Speaking of books… Over the Holiday break I registered for the first public library card that I have had in over 15 years. For some time, a friend had been encouraging me to sign up again, since here in Toronto, a library card enables you to get a free family pass to a range of city museums once every 3 months. He had been specifically prodding me to visit The Textile Museum of Canada, which is one of the participating institutions. [BTW: If you are into textiles, you must get there. I had such a good day that I’m considering purchasing a membership. It was very inspiring.]

On the morning I went to sign up for the card I announced to Davin that I was getting it, “for the museums only” because I couldn’t be trusted with books. I am an avid, if not voracious book-reader, but the reason why I had avoided a library card for so many years is because I hadn’t always been the most responsible library patron. There had been one or two, or several overdue fines in my past and I was wary about going down that road again. Of course, by the end of the day I had already checked out a few books and placed several holds. The public library system has changed A LOT in the 15 years that have passed. It’s so easy now to access books from all over the city while sitting in the comfort of your own home, and I was absolutely floored by how many good books were available freely at the push of a few buttons. In the days that followed I continued to add several books to my hold list. Soon after, the books started pouring in.

The Books

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to spend as much time as I would have liked with many of the books that I have checked out. However, I have been able to flip through a number of books that have been on my radar for some time, and it’s been great for helping me ascertain which ones are worth saving my pennies to buy. Of the cookbooks, the following are the best that I’ve found in the last few months. All of these are next in line to purchase, and most likely in the order that I have placed them:

Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition by David Sterling

Holy cow, this book! It is my favourite of the lot, but also the most expensive, which makes sense since as a at 576 page hardcover, it is a behemoth tome. The thing is, I have a pretty extensive Mexican cookbook library and wasn’t sure I needed another, especially one as regionally specific as this. However, as I flipped through the ingredients index that begins the book, I was shocked by how many fruits and vegetables I had not heard of: caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito), wild papaya (Jacaratia mexicana) [It’s shaped like a rocket!], chaya (Cnidoscolus chayamansa) [an edible Euphorbia? Say what!], macaw palm, Malay gooseberry,and nance, just to name a few. Right out of the gate I knew this book had a lot to offer.

The recipes in this book are presented by the regions of the Yucatán Peninsula, beginning in the heartland and working through to the coast, urban centres, and ending in small towns or pueblos. The book is substantial, comprehensive, and so very inspiring. Along with recipes, it features specific people, farmers, crops, husbandry (did you know that a unique, stingless bee, Melipona beecheii, is raised in the Yucatán Peninsula. It creates hives in hollow trees and the “combs” it makes are black spheres.), spices, markets, locally produced products, history, unique cooking methods, and so much more. I learned something new every time I picked up the book in the two weeks I had it out on loan. It’s the sort of cookbook that includes enticing photos of the food, but also serves as a travel guide of sorts, with beautiful, rich images of markets, people, streets, buildings, kitchens, and farms.

And now I want to make some fresh corn sorbet and book a plane ticket to Merida or Tulum.

Afro Vegan by Bryant Terry

I’m always on the lookout for a good Caribbean cookbook, but skipped this title when it came out because I’m not vegan and don’t do well on a strictly vegan diet. In hindsight, it was a dumb reason to discount a book, and boy did I eat crow once I got my hands on a copy. This is a beautiful book. It is well designed with luscious photos of fresh produce and plates. It is a real treat for the eyes, especially during the winter when we are so deprived of such things. I was very taken with Bryant Terry’s storytelling and as a music lover, impressed that each dish is accompanied by a song and/or book and film suggestion. Brilliant! As for the food, this is the sort of book that gets your mouth watering in anticipation of the growing season. There is so much that caught my eye: the section on preserves; smashed potatoes, peas, and corn; Teff biscuits with maple-plantain spread; grape-tarragon spritzer; chipotle-banana pepper sauce… to name just a few. I should be clear that this is not strictly a Caribbean cookbook, but draws upon the African Diaspora as a whole. There are several sauces and dishes hailing from North Africa, the American south, as well as the West Indies.

Levant: Recipes and Memories from the Middle East by Anissa Helou

I came upon Anissa Helou, a middle eastern cookbook author based out of London, randomly via her Instagram account and started to follow along for the photos she posts of her daily eats and travels to Sicily, Cairo, and more. This is the first of her books that I have read. This is not my typical cookbook selection as it is all in black and white with few images. In a way it is a memoir of sorts, focussing on her childhood in Beirut and Syria, with many recipes included throughout. Not long after I started browsing the book, I began flagging recipes to try and soon the book was full of little tags: Pumpkin dip; Kibbeh balls in yoghurt sauce (I love anything yoghurt sauce); Lebanese, Turkish, and Iranian pickling solutions; labneh (strained yoghurt) balls preserved in oil; stuffed mussels (also mentioned in the Turkish cookbook below); wild chicory in olive oil with caramelized onions… and so on. What the book lacks in pretty pictures, it makes up for in great storytelling and insight. I’ve learned a lot about the food of this region, the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Palestine and Jordan), that I have not found in the fancier full-colour cookbooks that I own.

Turquoise: A Chef’s Travels in Turkey by Greg and Lucy Malouf

I already own another book by this husband and wife team, Artichoke to Za’atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food, so I had some idea of what to expect when I saw this book on the library shelf. While that book is more of an overview of middle eastern cooking, this one is a coffee table-sized travelogue and cookbook in one, focussing on the regional cuisine of Turkey. The photos are STUNNING. I have wanted to visit Turkey since I was a kid, and this book has bolstered that desire two-fold. It has provided a lot of trip ideas for when I do finally get the chance to go.

As for the food, I haven’t had a chance to try any of the recipes, but one that caught my eye is Pumpkin soup with a yogurt swirl. I often serve my pumpkin soup (and many others) with yoghurt rather than sour cream, which seems to be more popular here in North American. However, this one includes the addition of grape molasses aka pekmez mixed into the yoghurt with salt. Last weekend a friend took us way out into the suburbs to a middle eastern supermarket that she and I had visited a few months ago. Grape molasses was on my list, but with so much in the cart I hesitated to buy it, that is, until I got a whiff of the strong, grapey aroma. I half-expected it to be heavy and deeply caramelized, like sugar cane molasses. It’s not like that at all! It is light, full of grape flavour, and worth the $10 I paid for a jar. Davin made pumpkin soup last night using his own recipe (not from the book) and I ate a bowl for lunch topped with yoghurt grape molasses, za’atar (a middle eastern spice mix), and crushed pepitas. A recipe I am eager to try is Stuffed mussels, Istanbul street-style. I often make my own steamed mussels and have a very particular way that I like to do them. But I have NEVER thought to stuff them with currants, spices, and rice!

You can always find more of my favourite book recommendations (cookbooks, gardening, stitching, writing, and more) in the You Grow Girl Library.

Links to books in this post are associated with an affiliate account that garners a small fee that I then put towards purchasing books to review and giveaway.