More cooking from the Marie Claire Easy cookbook here! Last weekend I made the coconut bread, which was just delicious. I’m not really one for doing things in separate bowls, so I prepared the wet ingredients, poured (I didn’t sift) the dry ingredients on top of them, and mixed. It was fine. I probably could have cooked this for a little longer than the hour suggested, but it was fine as was. The recipe suggests toasting the bread, and serving it slathered in butter. This is a delicious way to eat it, although almost anything tastes delicious when covered in butter. I’ve also finally found a spreadable butter that I like: I’ve been using Olivio, which is spreadable, buttery, and delicious.

Pear & Jasmine Tea Sorbet

Summer Sorbets

Coconut Bread

Since I’ve been in Boston I’ve been cooking exclusively from Marie Claire Easy.

The book is great – I’m yet to run into a dud recipe. Here’s what I’ve made recently:

Honey-Toasted Muesli: I’ve been meaning to make my own muesli or granola for a while now, and this recipe was just the thing I needed. I deviated a little from the recipe as written – I couldn’t find any dried peaches so I used pears instead, and the only triticale. I could find was in whole grain form, when I really wanted something rolled or flaky. Luckily, I found some rolled wheat which I used instead. When the muesli was toasting the kitchen was filled with a wonderful smell of honey (and I suspect this would really vary with the kind of honey you chose). I’ve eaten the muesli with thick Greek yogurt, and with milk, and while it’s pretty good either way I think I prefer it with milk. Next time I make it I think I’ll try mixing things up a bit. I’ll probably put in more fruit (perhaps some cranberries, too?) and I’d like to experiment with different nuts and seeds.

Leek and Pumpkin Risotto: I made this for dinner when Ben and Eduardo came around on Saturday. The only pumpkin/winter squash I could find was spaghetti squash, so that was what I used. I’ve had roasted spaghetti squash and it was delicious with great texture, but I really don’t think it’s ideal for risotto. I almost certainly used more squash than the recipe called for (although I didn’t weigh it, so I’m not sure) as well. There was nothing particularly offensive about this risotto, but it wasn’t exactly flavorful either, something that I think would have been improved by a more flavorful pumpkin. It smelled delicious, though. Still if you heap it with good Parmesan cheese, it’s still pretty good, and excellent winter soul food.

Lemon-Ricotta Cake: This wasn’t anything like I expected it to be, but it was excellent. The inclusion of the tea-soaked sultanas is a stroke of genius. If I did this again I’d grate my lemon zest a little finer, and if I had an 8-inch spring form pan I’d use it (I only have a 10-inch pan. It worked just fine, although the cake was perhaps a little thinner than I would have liked). I ate this with cream, and it was perfectly satisfying.

Lemon Delicious: I have a family heirloom recipe for lemon delicious (from my great-grandmother), and while I haven’t checked, this recipe is pretty similar. The outcome was everything lemon delicious should be. Light and fluffy with a creamy sauce at the bottom. Very lemony and very delicious. The recipe says it serves eight, I feel like this would be a stretch. Four of us had no trouble devouring it in a single sitting.

Cross-posted on What Katie Did.

I wanted to take something with me to Meg’s place, and I’d been given the marie claire easy cook book for Christmas, so I made some mango salsa.

I really, really like fruit salsas. I think they’re pretty much a perfect summer snack – and you can do things like melt some cheese over them on a slice of bread for something that’s a bit more substantial. This mango salsa is very simple to put together and delicious to eat. I couldn’t find tortilla chips in the shop (not really an Australian staple, I guess), so I used rice crackers instead. These aren’t really the right vehicle for a mango salsa, but they’re better than nothing.

I’ve generally been pretty happy with this cook book. It seems like the majority of the recipes are vegetarian, and a lot that aren’t could easily be adjusted to be vegetarian. If you’re the type of vegetarian who eats fish, almost all of the recipes in this book would be suitable for you. The recipes are very straight-forward, requiring only a few ingredients, and are generally light and very tasty.

Cross-posted on What Katie Did.