Living large
Given the growing popularity of warehouse stores, bulk sizes and farmers markets, Elissa Altman’s “Big Food: Amazing Ways to Cook, Store, Freeze and Serve Everything You Buy in Bulk” (Rodale, $18.95) is timely indeed. Various strategies are offered, with recipes detailing what’s getting put to use–say, two big eggplants and a 10-pound bag of onions (Sicilian eggplant salad) or three whole chickens (Jewish-style chicken soup). Sometimes recipes create more leftovers in the process, but the one we tried (spicy Southwestern corn, crab and black bean salad) was gold. The book is sold at some Barnes & Noble stores and online at amazon.com.
Desserts for special diets
We were impressed with the tender yellow cake and creamy vanilla frosting we made from Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes. The products, which also come in chocolate flavors, are dairy-, egg- and nut-free. Cooks need to add some ingredients, such as soymilk and margarine. The cake mix yields one 9-inch cake; the frosting makes enough to frost it. Each box costs $4.40-$5.30 at Whole Foods Markets and the Super Target store in Algonquin. To order by mail, visit cherrybrookkitchen.com or call 866-458-8225.
Pickles and more
That Pickle Guy products from Lisle resident Greg Frederick got across-the-board approval from tasters. The pickles were fresh and crisp; the richly flavored giardinera and muffalata enhanced the sandwiches we added them to. A 32-ounce container of pickles (original, garlic, spicy or hot) costs about $6.50; the muffalata (olive or spicy) and giardinera (hot or mild) are $5-$9 per 8- or 16-ounce jar. Find them at Sunset Foods, Casey’s Foods in Naperville and Sam’s Wines & Spirits in Chicago and Downers Grove. Whole Foods Markets and Blue Goose Super Market in St. Charles carry giardinera and muffalata only. To order by mail, call 630-428-3203 or visit thatpickleguy.com.
