Great little illustration by illustrator Marc Johns. Buy the print here.

This month’s featured cookbook comes to us from Leanne Kitchen of Sydney, Australia. I discovered book from Omnivore Book’s December newsletter and was enticed by its collection of warm, spiced recipes including Red Lentil Soup with Minted Eggplant (recipe below) and Slow Roasted Lamb with Pomegranate Juice – perfect for the chilly, foggy weather we’ve been having here in San Francisco. Along with the recipes, Leanne recounts her 4 trips to Turkey, which started in 2008. She ventured out onto less traveled paths through the countryside in search of cheeses, yogurts, meats and desserts. During her travels, she not only discovered a rich culinary culture but also found a wealth of hospitality from the people she encountered.

“I went into Kurdish villages way in the east and people gave me bread out of the oven and sat me down and served me soup that they made with their own home-made yogurt and herbs they picked from the side of the mountain… Everything is really fresh and I guess you could say organic because they don’t use sprays and so the food is just very simple but extraordinarily tasty – just amazing.

I’d sit down at somebody’s house and they’d bring out a platter of cracked walnuts and honey… it’s a really simple thing but the flavours would just be extraordinary. Those are the kind of food encounters I suppose that really stay in my memory, not fancier things or more elaborate things; it’s more just the quality of the produce.”

Red Lentil Soup with Minted Eggplant

Difficulty: Easy
Course: Soup
Serves: 6

Ingredients

150ml extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
21/2 cups red lentils
10 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock
60ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice, or to taste
1 large eggplant (about 500g), trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces
2 gloves of garlic, crushed
3 teaspoons dried mint
21/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, fro 6-7 minutes or until softened. Add lentils and stock then bring to a simmer, skimming surface to remove any scum. Reduce heat to low, partially cover pan then cook for 40-50 minutes or until lentils are very soft and have collapsed. Add lemon juice and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt over the chopped eggplant in a colander and stand for 20 minutes. Rinse eggplant well then drain. Pat dry on kitchen paper. Heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy based frying pan over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook, turning often, for 5-6 minutes, or until light golden and tender. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes then add the mint and paprika and cook for another 2 minutes or until fragrant. Divide soup among bowls then spoon over eggplant and oil and serve immediately.

Purchase “Turkey, Recipes and Tales from the Road” from Amazon.com

Find more recipes each Friday on her Facebook page.

Read the book review by The Syndey Morning Herald

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.” The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources.

Read full story

A list of the honey tested by Food Safety News that showed no traces of pollen. Analysis showed that the absence of pollen was consistent regardless of the
size of the jar. In some cases, the stores where the honey was purchased are not listed because the same brands can be found in many different outlets.

• American Choice Clover Honey
• Archer Farms Orange Blossom Honey
• Archer Farms Organic Classic Honey
• Busy Bee Organic Honey
• Busy Bee, Pure Clover Honey
• CVS Honey
• Fred Meyer Clover Honey
• Full Circle Pure Honey
• Giant Eagle Clover Honey
• GE Clover Honey
• Great Value, Clover Honey
• Haggen Honey, Natural & Pure
• HT Traders Tupelo Honey
• Kroger Pure Clover Honey
• Market Pantry Pure Honey
• Mel-o 100 % Pure Honey
• Natural Sue Bee Clover Honey
• Naturally Preferred Fireweed Honey
• Rite Aid Honey
• Safeway Clover Honey
• Silver Bow Pure Honey
• Stop and Shop Clove Honey
• Sue Bee Clover Honey
• Thrifty Bee Honey
• Valutime Honey
• Walgreen MEL-O honey
• Western Family Clover Honey
• Wegman Clover Honey
• Winnie the Pooh, Pure Clover

Makes 2 large panini.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 dutch crunch rolls (or other deli rolls)
4 ounces thinly sliced roast beef
4 ounces sharp white Cheddar, sliced
1/2 cup sauerkraut

Preparation:

In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and horseradish. Spread 2 tablespoons of sour cream mixture on one half of the roll. Top with roast beef, sauerkraut then cheddar slices. Heat a lightly oiled grill pan (cast iron skillet works best) over medium heat and place sandwiches bottom-side down. Place another heavy skillet on-top and press down hard. Leave and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Repeat with other side.

To serve, slice each sandwich in half diagonally. Shown served with Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Guinness Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the sour cream. In a second large mixing bowl, sift together the cocoa, sugar, cake flour, and baking soda. Using a spatula, gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.

Line a muffin pan with paper muffin cups and fill each one about 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle. You can test for doneness by poking a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out mostly clean they are ready. Leaving the middle slightly under done will result in a lovely, moist cupcake. Allow to cool before applying icing.

Jameson Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 pinch fine sea salt
2 tablespoons Jameson Whiskey
1 tablespoon milk

Preparation:

In the bowl of stand mixer, cream butter until very light and fluffy. Add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar. Do not run the mixer above low, or the sugar will spray all over the place like snow. Add a couple of spoonfuls at a time until it has all been absorbed into the butter. Add Jameson and milk until spreadable consistency is achieved.

We are also encouraging consumers to submit their comments and questions about biotech seeds here on this website. We’ve invited Pamela Ronald, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis, and Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change, to hold a conversation streamed live from U.C. Davis in northern California on November 2 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time / 12: 30 p.m. Eastern Time. During this approximately 60-minute conversation, Dr. Ronald and Mr. Dimock will share their expertises and will address the questions people have about genetic engineering and what that means for the future of our food.

Learn more.

Read more about the graphic here

Read more at Design Milk

Bakerella shares a divine-looking recipe for homemade graham crackers, and then kicks ‘em up a notch by turning them into Instagram logos. She calls them “Instagrahams.” Who said you shouldn’t play with your food!

Homemade Graham Cracker recipe via SmittenKitchen

A Middle East meets Malaysia mix of flavors, this recipe features earthy smells paired with savory and sweet flavors. The chicken is marinated using a Malaysian rub that I acquired as a gift from Azalina’s Kitchen. The rub has a pungent, earthy – almost dirt-like aroma with notes of grass, garlic, turmeric and a slight note of sourness, perhaps from the lemongrass. The flavor is deep with hints of curry, garlic and other bright green herbs.

The lentil recipe is an adaptation of a classic Middle Eastern dish called Mujadarrah. Traditional mujadarrah includes rice but I omitted it to intensify the rich flavor of the lentils. I caramelized the onions using sugar during the frying process to add a hint of sweetness to offset the deep flavor of the chicken and lentils.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
• 2 whole free-range chicken legs
• 1/4 cup of Azalina’s Malaysian rub*
• 3 tblsp. butter

For Lentils
• 1 cup of french green lentils
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Water (just enough to barely cover the lentils in the pot).

*NOTE: If you can’t find this rub the Women’s Bean Project also makes a wonderful Malaysian rub.

PREPARATION

Rinse and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle spice rub all over chicken and rub in until chicken is completely coated. Place in a glass or ceramic dish, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinated for at least 4 hours.

After marination, remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (about 30 min.).

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Remove plastic wrap and cover with tin foil. Place chicken in oven and roast for approx. 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, heat oil in large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sprinkle with salt and sugar. Allow to cook for approx. 25 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Onions should be golden brown and crispy. Remove half the onions to a dish and reserve. Add lentils to pan and add just enough water to barely cover the lentils. Bring to a boil, stirring up the caramelized bits of onion at the bottom of the skillet. Lower the heat, and simmer the lentils and onion for about 25 minutes, covered, or until the lentils are cooked but still firm to the bite. Check a few times to see that there is enough water; add it sparingly, if necessary. If there is too much liquid, remove the cover and boil the lentils to evaporate excess water. Stir in the reserved onions and taste for seasoning. Set aside.

Remove foil from chicken and continue to roast for another 10 – 15 min until chicken is done and skin is brown and crispy.

To serve, spoon lentils onto plates and top with one chicken leg. Drizzle with high-quality olive oil and finish with sea salt. Goes wonderfully with fresh sliced avocados and tomatoes (as shown above).

Enjoy with a light red such as Pinot Noir or a heavier white such as Savagin or Chardonnay.