Kitchen Conundrum

Green Market Baking Book and Giveaway!

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GMBB Cover ImageCongratulations to Lisa @FitintheMidwest! You have won The Green Market Baking Book!

With the incredible increase in interest in eating locally grown and health mindfully, The Green Market Baking Book by Laura Martin is a wonderful cookbook for any kitchen. This book gives people alternatives to baking with refined sugar and artificial sugar products, while encouraging them to support their local food communities. A contributional effort spearheaded by Ms. Martin, this book features 100 mouthwatering sweet and savory baked treats chosen from the best chefs and bakers from across America — all created from locally produced sustainable whole foods using natural sweeteners, and featuring dairy- and gluten-free treats along with vegan and low-fat variations.

The book is broken down into 11 sections beginning with the chapter, Answers to A Few Questions. This section does a great job of explaining why not to use sugar and why you should use organic. Additional sections discuss Ingredients, Stocking the Pantry and Substitutions. There is a great Substitution Chart, helpful in showing you how much natural sweetener to use to replace sugars in your recipes.

The heart of the book are the sections devoted to each season, aptly titled, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, featuring how to’s on selecting that season’s ripest produce and recipes highlighting those seasonal flavors we all love.

Some of the wonderful seasonal recipes included in the book are:

  • Alice Waters’s Whole Grain Waffles
  • Dan Barber’s Vegetable Frittata with Potato Crust (wheat-free)
  • Christine Carroll’s Plum–Walnut Upside-down Cake
  • Rozanne Gold’s Yellow Squash and Sundried Tomato “Quiche”
  • Carol Anne Wasserman’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting (dairy-free)
  • Cynthia Wong’s Honey-Figgy Toffee Pudding
  • Terese Allen’s Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits for Organic Valley
  • Meredith McCarty’s Toasted Almond and Orange Cake with Orange Glaze (dairy-free)
  • Shermer Pecans’ Apple Oat Pecan Drops (vegan)
  • Linton Hopkins’s Rosemary Olive Bread (dairy-free)

Near the end of the book are a few pages highlighting Growing Your Own and Preserving The Harvest. From soil tips to the best freezing and canning methods, this book really leaves nothing out! The Appendix points you to various suppliers for Organic Baking products and how to find your local Farmer’s Markets.

Two of the things I really liked were the Sample Menu page, featuring recipes for nearly every occasion, and the drawings. While I usually love to devour cookbooks because of their beautiful photographs, this book features very lovely hand drawn pictures of fruits and vegetables. It suits the cookbook well.

Here is a very easy recipe from the book for a delicious topping that can be used over Shortcakes, Ice Cream or Pancakes:

 

Honey Strawberry Topping

Ingredients

3 cups local organic strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/3 cup local mild flavored honey (such as orange blossom or wildflower)

Method

Pour honey over fruit and let stand 30-40 minutes until ready to serve.

Reprinted from Green Market Baking Book © 2011 by Laura C. Martin, with permission by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

[/recipe]

See? EASY! And yet, so delicious!

There is a delightful recipe for Shortcakes in the book that would go perfectly with this sauce!  You can buy the book HERE, or I happen to have one copy of the book that you can WIN! Yes, win!

Mandatory entry – just leave us a comment here telling us a recipe that you make that uses locally grown produce.

Additional entries can be earned by completing these steps and leaving a comment telling us you did so with your links. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!

  • ”Liking” Kitchen Conundrum on Facebook.
  • Recommend this giveaway in your status update on Facebook.
  • “Following” @kitchconundrum on Twitter
  • Tweet about the giveaway
  • Subscribe to Kitchen Conundrum’s RSS feed

That’s a total of 6 entries you can earn!

Good luck!

One random winner will be chosen via ‘And the winner is’ plugin. Once the winner is chosen, the winner will be contacted via email and if winner does not respond within 48 hours, winner forfeits prize and another winner will be chosen at random.

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Please be sure to leave a separate comment on this post for EACH entry. All entries will be checked and verified. You must enter a valid email address or Twitter handle so we can notify you of your win, otherwise you forfeit the prize and another winner will be chosen. You have until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, May 28, 2011 to enter.

Disclosure: We received one copy of this cookbook to review and one copy to give away. We did not receive any other compensation for hosting this giveaway.

Good Luck!

Soave, One of Italy’s Favorite White Wines Makes a Splash in the U.S.

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soave_classico_doc_rocca_sveva_bottigliaLong regarded as one of Italy’s favorite white wines, Soave is regaining some popularity with wine drinkers across the U.S.  Wine that once had a bad rap for being mass produced and sadly mismade, is coming back in it’s rightful glory as a respected contender in the world of wine.  It could be due in part to the efforts of one of the wine’s biggest fans, Lidia Bastianich and her popular “Lidia’s Italy” television show, or it could be that this wine is really quite good and exceptionally affordable!

Soave is produced in the eastern part of the province of Verona in Italy’s Veneto region and is made from Garganega grapes (pronounced Gar-gah-nay-gah) either as a blend or as the principal grape varietal. The majority of the vineyards are located amongst the rolling hills including the historic “Classico” zone, which lies between the charming medieval town of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone, the oldest orginal zone.  This area features stunning centuries old castles, chruchs, bell towers and age old villas as part of the rich history and traditions of this area and are indicative to the region’s primary products, Soave wines, Monte Veronese cheese, Vialone Nano rice, Veronese Radicchio and chestnuts from San Mauro. With all this and more, Soave is recognized as one of the great destinations for art, culture and history among the townships of Italy.

The wonderful thing about Soave wines is that they pair so well with many foods. I instantly think of them as the perfect summer, outdoor bbq wine or a match made in heaven to fish, pasta and light sauces. They also pair well with spicy Asian cuisines. Soave is typically a light, dry, white wine with citrus aromas, lemon-lime and tart green apple flavors. They are meant to be drunk within a year or two after the vintage date.

We recently tried two bottles Soave and here are our notes:

Our first wine is the Soave DOC “Danieli” 2009 wine produced by Fattori (Veneto, Italy).  It was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2010.

– Color: Bright straw yellow with a hint of green

– Nose: Floral notes of jasmine and wisteria, fruity with notes of peaches, pears, apricots and oranges. There is also a hint of nuttiness, like almonds, with a bit of cedar, rosemary and thyme.

– Taste: Medium body, crisp dry finish. Soft with a generous weight and well balanced.

Overall, this was a lovely bottle of wine and one that I would recommend to lovers of unoaked Chardonnay or to those that enjoy Sauvignon Blanc but want a wine with a bit more weight. I know this one is on our “drink again” list.

The second bottle is a Soave DOC Classico “Rocca Sveva” 2009 produced by Cantina di Soave (Veneto, Italy).

– Color: Light straw

– Nose: Light tropical fruits with mineral, apple and light honey with hints of lemon and almonds

– Taste: Full-bodied, fresh acidity with lively fruit, especially tart apple with nuts and a long finish.

Overall, this was a good bottle of wine. It’s a bit lighter weight than the other one we tried, but I really liked the acidity and burst of fruit. Because this wine quite affordable, it is perfect to buy a few bottles of for larger groups or to bring to a party. It is certainly crisp and refreshing!

To learn more about Soave wines, please check out the Soave Consortium’s new blog at  http://blog.ilsoave.com/en/ and you can like them on Facebook too!

May is Soave Month!

If you should happen to be in NYC during the month of May, it is officially Soave Month at Eataly, the oasis of artisan Italian food and wine products, in the heart of Manhattan.  Located at Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Eataly opened last year and has already become one of the top five destinations in the Big Apple for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
Soave will be exclusively featured for the whole month in all Eataly restaurants and at a dedicated Soave Bar in Eataly’s bustling La Piazza.  Eataly Vino will also offer free Soave tasting every Friday and Saturday, and La Scuola will offer ticketed Soave seminars to those who wish to learn more about this dynamic category from the producers, themselves.

Soave Corner and Restaurants
Throughout the month, Soave wines will be poured by-the-glass in all restaurants and at the Soave Bar.  Different wines and producers will rotate every week in order to give consumers the chance to taste different vintages and appellations of Soave.

“La Scuola”
Usually an area dedicated to “gastronomic classes” led by the TV chef Lidia Bastianich, this space will host Soave seminars and tastings with the winemakers. Traditional food from Veneto will be served to attendees as well. These are ticketed events. Register online for the classes on May 3rd and May 5th.

Eataly Vino
In the friendly space of Eataly’s wine store, consumers will have the chance to taste Soave wines, purchases bottles and chat with the winemakers in-person every Friday (6-8pm) and every Saturday (4-6pm).

“Soave Style” Exhibit
Throughout the month, an exhibit will showcase the photos of fashion photograpgher Giò Martorana, who has departed from his usual beat to explore Soave’s dynamic region. The fine black and white photographs have been compiled in the book “Soave Style”.

The wineries
Cantina di Soave, Cantina di Monteforte, Cantina del Castello, Cantine Riondo, Enoitalia, Fattori, Le Albare, Montetondo, Vicentini Agostino, Villa Canestrari.

You can find out more on the EatalyNY website or at  ILSoave.

Disclosure: We received the two bottles of Soave wine mentioned above to review from the Soave Consortium. We were not otherwise compensated to write this post.  

Uncorked, The Novice’s Guide to Wine by Paul Kreider

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Renee and I have been discussing wine and spirits a lot lately and we’ve been brushing up on our knowledge by reading several books on the subject. One of the books I read was Uncorked, The Novice’s Guide to Wineby Paul Kreider.

This book is a very quick read and in just 34 short chapters, it’s packed with all the basics of understanding, drinking and storing of wines. Each chapter covers just one aspect of wine, with most chapters being only 2 or 3 pages. This book offers a no nonsense approach to wine knowledge and gets right to the point with a very useful and informative narrative.  Along the way, the author interjects his personal experiences of almost 40 years of wine making and wine drinking.

Kreider covers everything about the wine making process and even provides a quick “French Lesson” on pronunciation. He talks about how to buy, how to taste and how to store wine. He even explains how a wine gets “corked” and the proper etiquette for spitting in public.

I have found in the past that many books about wine talk down to the novice wine drinker, yet in Uncorked, the author has a very informal writing style, much like I imagine the way he speaks. He keeps it very simple and fun, as wine should be. There is no pretentiousness here.

This book can be easily read in one sitting and afterwards, though you still won’t be a wine expert, you will at least have a greater understanding of the language of wine and will be able to describe what wine it is that you like.

About Paul Kreider

Paul Kreider, author of 49 Things You Should Have Learned by the Time You Turn Fifty, first made wine back in 1974 and has made ever since. From his garage, he established his own winery, Ross Valley Winery, a small, quality conscious operation that served the community of San Anselmo in Marion County until 2010. Currently, Kreider is a consultant in the new wine frontier in Northwestern Washington and has spent hundreds of hours educating both groups and individuals.

Disclosure: We received a copy to review and were not otherwise compensated for this post.