Cloud

Of course, I love trying new baking recipes especially when I get to play with nonstandard ingredients. And, I really love it when I get to try making treats that are sweetened with things other than refined sugar. I bake fewer sweet things than I used to, and I mostly avoid refined sugar except on special occasions. I’ve had some mixed results with this type of baking. A honey-sweetened carrot cake and some maple syrup-sweetened cookies that I baked were really far better on the first day than the second. And, a vegan, date-sweetened caramel I tried didn’t deliver the thrill of traditional caramel. So, I was cautiously excited to try the recipes in the new book Sweet Laurel by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas of which I received a review copy. I wanted to love the flavors, and I really wanted the recipes to work well. After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune digestive disorder, Laurel Gallucci became committed to creating delicious baked good with no grains, glut...

I know what you’re thinking: strawberry sorbet, so what? But wait, this is an exciting strawberry sorbet. There’s a whole lemon in it. And, I don’t mean the juice of a whole lemon, I mean a whole lemon plus more juice. When I read that in the recipe, I knew I had to try it. But before I get into specifics about the sorbet, I have to tell you about the book where the recipe is found. It’s from River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant: A Cookbook , and I received a review copy. I love the story of River Cafe, and congratulations to them on their 30th anniversary. This new book offers a fresh look at their classic recipes and how they’ve been refined over the years along with several new dishes. Regarding the look of the book itself, I fell for it immediately with the pretty, bright pink pages, page edges, and interior jacket color. Artists were asked to draw or paint on a menu, and those works are included in the book. As a fan of Ruth Rogers’ a...

I spend a good amount of time talking about the food in Austin, but I can’t think of a simple way to describe it. I can tell you that whenever I’m out of town for a few days, I always look forward to getting home so I can grab a breakfast taco with spicy salsa. It’s been exciting to see the changes in our local food world since moving here over two decades ago. There are so many new flavors and cultural influences in our restaurant offerings now than there were then. And, there’s a full spectrum of quick and easy food from food trucks and casual spots to the creative dishes at fine dining places. I couldn’t wait to read how our city’s food was described and which recipes were included in the new book The Austin Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from Deep in the Heart of Texas by Paula Forbes. Of course, there’s barbecue and tacos and Tex-Mex, and there’s so much more. The recipes are mostly from restaurants both old and new, and a few are from the author. Brisket and carnitas make promine...