Wednesday 10 August 2022

Being Prepared

A quick - much belated- review of two more library books. First up, Keda Black's "Batch Cooking - Prep and cook your weeknight dinners in less than 2 hours".
This one is beautifully photographed - lots of clever food stylists involved. And very well thought out.
The plan;
  1. You do a big grocery shop on a Saturday [or maybe Sunday morning]
  2. You spend up to two hours on Sunday chopping, assembling, precooking, etc
  3. Each weeknight, your dinner will be ready in next to no time "20 minutes, including 5 minutes prep" etc. 
The book begins with a clear explanation, and a list of containers and utensils needed, and also a chart of seasonal produce. Then you get 13 sections in this format
  1. A menu for 5 days dinners plus one 'treat' - this page tells you how long Sunday's prep time is, gives some substitutions [inc vegetarian ideas] and which containers you need
  2. A picture of your labelled containers to go in the fridge [as per book cover]
  3. A full shopping list of fresh and frozen proteinsm fruit and veg - plus general groceries and store cupboard ingredients
  4. A timetable for Sunday's activities with careful storage instructions
  5. Mon -Fri daily plan - each page has clear picture of the dish, timings and what to do [inc any prep for next day e.g. 'take Friday's soup out of the freezer to defrost'] Plus the treat item [usually a cake, pudding or cookies which can be eaten throughout the week]
It is all very clever, and delightful to look at. I think it would be really useful for someone who works full time and doesn't want to swap hours on the laptop for more at the stovetop once they get in the door at night. The carefully calculated quantities mean there is little food waste, and you are always eating fresh stuff. Recipes are for 4 adults- but there are notes on altering quantities.
It is all very attractive to look at- and full of good ideas. The 13 sections go through the seasons - heavier casserole type meals in cold weather, lighter salad options in summer etc. And if you follow it, I think it would work well. It would be a good primer for anyone not used to meal planning.
It reminded me of Shirley Conran's "Superwoman" where she advocates a fourteen day meal plan [lunch and dinner] ...day 15 you start again!
An interesting book to borrow, but not to own ****
The Whole Vegetable" by Sophie Gordon is quite different. Subtitled 'sustainable recipes for a happier planet' the author divides the year into six seasons- spring, early summer, height of summer, autumn, winter begins, depths of winter. She believes this makes it easier to eat seasonally. In less than 400 pages, she has 130 recipes. I was well into the book before I realised the recipes are all vegan. No eggs, butter, milk, or cream but plenty of coconut oil, plant-based 'milk' , nutritional yeast, and nut based 'cheeses'. I'd need to buy in some different store cupboard ingredients as these things aren't on my regular shopping list.
Lots of interesting salads, and use of many different less common grains [freekeh, quinoa, fregola and more] plus tips to avoid waste. 
It was a fun read - but I do not think I would make many of the recipes.  They are basically just a few techniques -cut up the veg for a salad, make a dressing. Or roast the fruit, add a vegan 'cream' with spices. Or put it all in one pan with herbs and spices, and bake. Good photographs, clear instructions - but a poor index. 

Yes I know I'm a bit fussy about indices - but this one is hard to navigate. So just ***





16 comments:

  1. My daughter shops and preps at the weekend for a healthy week’s eating. She batch cooks and also makes soups and salads. She did this even when working from home as it meant she could take a break, her lunch and a walk to take her away from zoom. I always enjoy your book reviews but probably wouldn’t buy either book. I am also with you on indices! Catriona

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    1. Taking a proper lunch break is important. I found that hard to do whilst teaching. Good to know I am not the only person who likes to check out the index 👍

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  2. I agree on the need for a lunchbreak. For the first 10 years of being a music teacher, I survived on barely any break and barely any lunch. At the moment, i can't do any lunchtime clubs as our lunch breaks have been reduced by 15mins post Bubbles because of space and I have no where to do the clubs. I now have set up of computers and moving instrument time as i move rooms all day to contend with but on the days when I have left moving and a good break, this is noticeable- I feel so much better.
    I've never batch cooked as such but I do often try to make double portions so we could eat for 2 or 3 days.

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    1. I do hope the classroom situation eases for you next term, Kezzie. It's added extra stress to your teaching load.

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    2. Alas not. Another year of it at least...😭

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  3. Thanks I have ordered batch cooking as I could find a used copy for $4. It will be inspiration. Now I need to reread Superwoman. I read it when it first came out and have stuck with her white linen rule. When the sons were all the same sock size, I just bought one style and colour of sock and they shared a sock drawer. Such ease with laundry and no odd spares hanging around. I saved them until another one showed up and paired them.

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    1. $4 is a bargain for that book. Yes, the sock rule was a good one, and it did make laundry sorting easier.

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  4. The books look interesting, and maybe worth dipping into for ideas.

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    1. The principles behind the prepping are very good - and I think could spark some good ideas which could be tweaked to work in different kitchens/families.

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  5. I'm with you on indices. I was once given a large community fundraising cook book with some interesting recipes, but the vast variety of sections were all over the place and in the end I wrote my own index with page numbers for different groups like cookies, breads, desserts, puddings, pickles, main courses and so on. It has saved me time if I want to look up something to bake without trolling through other stuff.

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  6. My daughter does the weekly meal prepping, usually shopping on a Saturday and cooking on a Sunday. She cooks all the meals at one time and keeps in the fridge. All she does on week nights is serve to a plate and reheat. I tend to cook as and when I please, but, I usually make enough for several servings and that works well for me. :)

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  7. I don't know if it was my lack of cookery experience but when I tried batch cooking, I found the big cooking day took much longer than they said it would and I was absolutely shattered and fit for nothing for the end of the day. I carried forward some of the principles but I don't think I had what it takes to do it full on

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    1. I think many people would have the same experience as you. I cannot see how a young mum with children under her feet would manage two hours of intense preparation time.

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  8. Angela, you are not the only person who checks indexes in non fiction books, as a former freelance indexer I consider it essential. Indexing cookery books (& legal books) is a very specialised area. I’m about to read Index, the history of by Dennis Duncan, also any budding authors may wish to see The Society of Indexers website.
    By the way, indexes is the plural of index, indices are for the scientific community.

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    1. Madeleine, thanks for this really informative comment. I guess that as a mathematician I've been used to the term indices, and assumed it was the plural of index in all situations!

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