Saturday, March 6, 2010

Have you got a little old house and a lemon tree?

With much excitement and giggling, and holding a discount voucher each, a work friend and I jogged through the rain at lunch time yesterday to go to the book store and pick up our copies of The Real Food Companion by Matthew Evans.

The Real Food Companion

In case you don't know who Matthew Evans is, he was a famous restaurant critic in Sydney before tossing big city life in and moving to Tasmania to live and work a small holding, in order to get a sense of where food comes from. There's a TV show and DVD about his adventures, and also this book.

It's a beautiful book. I didn't need a new cookbook but ... I have the biggest girly crush on Matthew Evans. Actually, so does my friend, the wench!!! (Kidding. She's lovely.)

Anyway, that book (and it's enormous - think Stephanie Alexander's Big Orange Bible kind of enormous) hadn't been in my possession for 26 hours before I made this (the lemon curd - the fruit and nut bread is from Infinity Sourdough at the farmers' market).

Lemon curd

And this (the pipérade - the bread is Infinity too).

Piperade

Verdict - a huge success. I got to use some of my massive capsicum and parsley crop, as well as some local lemons and eggs from my competition's friend's farm. Best of all, it all tasted delicious. The pipérade is all gone, but I have half a litre of lemon curd to eat over the next 2 weeks (it's recommended best-by date) and I may need a filling or two at the end of that period. But oh. So worth it.

So I think this might be my new favourite cook book, and I have a lot of books to choose from. Tell me - what is your favourite?

9 comments:

  1. oh wow that looks like a very very wonderful book. Hope scott isn't too scared! I don't really have a favourite - I love too many of them.

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  2. ooo what a great post! Thanks for sharing this info and road testing! I think this is on my 'to buy' list.

    Favourite cookbook? EEk that's like asking what my favourite type of yarn is...hmm. My favourite cookbook is David Thomson's 'Thai Food' mind you I have never cooked anything from it except a mango dessert. My husband does most of the cooking nowadays and I love what comes out of that cookbook. It takes Thai food to such heights that I no longer eat Thai takeaway. It just doesn't cut it.

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  3. You have just made me incredibly hungry! You are such a terrific cook Michelle. Cooking is not my forte - but i like all the Women's Weekly cookbooks.

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  4. mmmm, I really must plant a lemon tree in the backyard - I so love lemon curd!

    It's probably no surprise if I say my favourite book is Nigella's How to Be a Domestic Goddess - because sweets really are my thing! But it's followed closely by Stephanie's Big Orange Book.

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  5. That book looks fantastic. I was raving to my Mum just a couple of hours ago about how great the TV show is.

    My favourite cook book at the moment is Steph's Kitchen Garden Companion (or Steph two, as it's known round here), as there are so many veggo recipes in there and it's helping us to decide what to plant over the cooler months.

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  6. Oh no Michelle, sorry!! I had the Oscars on Win (channel 9) after lunch?? Do you get different television reception elsewhere in Canberra or were you at a real job?? It's all over the news & if it's any consolation, i caught the last 6 awards only!! Love Posie

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  7. i strongly resisted buying that yesterday in Sydney. But I walked away wondering how long until I can't resist anymore.

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  8. Yum! My fave is a toss up between Stephanie (my edition is stripy) and the India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka sections of Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook...

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  9. mmmm that lemon curd looks AMAZING!
    Just the thing for a PR all-stars tea party, don't you think ;o)
    I love all my 'Essential' cookbooks, but maybe my very favourite is an old copy of Cookery the Australian Way that the school librarian gave me before I went overseas

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