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You are here: Home / Archives for best cookbook recipes

best cookbook recipes

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds

May 21, 2014 By Joi Sigers

Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic

Last week I posted a wonderful Mint Chutney recipe from Spices & Seasons, a new cookbook by Rinku Bhattacharya that I’m completely obsessed with.  I have (so far!) made six different recipes from Spices & Seasons and each has rocked my world… or as I more commonly call it, my kitchen.

The recipe below (Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds) is one I made last night.  I served it with Salisbury Steaks and it totally upstaged the beef and that’s not easy to do.

I didn’t have any sesame seeds on hand, so I simply left them out of the equation. Sure, they’d have looked elegant, but there’s no way they could have made the asparagus any more delicious. There are so many amazing flavors going on here that you’ll make this recipe again and again.

And again.

While the flavor is the most important thing about this recipe, I also love the fact that it’s a pretty quick recipe to put together – yet it tastes like you spent hours on the project! Don’t you just love recipes that pull that off?

Tamari Soy Sauce (Gluten Free)
If you want to make the recipe Gluten Free, simply replace traditional soy sauce (which is not gluten free) with Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce (pictured above).

Personally I prefer Tamari Soy Sauce and would use it EVEN if I could eat gluten. I use it in place of regular soy sauce in all of my recipes and, each time, I think, “This is actually better!”

A lot of cookbooks, magazines, and food blogs will categorize a recipe as “GF” (Gluten Free) when soy sauce is an ingredient. Some don’t realize that traditional soy sauce is not gluten free (after all, who’d suspect gluten to be hiding in there?!) and others simply assume that those of us who eat gluten free will automatically choose gluten free soy sauce.  Either way, just a reminder – always read labels for yourself.  If you’re eating gluten free (like me) for health reasons, you need to be especially cautious. Gluten is in a billion and one places you’d never expect it to be!

And now for the AMAZING recipe!

Note: For the best results, be sure to use good maple syrup instead of…. oh, I dunno… Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin!

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds

1 tablespoon oil
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat for 1 minute.  Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Add the asparagus and saute’ well for 1 minute.  Mix in the soy sauce and cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but crisp.
  3. Stir in the maple syrup and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Place the asparagus on a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Tips and Tricks from Rinku Bhattacharya:

  • This recipe also works well with green beans.
  • One tablespoon of dried unsweetened coconut can be added instead of the sesame seeds.
  • “I like to use a combination of white and green asparagus for the variation of colors, but either one would be fine on its own.”

Also See: Read my Spices & Seasons Cookbook Review!

Filed Under: Asparagus Recipes, Best Cookbook Recipes, Food Blog, Gluten Free, Gluten-Free Recipes Tagged With: asparagus, asparagus recipe, best cookbook recipes, stir-fried asparagus

My “Go To” White Cake from Scratch Recipe

July 11, 2013 By Joi Sigers

Fourth of July White Cake

My favorite cake recipes are all from the same cookbook: Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating. My “go to” cake recipe is a white cake from this wonderful cookbook. While there a lot of beautiful cake decorating templates, recipes, and ideas in the book, I use it primarily for the collection of AWESOME icing and cake recipes inside.

The white cake recipe below is the one I use whenever I want a cake that simply must not let me down. As soon as I start thinking, “This cake has to be special… it has to be delicious… it must be absolute perfection….” I just start rounding up the ingredients for this very recipe.

You can change the flavor by changing the extract used. 8 times out of 10 I use vanilla – but almond extract or maple flavoring also produce amazing cakes.

Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating

My favorite cake and icing recipes are from this Betty Crocker’s Cookbook.

White Cake Recipe


2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups milk
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg whites

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour desired pan(s). (Line small muffin cups with paper baking cups.)

Beat all ingredients except egg whites in large bowl on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg whites on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour batter into pan(s).

Bake as directed below or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 10 minutes: remove from pan(s). Cool completely.

13 x 9 x 2 inch rectangle – 40 to 45 minutes

15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1 inch jelly roll – 25 to 30 minutes

two 8 x 1-1/2 inch rounds – 35 to 40 minutes

two 9 x 1-1/2 inch rounds – 30 to 35 minutes

24 medium 2-1/2 x 1-1/4 inch muffin cups – 20 to 25 minutes

12 small 1-3/4 x 1 inch muffin cups – 10 to 15 minutes

12-cup ovenproof ring mold – 35 to 40 minutes

This white cake is excellent with a white frosting, cream cheese frosting, or (YUM!) Buttercream frosting.  Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating has these frosting recipes as well as other frostings including a Penuche frosting, White Mountain Frosting, decorating frosting, chocolate frostings, and several different glazes that are out of this world.

I have absolutely nothing against cake mixes – the ones on the market today are pretty fantastic – but there’s just something extra special about a cake made from scratch. Give this one a try the next time you need a special cake – you’ll never buy a white cake mix again.

The signs of a much-loved and much-used cookbook:

Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating MUCH Used Cookbook

Filed Under: Best Cookbook Recipes, Cake Recipes, Cookbook Reviews, Food Blog Tagged With: best cake recipe, best cookbook recipes, cake from scratch recipe, white cake recipe

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Welcome to the Get Cooking Food Blog

My name is Joi (“Joy”) and Get Cooking is where I celebrate some of my greatest passions: Recipes, kitchen gadgets, gluten free food reviews, gluten free recipes, pig collectibles, chocolate, cookbooks, and coffee.

Lots of coffee…

 

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