AWW Just Four Ingredients fast- cookbook review

AWW Just Four Ingredients Fast

Review: Jane de Graaff

"To tell the truth, I wasn’t so keen on the idea of a cookbook that oftentimes seems to be more full of serving suggestions than actual cooking.

But as I slid through the pages noting everything from mussels in garlic broth to duck with caramelised apples- a funny thing began to happen. I realised that this cookbook is less about the nitty-gritty of making crème anglaise than it is about helping us out when all other options have been sucked dry."

Read the full review here

Review featured on the ladylike Sassi Sam website.

Get her off the pitch: Book review for Sassi Sam

Get Her Off The Pitch; 
how sport took over my life
By Lynn Truss
Review- Jane de Graaff


"It’s not often that I venture outside the world of food and food books for reviewing. It takes a fair bit of interest to shift me from this happy comfort zone- but when Lynne Truss’ new book came my way, I thought maybe it was time to step outside of the food zone, if only for a moment.

I was sceptical when I began. After all I’m not the sporty type.
Really.
The only time I kick a ball is to try and make my puppy run, and the fact that he’s not a retriever and rarely comes back with it for me to throw again has never been an issue for our doggy/master relationship.

So I was interested to see if the erstwhile comments of a female sports writer could turn me into a sport-loving lunatic given the right angle and enough personal insight."

Read the full review here

Note: Review featured on the sparkling Sassi Sam website. 

Apricots on the Nile- a memoir with recipes

I have been moved.
Deeply moved.
By images of mango trees, hot days and markets seething with hawkers and melon sellers.
Images of Cairo and Egypt in an era passed- where manners and strict class division separated the well-to-do from the working classes. I have been carried away on a fragrant story of one woman's formative years and her longing to see it all again.
Apricots on the Nile is the story of food writer Colette Rossant's childhood in Egypt. And it is a beautiful book. At 178 pages it's easy to devour almost in a single afternoon- with recipes to try out at dinner time.
A story of summers spent at holiday houses in Alexandria, of a mother who constantly left her behind and of the kitchens where she found solace in the company of the family cooks and their food.
Rossant writes of an Egypt that is no more- but she does it with such eloquence, such passion and such evocative description that you almost breath the same air as her memories.
It's a beautiful book, full of recipes and charming anecdotes that remind us that garlic should be eaten in great quantities and that a party is not a party without party food.
It's a book that made me hungry for life. A book that made me long to delve into my own memories of food. But above all it was a book that made me want to play in the kitchen.
What a memoir!
And it got me wondering... 


What are the recipes that really bring your childhood to life?


What are the defining food moments that are an intrinsic part of who you are? 


Where did those recipes come from and which ones will you one day pass on? 

I'm going to start documenting this question and ask it to whoever I can. Better yet, if you have a food memory or recipe from your childhood that you would like to share, feel free to pass it on. I'd love to hear about it.

Our Family Table: Book Review & Interview

Our Family Table: Book Review & Interview with Australia's first MasterChef


"If you were an avid MasterChef devotee like I was- you'll know the story by heart: Mum of three boys from the Central Coast puts her heart and soul on the line every week to cook for (and sometimes against) some of Australia's top chefs and palettes. Yes, it's the story of Australia's first MasterChef- Julie Goodwin... 


We got the chance to ask Julie herself about the whole experience and how the book (Our Family Table) has turned out. So here's what Australia's first MasterChef had to say..."

* Click here for the full interview and review

Note: Interview featured on the Girlie Gastronomy pages (books/interviews) of the very ladylike Sassi Sam.

 

High Tea: The Australian's Women's Weekly- Cookbook Review

High Tea: The Australian Women's Weekly


"I’m having a really tough time not squealing with giddy excitement. And I’ll be honest and say that I’m generally not prone to fits of girlish glee- for fear of blowing my cover as an independent and formidable feminist.

Still- when the Australian Women’s Weekly ‘High Tea’ recipe book came my way- I could literally feel my sleek black outfit morphing into a frilly apron, lace collar and bustled skirt."

-Writes Jane de Graaff
Read the full review here.

Note: Review featured in the Girlie Gastronomy pages of www.sassisamblog.com