The Cooking of Provincial France

Utterly inadequate photo of a great book cover: The Cooking of Provincial France by MFK Fisher

The title is grammatically dicey (Ha! Get it!?), but the book is a feast for the eyes.

MFK Fisher sounds suspiciously like Julia Child, who just happened to consult on this Time Life Foods of the World series book. I swear, I've heard some of the stories, within, told in other media by Mrs. Child herself.

Nonetheless, it is a joy to read. Unwieldily articulate in that mid-century way, the photos are museum-worthy and the recipes awesome. Published in 1968, it's an original edition and one of 4 in the series I got, practically for free, at Nicole's garage sale last weekend. (She tried to gift it to me, generous girl, but I took pains to remind her that the whole point of the garage sale is to score some loot for your formerly beloved possessions.)

I will treasure it!

Do yourself a favour and find it. Unless you already own it, in which case I want to know what you think!

Breaking News (Ha!)

A while ago, before I decided I seriously had to get a grip on my cooking habit for the good of my thighs, I bought Michel Roux's Eggs (companion of sorts to his recent book Pastry, which I've written about before). This book is a beautiful resource, which shows how to use eggs - chicken and then some - in endless ways, not simply in omelets and quiche but in sauce, souffle, ice cream, desserts etc.

The photography is beyond lovely and, in true Roux fashion, the recipes are simple, elegant and clear. But impressive!

Ever wondered about the relative sizes of all the eggs produced by all the birds you can imagine (from emu to ostrich to quail to goose)? Well then, this is the book for you.

I'm sure I don't need to convince you that the egg is one of the most awesome and useful foods in nature. A mini universe, each egg provides complete and delicious nourishment and is useful in just about a million contexts.

I fully intend to put this book through its paces - as soon as the holiday season comes around. I'm trying to exercise a bit of baking control for a while - though given my work stress and the move to dark, dank winter I've been finding my calories in the form of chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

Maybe I should try eggs instead.

Delicious Second-Hand Reading

The other day, while walking by Balfour Books (second hand bookstore) on College St., I saw these titles in the window. Both hardcover - and with extremely appealing food photography - the first one is mostly about the author chatting with his food subjects (who then provide a few recipes - easy recipes) and the second is Charlie Trotter being all "man of the people" and coming up with reasonable dishes you can try at home.

We modified one of the Trotter recipes - chicken with herbs and mustard (we had to grind some powder ourselves because we were out of Dijon?!) marinated in a bag and it was rather yummy. Of course, somehow it took almost 2 hours to put together. Easy weekday meals, my ass. Is it just me or is he looking all smug-chef on the cover??