Books for Cooks

We recommend: Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from Londons Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ten Speed, $35)

Whats special: When Jerusalem-born, London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi started writing a weekly vegetarian-cooking column for The Guardian in 2006, he worried that hed run out of ideas. Eight years, five restaurants and four cookbooks later, the author of Plenty gives us this sumptuous second volume of nonmeat recipes. Each has been rigorously tested by his own kitchen team, most are illustrated in full color.

In chapters organized around cooking techniques (e.g. tossed, roasted, grilled, fried), youll read about ingredients youve never heard of (upma, a south Indian semolina breakfast porridge; dakos, barley rusks from Crete) and find fresh ideas for little used or largely unloved vegetables such as kohlrabi, turnips, eggplant and okra. Ottolenghis encouraging voice and self-deprecating humor make this a welcome kitchen companion.

Crushed Carrots with Harrissa & Pistachios

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra to finish

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

10 large carrots, peeled and cut into -inch slices (2 pounds)

Scant 1 cup vegetable stock

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Yotam Ottolenghis sumptuous second vegetarian volume | Books for Cooks

Hyderabad, Jan 1:

With reports of pesticide residues found in organic food hitting the headlines last month, the pro-organic groups have asked farmers to move towards non-pesticide management and organic farming in the real sense.

Pro-organic groups want genuine growers of organic food to become whistleblowers against the unscrupulous players, while maintaining transparency. They also want consumers to know more about their food (both conventional and organic), including the source, and how the food is grown.

As the findings that emanated from Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) showed a third of organic food sold in the national capital contained pesticide residues, the pro-organic groups termed the report a frivolous diversionary ploy to keep peoples attention away from real food safety concerns of citizens.

Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) and Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) have said that agri-chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides were unsustainable inputs in agriculture.

It is ironical and unreasonable that conventional foods produced using hazardous substances like synthetic pesticides totally escape the onus of disclosure, while significantly safer organic produce is being portrayed as being more unsafe, they said in the joint statement.

There is an urgent need to ensure proper systems, checks and measures are in place to protect organic consumers from malpractices in the market that unethically cash in on their concern for safe food.

The groups wanted the government to provide easy and affordable access to labs for testing toxic chemical residues. Currently, accessing labs for such testing of marketed foods is both costly and cumbersome for consumers or organic farmers. This will have a positive effect on transparency relating to both, allowing greater informed choice to consumers, the statement said.

The groups asked the government to procure organic food for public distribution system and other schemes.

(This article was published on January 1, 2015)

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Pro-organic groups want proper systems to protect consumers

A new style of restaurant is opening in Hamilton on the corner of Second and Main streets called Flavorful Local Pizza. The Flavorful company is thinking big and dreaming big.

Augusto Gus Daza Obregon is a chef and the chairman of development for Flavorful, and he has a huge vision with lots of partners.

Its going to be awesome, said Obregon. I believe Montana will change the world.

Obregon is originally from South America. He moved to Florida, then he came to Montana and graduated from Columbia Falls High School. Twelve years ago, he graduated from the Institute of Culinary Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

Ive been cooking for a long time; Im the lucky guy that gets to go to all the Stock Farm houses and cook for those awesome people, said Obregon.

Ive really studied the importance of organic food and the importance of nutrition, and Im also a restaurant consultant, so Ive helped a lot of restaurants around the valley and around Missoula. I go in when they are failing and I help them succeed. Ive seen what works the most efficient way in all the restaurants and then I put it all together.

I started coming up with a more innovative way to create the food a faster way. So I can compete with McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut and do it organically.

We plan to keep it 100 percent sustainable and local were helping the farmers with technology and advice to be able to produce food for us that is organically certified.

The floor plan for Flavorful Local Pizza is familiar. The customer will enter the restaurant, go to the counter and convey their desires to Flavorful chefs selecting from different types of dough (including a 100 percent gluten-free option that they are creating), a variety of healthy and flavorful sauces, pizza toppings organic locally grown meat and fresh vegetables and finally the creation is baked in a special oven with radiant heat at 1,000 degrees. The customer then selects what theyd like to drink; Flavorful is working out a contract with Jones Soda, an organic soda company.

By the time you get your soda, your pizza will be ready, said Obregon.

Excerpt from:
Flavorful: New restaurant set to bring organic pizza to downtown Hamilton