Apr 17

Bean Cuisine - a culinary guide for the ecogourmet

Title: Bean Cuisine – a culinary guide for the ecogourmet

Author: Beverly White

Publisher: Beacon Press, Boston

Publication date: 1977

Bought: Second-hand, but no idea where

Type: Ingredient-specific recipes

Pages: 144

Notes: This being an American book, the names for some of the types of bean differ to what we might expect in the UK, but usually both names are given.

Fabulously-named dishes: American Herbal Feast sounds as though it might not be too filling; Gentle Lentil Salad — have you ever met any aggressive lentils? No, me neither; Minnehaha baked beans. But there are a lot of very descriptive names in here.

Other useful information contained within: There’s a lot of useful information for people who are planning to use dried beans in their cookery, including how to soak them (and how long for), how to cook them in a pressure cooker and some tips for doing so if you don’t happen to have such an item available.

Where can I get a copy?: Plenty of copies available for not much money on Amazon – that’s the paperback version but there also some copies of what seems to be a hardback edition.


Apr 10

The Best Of British Bacon Recipes

Title: The Best Of British Bacon Recipes

Author: Mary Norwak

Publisher: The Sales Machine (on behalf of British Bacon)

Publication date: 1979

Bought: Second-hand, at a National Trust property’s bookshop

Type: Ingredient-specific recipes

Pages: 96

Notes: There is some brief discussion of what one might serve with bacon. Nonetheless, as the title implies, just about all of the actual recipes within this book feature bacon as an ingredient, and usually as the main ingredient. (I was hoping for “Bacon Surprise” which didn’t…) The exceptions are the recipes for sauces and garnishes.

Fabulously-named dishes: Not so many within this book, although Huntington Fidget Pie sounds interesting and I was a little disappointed that Bacon Fraize doesn’t involve strawberries. And Soaking Bacon, mentioned in the index, turns out to be a method rather than a dish. There are some monumentally unhealthy-sounding options, though; Bacon In Beer, Crusty Baked Bacon, Spiced Cider Bacon Bake…

Other useful information contained within: types of bacon cure, nutritional information and the like. Oddly enough they’re quick to trumpet bacon as a high-protein food and to mention its near-total lack of carbohydrates, but are remarkably quiet on its fat content.

Where can I get a copy?: Plenty of copies available for not much money on Amazon.