New Maritimes Seasonal Cooking

Patricia A. Myers is a historian with the Historic Sites and Archives
Service, Alberta Community Development, and the author of Sky Riders: An
Illustrated History of Aviation in Alberta, 1906–1945.

This attractive cookbook is part of a trend in food writing: adapting
traditional or family recipes to better fit current guidelines on fat
and salt content and fibre requirements. The authors, both graduate home
economists, have worked in various areas of the food business in New
Brunswick. They are interested in promoting healthy, nutritious meals
that can be prepared quickly. They are also interested in using
ingredients that are available locally and in maintaining a distinctive
Maritime flavor in the dishes.

In a short introduction, the authors explain how they analyzed and
changed recipes, giving a couple of “old” and “new” examples for
the reader to compare. They explain low-fat eating and the health
benefits that can be derived from it. One section, which sets out the
staples used throughout the book, serves as a helpful guide to stocking
a lower-fat kitchen. Various ingredients are discussed in sidebars. The
appendix contains diagrams of the food pyramid and of Canada’s Food
Guide, as well as a comparison of the fat content in varioius cooking
oils.

So what about the recipes? They’re arranged by season, and each
section contains suggested menus and a recipe index. The recipes are
separated into starters, soups and salads, main courses, desserts, baked
goods, and miscellaneous. There’s generally no more than one recipe on
a page, which eliminates the annoying task of flipping pages to check
ingredient amounts.

The authors have succeeded in their goal of providing delicious,
healthy recipes, many with a Maritime flair. From lobster rolls and
grilled peaches with blueberries in summer, to fall’s wine-poached
pears and molasses drop cookies, the recipes are appealing and varied.
Each comes with a calorie breakdown and a calculation of the amount of
fat and fibre per serving. I suspect that this cookbook is one I’ll
reach for regularly.