by JODI DeLONG

No matter how much we turn to digital books and websites to search out recipes, actual cookbooks remain quite irresistible. Here, we look at a few recent releases from Nimbus Press in Halifax. Note: To maintain consistency, we’ve added metric or imperial conversions to each recipe as required.

The Lunenburg Farmers’ Market Cookbook

by Elisabeth Bailey

Photography and Food Styling by Alyssa Valletta

Any food enthusiast who is an ardent follower of Instagram has probably swooned over utterly gorgeous photos of meals, from dishes celebrating local flavours, to those delving into more exotic flavours. This book is like a collection of those posts, with exquisite photography on almost every page, and a collection of recipes developed by members of the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market, who grow so many foods locally.

Author Elisabeth Bailey suggests that people get to know their local producers, and the foods they produce, as a step on the way to eating better, and locally. The recipes are grouped according to what’s available at the market that month, with recipes such as Sesame Soy Scallops, Moroccan Lamb Stew, Spring Onion Pasta, or Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

The volume is also dotted with market tips and a few market vendor profiles, all of which makes it feel like you’re as close to experiencing the market as you can be without going to Lunenburg. And you should go. The market is one of the largest in Nova Scotia and is simply wonderful.

Rise: A Devotion to Whole Grains by

Jess Ross

Are you one of the many who discovered an innate love for making breads during the great lockdown of COVID? Then you’ll want to get this book to further inspire your breadmaking skills. If you’ve never kneaded a loaf and are daunted by the thoughts of sourdough or yeast, don’t worry: Moss explains the magic of breadmaking as a science, offering tips that will have you making pancakes with your sourdough “discard” in no time. The founder of the well-known Gold Island Bakery, a micro bakery in Scotch Village, Hants County, Moss celebrates whole grains from spelt to kamut, rye to heritage wheats, and tells her own story from student to acolyte of sourdoughs and whole grains.

Rise is an endearing and highly entertaining read, and the recipes, oh, the recipes! When I got this book, I knew I’d have to rush out and get some rye flour to make her Cardamom and Date Rye Cake, but also, I may be finally ready to turn my hand to sourdough bread. If I can be tempted, you can, too.

Mitji — Let’s Eat! Mi’kmaq recipes from Sikniktuk

by Margaret Augustine and Lauren Beck

This small wonder of a book is a loving and informative celebration of Mi’kmaw food culture, and the wisdom of the Elders of this vibrant Indigenous community. Sikniktuk is one of seven traditional Mi’kmaw districts and includes Elsipogtog, the largest Indigenous community in New Brunswick.

Along with being a practical (and delicious) stock of recipes, this book turns its unflinching focus on the ravages of colonization to the Mi’kmaq over the years. You will learn a great deal about the history of the original settlers to this land, the often seasonal and very local way in which they eat, as you learn to make Eel Stew, Swiss Steak with Moose Meat, and several types of breads.

The LaHave Bakery

by Jane Morrigan and Susan Ivany

If the walls of the LaHave Bakery, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, could talk, what tales they would tell. Formerly a ship chandler and fish plant, the waterside building fell into disrepair and could have been lost to time’s ravages. Fortunately, Gael Watson and her then-husband bought the building in 1984, opening the bakery the following year.

This fascinating read isn’t so much a cookbook as the story of the bakery over more than 40 years, but readers will be delighted to find a dozen or so recipes of their popular products, including Anadama, Butter Tarts, and Chedder Herb Bread. It’s a beautiful read, told in the voices of Gael and others who were deeply involved in the bakery. The recipes are a delicious bonus.

Ginger Radish Fridge Pickles

Makes 1 litre

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp (30 mL) dried hot chili flakes (optional)

1-inch (2.5-cm) chunk ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbsps (30 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) water

1 cup (250 mL) lemon juice or rice vinegar

1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar

2 cups (500 mL) sliced radishes

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients except sliced radishes in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for five minutes. Pack sliced radishes into a container. Carefully add pickling mixture to sliced radishes, making sure that all slices are completely covered.

2. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for at least a week before eating. Pickles will keep up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.

Reprinted with permission from Nimbus Publishing Ltd. Lunenburg Farmers’ Market Cookbook

Available through Nimbus.ca

Cheddar Cheese Scones

Makes 8-12 scones

INGREDIENTS

2 cups (500 mL) unbleached white flour

1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, cold

1 cup (250 mL) grated cheddar cheese

1 large egg yolk

¾ cup (175 mL) buttermilk (variations: cream, whole milk, or sour cream as 1:1 replacements)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 400F/204C. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with butter; alternatively, cover a cookie sheet with parchment.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Grate cold butter into dry mixture, then mix lightly with your fingertips. Add grated cheese and stir to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolk and buttermilk. Stir lightly into flour mixture. Note: set this buttermilk-and-egg mixing bowl aside. There will be enough liquid left in the bowl to later brush onto the tops of the scones.

4. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter and knead gently, no more than three or four times, to bring together.

5. Roll into a round, inch–thick disc, then cut disc into 8 to 12 wedges, depending on the size you prefer. Place each wedge separately on cookie sheet. Brush the top of each scone with the leftover buttermilk and egg mixture from the bowl.

’Tis the season for new cookbooks