So I’m a little late reviewing this cookbook – a quick Google search shows there are plenty of positive reviews already out there. It won a Canadian Culinary Book award in 2002. And, there is even a blog where the authors tried to cook their way through the book from 2009. All that I can say is that ten years later this cookbook still holds up. It is a cookbook that I use often and always feel inspired after cooking from its pages.
The pasta and entrée sections of my cookbook are littered with checkmarks and words like: “amazing” and “make again”. This is where you get your money’s worth from this cookbook. Some of my favourite dishes are the border paella, the savoury bread pudding, the pad Thai and the Santa Fe pasta salad. Sure, some of these recipes require a lot of work and can be quite time-consuming but they make great company dishes. A good example of this would be the recipe for the Parmesan corn risotto cakes – there was so much prep work it took me two nights to make them but they were beautiful and delicious!
So that being said, my least favourite part of the cookbook is the lunch section. These recipes often take just as much prep as the entrées but the results are less rewarding. The drinks section is also underused in my home but I’m certain that is because I don’t have a juicer yet. One of my go to recipes when I’m getting sick is the Liver Quiver much to Mike’s disdain (It contains raw garlic).
Overall this is easily one of my favourite cookbooks with recipes that I cook frequently. I’ve not yet been to the restaurant nor have I been to Victoria but it this cookbook is any indication of how tasty the food will be there I will plan to try this place the next time we make it out West.
Highly recommended for vegetarians!
(Want to buy this from a local bookshop – try Octopus Books)
Title: Rebar Modern Food Cookbook
Authors: Audrey Alsterberg, Wanda Urbanowicz
Publisher: Big Ideas Publishing, 2001
ISBN: 0968862306; 9780968862308
