The Wednesday Review:
Reviewing books, products and more you may be interested in
This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Read on for the review and a free recipe, however!
This is the fifth book in a series of giveaways!
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Dear cooks of international flair,
I've been having way too much fun with this giveaway series. Not only am I loading up on a stack of fresh cooking material for the kitchen and hopefully helping you to do the same, but I've been "meeting" readers from far and wide! We've had winners in Missouri, Utah, Texas and Massachusetts, and I am curious to see where this next book will go! The last book we gave away was Nourishing Traditions, and it sailed off to a new home in Utah! We're giving away another book from the outstanding press, Da Capo Lifelong {follow them on Facebook for recipes, giveaways, and information on fabulous cooking books}; they generously offered us this giveaway on top of the one they just sponsored for Vegan Cupcakes!
Speaking of generous, everybody's a winner with this review, because Da Capo's publicist gave permission to share a recipe for all of us to enjoy! Read on for Spicy Drunken Noodles ...
by
This is a book on international cooking, and I guess it also happens to be vegan - which is almost beside the point when you start exploring these flavorful, exotic dishes that weirdly can be made as easily as a bowl of spaghetti, in your own kitchen!
This is also a huge book. Almost as big as my (huge) baby, it boasts over 300 recipes from around the world!
What's with vegan eating? Vegan and vegetarian eating may be a pseudo-faddish lifestyle for some Westerners, but in many parts of the world it's just a way of life; animal products may be costly or hard to come by, and people rely on a plant-based diet in many regions as a matter of necessity. Not surprisingly then, fabulously creative and delicious recipes have developed in remote parts of the world, meals which are consumed by everybody, not just card-carrying "vegans"! You might be living a purely vegan lifestyle and seeking new material to jazz up your weeknights, or you may be roasting a turkey this afternoon but looking for a nutritious side dish with a little Mediterranean flair, or hoping to use up a few extra eggplant and thinking a Lebanese Moussaka Stew might fit the bill. I, a die-hard self-professed advocate of whole milk, cheese and bacon, am delighting over the traditional Garlicky Potato Dip from Greece, Coriander Rye Muffins from Russia, Okra Masala (Bindi Bhaji) from India, and Takeout Stir Fry Noodles with Mushrooms and Greens from China!
What's inside: Rather than dividing the recipes by region, which is a cute idea but can be inconvenient when you want to quickly find a soup for a cool evening, these recipes are conveniently and handily divided by food genre. Preceded by a section familiarizing novice cooks on tools, ingredients and lingo, there are twelve fat chapters in this book: Spice Blends (like Olive Oil Harissa Paste), The Three Protein Amigos: Tofu, Seitan and Tempeh (like Lemon and Olive Chickpea Seitan), Pickles, Chutneys and Saucier Sauces (like Whipped Garlic Dip), Salads, Spreads and Sandwiches (like Avocado Mango Cashew Salad), Soups (like White Bean Farro Soup with Chickpea Parmigiana), Curries Hearty Stews and Beans (like Mexican Homemade Refried Beans), Dumplings Breads and Pancakes (like Ethiopian Savory Crepes), Asian Noodles to Mediterranean Pasta (like Sizzling Seitan Pho Noodle Soup), Hearty Entrees (like Korean Veggie Bulgogi), Robust Vegetable Entrees and Sides (like Crisp Stir-Fry Greens with Veggie Oyster Sauce), Rice and Whole Grains: One-Pot Meals and Supporting Roles (like Crusty Persiaon Rice with Dill and Fava Beans), and Sweet Beginnings (like Walnut Spice Sticky Cake).
Recipes are all accompanied by a few little purple symbols, helping cooks that are seeking a dish to fit certain specifications: 123 denotes the easiest recipes; 45 denotes under-45-minute recipes; a chair marks recipes that are mostly inactively cooking on the stove or in the oven so you can be out of the kitchen; $ indicates inexpensive ingredients; low-fat marks recipes with a tablespoon or less of added fats;
Of course, the book is scattered throughout with beautiful color photographs of many of the delicious recipes you'll be encountering. With recipes using traditional fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, recipes that bring on the heat with berebere and harissa, recipes that are familiar and recipes that are bizarre, there is something exploratory and exciting for everybody in this book. But perhaps we should let the recipes speak for themselves? I'll leave you with the recipe for Spicy Drunken Noodles, and then you can check out the book on your own or enter the giveaway below!
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| photo courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz used with permission |
Pad Kee Mao
(Spicy Drunken Noodles) From Vegan Eats World, reprinted with permission
Serves 2 to 3
this addictive, fiery Thai noodle dish, but the strangest
one may be about the wife who was so fed up
with her drunken husband she turned to revenge
via loading up his favorite noodles with fistfuls of
hot chile peppers. Seems like her plan backfired,
because the heady mixture of savory sauces and
fiery chilies made him (and countless fans after)
swoon and ask for seconds. Your homemade spin on
this takeout favorite need not be punishingly hot to
be just as good.
Thai soy sauce: Like her sister recipe, Pad See Ew (page 230), Pad Kee Mao is best made with genuine Thai soy sauces. One bottle of each Thai sauce will last for dozens of noodle dishes, making spontaneous Thai-style noodles an easy weekday meal treat. Chinese- or Japanese-style sauces don’t have the correct flavors; your dish may be good, but it won’t taste like Thai food. Thai thin soy sauce (light amber color, thin consistency, and strong, salty taste) does the job of standing in for fish sauce. Golden Mountain sauce is a special Thai seasoning sauce with a consistency and flavor slightly like Worcestershire sauce; it’s vegan, with complex flavors that soy sauce alone can’t cover. Thai black soy sauce and sweet soy sauce are thick and sweet sauces with molasses-like notes; both have their own unique character, but in a pinch are interchangeable. But for the most authentic tasting dish, use both!
Drunken Noodle Sauce
2 tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce (see page 19)
4 teaspoons brown sugar or palm sugar
1 tablespoon Thai Golden Mountain sauce (see page 18)
2 tablespoons Thai black soy sauce or Thai sweet soy sauce (see page 19), or
1 tablespoon of each sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 to 3 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce or hot red pepper flakes
Noodles and Vegetables
3 tablespoons peanut, canola, or grapeseed oil
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 to 4 red or green hot chile peppers
(Thai, Indian, or serrano), sliced into paper-thin rings
One 8-ounce package fried tofu or 1 recipe
Savory Baked Tofu (page 50), sliced into
1/4-inch thin strips
3 cups shredded Napa or savoy cabbage
1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks
3 scallions, both green and white parts, thinly sliced
1/2 cup lightly packed Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
Lime wedges for squeezing over noodles
Add any of the following to the stir-fry before adding the noodles:
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Mrs H
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A must-have guide for any homemaker. Not only covering the rudiments of canning - explaining in detail and with illustrations how to both pressure can, and water-bath can - this book also address freezing and dehydrating, the other two most popular forms of food storage. With recipes that have become our family favorites, and simple, straightforward instructions on everything from jerky to chutney to pickles to flash-frozen kale, this book is a staple for the kitchen shelf! 
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An outstanding book that every DIYer, urban homesteader, home cook and processed-free-fan should absolutely own. 
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Outstanding book covering all the basics of the kitchen: every cook should own this book. Every recipe is a go-to, trustworthy and successful dish. I have never had a flop from this book! 
An excellent book for everybody learning to make their own yogurt, soak their own grains and brew their own medicine. 
This book is so much fun! I love how the recipes in it can be whipped out in short order (but big flavor!), and it has been my saving grace more than a few times. 
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. My older sister owned it growing up, and when I married Mr H I instantly went and bought this book (actually, I bought it just before we got married, so I wouldn't have to live a day without it). Whenever I have a quick dinner I need, a long dinner I can start early, or a vegetable I am at a loss for, I flip through this very simple, spare book. Lots of recipe, very little extra foofoo, it gets straight to the point. All the soups have been winners, from Avocado Veloute to my age-old classic well-loved dearly-adored Caldo Verde! 
I accidentally left this book at my friends' house and she texted me how she was secretly glad I did! When I came a few days later to pick it up, she said she was hastily trying to finish reading the entire thing! Not only have I been stunned and boggled by the quality of the dishes in Chesman's repertoire, but I love her seasonal take on produce, especially useful to me since I prefer to cook with local and in-season foods. Tackle turnips, love leeks, and krunch kale with all her fantastic recipes! 
As you well know, this book has melted into my kitchen with such love that I can't even get it off my kitchen counter. This is the best slow cooker book available! 
I "borrowed" this book from my mom three years ago. Still "borrowing" it. Can't let her "have" it back .. Ever! I love how the recipes in this book all go into one pot, and come out like gourmet, way-too-much-work-went-into-this dazzlers. Whenever I use a recipe from this book, I feel like a fancy chef (the book includes wine pairings, in case you are a fancy chef!) and I've never had anybody turn down a meal from this book, ever! 
Don't let yourself head into another summer season without this ice-cream guide to see you through! No longer can I eat store-bought ice cream (Dreyers? Please ... spare me the sixty ingredients!), not after enjoying real ice cream. The chocolate ice cream in this book? So wicked, you can only eat a tiny bowl. The cream cheese? Ginger? Lemon? Tin Roof Sundae? Stop me, please! I love this book. 
Goodbye canned soda. Hello home-carbonated drinks! The title just about sums it all up, and you can 
This book is one of the newest in my collection, so I actually can't say it is splattered yet. But I wanted to include it here because I truly enjoy all of Ina Garten's cooking so much. I was introduced to her friendly cooking show when I was working as a hospice volunteer, and one of the patients I sat with wanted to watch her show many times. I realized how easy her cooking was, how simple, straightforward, and fresh. Using just a few quality ingredients, she was setting a table that looked out of this world! 
You know why I wanted this book so badly (
This book isn't a doctor, but it can help pinpoint the causes of various malaises and offers solutions from the comfort of your home. 
An excellent guide for homesteaders today, this book will get you started on hog-raising and gardening! 
Great, simple recipes - all of them delicious; lots of color photographs! 
This is a big fat book with lots of revolutionary (to the Westerners) and flavorful ways to use spices. I enjoy international cooking for the simple reason that, while not only bringing new flavors and textures to my plate, it also expands my view of certain foods and helps shift paradigms in thinking about say, cinnamon or star anise. 
A book from my native Washington state, this beautifully appointed book is a sophisticated treatise on preparing fresh salmon, crab, lobster and more. 
What a gem this book is in my collection! It has saved me more than once with an overful refrigerator of produce, while on the hunt for a new way to use some bountiful vegetable. (Eggplant jam? Summer squash pasta?) 
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Looking to do some vegan baking? This miniature book has way too many recipes for its size! 
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I love this book - and recommend it to anybody starting a vegetarian diet (or vegan, as any recipes not vegan have alternate ingredient options). It was a chance find in a bookstore and I am glad I stumbled across it; soups, lasagne, even dessert and appetizers are included - and all of them with ordinary ingredients you can find in the grocery store. 
Unglutenites rejoice - lots of recipe titles you will recognize but in exciting - gluten-free - new ways! 
