Once upon a story: The Gluten-free girl and chef, A love story

I recently received my copy of "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef," ( WILEY, 2010) and left it on the dining table for a few hours as I worked on something else. When I returned, my husband was looking through it. While that in itself is quite a miracle (!), what he said really is the essence of this book, "I have been looking at this all afternoon - it is really a love story.. isnt it? And gluten-free? If the cover did not say that I would have never guessed that the recipes were gluten-free."

Yes, spot on. 

This is a book that makes you want to kneel down and thank the stars that people like Shauna Ahern write books and will continue to do so. Why? Think Smoked Salt Caramel Ice-cream, a mouthwatering Black bean soup, and for this cool weather.. a lovely warm polenta with goat cheese. 

The recipes are friendly and easy to make... and the book is great reading. I ask - what more could you want from a cookbook?

You can order it here - http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Girl-Shauna-James-Ahern/dp/0470419717

Or enter my giveaway. Wiley is giving away 2 books to Life of Spice readers. Tell me what you love about good cookbooks... Post it in a comment here at Life of Spice and I will pick two winners on Friday, October 22nd at 9:00 am. 

Photo for Life of Spice by www.veggiebelly.com 

RECIPE

Curried red lentil puree

(from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, (Wiley 2010)

Feeds 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, peeled and small diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably freshly ground Madras)

1/4 cup medium-diced tomatoes

1 cup red lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Sautéing the vegetables

Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and garlic to the hot oil and cook, stirring, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the curry powder and cook until it is fragrant. Drop in the tomatoes and cook until they absorb the flavor of the curry powder and start to release some of their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.

Simmering the lentils

Scoop the lentils into the saucepan. Pour in enough stock to cover the lentils by 1 inch. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon a few into your mouth and feel if you want to eat them. Strain the lentils but keep the stock.

Making the puree

Place the lentils in a blender. Pour in a quarter of the stock. Blend until the lentils are thoroughly pureed. Pour in more stock, depending on the consistency. You want the blender to run easily, but you also want the puree to be thick enough for a dip.

Transfer the puree to a large bowl and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the cilantro, and the lemon juice. Taste the dip and season it with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Variations

If you are allergic to tomatoes, you can make the dip without them and still have something tasty.

Suggestions

Serve this with crackers, corn chips, or warm, crusty bread.

 

 

Comments

[beastmomma]

My favorite cookbooks are ones that offer a good story with each recipe and the recipe itself is easy to follow with suggestions for additions or substitutions.

[Betsy]

I love some good photos and useful, unique information about the ingredients used, type of methods used, etc. And handy tips.

[noelle]

First of all, I love pictures in a cookbook and the simplicity of the recipes. It seals the deal for me.

[Molly M]

Good cookbooks keep you coming back for more! They don't take up space on your shelf because you only use them once or twice a year. They're full of photos, stories, and you can feel the love for food spilling off the pages. My favorite cookbooks often include variations you can make in the recipe, too.

[Annaphallactic]

The best cookbooks are thorough yet flexible. I love collections of classic recipes that easily can be made new with some interesting ingredient choices.

[shauna]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We're thrilled to bits that you are enjoying the cookbook. And that photograph of the curried red lentil puree is incredible!

[Elizabeth]

This weekend I helped my 80-year old aunt clear out her eight, ten-foot high bookshelves. She was able to give away or donate a sizable number of books...but she and I both drew the line at parting with any of her beloved cookbooks. There is just something about a cookbook that, even if you don't like to cook, lends itself to being read and treasured. I love to read cookbooks right before going to sleep! And, as the wife of a man with celiac disease, I'm very interested in Gluten Free Girl and Chef! Thanks so much for publicizing this!

[Katrina]

Definitely beautiful photos. More than anything, I love cookbooks that have a really cohesive feel to them. The layout has to make sense and the recipes need to have some kind of identity. This book sounds fantastic!

[Maggie]

My favorite thing about cookbooks are their narrative qualities, the ability the best ones have to become bedtime reading. If a cookbook can do that for me, I know I'm going to love cooking from it, too.

[Jeanette]

My favorite cookbooks have anecdotes about the recipes, and some fabulous food photos. Shauna's cookbook looks like it has some wonderful recipes that were created with love, the best kind!

[S. Krishna]

Ooh, I'd love a chance to win this cookbook! Thanks!

[Colette]

Oh, I really want this cookbook -- it's on my Christmas list! As a food allergy Mom, I love cookbooks that give tips and suggestions for variations, as we rearely can follow a recipe "as is".

[Yvonne Maffei, My Halal Kitchen]

I love cookbooks with beautiful photography and personal stories- two reasons that inspire me to cook the recipes in the book.

[Adj]

I love a cookbook that inspires me to tweak a recipe to give it that little personalized twist. I also love a cookbook whose publisher has the same name as me :)

[nelli]

hmmm....I love a good story, which is why I keep going back to Modern Spice! And a good book has to have photos - I like to know what the recipe should look like. And it is always a bonus to have suggestions and variations from the author - that really gets my imagination going! I read Shauna's blog and really like it. We don't have allergies but find that cutting down wheat and sugar, make us feel a lot better.

[Jackie Baisa]

My favorite cookbooks are ones that, yes, have pretty pictures (I am, after all, a photographer, so I love photos!) but are also "readable". If I can read a particular cookbook from cover to cover, that's amazing (above and beyond recipes and photos). Would love to have their book! Thanks for the opportunity to participate!

[Tiffany @ The Gracious Pantry]

Photos. Good photos, especially "rustic" looking photos get me every time.

[nellbe]

I love reading the way the author/cook has come up with the recipe, what inspired them, when they serve it, who they eat it with.

[peter]

I'm drawn on first glance to a cookbook's concepts, then to its photos and page design. But what really keeps me reading is what I can take away and create in the kitchen. Sometimes it's when I follow a recipe line-by-line. Other times it's when a good cookbook conveys the "soul" of a cooking style in a way that I can understand. My favorite ones do the latter and keep me reading for years...

[SylkoZakur]

I like cookbooks to talk about each recipe. Can I substitute? Did they try a substitute that didn't work? Is there history behind this recipe? Or a story? That's what makes me like a cookbook. To love it, the recipes have to work, too.

[Amy]

I like to feel like I'm having a cozy chat with the author, that s/he's telling me everything face to face.

[judee algazi]

I love cookbooks because I find them a work of art. The recipes are like paintings that come alive with color, brilliance,and good taste. I like to read them, look at the creations, and dream about how and when I will serve thrm.. Its relaxing, inspiring, and an escape for me to lose myself in a good cookbook. Sometimes, I even make the recipes!

[JudyB]

I love cookbooks with a story or history attached to each recipe. It helps get to know the writer and get personal with the dish. Notes on substitutions or hard to get ingredients (both if they're really hard to get) I like to read cookbooks almost like a novel. Pretty pictures don't hurt either.

[Ria]

I love cookbooks which has a story & photograph (not necessarily step-by-step) for each recipe,eye pleasing font and light weight (be it hard cover/paperback).

[Yosha]

A good cookbook for me must have good pictures! Of course I say this and I've been using teh Joy of Cooking quite a bit lately. Second clear instructions, I don't want to stand there and try to figure something out. My ideal cookbook will also be hard covered and spiral bound but that might be too much to ask! Here's hoping you pick my number!

[Yumroz]

I love cookbooks that tell stories and describe the recipes and their beginnings....I hate those boring dry list recipes!!! and books that let you into the author's life a little bit :)

[Amelia from Z Tasty Life]

the curried red lentil puree sounds good RIGHT NOW!!! :) as far as cookbooks: my favorites have a good body (a very appealing format, front cover - lame right? but true!, and amazing photos), a sound spirit (a true inner self and solid recipes), and good soul (honest writing, stories behind the food, and a fun "personality)

[Carol Cripps]

Good cookbooks become part of family lore. There are stories about recipes, they get handed down on bits of paper, on recipe cards, taught verbally - but they've all come from recipe books. (Except my great-great grandmother's butter tarts. I think that's an original)The books themselves, often held together with string or rubber bands, get handed ddown, too, to create more stories, more good meals and copies of them *must* be found, at bookstores, or from scouring second hand shops and yard sales. They are legends.

[mary]

I want a cookbook that has the same qualities as Jim Halpert from the Office: reliable, easy going, funny, rustic good looks, not overly styled.

[Sheila Hughes]

All of my good cookbooks have crinkled page corners. There is an added level of joy at our table when I serve a meal from the pages of books that were long used by my mom, my grandmother, and my great grandmother. A lot of our great family dinner conversations start with stories about the great cooks in our family. One of my favorite ways to find new-old recipes is the used bookstore – I can always tell the books with the best recipes because the cover is worn and the pages are tattered. The remnants of splattered batter bits and crumbs in the crevices warm my heart because I know that someone took the time to create something nourishing with their own hands.