Tag: cookbooks

Food Week – From the Archives of a Famous Chef

- Ann 1 Comment

I thought I knew all about bacon but --, ca. 1930sIf you are a fan of cookbooks, or any type of book related to food, then take a quick trip to Iowa City to see the The Chef Louis Szathmáry II Collection of Culinary Arts housed in the University of Iowa Libraries’ Special Collection Department. This collection contains over 12,000 items relating to the art and science of cooking and eating, including cookbooks, fiction, pamphlets, artist books, manuscripts and much more. Louis Szathmary (1919–1996), was a Hungarian-born chef, restaurateur, food writer and owner of The Bakery restaurant in Chicago who built one of the largest culinary arts archives in the United States; in fact, the University of Iowa is housing only a fraction of his collection. In Books at Iowa 42 (April 1985), Szathmáry wrote: “To house this large and varied collection requires 31 rooms in the residential area above my restaurant (The Bakery) in Chicago.” That is a lot of tasty print!

However, don’t worry if you prefer to be an Armchair Cook– The UI Special Collections and Digital Libraries have digitized a huge selection of Szathmary’s Recipe pamphlets, such as “I thought I knew all about Bacon–“, that you can view online at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/szathmary/!

The Cookbook Collector

- Lynn Leave a comment

The title of The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman is indicative of the book’s style. The cookbooks in question aren’t introduced until well into the story, and is just one of several plotlines. The book has been compared to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility but I get a Dicken’s vibe, myself. There is an abundance of characters; many of them quite eccentric. There is also a sense that, in this book and for these characters, morality is an actual consideration in how they conduct themselves and the choices they make.

Two sisters are contrasts in lifestyle and general philosophy. Jess, the younger sister, is a free spirit, environmentalist, and perennial student.  Emily is the CEO of a computer startup company (this being the late ’90’s and San Francisco).

Romantic tension abounds between Jess and her boss, the owner of a used and rare book store; they argue about everything –  books, authors and whether books should be collected and owned or shared (via the public library system!). The dialogue between these two is witty and erudite, but not pompous.

Book lovers, library users and patrons of book stores, will all find something in The Cookbook Collector to chew on.

Keep Your Doors Locked…

- Ann Leave a comment

So, the joke goes like this:

Be sure to keep your doors locked this time of year. Not because of a crime wave, but to keep the neighbors from sneaking bags of zucchini and tomatoes into your car/back porch!

It wasn’t that long ago that we were in the depths of icy winter and many of us had forgotten what a real, homegrown tomato tasted like (just that it wasn’t that pale red styrofoam substitute that you found at the grocery store) and now, just a few months later we’re drowning in tomatoes and overwhelmed by zucchini.

The library, of course, is here in your time of need. Here are some titles to help you cope with the Great Tomato Overload (you know, just in case the neighbors are on to you and are keeping their doors locked…)

Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Mollie Katzen

Tomatoes and Mozzerella by Hallie Harron

The Tomato Festival Cookbook by Lawrence Davis-Hollander

Perfect Vegetables by Carl Tremblay

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich

Preserving for All Seasons by Anne Gardon

The Classic Zucchini Cookbook by Nancy Ralston

National Farmers Market’s Week

- Ann 1 Comment

Eat better, help save the planet and support your local economy – you can do it all in one place, all at the same time simply by visiting and shopping at your local Farmers Market.

You’ll eat better because you’ll know exactly where you food comes from, often the food is organically grown, and usually it has been harvested within the last 24-48 hours so it’s incredibly fresh. You’ll help save the planet by buying locally, cutting the use of fuel (and the resulting pollution) caused by transporting produce hundreds of miles. And you’ll support your local economy by buying from area farmers – people who are probably your neighbors.

Lucky for us, the Quad City area is home to a lot of Farmers Markets making it easy to find one close by. This week (August 3-9) is National Farmers Market Week, a reminder to get out there and see what your local growers have to offer. August is a great time to shop at the Farmers Markets – corn, tomatoes, zuchinni, beets, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, herbs of all kinds not to mention gorgeous flowers such as sunflowers and zinnias – are all in great abundance now.

Not sure what to do with all of that bounty? Check out these books for fresh, easy recipes designed to make the most of this wonderful season.

Outstanding in the Field: a Farm to Table Cookbook by Jim Denevan

The Farm to Table Cookbook by Ivy Manning

Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley

Summer on a Plate by Anna Pump

Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets by Deborah Madison