Book picks similar to
Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen by Anna Lappé
food
cookbooks
non-fiction
cooking
Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate
John Kallas - 2010
John Kallas makes it fun and easy to learn about foods you've unknowingly passed by all your life. Through gorgeous photographs, playful, but authoritative text, and ground-breaking design he gives you the knowledge and confidence to finally begin eating and enjoying edible wild plants. Edible Wild Plants divides plants into four flavor categories -- foundation, tart, pungent, and bitter. Categorizing by flavor helps readers use these greens in pleasing and predictable ways. According to the author, combining elements from these different categories makes the best salads.
Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes
Jennifer McLagan - 2008
When scientists theorized a link between saturated fat and heart disease, industry, media, and government joined forces to label fat a greasy killer, best avoided. But according to Jennifer McLagan, not only is our fat phobia overwrought, it also hasn’t benefited us in any way. Instead it has driven us into the arms of trans fats and refined carbohydrates, and fostered punitive, dreary attitudes toward food–that wellspring of life and pleasure. In Fat, McLagan sets out with equal parts passion, scholarship, and appetite to win us back to a healthy relationship with animal fats. She starts by defusing fat’s bad rap, both reminding us of what we already know–that fat is fundamental to the flavor of our food–and enlightening us with the many ways fat (yes, even animal fat) is indispensable to our health. Mostly, though, Fat is about pleasures–the satisfactions of handling good ingredients skillfully, learning the cultural associations of these primal foodstuffs, recollecting and creating personal memories of beloved dishes, and gratifying the palate and the soul with fat’s irreplaceable savor. Fat lavishes the reader with more than 100 recipes from simple to intricate, classic to contemporary, including:• Butter-Poached Scallops• Homemade Butter• Carnitas• Duck Confit• Sautéed Foie Gras with Gingered Vanilla Quince • Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Sage Butter• Steak and Kidney Pie• Lamb Fat and Spinach Chapati• Bacon Spice • Cookies• Salted Butter TartObserving that though we now know everything about olive oil, we may not know what to do with lard or bone marrow, McLagan offers extensive guidance on sourcing, rendering, flavoring, using, and storing animal fats, whether butter or bacon, schmaltz or suet. Stories, lore, quotations, and tips touching on fat’s place in the kitchen and in the larger culture round out this rich and unapologetic celebration of food at its very best.
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
Peter Reinhart - 2001
Never one to be content with yesterday’s baking triumph, however, Peter continues to refine his recipes and techniques in his never-ending quest for extraordinary bread.In The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter shares his latest bread breakthroughs, arising from his study in several of France’s famed boulangeries and the always-enlightening time spent in the culinary academy kitchen with his students. Peer over Peter’s shoulder as he learns from Paris’s most esteemed bakers, like Lionel Poilâne and Phillippe Gosselin, whose pain à l’ancienne has revolutionized the art of baguette making. Then stand alongside his students in the kitchen as Peter teaches the classic twelve stages of building bread, his clear instructions accompanied by over 100 step-by-step photographs.You’ll put newfound knowledge into practice with 50 new master formulas for such classic breads as rustic ciabatta, hearty pain de campagne, old-school New York bagels, and the book’s Holy Grail–Peter’s version of the famed pain à l’ancienne. En route, Peter distills hard science, advanced techniques, and food history into a remarkably accessible and engaging resource that is as rich and multitextured as the loaves you’ll turn out. This is original food writing at its most captivating, teaching at its most inspired and inspiring–and the rewards are some of the best breads under the sun.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods
Wardeh Harmon - 2012
Research is proving that live-culture foods can help reduce high cholesterol, strengthen and support digestive and immune systems, and help fight and prevent chronic diseases. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Fermenting Foods will cover the amazing health benefits of fermented or "living" foods and the techniques for safely fermenting food at home. It will contain over 100 unique and delicious recipes for ferments of all types, from beer to tempeh to yogurt, with detailed recipes to guide the way.
Indian-ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family
Priya Krishna - 2019
Think Roti Pizza, Tomato Rice with Crispy Cheddar, Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Green Pea Chutney, and Malaysian Ramen. Priya’s mom, Ritu, taught herself to cook after moving to the U.S. while also working as a software programmer—her unique creations merging the Indian flavors of her childhood with her global travels and inspiration from cooking shows as well as her kids’ requests for American favorites like spaghetti and PB&Js. The results are approachable and unfailingly delightful, like spiced, yogurt-filled sandwiches crusted with curry leaves, or “Indian Gatorade” (a thirst-quenching salty-sweet limeade)—including plenty of simple dinners you can whip up in minutes at the end of a long work day. Throughout, Priya’s funny and relatable stories—punctuated with candid portraits and original illustrations by acclaimed Desi pop artist Maria Qamar (also known as Hatecopy)—will bring you up close and personal with the Krishna family and its many quirks.
The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City
Kelly Coyne - 2008
Rejecting both end-times hand wringing and dewy-eyed faith that technology will save us from ourselves, urban homesteaders choose instead to act. By growing their own food and harnessing natural energy, they are planting seeds for the future of our cities.If you would like to harvest your own vegetables, raise city chickens, or convert to solar energy, this practical, hands-on book is full of step-by-step projects that will get you started homesteading immediately, whether you live in an apartment or a house. It is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics.Projects include:
How to grow food on a patio or balcony
How to clean your house without toxins
How to preserve food
How to cook with solar energy
How to divert your greywater to your garden
How to choose the best homestead for you
Written by city dwellers for city dwellers, this illustrated, smartly designed, two-color instruction book proposes a paradigm shift that will improve our lives, our community, and our planet. Authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen happily farm in Los Angeles and run the urban homestead blog www.homegrownrevolution.org.
The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau - 2009
Follow the menus provided, or create your own using the array of appetizers, soups, stews, salads, main dishes, and desserts. Great for romantic meals, traditional tea parties, formal dinners, casual gatherings, children’s parties, holiday feasts, and more.Recipes include:Pumpkin CurryRoasted Red Pepper, Artichoke, and Pesto SandwichesCreamy Macaroni and CheeseElegantly Simple Stuffed Bell PeppersPasta Primavera with Fresh Veggies and HerbsTempeh and Eggplant Pot PiesAfrican Sweet Potato and Peanut StewRoasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and OnionsSpring Rolls with Peanut Dipping SauceSouth of the Border PizzaTofu Spinach LasagnaBlackberry Pecan CrispFlourless Chocolate TartRed Velvet Cake with Buttercream FrostingCelebrate the joy of compassionate cuisine with The Vegan Table, your ultimate at-home dining and entertaining guide.
The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses
David Asher - 2015
For though bread baking has its sourdough, brewing its lambic ales, and pickling its wild fermentation, standard Western cheesemaking practice today is decidedly unnatural. In The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, David Asher practices and preaches a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of making cheese—one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science.This book encourages home and small-scale commercial cheesemakers to take a different approach by showing them:• How to source good milk, including raw milk;• How to keep their own bacterial starter cultures and fungal ripening cultures;• How make their own rennet—and how to make good cheese without it;• How to avoid the use of plastic equipment and chemical additives; and• How to use appropriate technologies.Introductory chapters explore and explain the basic elements of cheese: milk, cultures, rennet, salt, tools, and the cheese cave. The fourteen chapters that follow each examine a particular class of cheese, from kefir and paneer to washed-rind and alpine styles, offering specific recipes and handling advice. The techniques presented are direct and thorough, fully illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams and triptych photos that show the transformation of cheeses in a comparative and dynamic fashion.The Art of Natural Cheesemaking is the first cheesemaking book to take a political stance against Big Dairy and to criticize both standard industrial and artisanal cheesemaking practices. It promotes the use of ethical animal rennet and protests the use of laboratory-grown freeze-dried cultures. It also explores how GMO technology is creeping into our cheese and the steps we can take to stop it.This book sounds a clarion call to cheesemakers to adopt more natural, sustainable practices. It may well change the way we look at cheese, and how we make it ourselves.
Putting Food By
Janet Greene - 1975
This new revised edition updates the information and adds several new sections on how to: preserve with less sugar and salt, make better-than-store-bought foods at home, freeze for the microwave, preserve and can for the small family, can and freeze convenience foods, choose the right equipment, and make Christmas presents.
Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It: And Other Kitchen Projects
Karen Solomon - 2011
. .Bottle your own soda? Press your own tofu? Smoke your own cheese? Boil your own bagels? Ferment your own miso? Can your own tomatoes? Roast your own coffee? Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It walks you through a slew of satisfying culinary projects to stock your larder and shower your friends with artisan foods and drinks, kitchen staples, and utterly addictive snacks. Karen Solomon—veteran food writer, kitchen explorer, and author of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It—brings forth a new collection of 75-plus recipes for condiments (Plum Catsup), cereals (Cornflakes), crunchy snacks (Tortilla Chips), beverages (Soy Milk), and more. Whether you're a beginning or seasoned home cook, you’ll be inspired to pump up the power of your pantry. With detailed instruction on essential techniques, time commitments for each project (from 20 minutes to 2 hours to a weekend), and labeling and wrapping tips, Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It will help you get creative in the kitchen. So leave the grocery aisle's mass-produced packaging and mystery ingredients behind and join the urban homesteading revolution as you whip up a bevy of jars, bottles, and bags full of outstanding hand-labeled eats.
I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking
Alton Brown - 2002
Blending humor, wisdom, history, pop culture, science, and basic cooking knowledge, the host of Food Network's Good Eats presents a special edition of his innovative, instructional cooking guide that features various cooking techniques accompanied by a "master" recipe for each technique, and provides a vast array of food-related tips and advice.
Let's Fix Lunch: Enjoy Delicious, Planet-Friendly Meals at Work, School, or On the Go
Kat Nouri - 2020
Let's Fix Lunch! makes it easy (and fun!) to prepare meals that are good for you and good for the planet.This eco-friendly cookbook features delicious, waste-free recipes for sandwiches, salads, soups, snacks, and more.An inspiring guide for anyone who wants to do their small part to save the earth, Let's Fix Lunch! makes it simple to create a sustainable, waste-free home.• Easy-to-make recipes for all home cooks• Includes more than 50 simple tips for reducing food waste and plastic use• Features a handy guide to buying in bulk, meal prepping, and food storageThis eco-conscious cookbook is written by Kat Nouri, founder of the beloved, environmentally friendly kitchen brand Stasher.