just a little taste...

blutsie picked this little booklet up for me from kinokuniya last week, and it's a gem:

so often, being time poor and all, wanting to have a little browse at cookbooks can be a luxury, which makes places online like amazon useful, but i'm old fashioned and i like having a hard copy sometimes and this is the next best thing. there are recipes from rowie dillon, of rowie's cakes fame - the clever lady who has found a niche market for gluten free cakes, adriano "does he need a last name" zumbo with his self named publication, zumbo, and seven other delightful books of varying levels of sophistication; in other words, there's something to suit everyone. there's a recipe from each book which provides a nice introduction to what to expect.

good on kinokuniya for doing this and taking cookbook catelogues to the next level.

lemon cream cheese slice

this recipe come from the australian women's weekly's simple slices cookbook. this is a handy little A5 sized book which seems to contain alot of the favourites from over the years.

2x150g packets coconut macaroons, crushed
140g butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey


filling
3 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup (60ml) water
500g packaged cream cheese softened, chopped
280g jar lemon butter
1/2 cup (125ml) sour cream


grease 20cm x 30cm lamington pan; line base and two long sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above edge of pan.
combine macaroons, butter and honey in medium bowl; mix well. press into prepared pan, roughen surface using a fork. pour filling over macaroon base; refrigarate until firm.


filling
sprinkle gelatine over water in cup. stand in small pan of simmering water, stir until dissolved. beat cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. add gelatine mixture and remaining ingrediants, beat until smooth.


makes about 10


tip this recipe can be made three days ahead and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

maggie's harvest

i bought this book when it first came out because it was just irresistible - it was the whole packaging thing. the cover is just gorgeous.
that said, i didn't need a new cookbook because i have so many i don't even dare to count them. also in this day and age of instant gratification, it's all too easy to buy whatever takes one's fancy, which is why i now so careful with my purchases. but this one is different. its cover is embroidered; the text is interesting and readable; you can tell maggie put her heart into it. i felt it was worth more than on a monetary level. out of all the books i have so far, this has been the most special, so i'm glad i have it.
maggie's recipes are nice too - homey and she shows a genuine love of food. the book has lots of stories, something i adore in a cookbook reading about food as well as being given directions on how to prepare it.
i guess whether maggie's harvest is a book you want will depend on what you are looking for, but i find that these days recipes are so easy to find on the net (and that i have so many cookbooks), i want something different, and this book fit the bill for me.