Page 74 - Summer 2019 Journal

All Thumbs Book Reviews
Fifty Shades of Grain: The Naked Truth About Eating Bread and Feeling Great By Caroline Angel
In the modern era, many people have a love- hate relationship with bread. Gluten sensitivity, adulterated ingredients, the use of glyphosate as a wheat dessicant—these are just some of the factors that have contributed to a cautious approach to bread. However, as Caroline An- gel points out in this book, those who avoid bread often miss it terribly because “[T]here are few things more enjoyable than a slice of artisan bread, toasted and slathered with butter.” Gluten-free breads just are not the same.
In Fifty Shades of Grain, Angel says that the key to eating bread and feeling great is “out with the new” and “in with the old.” In a short seventy pages, Angel describes the numerous, health-jeopardizing features of modern grain which include not just glyphosate but other pesticides, insecticides and fungicides; “syn- thetic soil”; mold and mycotoxins; excessive hybridization; removal of nutrients; rancidity; bleaching agents; and more. When it comes to making bread, the improper preparation of whole grains compounds the disaster.
These toxic practices are contributing to widespread gluten sensitivity and intolerance,
leading to leaky gut and a variety of conditions associated with systemic inflammation. Angel says that for these individuals, avoidance of modern grain is “imperative.” However, once people have adopted a healthy lifestyle, begun to heal and restored balance, it is entirely pos- sible to introduce ancient grains—slowly—and “live like a centenarian.”
There are a few key criteria: bread should be organically grown and traditionally pro- cessed (stone-ground) and made using age-old sourdough fermentation practices. Angel also offers several words of caution. First, don’t go overboard—our ancestors did not consume whole grains in the large amounts so com- mon today. Second, don’t fall into the trap of solely scapegoating gluten. Angel says, “It’s not the gluten alone, it’s a combination of all the things done to modern and other industrial- ized grains.” She also notes that “just because it is gluten-free doesn’t mean it is crap-free.” Although there are a couple of pages of listings for preferred brands and one sourdough recipe at the close of the book, Angel’s primary focus is to warn readers about modern grain’s risks while providing encouragement to explore ancient grains and traditional preparation practices.
Review by Merinda Teller
OFFAL GOOD: COOKING FROM THE HEART, WITH GUTS by CHRIS COSENTINO with MICHAEL HARLAN TURKELL
In the introduction to this beautifully photographed cookbook that anyone who is curious or enthusiastic about organ meats will want to rush out and buy, chef Chris Cosentino notes that one of his earliest childhood experiences involved running away from his grandmother’s sulfuric-smelling tripe. Cosentino—a “Ritalin kid” who couldn’t concentrate on books but was attracted to the hustle-bustle of restaurant cooking—went to culinary school and climbed the Bay Area restaurant ladder, including a stint at Chez Panisse. Later, chance encounters with a used “variety meats” cookbook, Asian cuisine and innovative ranchers spurred him to prove that “cuts that others didn’t or wouldn’t” use could be deli- cious. Offal Good is the result: “a tour through the anatomy, but from a cook’s view.” The first fifty pages of text and photos take the reader through a comprehensive survey of cow, pig, sheep and fowl parts—skin, head, tongue, ears, brain, sweetbreads, lungs, heart, blood, liver, stomach, spleen, kidneys, intestines, fat, feet, bones, cartilage, tendons, tail and “odd parts” such as cow’s udders, testicles, gizzards and even cockscomb—and, importantly, offer suggestions on where to find them. The recipes in the next four animal-specific chapters have colorful titles such as “This is your brain on drugs” (a tribute to the 1980s public service announcements) and “‘Big brain, little brain’ calf’s brain & testicles with Sudachi brown butter.” Returning to his roots, Cosentino also has plenty of tripe recipes to share, including his “Grandma Rosalie’s tripe.” For the cook who, like Cosentino, is ready to prove to family or friends that offal can be delicious, this book looks capable of making converts out of many. Review by Merinda Teller
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Wise Traditions
SUMMER 2019