The Cookbook

Not even if someone was being generous would they describe me as a good cook, but I do love delicious food and I do occasionally experiment. Below is a collection of recipes, each of which grabbed my attention for some reason. Many of them are very simple (like when I was learning to cook rice) but they stay here for posterity.

Where I was able I have included attribution to the original author and site. Nearly all recipes have been copied without permission and all of them remain under the copyright of the original author.

If any of these writings belong to you, and you would like them removed or the attribution changed, please let me know.

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Bulletproof Tea by Nathaniel Eliason Source: nateliason.com

Like bulletproof coffee it sounds gross until you try it, and then it's delicious!

Buckwheat Pancakes by Indy Power Source: The Little Green Spoon

Simple gluten free pancakes with buckwheat and berries.

No Knead, Gluten Free Bread by Nicola Galloway Source: Homegrown Kitchen

I love sourdough and like the idea of baking bread, but Tink is completely gluten intolerant and I'm not great with gluten (fingers-crossed this is a temporary situation). There is a great local company which makes delicious gluten free bread but experiments on making it at home have so far been disappointing. This bread is my new great hope …

Ginger Biscuits by Erica Kerwien Source: comfybelly.com

Peka Peka's favourite recipe for ginger biscuits. Delicious with hot tea or cold vanilla ice cream.

Kefir Beer by North Texas Traditional Living Source: traditionaltx.us

Fortunately, I then discovered kefir beer! A good kefir beer tastes a lot like lambic ale, with a rich, complex taste. But what makes it even better is that kefir beer is just incredibly easy to make. Whereas our old homebrew took several hours and many dollars worth of ingredients to put together, I can whip up a new batch of kefir beer in a few minutes.

Cinnamon and Raisin Porridge by Adam Shand Source: my own head

I'm not as embarrassed to admit that I don't know how to make porridge as I was to admit that I didn't know how to make Basic Brown Rice a couple of years ago. However I still feel like making porridge is a basic skill which every human being should possess.

Brown Rice Tea by Adam Shand Source: nowhere

Going through an elimination diet encouraged me to All About Rice Tea. Some research found that there is a Korean drink called Hyeonmi cha made from roasted rice steeped in boiling water. It's simple and cheap to make, and astonishingly delicious.

Apple Kanten with Raisins and Cashew Cream by Daniel Davis Source: thesattvickitchen

I learned to make this at a macrobiotic cooking class I took while I was living in Thailand. Apple jello with a creamy cashew nut cream on top. Delicious!

Pear Upside-down Cake by Rori Trovato Source: "O" Magazine (page 124)

What I like about this pear cake is that the batter isn't sweet, yet the caramelised fruit topping tips it into the dessert realm. And the steam from the fruit makes it moist and juicy. The cake has many common fall ingredients, but they're combined in offbeat ways.

Mango Sticky Rice (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง) by Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School Source: thaicookeryschool.com

This is one of the most popular Thai desserts and many foreigners who come to Thailand regularly make sure that they come in the mango season so that they can have this dessert every day! The sweet sticky rice can be made in advance but should be eaten the same day that it is made.

Homemade Root Beer Syrup by Hank Shaw Source: honest-food.net

This is not a traditional root beer. Traditional root beer is brewed with yeast, is mildly alcoholic — and can be tricky to make. This recipe will give you a root beer flavored syrup that tastes amazing, is stable in the fridge for a year, and needs only seltzer water or club soda to become a wonderful homemade root beer.

Tom Kha Gai by Madhu Menon Source: shiokfood.com

In contrast to Tom Yam, Tom Tha is milder, creamier, and richer. In Tom Yam, the citrus flavours of lemongrass and lime leaves take the lead, but Tom Kha's earthy flavour comes from Kha or galangal.

Grain Free, Black Bean Brownies by Small Footprint Family Source: smallfootprintfamily.com

A little cake-like, but also a little fudgy, you’d never guess the main ingredient in these brownies is black beans. But by using whole, minimally processed ingredients like organic black beans, raw honey, raw cacao powder, coconut oil, and pasture-raised eggs, these gluten free, chocolatey treats actually have decent nutritional value as well. Since they are so incredibly easy to make, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this grain free brownie recipe again and again

Bone Broth by Mickey Trescott Source: The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook

Traditionally, humans consumed bone broth as an integral part of soups, stews, and sauces made by using large bone-in pieces of meat. Over time our culture has strayed from using the whole animal in favor of the leanest cuts of meat without any trace of the odd bits.

Navajo Fry Bread by Rita Source: allrecipes.com

A traditional North American treat. Serve with jam or honey.

Basic Brown Rice by Steve Pavlina Source: stevepavlina.com

Many people have trouble cooking brown rice and having it turn out decently, since it can be more temperamental than white rice. There are also many different ways to prepare it. Here’s the most efficient way I found to cook brown rice on a stove.

Whole Oat Porridge by Angela Hirst Source: thegoodsoup.com

It’s hard to imagine going back to rolled oats after the texture revelation that is whole oat porridge. The oats have an al dente slipperiness to them. They resist the bite just enough, while still releasing their creaminess into the porridge as a whole. And the process is incredibly simple.

Baked Eggs with Yogurt and Chilli by Yotam Ottolenghi Source: Plenty

Here's my idea of comfort food and a perfect Sunday brunch treat. It is inspired by Çılbır, which is Turkish poached eggs with yogurt.

Leek and Potato Soup by David Lebovitz Source: davidlebovitz.com

Well, for those who want to save money, I’ve venture to say you could make a giant pot of this soup for in the vicinity of two bucks. And since leeks and/or potatoes invariably show up in my CSA box, making soup has become part of my weekly winter repertoire. For those of you looking to save time, I’d say it takes me less than 30 minutes to prepare all the ingredients for this soup.

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this is a copy, copyright remains with the original author.