Jerusalem And Plenty -- Cookbooks Where Everything Is Imaginative, Nothing Is Difficult

Chicken, fennel and clementines

Yotam Ottolenghi just cooks better than I do.

You shouldn't be surprised since he is an internationally-known chef, but I was surprised at how much fun I've had in his cookbooks Plenty and Jerusalem.

Mrs. HowChow bought the books.  I actually passed when I saw them at Sweet Elizabeth Jane in Ellicott City.  The pictures are too pretty.  Ottolenghi is a restaurant chef.  I pass on celebrity chefs, and I've been happy in recent years with Mark Bittman and some ethnic cookbooks.

Mrs. HowChow saw the brillance.  She wanted the eggplant with pomegranates on the cover of Plenty.  She saw lots of vegetables. She saw combinations that sing.  As soon as I opened the books, she added a few dozen stickies to show the dishes that she'd like me to make.

Everything that I've made has been spectacular.  Everything seems imaginative, but nothing has been difficult.  These are terrific books for anyone who wants a healthy mix of vegetables, grains and meat -- but with flavor.

Barley and pomegranates -- really!

A salad of lentils, tomatoes and Gorgonzola.  A hearty eggplant with pomegranates and a buttermilk-yogurt sauce.  Chicken roasted with fennel and clementines.  Jerusalem draws a mix of recipes from co-author Sami Tamimi's hometown.  Plenty collects vegetarian dishes heavy on the Mediterranean, but running from Italy to Indonesia.

These recipes are terrific for me because my simple can be bland.  I can eat lentils straight from the pot, and Mrs. HowChow has had to point out that they're not inspiring even if they're healthy.  Ottolenghi make lentils enticing with some oven-dried tomatoes, that Gorgonzola, and generous dashes of herbs.

That variety runs through the books.  Jerusalem does traditional recipes, but Plenty is a riot of modern variety -- eggs baked over arugula and topped with yogurt, barley tossed in a salad with celery and pomegranates.  Ottolenghi uses spices and herbs available anywhere, but his dishes taste fresh and exciting -- even when the preparation is as simple as "cook the barley, then mix with a bunch of stuff that you chopped or poured from bottles."

These books are some of the best fun that I have ever had with thyme, dill, parsley and chives.  Ottolenghi must live near Lotte or H Mart because he'll suggest three or four different herbs in a recipe.  You can't buy $10 in herbs for just a few tablespoons of each.  So I have bought them at one of the Asian markets -- and planned for several Ottolenghi recipes so I can use the purchase over an entire week.

Go try these books. Check them out at the Howard County library.  Buy them from Amazon from one of the associate links.  Just go explore the mix.

Check out all my cookbook reviews.  Most are available at the library if you want to check them out.  (Update: And check out the Fiercely Fresh post about Jerusalem and a butternut squash recipe.)

Popsicle Molds At River Hill And Sweet Elizabeth Jane -- Rockets, Twin Pops, Jewels And Bugs

Popsicles at Sweet Elizabeth Jane

The heat is coming back, and you can fight back with your own popsicles.

Bug pops at River Hill

I'm still a fan of the the Zoku popsicle machine, but you can find all kinds of unusual popsicle sets at home stores around the county.  The molds are fun.  Many are funny.  You freeze some juice, and you can pop them out to cool down.

In Ellicott City, I found a display at Sweet Elizabeth Jane on Main Street.  Rocket pops.  Twin pops.  Big pops.  Little pops.  They even had some tiny molds that make desserts that look like oversized jewels.

In Clarksville, River Hill Garden Center sells very appropriate molds.  They're bugs.  You freeze your favorite flavor in the shape of a beetle or a caterpillar.  (I think it's a caterpillar.)  That's perfect to eat out in your own garden.

Both Sweet Elizabeth Jane and River Hill have interesting houseware sections.  Sweet Elizabeth has a mix of modern stuff, and it's worth checking out along with Su Casa farther up the hill.  Plus they sell taffy.  

McCraw's Taffy At Sweet Elizabeth Jane

McCraw's Taffy at Sweet Elizabeth Jane

Keep your eye out for treats.  They hide in the most unusual of places.

Sweet Elizabeth Jane is a housewares store on Main Street in Ellicott City.  For Main Street, the store is unusual in itself for being airy and bright and for having a touch of fun scattered around.

Fun for shoppers like cool soaps and arty match boxes.  Fun for HowChow like candy!  Candy like the paper-thin taffy from Hammonds in Colorado.  Their McCraw's Taffy has fruit flavors in a ribbon like a multi-colorful ruler.  The flavors trend sour.  The taffy dissolves on your tongue, and you can share a piece .

Snap up some candy if you're walking Main Street.  It's great fun, especially to share, especially if you want to keep a few kids -- or any non-shoppers -- happy while you're looking to browse.

Sweet Elizabeth Jane
8125 Main Street
Ellicott City, MD  21043
410-465-6400

NEAR:  Sweeet Elizabeth Jane is on Main Street in downtown Ellicott City.  It's on the run of shops running uphill from the river.