Hot Atomic Kasundi, Whole Larder Love Review And Cookbook Giveaway
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Whole Larder Love. It brings to mind a cosy log cabin of a house in the wilderness, with a warm scruffy from overuse kitchen, a cavernous larder full of preserves and pickles and sauces dotted amongst bags of flour, pasta, potatoes and onions. It makes you think of a person with a sharp sense of humour, one who conjured up that clever name and runs that cosy home and all its natural bounty with a well oiled set of tools. Words are powerful wizards that weave the vision of a world and create a feeling. The words Whole Larder Love evoke that sense of being true to the land one uses, the food one cooks and the harmony one shares. It is Rohan Anderson’s legacy, a photographer turned modern day hunter gatherer who writes a beautiful blog and has produced a cookbook all revolving around those three beautiful words.
I have been waiting to cook from Rohan’s book for a while now and I started as soon as I received the advance copy. Rohan writes passionately and his no nonsense approach to food is infectious. He makes you believe that you can grow a lot of what you put on your plate by a little dedication and a lot of common sense.
Whole Larder Love published by Penguin in Australia is a treasure trove of practical recipes, gardening and foraging tips and advice on the right tools for fishing and hunting. Without being preachy (Not at all Rohan! Your parting statement just sums up your philosophy and projects you for the honest and ethical person you are), the book talks about some sensitive issues when it comes to sourcing food especially meat. Rohan expresses that meat is a privelege and not a right. Very true! He also talks about how hard it is to dispatch an animal no matter how many times you have done it before (Some pictures in the book are not for the squeamish). But it is refreshing to hear a first hand account from someone doing it all by himself, something that stays on the backburner when we shop for food. Out of sight, out of mind is the high road we tend to take, but giving some thought to where and how your food reaches your table is worth looking into.
The book is divided into seven sections that explore gardening, hunting, foraging, fishing, meat and poultry and culminating with the larder and some basics. The style of cooking is sensible and rustic. Personal accounts and experiences dot the accompanying recipes like Aunty’s Zucchini Soup, Gardener’s Reward Breakfast, WLL Burger, Mum’s Tomato Relish and Beachcomber’s Pasta. There are some interesting and delicious looking recipes for Sneaky Eel Dip, Coal Baked Bream, Dark Stormy Shanks, Nettle Pappardelle, Honey Chorizo, Wild Duck Risotto and Tortilla Espanol (finally! I now know what it was that mum used to make for my after school snack. I just called it special omelette).
There are heaps of pictures, very nice ones too. The book has an overall organic feel to it, the recipes are simple, clearly written and open enough for the home cook to tinker with and adapt. It is Rohan’s writing, that I especially enjoyed. It is like having a conversation with him and a very interesting one too. I picked amongst some recipes that I have already cooked, a recipe for a tomato relish with heat. I loved the name, it got my creative juices going and I ended up making a nifty little label to go on my jar just like Rohan’s hand drawn doodles. It is called Hot Atomic Kasundi and it is heavily adapted from Whole Larder Love.
HOT ATOMIC KASUNDI
A spicy tomato chutney with the heat of a million chillies to make and give away as gourmet gifts. Not for the faint of heart.
Makes – To fill two small jars
Ingredients
1kg ripe firm tomatoes, skin peeled and diced (I used truss tomatoes)
8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
2 hot red chillies, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried red chilli flakes
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds (preferably mixed)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon or to taste, salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
In a large pot, heat oil on medium. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When they start crackling add the ginger, garlic, chilli, chilli flakes and tomatoes. Mix well.
Add the sugar, salt, vinegar, ground turmeric and garama masala. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour, stirring every now and then to prevent sticking and burning.
Store in sterilised jars in a cool corner of your pantry or fridge. Leave for a couple of weeks for the flavour to develop or use right away.
I love the book, it is different. With Christmas coming up, it would make a great present for someone you know who loves cooking, gardening, preserving and mulling over the ethics of the food industry. No review is complete without a giveaway, so I am giving away a copy of this beautiful book to one lucky reader of the blog.
TO WIN A COPY OF WHOLE LARDER LOVE
- You MUST have an AUSTRALIAN POSTAL ADDRESS
- You MUST enter via the Rafflecopter Box below.
- You MUST leave me a COMMENT and tell me "What is it that you do or hope to do food wise to make a difference in your family and in this world?"
- You can do the other things in the box for BONUS ENTRIES.
- Winner will be picked at random on November 2, 2012 after give away ends and announced on the blog and facebook page.
GOOD LUCK!!
For those who would like to buy the book anyways
Buy at Book Depository | Buy At Bookworld | Buy At Readings | Buy At Amazon
Note – The review copy was sent to me by Penguin, Australia. The give away copy is sourced by me.
I have purchased a Thermomix so I can start making food from scratch eg. mill my own flour etc. This way I know what goes into the food and stop any nasty chemicals.
I have started a small vege patch in our backyard. For the things I can’t grow, I shop at the Farmers Markets.
I hope to use this cook book to learn how to cook for my family, which will make a great difference to my wife, and hopefully be an inspiration to my son, which will have positive ripple effects for the world.
I want to continue to emphasize food things ending in Y, TRUE!
Health-Y, Eas-Y, Economicall-Y Frindl-Y, Environmentall-Y helpful too!
I YEARN ti inspire people by doing cooking demonstrations and share recipes with people who THINK they do not have the time and money!
As with my creativity, I can combine both (making more in less time) and for ANY budget…naturally!
Eating is more than an enjoyment, it is a responsibly because the better choices we make can impact the world in some ways. What I really want to do is have a sustainable and ethical eating practices; find locally grown produce, cook my own meals and hopefully share this lifestyle to my friends and family.
This book looks and sounds great. Delicious chutney!
Cheers,
Rosa
I would like my children to cook healthy, tasty meals and to use all of the food that they buy. I hate wasting food, it takes so much energy to have produced that food that I feel horrible wasting it!
What a fun book [mmh: hunting is the only one I know but little about!] and great recipe: can taste the oomph now
! I’m after fusion I suppose: as healthy a diet as I can cook, with as many herbs and vegetables from my garden that I can grow, but remembering and respecting old traditions, combining such with classics loved and true!
I would love to grow my own vegetables and cook healthy, nutritious, hearty meals from them for my family. First, I need a house to live with a big garden and fruit trees.
Zita´s last [type] ..Weekend Crumbs
I grow many of my own vegetables, fruit and herbs without chemicals and keep free range chickens for healthy eating for my family.
The book looks like so much fun. I would love to have a copy.
Vijitha´s last [type] ..Kid’s lunch box meal : Brown rice – Chicken cakes / patties with chilli mayo
I try to cook a different type of meal everyday (unless of course requested otherwise I never cook the same thing twice)I find introducing variety at meal time means my family doesn’t get sick of eating healthy meals and it keeps me on my toes and has made me quite an inventive cook! If we could introduce this into society we may find we have a healthier society.
I love the name “Atomic.” So cute! Looks delicious. Gotta add it to my pantry.
I am not sure if you heard of this chutney called ‘ aamer kashundi’ ( famous among the Bong group) is made with raw mango and mustard seeds. This hot atomic kasundi reminded me of that
Wish I could grow my own vegetables!
Kankana´s last [type] ..Mishti Doi/Sweetened Yogurt
I hope to eliminate processed foods from my diet and feed my family fresh produce.
I hope to pass on a deep love for creating and enjoying delicious healthy family meals to my children, and hope that in return they will pass the same on to their families one day.
I hope to make more things from scratch rather than buying them – such as bread, jam, preserves. butter. Not only does this make all the kitchen staples tastier, it also saves on packaging and shipping which is bad for the environment.
My comment sound really lame now, I was going to write, and I am still going to write, even after seeing Nicoles comment, the very first comment! (maybe we should be friends?) I bought a thermomix to start making food from scratch, it benefits my family giving them healthier, fresher food, benefits the environment by supporting my local producers and limiting packaging.
We have a vegie garden and try to buy the remainder of our produce from the farmers market or a great local fruit & veg shop nearby. The garden especially encourages our kids to forage and they eat vegies fresh from the garden they would *never* eat from a plastic bag. The taste cannot compare, and this I hope they will remember
Good health and taste!!
I hope to pass on the passion for cooking to my little boy
I would love to one day have a big vege patch so i can teach him where they come from! There is nothing better than fresh vege’s!
i have just brought a preserving kit this would be great to help me start with a recpie or two
What a lovely book and recipe Sneh, thank you for sourcing the book. My only hope and wish is that the food I cook and share with friends and family makes them happy, tastes great, is good for them and is easily adaptable for allergies and intolerances many of them have.
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook´s last [type] ..Pumpkin Spice Donuts With Cacao Icing | And a Giveaway
What a dream book, a dream life, I’d one day hope to live. I try not to buy too much from the big supermarket giants but from farmers markets and buying things that support Australian farmers. I’ve never been a big meat eater (and I went through a few years as a vegetarian) but I make a conscious effort to eat less meat.
Vintage Macaroon´s last [type] ..Confit Duck with Broad Beans, Peas and Pancetta
I hope that my children grow up with the same satisfaction I get growing, preparing and cooking my own food.
G’day and BIG thank you for winning this wonderful cookbook today!
Cannot wait to devour the recipes with love and sharing everyone’s way!
[...] This morning I ate: heirloom tomatoes on thin vogels toast with micro greens and homemade, spicy kasundi. [...]