Cookbooks For The Holidays

Many Food Partiers! like to cook, and some even take the time to write it all down for the rest of us. I’m sitting around this Thanksgiving weekend looking some over. Here’s a few tomes that caught our holiday goo goo.

Can It & Ferment It

Minnesota-based blogger and enthusiast Stephanie Thurow combines two unique approaches to preserving produce with 75 + recipes that utilize fruits and vegetables in different ways: hot-water bath-canned and probiotic-rich ferments. The canned recipes require a bit more equipment, but anyone with a canning jar and lid can easily create the fermented recipes, and the options are intriguing. The recipes are broken down into seasonal options for Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter, and the book includes sections on equipment needs and resources for success. My first attempt will be Cranberries in Honey, and Pickled Sunchokes. Small enough to fit into a holiday stocking, this condensed and thorough look at food preservation is creative and easy.

Cranberries in Honey
Yield: 1 pint
2 cups whole cranberries
Raw Honey

Clean cranberries. Fill a clean pint jar, leaving 1-inch of head space, and stir in honey until the cranberries are submerged. Mix well.

Cover jar with a canning lid and tightly screw it shut. This ferment needs to be burped daily. Store at room temperature, ideally between 60 and 75°F. If you use a clear glass jar, keep out of direct sunlight or wrap something around the jar, such as a dish towel, to keep light out. Ferment 30 days or longer. Store in an airtight container once fermentation is complete and refrigerate.

Keep up on Bay Area canning classes offered by the University of California Cooperative Extension program.

One Peaceful World Cookbook

Marrying traditional wisdom and modern research, a vegan macrobiotic approach recognizes the profound effect that food, environment and attitude can have on your physical and emotional health. The One Peaceful World Cookbook: Over 150 Vegan, Macrobiotic Recipes for Vibrant Health and Happiness shows you how to prepare delicious meals that nourish body and mind. Written by San Carlos-based chef Sachi Kato with Alex Jack, the recipes take a modern look at some macrobiotic classics. Sachi was head chef and teacher at the Kushi Institute in Massachusetts, and currently serves as food editor for Amberwaves, a quarterly macrobiotic journal. We’ve Food Partied! about the mysteries and magic of macrobiotics before in…

Umeboshi – The Macrobiotic Antibiotic

Like Horse Penis

Michio Kushi and One Peaceful World

InStyle Parties

Here’s a fun gathering of all the information you need to host unforgettable parties; from game-day gatherings and holiday festivities to boozy brunches and summer soirees. Each party has a menu with signature drinks, tabletop ideas, take-home gifts or group activities, and a timeline for party prep. It’s a great gift for folks just venturing into the world of theme parties, but still, there are new ideas for veteran Food Partiers! I like the brownies cut into footballs-bites and easily decorated with white icing,

and am intrigued by the recipe for roasted Carrots with Espresso Rub, Dates and Sorghum Sauce & Lime. I used the following tip this weekend and can’t believe I never thought about doing it before InStyle Parties.

Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a round of brie onto baking sheet and bake 12 – 15 minutes. Transfer to platter and top with leftover room temperature or slightly heated cranberry sauce. Top with nuts.