Joel MacCharles

I was moderately interested in this book when I checked it out from the library, immediately very interested when I opened it, and the more I read, the more excited I became. First of all, it's aimed to people in my climate -- Canadians. The authors are based in Toronto. It could be a bit more local-foodie; I ran into two recipes using quantities of pistachio nuts as I leafed through the book; that is not something you'd grow in your garden or find at the farmers' market, it would be quite expensive, and the extravagance seems to contradict the authors' frugal emphasis on using all parts of their produce. However, one could substitute. (Oh no. I found ANOTHER recipe with pistachios as a major ingredient, turned to the index to check and found even more. There must be a huge new pistachio farm in Toronto I haven't heard about.) The plethora of unusual recipes and techniques is commendable. I was pleased to find a simple recipe for limoncello (one Amazon reviewer complains bitterly about the amount of booze in this cookbook; I'm quite happy about that) and the recipe for hot chocolate with cherry powder, while not at all simple, looks like it could make a major contribution towards surviving a Canadian winter. The book is packed with ideas I look forward to trying.… (más)