Wholemeal pretzels and Pea soup

Soft pretzels, fresh from the oven, are one of life's little pleasures.  I first discovered them on a visit to New York many years ago.  Now we can find them in the markets and pubs of Melbourne.  Yet I have long had a yen to bake them at home.  A couple of weeks back I was preparing to bake a loaf of bread and suddenly I was distracted by a pretzel recipe I bookmarked ages ago.

When I tried pretzel buns last year they were disappointing.  Despite all my problems in my recent venture, these pretzels were a huge success.  I had thought they would be lots of fun to make with Sylvia.  Once I divided up the dough into 8, she had her own piece to roll out.  She rolled out a snake, made a doughnut, remade it as spectacles to wear, and then wanted to make the dough into a birthday cake for Dolly.  We got out some fancy toothpicks to decorate it.  Then we disagreed about whether that dough became the eighth pretzel.  Argh!

My timing was also out with either letting the dough rise too long or forgetting it altogether (in the last rise).  I made the pretzels between making chocolate macaroons with Sylvia, preparing her dinner, bringing in the washing, and making a case for why Sylvia should eat her dinner.  And when I finally got the pretzels in the oven, I remembered I hadn't salted them.  I took them straight out, sprinkled a little salt, Sylvia sprinkled a lot more.  But I couldn't do anything to take the shine off these gorgeous knots of dough.

I had planned to make a chickpea, potato and tomato stew for dinner.  The pretzels were so substantial and time-consuming that I postponed the stew and simplified the rest of dinner. Jules at Stone Soup, with her minimalist recipes, is the perfect place to go for simplicity.  It is not my thing so I took a two ingredients recipe and added in a bit extra.  The Pea and Pesto Soup had instantly gone on my to do list.  I only added stock, seasoning and rice.  It was easy and delicious.

The other little extra to serve with the pretzels was a tofu cashew ricotta.  It was delicious a spread and even added a wee garnish to the soup.  Dinner was delicious.  I was pleased to have enough leftovers to take for lunch the next day.  The biggest surprise was at breakfast when I had a pretzel and found somehow one of Sylvia's toothpicks had gotten into the pretzel dough!  Oops!

I am sending these pretzels to Yeastspotting.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Around Orange - the vision splendid
Two years ago: Honey, Yoghurt and Chocolate Cake
Three years ago: GYO Paradise banishes the Chutney Fear
Four years ago: My Vegetarian Lasagne
Five years ago: Favourite food books

Wholemeal pretzels
Adapted from King Arthur
Makes 8 pretzels

1 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
approx 1 cup warm water

Topping:

1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda (aka baking soda)
sea salt flakes, optional
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used margarine), melted

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl to form a ball of dough.  (I added another 1-3 tbsp water because mine was so dry.  This made it too wet so I had to knead in a little extra flour.  Possibly this was a result of using some wholemeal flour.)  Knead about 5 minutes or until it is soft and smooth (King Arthur says it should also be quite slack but I am not sure mine was). 

Cover with clingwrap and leave for about 30 minutes.  (I left mine for longer.)  While the dough is proving, place the bicarb of soda into a large container in which you will bathe the pretzels (I think my casserole dish that I used is about 22cm square).  Pour boiling water over and stir until the bicarb dissolves.  (Traditionally lye is used here, but bicarb seems acceptable in home cooking.)

When dough has risen, punch down and lightly knead dough.  Divide into 8 pieces.  Set aside uncovered for 5-10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 230 C (450 F).

I found a useful post on how to shape pretzels in The Kitchn.  Roll each piece into a long stick.  King Arthur said to make it about 28-30 inches (70-76 cm) but I couldn't get my head around this length so I just did 6 of my handspans (and my hands aren't huge).

Shape stick of dough into a U shape.

Twist the ends twice.

Fold the twisted end down onto the bottom of the U shape to make a pretzel shape.  Sylvia has put her 3 year old hand beside it to show that my pretzels weren't huge.

Place pretzels in the bicarb soda and water mixture for 2 minutes each, spooning water over the dough.  King Arthur suggested that you might fit in 4 at a time but I only fitted in 2 at a time.

Place 'soaked' pretzels on large lined baking tray.  King Arthur says to rest 10 minutes but I forgot this (and it wasn't a disaster).  Sprinkle with sea salt if desired (ideally not the liberally sprinkling of a 3 year old) and bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown.

When the pretzels come out of the oven, brush with melted butter.  King Arthur instruct to use all of 3 tablespoons of melted butter.  I used about 1 tablespoon and thought that was quite enough.  Great eaten warm.  Ours were still good the next day too, especially if lightly warmed.

Pea, rice and pesto soup
Adapted from Stone Soup
Serves 2-3

400g frozen peas
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup vegetable stock (I used home made)
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 tbsp pesto
1 tsp french lavender salt

Place all ingredients in a medium to large saucepan.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes to warm everything together.  Puree.  Check and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot.

On the Stereo:
Roaring Days: Weddings Parties Anything

Microwave butterscotch pudding with a touch of yellow

It is often about expectations!  We expect to live a long life, to see our partners grow old and our children grow up.   We expect this because we can't bear to think of the alternatives.  That life might be hard and sad and cruel.  We expect, we hope, we demand, we cajole and we even pray.  Yet life doesn't always provide.  I've known too many people affected by cancer since starting this blog and today remember fellow blogger, Barbara Harris who died of cancer on 29 June.

I have a confession to make.  I read Barbara's last post on Winos and Foodies and I didn't leave a comment.  I wish I had.  I was busy.  I was tired.  I didn't know her very well.  But I knew of Barbara, especially through in her fantastic Taste of Yellow events that raised awareness of cancer.  I liked her.  I just never expected it was the last post that she would write.  It was full of life and colour and cheer.  I never expected cancer would take her so soon from her family and friends and from the blogging community.

I was pleased to discover that Jeanne of Cook Sister was hosting Meeta's Monthly Mingle dedicated to the memory of Barbara.  Other than giving me cause for reflection in my Taste of Yellow contributions, Barbara's post that had the most impact on me was her cookie wands.  It inspired me to hold a cookie wand making activity at my niece's birthday last year.

I chose a Microwave Butterscotch Self Saucing Pudding.  E has taken to buying wee golden syrup puddings from the supermarket so I thought this might go down well.  Finally on a wintery night when Sylvia was feeling poorly and went to sleep unusually early (a bit like tonight), I tried the recipe.

I never expected it would take me three goes to get it right.  Things we do!  The first time I made the pudding I used too much sugar, consequently also needing too much flour and too much milk.  The result was a huge pudding that exceeded my expectations.  Actually that wasn't a good thing.  I watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as the pudding expand in the microwave like the blob.   It was a beast that grew and grew and engulfed the bowl.

The second time I revised my notes and made changes.  I thought I had the proportions right.  As both Lorraine and Uru had made a pudding for one, I doubled it.  We had a bowlful each.  They were huge.  E accused me of super-sizing him.  Yet again it overflowed and was difficult to eat.  It was also toothachingly sweet.

Third time lucky.  I reduced the sugar, omitted the baking powder, kept the milk to a minimum and split one lot of mixture between the two of us.  This time it was perfect for us.  Not too sweet.  Not too filling.  Just right.  E would have liked some ice cream but I am more than happy to eat pudding without a creamy accompaniment.  After all this has a saucy bottom that works perfectly in a microwaved pudding.

This is a perfect pudding for a lazy wet winter day.  It is quick, comforting and delicious.  In fact I have some bananas in the kitchen that need using.  Pudding seem just the thing!  You might have expected that a butterscotch pudding might be a little more golden-hued but I am sure Barbara would have been more generous than critical.  She will be missed.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: A visit to Orange (the town not the fruit)
Two years ago: PPN Whimsical Mushroom and Rhubarb Soup
Three years ago: Mexican Rice Soup
Four years ago: Paella with thanks
Five years ago: Friday Night Tacos

Microwave self saucing butterscotch pudding
Adapted from Choc Chip Uru via Not Quite Nigella
Serves 2

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine (I used nuttalex), softened
• 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoons milk (I used soy), or as required 
• cream or ice cream to serve (optional)

Sauce

• 1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine (I used nuttalex)
• 4 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup

Mix butter and brown sugar in a small bowl.  Stir in banana.  Then add self raising flour and cinnamon.  Stir in enough milk to make a thick batter.  (It should be stiff enough to hold its shape when the sauce is poured on.)  Spoon into two (or one if you are really hungry) microwave proof bowls.  There should be plenty of room to expand.  (I would advise not to fill more than half)

Use the bowl you made the batter in to mix the sauce (unless you happen to have an empty nuttalex tub on hand).  Place butter in bowl and pour the boiling water over it.  This should mostly melt the butter.  Stir in brown sugar and golden syrup.  Pour sauce over the batter.

Cook in the microwave until spongy and springs back when a finger is depressed upon the middle.  I cooked each of mine for 1 minute and 10 seconds (but my microwave isn't very powerful).  Let sit a minute or two before eating.  Serve with cream or ice cream if desired.  Be careful eating the first spoonful that you don't burn your tongue.

On the stereo:
Unknown Deutschland: the Krautrock Archive, vol 2: Various Artists

Treacle gingerbread and more Open House Melbourne

After our visits to Open House Melbourne on Saturday, I came home and baked treacle gingerbread and Heidi's easy little bread.  E said he wanted donuts.  He ate two pieces of gingerbread.  He said he loved the treacle flavour.  The gingerbread was magnificent.  Dark.  Soft.  Sticky.  Easy to slice.  Full of flavour but not too sweet.  Amazing warm out of the oven.  Delicious at room temperature with butter.

It is a wonderful old fashioned recipe that was forgiving of my faults.  I made the mistake of sitting my jug full of other ingredients on the scales to measure 250g of treacle while Sylvia ran at me.  I poured in 280g and tipped out a little of the wet mixture.  I was tired and busy but I could not get the gingerbread out of my mind.  I found the recipe on Tinned Tomatoes and I suggest you head over to enjoy Jacqueline's beautiful photos which do far greater justice to the loaf than mine.

On Sunday, I headed out again to view more of Open House Melbourne.  Another day of rain, walking and beautiful buildings.  Two out of three venues did not allow internal photography.  The websites I link to have better photos anyway, but I will share just a few glimpses of each building.

My first stop was the Mission to Seafarers where Flinders Street meets Wundjeri Way.  I have often driven past it but not given it much thought.  It is mostly built in Arts and Craft style with some Spanish Mission influences.

The Dome Gallery has rugged charm, the recreation room has gorgeous domed windows that fill the space with sunlight, and the chapel has some great stories in the stained glass windows.  I found the below image particularly moving.  I also loved the telephone booths in the corner and bought a couple of woolly hats (above) for a bargain $2 each.

Next was the Supreme Court of Victoria (below)  It is an imposing edifice, building with gold rush wealth in the Nineteenth Century.  I really enjoyed visiting a few of the courts but I was particularly impressed with the Library.  Large portraits of influential judges look sternly upon the visitor as we gaze up at the domed ceiling.  Wee kangaroos decorate the central light fittings.  The shelves of faded old tomes speak of generations of lawyers studying at the solid wooden desks.  If I had been more organised I would have loved to do a tour of the dungeons but alas it was not for me this year!

Lastly was the Melbourne Town Hall.  This is a building with which I have had occasional experiences.  It was the venue where I have organised both a tour and a symposium, performed on stage with a choir and attended concerts such as the Choir of Hard Knocks.   Below is the view from the balcony.  I also enjoyed the gum leaf decorations on the ceiling of the grand council chamber and the photos of Moomba Kings and Queens.  I was amused by a story of a visit by Queen Elizabeth where a very expensive tea set was purchased and she just wanted a glass of orange juice!

I arrived home to gingerbread and heidi's bread.  Oh happy days!  Sylvia and I had time to make an alien in a space ship (out of old tubs, a paper plate, pompom and an egg carton) that I found on Mr Maker.  Then we made some pasties for dinner.  But that is a story for another day when I have a bit more energy. 

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Cake pops and some healthy truffles
Two years ago: Nutty fries and other people’s plates
Three years ago: Apple and date cake
Four years ago: Do I dare to cook with one less pear?
Five years ago: Baking cake for climate change

Treacle Gingerbread
From Grandma's Quick and Thrifty Cookbook via Tinned Tomatoes

185g plain flour (I used half wholemeal, half white)
110g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 tsp mixed spice
140g soft brown sugar
250g black treacle
185ml milk
80ml olive oil
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper going about 3 cm above the side of the tin.

Combine all dry ingredients (including brown sugar) in a mixing bowl. Measure treacle in a large jug (I did this in a 2 cup jug and found it a bit small to mix it as vigorously as I would like).  Add the milk, olive oil and eggs and whisk well with a fork.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Tip batter into the prepared tin.

Bake for 40-45 minutes (I baked mine for 1 hour 15 minutes because my oven is slow).  It is ready when darkened, pulling away from the sides and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out cleanly.  Leave in tin for 5-10 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Great eaten warm or at room temperature with butter.  It is best when kept up to 3 days in an airtight container (ours kept 4 days but was starting to dry out a wee bit by then - still very edible).

On the Stereo:
The Boy with the Arab Strap: Belle and Sebastian

MLLA Chickpea pizza base

Of all the gluten free flours I have tried, chickpea flour (or besan or gram flour) has been the most reliable.  In fact, if I had to choose just one gf flour to stock, I think this would be it.  It has some qualities that I find unusual in a gf flour.  It doesn't take grainy.  It doesn't necessarily depend on other flours to balance it out.  Yes, it can smell a bit funny.  Yet it has been great all by itself in frittata, crackers, brownies.  Now it has proved itself a dream in a pizza crust.

As usual baking with Sylvia ended in a messy kitchen.  We had been trying on her clothes earlier in the day to check ones that didn't fit.  I found a party dress with a pink sash and a velvet top.  It was gorgeous but according to the label it should have been too small.  She wore it anyway and looked gorgeous.  It did get rather floury though in the pizza making.  Every time I put a handful of pizza on the table for handling the dough, Sylvia stuck her hand in it and swirled it everywhere!

The dough was slightly more fragile than my regular wheat pizza bases but it did bake up crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.  It tasted best hot.  We all enjoyed it and had no leftovers.  Sylvia ate some, though not heaps. (She seemed to enjoy playing with the raw dough more than the cooked pizza.)  I am not sure it would replace my fast track pizza dough on a regular basis but I am sure we will have it again.  Who doesn't love a pizza base that is quick, nutritious and tastes great. And it is gluten free and vegan!

I made a fairly standard pizza topping for sylvia with a tomato sauce (made by blending tomato paste and baked beans) and cheese.  I am so smitten with the tofu and cashew ricotta that I decided to use that in lieu of cheese on our pizza.  I used the tomato sauce, some olive, artichokes, cherry tomatoes and dollops of ricotta.  It was lovely with some baby spinach on top when cooked.  Both pizzas had lots of protein.

My expectations of home made GF pizza are low but this chickpea pizza was amazing.  However, the lovely chickpea flour can't take all the credit.  The dough also had ground psyllium husks.  An alternative to gums in GF baking.  I have had some in my pantry for too long.  Now that I have finally used them and found them great as a binder, I must use them more.  So I will finish with a list of other psyllium husk recipes that I want to use.

Recipes from the interwebs using psyllium husks:

• GF cheese crackers - Gluten Free Girl and the Chef
  
• Flourless white chocolate macadamia almond cookies - Fox in the Kitchen
• Kabocha squash cake (with goats cheese) - Gluten Free Girl and the Chef
• Matcha coconut chocolate macaroons - Seitan in My Motor
• Pie crust - Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
• Sweet potato buns - Diet Dessert and Dogs

I am sending this to My Legume Love Affair (#49), founded by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook and hosted by Simone of Bricole this month. 

Chickpea pizza base
adapted from Cara's Cravings
makes 1 medium pizza and 1 small pizza

1 cup warm water
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
1 tsp brown sugar or other sweetener
1 and 1/2 cups chickpea flour (besan) and extra for kneading
4 tablespoons ground psyllium husks
1/2 teaspoon salt
polenta to sprinkle on pizza base

Stir together warm water, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Leave for about 10 minutes until the yeast blooms (ie it develops white, frothy patches).  Preheat oven to 250 C and generously sprinkle 1 medium and 1 small pizza trays.

Add remaining ingredients.  Tip out onto a board that has been floured with chickpea flour.  Knead for about 5 minutes.  Place dough back in the bowl and let rise for about 20 minutes.  (I let mine rise a bit longer).  It should be spongy but mine didn't double in size as regular wheat would.

Using well floured hands and a well floured board, roll out dough and transfer onto prepared pizza trays.  It wasn't too hard to transfer to the small tray but the dough was a bit fragile when transferring to a medium tray and had to be patched a wee bit.  Place your toppings on the pizza and bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  Best eaten hot. 

On the Stereo:
Way to Blue: Nick Drake

Celery and blue cheese soup and Open House Melbourne

Today I have a celery and blue cheese soup to share with you.  It was good.  Very good.  But I don't have much to say about it, other than try it.  The blue cheese didn't overwhelm.  The amounts of celery and potato seemed flexible according to recipes I found on the web.  Even E was pleasantly surprised.  I ate mine with salad and E ate his with toast.  It would be quite festive if we celebrated Christmas in winter.  Nuff said.  What I really wanted to talk about was all the wonderful buildings we have seen today in Open House Melbourne.

Open Doors Melbourne is when many of the buildings of interest around town are open to the public.  It required planning, sturdy walking shoes and a coat or brolly.  The weather wasn't kind to us today.  Nor was the public transport system (please stop moving tram stops).  Yet we managed to see four buildings with my dad before he headed off to watch the footy with my brother.

Our first building was Hamer Hall, which is one of Melbourne's major theatres and comprises part of the Arts Centre.  I remember doing a guided tour when it first opened many years ago so we just wandered aimlessly.  It has recently been refurbished.  It was too wet to photograph the outside.  I did take this picture of the new views towards Princess Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral.

Hamer Hall is full of memories for me.  So I really enjoyed the display in one of the dressing rooms of some of the people who had been there.  Above is a representation of 1970s New Zealand band Split Enz (some of whom morphed into Crowded House).  They did like their make-up.

In the same dressing room was also Ossie Ostrich.  I grew up watching Hey Hey It's Saturday with Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich.  So this loveable puppet's face just seems as familiar as a childhood friend.  I'm glad I know where he has got to.

Next was lunch at Grill'd and then the Queen Victoria Women's Centre.  I took the above photo to show the grand old building in its modern surroundings.  Once upon a time it was part of a huge old redbrick hospital.  I vaguely remember that it seemed a really ugly building in my early student days when I passed it on the tram.  Yet now I feel sad at the old building that was mostly pulled down, and a little glad that at least some has been saved and treasured.

Then we walked down to Myer to visit the Mural Hall on the 6th floor.  Myer department store is a Melbourne institution that is changed almost beyond recognition.  We used to have a saying when someone was bold, that they had "more front than Myer".  Now that the Lonsdale St side of the store is sold and demolished with only some of the facade remaining, I am not sure what the saying means any more.  I miss the Myer that I once knew and loved.

I am glad that I have seen the Mural Hall.  It is a grand art deco space.  The murals come from another time.  I thought, given the Olympic opening last night, that it would be topical to show you the Mural called "The Summer of Sports through the Centuries".  It is so different from today's representations of sport.  I prefer these quieter, more elegant images.

Many of the buildings we saw had lovely period features.  My favourite detail photo is the one of a light in the Mural Hall.  It is taken from directly beneath a light.  Isn't it beautiful?

Our last visit was to Tasma Terrace.  I take a personal interest in this building.  When I first moved into a share house in Melbourne, we found old newspapers in a cupboard dating back a decade or two.  One of the stories was about this grand old row of terrace houses being due for demolition.  I was so relieved to find it had been saved.

The building is now owned by the National Trust.  The front room has been restored to its former glory, as you can see above.  Today it was filled by a large dining table.  The last time we were here was as part of the audience in a wonderful mock history tour of Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games a few years back.  I was very glad to return and hope it wont be my last visit.

Open House Melbourne is on all weekend so maybe I will be back there tomorrow.  It really is a joy to wander aimlessly inside many of Melbourne's magnificent buildings.  (Read my Sunday experiences of Open House Melbourne.)

I am sending this soup to Deb of Kahaki Kitchen for her Souper Sundays event.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Little Deer Tracks - Coburg chic
Two years ago: Tofu omelettes from China
Three years ago: Pear and Walnut Chutney
Four years ago: Chickpea cutlets and gluten strings
Five years ago: Hubert the Hog’s Head

Celery and blue cheese soup
Adapted from  Delia Online
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 medium potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups vegie stock (I used home made)
1/2 tsp french lavender salt (or regular salt), or to taste
250g silken tofu
handful parsley, roughly chopped, plus extra for garnish
120g blue cheese, crumbled
lots of freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot and fry onion, celery, potatoes and garlic (I added them as I chopped them) for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.  Add white wine, stock, salt, and silken tofu.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables collapse at the sight of a fork.  Add parsley, blue cheese and black pepper.  Blend.  Check seasoning and adjust to taste.  Serve hot or warm, garnished with sprigs of parsley.

On the Stereo:
Moondawn: Klaus Schulze

RRC Show us your Cookbooks

Each month Dom at Belleau Kitchen has his Random Recipe Challenge where he challenges bloggers to make a recipe by opening up a cookbook at random.  I haven't yet had the courage to join in but I couldn't resist taking him up on his July challenge to tell him about our cookbooks.  I felt it was only fair, given that I have been enjoying peeking at other people's cookbook collections.

To start with, at the top, is my main cookbook shelves.  I have three shelves - in our open plan living space - dedicated to foodie books.  They are mainly organised by size, with the oversized stacked horizontally.  My dad once categorised his books according to the Bliss System and I would love to organise these books with such attention to detail.  In reality, they are often in use and are returned wherever there is a space.

Many of the books in this section are cookbooks, mostly vegetarian or vegan, with a smattering of baking and chocolate books.  You can check out my list of cookbooks, which needs updating to include purchases and presents over the last few months. 

One section that I try and keep separate from the others is the above group of historic cookbooks - mostly older 20th century Australian ones - and some books reflecting on food and food history.  Every now and again I get all excited about food history and buy what I can.  I also use them for posts like my recent post about orange history.

In my dreams I would buy heaps of rare historic books - yellowing, dog eared, well thumbed - and keep them in an antique wooden cabinet with glass doors and a key to lock them away.  Maybe one day!

The three dedicated shelves are just not enough!  When we had our kitchen renovation last year, I had some shelves put up above the stove.  I keep a few of my smaller books here.  They will probably end up sticky from cooking vapours but it is just a little extra space for my cookbooks.

If you saw some of my piles of cookbooks and food magazines, you might understand why a little shelf space above the oven is valued.  Cookbooks pile up everywhere.  On the benches, on the kitchen table, on the desk, under the lamp and on our coffee table.  Above is one of the piles on the shelf under our coffee table.  It is buckling under the weight of my magazines and books.  Most of the magazines are Vegetarian Times.  I tell myself when I have time to sort through my backcopies I will subscribe again.  One day!

We also have piles of books on top of the coffee table.  These are ones that have found no room in our ever more cluttered home and have migrated here.  They are literally part of the furniture now, if you ask our cat, Zinc.  She thinks that Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion is a perfect place to sit and survey the loungeroom.

Lastly I will take you into my bedroom to see some of my recent reading.  I have been meaning to write about some of these books but where does the time go!  So I will briefly tell you about a few of the ones you can glimpse here.

• Nigel Slater's Tender doesn't get the time in the kitchen it deserves because it keeps getting buried in my bedroom under good intentions to read it.  
• I love the little yellow vegetarian cookbook from the 1940s that my sister Chris bought for me.    
• Battenberg Britain, Nigel Slater's Eating for England and Cold Meat and How to Disguise It by Hunter Davies all make entertaining reading about British food history.  
• You might glimpse Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson that Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook kindly sent as a MLLA prize.  I have many plans but not yet cooked anything from it.
• In addition, the bedroom piles also include a few novels I have been reading.   

I am very choosy about new cookbooks and yet more than I can use still make their way into my collection.  When I have time I intend to write a list of some of the recipes I want to try from my cookbooks, in a similar post to the one I did for the Cookbook Challenge last year.  I have also considered online systems to help using my cookbooks such as Eat Your Books.  Meanwhile I have many more good intentions than recipes that arise from the my cookbook collection.  But I can assure you they are used and loved!