Tag Archives: Book Review

The Best Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Baking Recipes / The Part Time Vegetarian

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I come from a family of food lovers, not of fine dining, but good honest home cooking with the best of locally farmed or grown ingredients, the benefit of growing up in the countryside. One of our closest neighbours when I was little, was the married daughter and her family, of a local farmer who pioneered a farm shop, butchering his own meat and serving local produce over thirty years ago. As we children grew up and played together there were many outings, trips, walks, picnics and visits to the distant seaside. Now the lady in question was also a culinary pioneer and catered for these events with lots of pies, pasties and sweet pastries made with wholemeal flour long before the modern, organic, healthy eating movement began, and I have to say, they were really bad. My sister and I buried them in the sand on the beach and even the Seagulls refused the crusts and half eaten baking.

Book Reveiw I
Now a good many years later as a chef I have to admit I still have an aversion to healthy cooking, compounded by a classical training using a cannon of French recipes, requiring copious amounts of cream, alcohol and butter. But times have changed. We are much more aware of diet, healthy eating and can make informed decisions about what we eat. We can make choices about low fat, low sodium, high fibre, organic, ethically sourced or gluten free dishes or menus. So two of my biggest challenges as a chef are to find inspired, tasty and healthy recipes, like vegetarian dishes a little different to a vegetable lasagne or three bean chilli, and to find reliable alternative methods to make gluten free pastry and biscuits that are slightly more palatable than my memories of buried jam tarts that will be around for hundreds of years.
It is then a real pleasure to have found the Nourish imprint and in particular two very excellent cookery books. The Best Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Baking Recipes by Grace Cheetham and The Part Time Vegetarian by Nicola Graimes. For someone who deals with recipes every day at work and in my own kitchen it is really encouraging to discover some real distinct and different dishes in The Part Time Vegetarian and I like the concept of adapted recipes including meat and fish if you so choose.
From the very moreish, crumbly Butternut squash scones with goats’ cheese served warm from the oven, to a particular favourite the Halloumi Hash, a really clever idea to use up any leftover roast potatoes and vegetables for a Monday lunch, the book is packed with well written, thoughtful recipes. Not only did I learn several new dishes and ingredients I have been inspired to go meat free at least one day a week. I have tried my hand at making Labneh, a simple, tangy Middle Eastern style cheese that was delicious with flatbread and Balsamic cherry tomatoes. I made Okonomiyaki for my lunch, this is another great way to use up a fridge full of leftovers and is a kind of really delicious, grilled Japanese pancake cum pizza. I found this book to be a total joy and a treasure trove of wonderful ideas some of which will no doubt find their way on to one or two restaurant menus.

In the Part-time Vegetarian there is a very adaptable recipe for an asparagus and Parmesan Panzanella, a classic Italian tomato salad that uses up yesterday’s stale bread. Nicola adds chicken for her non vegetarian version. I have done a similar dish on a menu using pan fried king prawns, but I was really impressed by the Best Gluten-free and Dairy-free Baking Recipes book with a recipe for Panzanella. You just don’t think to make a salad using up old bread for someone who is gluten intolerant. The author Grace Cheetham provides a failsafe collection of recipes for gluten breads, biscuits and cakes so you can enjoy the same dishes as anyone who is not intolerant.
I am in total admiration because I have to say these alternative recipes are every bit as delicious and palatable as the gluten originals. You will have to stock up on a few items such as chickpea flour, maize flour and brown rice flour but the results are well worth it from a moist Chilli Cornbread to an excellent Beef Wellington that would impress the most discerning dinner guest. Best of all there are some really astounding chocolate brownies and melt in the mouth Millionaires shortbread that went down amazingly well in the office. So if you are intolerant, on a restricted diet this is a detailed, practical and impressive cook book with recipes that really work and you can the adapt or use in lots more of your cooking.
If you know any chefs you will be aware that they are seldom wrong, well I would like to admit that there is a big place for some of these recipes in my work and I am very pleased to have found both of these books. If I am not going to swallow my own word’s I am at least going to do the next best thing make another batch of gluten free Millionaires shortbread and swallow the results of reading someone else’s.

Twisted by B A Morton Reviewed by Margaret Graham

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Twisted by B A Morton reviewed by Margaret Graham

Blimey, talk about tense …

In Twisted, Jack Miller’s been playing a dangerous game, and the stakes are about to be raised.

I read the first few lines and was hooked.

Poor old DI John Samuels is on the trail of a bank robber, but he has no idea of the people he’s dealing with. In particular, let me introduce you to Spook, who is one of the most balmy and evil characters I’ve come across. How on earth did B A Morton conjure her up, let alone all the others. You see, so few are conventionally good people, but they’re so interesting. I was totally engrossed, and found myself – understanding? Well no, not understanding why they were as they were, but close to that.

The pace, the story, the characters are all spot on. So, let’s get back to the book: the ruthless robber is Miller, for whom bank robbery is simply a means to an end. Wounded while making his escape Miller has half a million in used notes and a hostage that wasn’t part of the plan. As the police close in, Otto, the crime boss wants his cash, and someone wants Miller silenced  – forever.

Then there’s the weird misfit Spook. Unstable and fearless, she’ll go to any lengths to get what she wants. Then a judge’s daughter disappears and evidence points at Miller. It is then that Miller discovers just how crazy Spook really is. (Ah ha, but I knew it all along, so very there).  With every twist and turn, and even with the rapid pace, Morton keeps us with her.

Published by Caffeine Nights, Twisted surely lends itself to a series. I do hope so.

B A Morton lives in the North East of England, and writes across a number of genres, including crime, romance, horror and historical fiction. She lives in a cottage built on the remains of a medieval chapel.

She is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association. In 2011 her debut novel, Mrs Jones, a crime thriller set in New York, took second place in the international literary competition, The Yeovil Prize, and launched her extremely successful career.

 

 

The Reluctant Pilgrim by Penny Gerrard Reviewed by Margaret Graham

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The Reluctant Pilgrim review

At the start of The Reluctant Pilgrim, Penny Gerrard asks, ‘How do I capture the contrasts using what can hardly be more than verbal snapshots? Can I bring you the sights, sounds and smells which for me, in the future, will immediately say ‘Israel’?

Well, she can, and she does.

The Reluctant Pilgrim records a journey Gerrard took which showed her some of the best and worst of the troubled land she has been reading about in the Bible since she became a Christian forty something years ago.

Starting at the shore at Caesarea Philippi Gerrard immediately brings to life the shore: I felt the warmth of the sun, the blue of the sea, and the five desalination plants of today’s Israel. And this is how the journey continues, history mixed with today, conveyed in straightforward prose and using interesting photos.

I was actually in Israel quite a while ago, cycling on and off road. I saw the parched land bloom, I visited places named in the Bible, I would, however, have liked to read Penny Gerrard’s journey before I went.

Why? She weaves us through past and present. The present being 3 shekels to reserve yourself a music filled cubicle in a public loo, the past being the fact that Roman soldiers were known to use dead chicks in lieu of the more usual sponges. Oh joy.

We go with her to Tiberius, founded on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And onwards to, amongst others: Bethlehem, then the home of Dead Sea Scrolls and finally Jerusalem.

The Reluctant Pilgrim is a journey through faith, as well as a country. Gerrard has the happy knack of being able to bring a place to life. How? She doesn’t ignore detail, she writes with a great sense of place. The Reluctant Pilgrim is thoughtful, and evocative.

Bravo.

The Reluctant Pilgrim by Penny Gerrard can be obtained from Amazon.co.uk

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Reviewed by Margaret Graham 

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fatesandthefuruesbookreview
 
Fates and Furies 

This is a novel that deserves its hype, and trust me, not all do.

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for creative greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but by now we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have so far seemed.

Lauren Groff is in full command of her perspectives. She reveals each new twist effortlessly, and her vibrant prose keeps us gripped and involved over more than two decades. Basically, Groff explores the unsettling truth: that secrets are often the cement – or do I mean the engine? – of relationships.

I really enjoyed Fates and Furies, and admire the oomph of the prose and profound understanding of creative, and relationships, that Groff displays. It’s a clever, accessible, and resonant novel. Brilliant.

Lauren Groff is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Monsters of Templeton, the short story collection Delicate Edible Birds and Arcadia. She has won Pushcart and PEN/O. Henry prizes, and has been shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers. Her stories have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, the Atlantic, One Story, and Ploughshares, and have been anthologised in Best American Short Stories 2007 and 2010, and Best New American Voices 2008. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and two sons.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Published in hardback by William Heinemann in September 2015 at £14.99

 

Love You Better By Natalie K Martin Book Review

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By Frances Colville

loveyoubetterbookreviewNatalie K Martin’s second book Love You Better is about domestic violence. Set in London, Thailand and Ibiza with links to other parts of the world, the story is fast paced with well-drawn characters and a good if somewhat predicable story line. We all know that domestic violence can occur in all sorts of households and relationships, and any book which reinforces this and flags up some of the telltale warning signs is welcome. The author has done her research well. And her love of travel shines through too.

However, the ending of the book was clearly signposted from the early pages and for me this detracted from the impact of the story as it evolved. It’s hard to care enough about the development of a character – even one you empathise with as much as Effie – if you’ve already worked out what is going to happen to her. There were a few other things which pulled me up short. Is the character Oliver intended to be the same age as the other main characters (that is, mid twenties) and if so, how can he possibly be one of the most sought-after lawyers in London? A three storey whitewashed Georgian house in a quiet street in Clapham for £500,000? I don’t think so. Nitpicking? Yes. But why not get it right?

This book is still a good read though. It flows well, it’s interesting and I did actually want to know if I guessed the right ending. And I liked the play on words in the title. A book worth reading in fact. I’m going to search out the author’s first book Together Apart and look forward to future offerings as well.

Love You Better is published by Lake Union Publishing and will be available in the UK in paperback and ebook versions from 8th October 2015.

Above Us The Sky – Milly Adams Book Review by Kathleen Thompson

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Book Review- Above Us The Sky – Milly Adams by Kathleen Thompson

An unputdownable debut from an exciting new author.

Phyllie, a young teacher, finds herself acting mother to her pupils, and to a Jewish boy, Jake, in particular, when the school is evacuated from London to rural Dorset. She bumps into a childhood sweetheart, Sammy, as they wait to board the train, and he mock proposes, to amuse the children. But did he mean it? And will he be safe in the submarine where he and Jake’s father patrol the dangerous waters of Norway?

Phyllie gradually adjusts to country life. Fiercely protective of her wards, she overcomes misunderstandings and conflict. But as her circumstances take a turn for the worst, she discovers genuine friendship and love—from unexpected sources.

Millie Adams weaves a compelling story of love and loss in war-time Britain. She draws the reader in with her intense details of life in those times. I truly felt the claustrophobia and stress of life within a submarine—and started to appreciate the constant danger and the frequent death or ‘burn-out’, of so many young men.

She describes life in the countryside with such detail and accuracy that one feels she lived through it herself —the reality of sugar rationing and ‘making do’ and the often forgotten role of the Women’s Institute, in holding things together and organising food supplies.

She touches on many influences on life in those troubled times—the festering anti-semetism, fuelled by Mosley’s ‘black-shirts’ and ignorance; the reality of the bombing and airborne raids on civilians and the ubiquitous pain of loss, often of someone far too young.

As I said, unputdownable. A truly excellent read, a book that is well-written, compassionate, amusing, observant, and so tense I could hardly turn the pages quickly enough. I can’t wait for Milly Adams’ next book.

 

 

Down and Out Today: Notes From The Gutter by Matthew Small Book Review

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Down and Out Today by Matthew Small Book ReviewI have always been interested in socioeconomics and poverty, and this book from Matthew Small really caught my eye. When my preview copy arrived I read it very quickly. It is a good book. It is well researched and asks important questions. The comparison between poverty in India and poverty in the UK is an interesting one. The truth is there is really no comparison, in India you have slums, in the UK you have a welfare system. The parallels are interesting. You have the Big Issue seller who doesn’t think he is poor because he has what he needs, people who work hard but life beats them down. Those in India with no safety net. Many of the stories in this book haunted me. Especially the one about a a little girl and a baby boy both sleeping on the streets at night. They were alone with no adult, the little girl asleep, using a plastic bag full of rubbish as a pillow and the baby boy, presumably her brother, wearing nothing but a ripped T shirt, bare bottom on the concrete. The baby was gurgling and laughing, playing with a piece of paper on the street, sticking it in his mouth the way babies do. Smalls says he is haunted by this and it is the worst thing he has ever seen but nothing is done. I often think of the child and infant. I have even tried to find them via the internet. I can just hope that someone took pity on them and lifted them from their plight. We live in such a sad world and I can’t help but think more can be done It made me so proud of my own country and our welfare and NHS. You cannot say we do not help the poor. Those who are homeless long term tend to have mental health issues or drug or alcohol problems. Because of this I feel that is where we should turn our efforts in the UK: to those with mental health problems or addiction. This book is a good book but also a haunting one. More importantly, if anyone could let me know what happened to those poor children I would be eternal grateful.

Down and Out Today: Notes from the Gutter is available here.

This is a topical book exploring the meaning of poverty today; questioning whether poverty is specific only to money. The book explores poverty across contemporary society and cultures specifically looking at UK poverty (in Bath) in comparison to India.

Second book from the popular ‘Notes From’ series, with the first book The Wall Between Us endorsed by Jon Snow. The book includes powerful images from Matthew’s travels.

What does poverty mean today? Writer Matthew Small seeks to answer this question and witness the similarities and differences between poverty in the UK and India.

Poverty stretches across all of humanity and by travelling East, Small encounters the raw faces of poverty in India’s slums; he works in a leprosy community, joins the Sisters of Mercy on the littered yet exhilarating streets of Kolkata. He then returns to the UK, to Bath, to see what the passing of three months means to those who are scarred by one of the most unglamorous of all humanities’ ills, being poor.

Small engages with different community members who are living with poverty, to answer these long standing questions: What’s keeping them down? What’s pushing them out? And how can we move forward?

 

 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo Book Review

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thelifechangingmagicoftidyingDe-cluttering is very in at the moment. In fact, it is a trend that does not seem to be going away, and when you think of our consumeristic society and all of the stuff we have is it any wonder? We buy too much and have nowhere to put it. Most of us are drowning in stuff. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo is less of a book, more of a movement. People on Mumsnet rave about it and people say it has changed their life. It has 453 five star reviews on Amazon.co.uk. The hype is so high I was actually thinking about buying the book the very day it arrived to be reviewed. Happy me. I read the book quickly. We moved in to our new place in May this year and our flat is still overflowing with stuff, despite numerous trips to charity shops and selling stuff on eBay.co.uk. Can this book help? Let’s find out.

The books premise is that you should only keep things in your life if they spark joy. The KonMari method (a nickname of the authors) claims to tidy your rooms once and for all. You start with clothes, then books, then papers, miscellaneous items (like kitchen equipment) and, lastly, sentimental items. You leave sentimental things to last after your decision making skills have become better. Some of the book is great and other things seem harder. The tidying must be done all at once. Not easy when you have a baby. Whatever section you are doing must be put in a pile on the floor and then done all at once. I don’t know when I would find the time to do this. As for everything ‘sparking joy’. I have a lot of things that don’t spark joy but I need them. I am not going to get excited about my underwear or cutlery. Despite this, this is a good book. The book is not just about throwing things out, it is also about storing things, finding the place where things should go. Kondo even tells you how to fold properly (vertically, as it turns out). Some of the book is a bit hippy but Marie Kondo knows her stuff and following the method will result in a tidy and clutter free house. I will do this method fully and do a more in depth article soon. I just have to find the time. In the meantime, I like this book because it left me feeling inspired to get going and has great ideas. I have already thrown a lot of stuff out and this book even helps you make some tough decisions. Good if you want to get your life, and home, in order.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever is available here.

Transform your home into a permanently clear and clutter-free space with the incredible KonMari Method. Japan’s expert declutterer and professional cleaner Marie Kondo will help you tidy your rooms once and for all with her inspirational step-by-step method.

The key to successful tidying is to tackle your home in the correct order, to keep only the things you really love and to do it all at once – and quickly. After that for the rest of your life you only need to choose what to keep and what to discard.

The KonMari Method will not just transform your space. Once you have your house in order you will find that your whole life will change. You can feel more confident, you can become more successful, and you can have the energy and motivation to create the life you want. You will also have the courage to move on from the negative aspects of your life: you can recognise and finish a bad relationship; you can stop feeling anxious; you can finally lose weight.

Marie Kondo’s method is based on a ‘once-cleaned, never-messy-again’ approach. If you think that such a thing is impossible then you should definitely read this compelling book.