The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I've often said that I'm not a great baker. Oh, sure, I make very tasty brownies and drop cookies, but...I don't excel. Not sure if it's because I haven't got the patience...most good bakers I know actually find baking a very Zen experience and love to bake, particularly when they are stressed or just plain miserable. I just want to get it over with and eat.

Possibly it's because I never was very good in science ...chemistry and physics were not my best subjects in school and baking is scientific...exact measurements, specific order of things, temperature of ingredients ...these things are all important...when do I need things right from the fridge or at room temperature?...sigh...

If I do say so myself, I'm a good cook. I can see a recipe or even just a picture of a dish and know how I'll adapt it, spin it into something very different, add things, take things out...roast instead of grill...so easy. But baking...I'm a novice, even though I've been around the kitchen for years.

So my latest cookbook was received with trepidation.

The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I'm always hopeful, always sucked in to gorgeous photos, and then often find myself at a loss actually making a recipe from baking books.

Now I don't have to worry. But let me say for the record, the real reason I love this book is because it works not only for inexperienced, nervous bakers...like me, it also has fantastic complex recipes for the very proficient baker... like my cousin Arlene, who is awesome. Non bakers -like me can start with the simplest of dishes and work our way to becoming master pastry chefs all in one glorious book.

Each chapter focuses on a specific category of baking...cookies, bars and squares; cakes; pies & pastries; yeast breads; quick breads; spoon desserts ; and sauces and garnishes. Each chapter starts with simple recipes and works its way to jaw-dropping divine show-stoppers! The 300 photos are gorgeous and really give the inexperienced person a sense of what the creation should look like (something I need in baking).

My favorite chapter comes right up front...it's the introduction with great baking tips, what to stock in your fridge and pantry and more...like details on the difference between baking powder and baking soda, how to tell when your supply needs to be replaced, how to know which chocolate to use when...the info is fabulous.

I have tons of pages bookmarked...like dark and dangerous triple chocolate cookies, hazelnut thins, cherry pecan pound cake...Oh and if you're like me and are more of a savory than sweet girl...you'll love the roast garlic & goat cheese strudel, cheddar & sage skillet cornbread, and deep dish chicken pot pie...just for starters.

So far I've only made one recipe...Plum Sour Cream Kuchen and it was beyond my wildest expectation...easy to make, FUN to make (that's big for me when it comes to baking), incredibly moist and delicious and beautiful, too. It even looks like the photo in the book!

Hard to decide on what to whip up next...perhaps the chocolate cranberry twist...but I'll be leaving the profiteroles and sunshine cake for sometime down the road.

Anita Stewart's Canada

I guess the reason I love Canada...the country...can truly be summed up in Anita Stewart's Canada cookbook. The back cover says it best...
"...Canada, an abundant land where the foods and stories are as richly varied as the people"

I was born in Montreal, Quebec, the granddaughter of immigrants from Russia and/or Poland. I say "and/or" because my father used to say that it depended on the day. They, like all the other immigrants who make it to Canada's shores, come for the possibility of finding a safer, friendlier, more prosperous place for their children and grandchildren.

Naturally for the foodie in me, the best part of that blending of cultures, so uniquely Canadian, is the cornucopia of delicious dishes from around the world...some have stayed true to "The Old Country", but most have adapted to their new homeland and the rich bounty of the land and waters.

Anita Stewart, author of thirteen other books and writes for CBC Radio's Fresh Air as well, did a wonderful job of capturing the best of what is found on Canadian tables.

There are many lovely cookbooks on my shelves, and I really do love them all for one reason or another...a regional cuisine, a healthful dietary regime, a particular focus, like entertaining or baking. Usually the ones that touch my heart as well as my stomach also share a history of a people. Stewart's book, in addition to that, provides a glimpse into the homes of people across this land...chefs, innkeepers, farmers, white collar workers... I really did feel as if I were at their tables. Here's a perfect example of her writing style...the recipe is simple, for those rushy days, and unbelievably spectacular, but it's the snippet to set the stage, one of many that makes the book special. I thought I'd share both...

"My friend Frederique Philip came to Canada from France in 1978 and move to Vancouver Island the following year. As the co-owner of Sooke Harbour House, one of the finest inns on earth, she has very little time to cook for herself. Her dinners are simple and fast and full of flavour. She showed me this amazing recipe when she visited Elora one autumn. The amounts can be varied to suit your personal taste and how many servings you need. Grilled medium-rare with fresh garlic from the Guelph Farmers Market,it was the best steak I've ever eaten. We drank the finest Niagara red wine we could afford, and I served the steak with barbecue-roasted Bijou Rouge potatoes...."

Doesn't that just sound so casual, like you were sitting at Anita's table and sharing recipes over a cup of tea?

Frederique's Fabulous Garlic Steak

This dish is so wonderful, and such a surprise to the taste buds, I will definitely be making it often. It will be one of those dishes to wow guests without breaking a sweat.

Whether you're Canadian or not...check out the book. You won't be disappointed.

Beyond The Great Wall

In my world there are two types of cookbooks...the ones filled mostly with recipes and a few snippets of description and the other type. I call it them "National Geographic" cookbooks. You know what I mean...they take you through a stunning pictorial journey of some place or other and introduce you to some fabulous ethnic foods.

Back in the ...well that will tell you how old I am, so...back in the day, I collected the Time Life series (no longer in print) that explored different countries, the cultural differences of each region and fantastic recipes that were complex but not difficult to follow and the photos...well...very National Geographic. And so I was hooked. I love to know more about places that I probably will never visit in person, which leads me to the most fantastic book of this genre....

Beyond The Great Wall is beautifully written and photographed by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid who have written five other awesome books, including Mango & Curry Leaves ...another book high on my wish list. Before sharing my take on this glorious book that takes us through the less travelled paths in China, I need to mention that my daughter did such a trek, and naturally whenever she comes over, she gravitates to the book to relive some of her experiences there.

In fact, it wasn't until she came back to Toronto (we were living there at the time) that I ever tasted momos, a wonderful filled savory pastry. We discovered a great little Tibetian restaurant on Queen Street that served them. Now I can make some of my own, thanks to the book. Sounds like a wonderful weekend project for the two of us...especially the ones filled with tender pea tendrils that I can find at the Halifax Farmers Market and a pinch or two of cayenne and cumin. I'll keep you posted.

Back to the book...I love the travelogues and photos that precede recipes like this intro to Grassland Herb Salsa...

"In Manzhouli, on the border between Inner Mongolia and Siberia, I shared a
convivial meal of lamb hot pot... Maznhouli is a wild place, as most
border towns are, a place where goods and services, both legal and
illegal,are bought and sold and lots of money seems to change hands."

Can't you just feel the atmosphere?

Of course, even beautiful books are useless (except as coffee table books) unless the recipes are great too, made with easy to find ingredients. I'll definitely be making some Mongolian Lamb Patties that sound delicious and so simple to make...some ground lamb, lots of chopped garlic and scallions, cilantro leaves, fresh gingerroot and pepper...all easy to find at any local grocery store.

All of the culturally distinct people are so beautifully described in picture and word, that you feel as if you've been there...or,at the very least, want to go and visit. Peppered throughout the book are detailed descriptions of these unique people of a China we don't usually see. For example, the Dai live in Southern and Yunnan, bordering on Burma and Laos. They are lowland rice cultivators and great grillers...my own personal favorite way to cook. The simple grilled chicken...pieces rubbed with a paste of garlic, salt and ground Sichuan peppercorns are gently grilled over a low fire. We've all heard of the Mongolian Hot Pot, but I never before read such a telling portrait of the people...5 million living in China today.

Even the glossary makes for a wonderful read. Did you know that "goat meat is sold at many kosher butchers, Caribbean groceries, South Asian groceries and halal butchers...or that the tail must be left on sheep and goat carcasses to that they can be told apart, goats have narrow tails and sheep tails are wider". I'm not sure if that's only in China or here in North America as well.

Now I'm off to read some more and decide on which recipes to cook first.

Edited on September 27, 2008....to add some awesome recipes I tried

Mongolian Lamb Patties

Dai Grilled Chicken

Dai-style Pea Tendril Salad

Marty's World Famous Cookbook

I could kick myself! I'm ashamed to say it. I never went to Marty's Famous Coffeehouse in Bracebridge (heart of the Muskokas) when I was living in Toronto. My loss, truly if his cookbook is any indication. Great recipes, stunning photos of both scenery and food, plus wonderful stories. My suggestion...buy the book and then book a trip to the Muskokas. It's beautiful in the Fall with all those glorious reds, yellows and orange leaves everywhere. And, naturally, don't bypass the coffeehouse and Marty's famous buttertarts.

In Marty's World Famous Cookbook, he shares a great many of his secrets with us...the reasons everyone stops by in Ontario's wonderful cottage country. The biggest secret of all....shhhhh, don't tell....is to keep things simple. This book is aimed directly at my need to uncomplicate life in the kitchen and still make delicious food that everyone raves about.

I've earmarked many a tasty dish...like his late grandfather's mushroom soup...not just because I adore mushroom soups, but because I love the story...you'll have to get the book to read it. Same with his famous butter tarts. He even wants those of us who make them to send photos to his website and he'll post all the variations. His beetless borscht sounds like a winner for my daughter who hates beets. Or how about some of Marty's personal favorites like Men's Night Steak Sandwich with his own Butternut BBQ Rub and garlic drizzle, for my son-in-law's traditional Monday Night Guy Night. Of course, my daughter would have to make them, so start begging, Ez.

Then there's Marty's simple wings, gnocchi with prosciutto and cremini mushrooms and don't get me started on his desserts. Just mentioning them adds to my waistline.

That said I did make his fabulous Cranberry Orange Loaf . It's perfect for a late lazy morning snack with a mug of steaming coffee or afternoon with a cup of tea.

Marty's Guacamole was fantastic with pita chips for some drop in guests we had last week and will be again when my brother-in-law visits this week.

So what are you waiting for...get a copy of Marty's book and pretend you're in the Muskokas.