, and this one, while it uses the same basic technique–stir frying, and similar ingredients–whole spices, is from the west, in Bengal, and it results in […]