Cookbook Inspiration

With all the time and energy I'm spending in the kitchen (or in hardware stores thinking about the kitchen) with this renovation, I'm finding myself craving new cooking horizons. At this point, day 2 of our reno project I'm seeing this as a classic case of wanting that which is not in reach. Tonight we disconnect the sink and that means reheated soup and beans on toast for dinner for the foreseeable future. But the dull culinary realities of my short term future are doing nothing to dampen my gourmet day dreams. Trouble is, I've found myself of late itching for a new cookbook that can really make its mark on our menus.

There have been cookbooks like this in the past -- the first How It All Vegan, the ReBar Cookbook and Rose Elliot's New Vegetarian Cooking to name a few -- that have really muscled into my repertoire and influenced me both directly in terms of new recipes as well as generally inspiring use of new ingredients and approaches to food. I've been on the lookout for just such a new cookbook for a while now, but I'm currently fairly fixated. I've taken a few out of the library recently, but not been impressed enough to do more than jot down one recipe and move on. Then this morning on the way to work I remembered that Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking was set to come out sometime around now and a quick web search revealed that it is indeed now available. I have a hunch this just might be the book I'm looking for as I have used a few of Heidi's recipes posted online over the years and loved each one. Besides if her photography can't inspire my cooking to new directions, I'm not sure what else can.

Has anyone else got their hands on a copy and do you have any thoughts? I'd love to know what others think.

Now back to the business of the evening. After one last meal with working plumbing in the kitchen (roasted veggie quesadillas with basil/lemon and fontina) we're set to finish the destruction and begin repairing the walls and floors for new paint and flooring. Bring on the dust masks it's a kitchen party!

Comments

[Emily]

Hi there,
I don't think I've posted a comment here before, so "hello!"
I've had Heidi's book for just over a week and am loving it. I have been trying to incorporate whole grains, beans etc in to our cooking for the past few months so this book is perhaps ideal for me but I think it would also be good for those who've cooked this way for longer as some of the recipes she suggests are quite different. Of the recipes I've tried (only 3 so far) I can say they've all worked out to be very good. The barley risotto (with lemon and orange) went down particularly well. The presentation of the book is also great & my only criticism would be of the binding - the book doesn't stay open flat on the table.
I hope this helps in some way!
Good luck with the kitchen renovations - I hope they go well.
Emily.

[Emira]

Hi Emily! And thanks so much for that. That's really great to hear. If you happen to check in on this again, would you mind telling me about how complicated each recipe is? Are they fairly straightforward or more time intensive? Or is there a variety.

I have some cookbooks I just adore (The Millennium for example) which are fabulous but each recipes takes half a day!

[Emily]

Hi Emira,
The recipes are not that complicated at all, and quite varied. I am finding that I am able to cross-reference the book a fair bit, to alter other recipes I have elsewhere. The first chapter offers a lot of information about preparing your pantry to eat more wholefoods. The other chapters offer good variations on dishes such as crepes (quinoa & corn flour with chile de arbol sauce), souffle (savory amaranth), soups (creamy wild rice soup with sweet potato croutons) & cookies (red quinoa & walnut). Nothing I have made as yet has taken me over an hour, and Heidi's instructions are very clear and easy. If you are already very familiar with using other grains, natural sweeteners and good vegetarian food then you may not get quite as much use out of this book as I am. However, if you are looking for a guide on how to incorporate using more whole grains, want a little more inspiration for variations to your every day dishes and like Heidi's style generally, then I'd recommend it.

[Emira]

Awesome thanks!

[Taryn Domingos]

I love her book just for the sheer information alone (the beautiful photography doesn't hurt either). After I bought her book, I've been trying out all these new foods (who knew there were so many different flours out there?).

I've been meaning to try out her Sticky Spice kissed Teff bread...I'll let you know how it goes.