But the horticultural reasons for choosing lavender go far beyond its beauty. Lavender attracts beneficial insects, requires little water once established, and is deer resistant.In The Lavender Lover's Handbook, lavender grower Sarah Bader teaches gardeners how they can successfully grow this beloved plant. Featuring the 100 easiest, most stunning lavenders available today, this beginner's guide provides a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements. The text is rounded out with tips on how to harvest, cook, and craft with this wonderful herb.Its abundant variety, hardiness, fragrance, and culinary uses make lavender one of the most popular and versatile plants. And now, with this practical and accessible guide in hand, it's easier than ever to grow at home.

      Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees offers a unique introduction to Chinese home cooking, demystifying it by focusing on its basic cooking methods. In outlining the differences among various techniques—such as pan-frying, oil steeping, and yin-yang frying—and instructing which one is best for particular ingredients and end results, culinary expert Kian Lam Kho provides a practical, intuitive window into this unique cuisine. Once one learns how to dry stir-fry chicken, one can then confidently apply the technique to tofu, shrimp, and any number of ingredients. Accompanied by more than 200 photographs, including helpful step-by-step images, the 158 recipes range from simple, such as Spicy Lotus Root Salad or Red Cooked Pork, to slightly more involved, including authentic General Tso’s Chicken or Pork Shank Soup with Winter Bamboo. But the true brilliance behind this innovative book lies in the way it teaches the soul of Chinese cooking, enabling home cooks to master this diverse, alluring cuisine and then to re-create any tempting dish they encounter or can imagine.

    Each is a mirror of its city’s culture, history, and geography. But cucina romana is the country’s greatest standout.  Tasting Rome provides a complete picture of a place that many love, but few know completely. In sharing Rome’s celebrated dishes, street food innovations, and forgotten recipes, journalist Katie Parla and photographer Kristina Gill capture its unique character and reveal its truly evolved food culture—a culmination of 2000 years of history. Their recipes acknowledge the foundations of Roman cuisine and demonstrate how it has transitioned to the variations found today. You’ll delight in the expected classics (cacio e pepe, pollo alla romana, fiore di zucca); the fascinating but largely undocumented Sephardic Jewish cuisine (hraimi  con couscous, brodo di pesce, pizzarelle); the authentic and tasty offal (guanciale, simmenthal di coda, insalata di nervitti); and so much more.   Studded with narrative features that capture the city’s history and gorgeous photography that highlights both the food and its hidden city, you’ll feel immediately inspired to start tasting Rome in your own kitchen.

    Pulitzer Prize-winner Anne Applebaum has lived in Poland since before the fall of communism, and this cookbook—nourished by her engagement with the culture and food of her adopted country—offers a tantalizing look into the turbulent history of this beautiful region. In a Polish Country House Kitchen celebrates long-distance friendships with a love of food at the core, bringing the good, sustaining foods of Anne's Polish country home into kitchens the world over.

     • Why slow cook? Slow cooking consolidates steps, takes out the guesswork and infuses dishes with flavor—no need to wait a day or two for the dish to rest. • Got the goods? Stock your pantry the Thai way with a list of essential ingredients and shopping tips for hard-to-find ingredients. • Short on time? All the slow cooker recipes in this book prep in 20 minutes or less. • Craving Thai sides? Supplement your slow-cooked meals with recipes for classic Thai sides, like papaya salad, chicken satay, and curry puffs. • Dietary restrictions? With a mix of dishes great for omnivores and vegetarians alike, labels also indicate if a recipe is soy-free and/or nut-free. Today’s busy world can make getting a healthy and satisfying meal on the table a challenge. Skip the wait for takeout and come home to wholesome Thai food, cooked by you, for you. Recipes include: Curried Kabocha Coconut Soup, Thai Sticky Wings, Massaman Sweet Potato and Tofu Curry, Chicken Red Curry, and Sweet Pork

    Learn about different types of bento boxes and accessories, how to assemble your box, and everyday items you will need in your pantry, as well as how to plan ahead so that your morning prep is a breeze.Simply Bento shows you the finer points of bento-making, and there is something for everyone:Classic Japanese BentoSandwich Bento Sushi and Onigiri BentoNoodle BentoPopular Japanese Bento10-Minute Bento Rice and Grain Bowl BentoLow-Carb BentoVegan BentoBento for Special Occasions (including for the first day of school and Halloween!)Bento at HomeSo, if you're in the mood for Chicken Teriyaki, Ramen, Shrimp Avocado Pasta Salad, Cauliflower Fried Rice, Falafel, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Tempura, or Chicken Nuggets (for the kids), Simply Bento has the recipes—plus much more!

    Now berry lovers can maximize their enjoyment with The Berry Bible, the new offering from James Beard Book Award-winning author Janie Hibler.Part encyclopedia, part cookbook, The Berry Bible begins with an explanation of the health benefits of nutrient-rich berries and goes on to profile dozens of important culinary berries and berrylike fruits in the vibrantly illustrated "A-to-Z Berry Encyclopedia." Tips on how to remove berry stains and freeze for the off-season pave the way for 175 delectable recipes that use cultivated, wild, fresh, and frozen berries.From Blackberry-Blueberry Cardamom Muffins, Mango-Raspberry Summer Soup, and Boysenberry Applesauce to Blackberry-Port Lamb Shanks, Almond-Gooseberry Cream Pie, and The Perfect Strawberry Shortcake, these succulent dishes are sure to garner The Berry Bible a permanent spot in any kitchen.

    More than sixty carefully crafted, authentic recipes, each illustrated with Ellen's exquisite watercolor paintings, put the key to re-creating these delectable morsels in every cook's hand. Anyone who has enjoyed the pleasures of a dim sum meal has inevitably wondered what it would be like to create these treats at home. The answer, surprisingly, is that most are quite simple to make. From dumplings to pastries, Dim Sum is filled with simple, foolproof recipes, complete with clear step-by-step illustrations to explain the art of forming, filling, and folding dumpling wrappers and more. Ellen Blonder offers her favorite versions of traditional Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Turnip Cake, and Shrimp Ha Gow, each bite vibrantly flavored, plus recipes for hearty sticky rice dishes, refreshing saut�ed greens, tender baked or steamed buns, and a variety of pastries and desserts--all the ingredients required for an authentic, restaurant-style dim sum feast. Practical advice on designing a tea lunch menu and making dim sum ahead of time round out this irresistible collection.Lovingly created from years of tasting, refining, and seeking out the best dim sum recipes from San Francisco to Hong Kong, Dim Sum is a gem that any student of Chinese cooking will treasure.

    In The New Indian Slow Cooker, veteran cooking teacher and chef Neela Paniz revolutionizes the long, slow approach to making Indian cuisine by rethinking its traditional recipes for the slow cooker. She showcases the best regional curries, dals made with lentils and beans, vegetable and rice sides, as well as key accompaniments like chutneys, flatbreads, raita, and fresh Indian cheese.

    John in 1995, now one of the world's most admired restaurants. His Nose to Tail books are full of exhilarating recipes for dishes that combine high sophistication with peasant thriftiness. Now the books are to be joined together in a compendious volume, The Complete Nose to Tail, with additional new recipes and more brilliant photography from Jason Lowe. This collection of recipes includes traditional favourites like Eccles cakes, devilled kidneys, and seed cake with a glass of Madeira, as well as many St. John classics for more adventurous gastronomes - roast bone marrow and parsley salad, deep-fried tripe and pot-roast half pig's head to name but a few. With a dozen new recipes on top of 250 existing ones, more than 100 quirky photos and exceptional production values, The Complete Nose to Tail is not only comprehensive but extremely desirable.

    These areas have a history of rich traditions and tasty, beautiful desserts, many of them tied to holidays and festivals. For example, in the Cosensa region of Calabria, Christmas means plates piled with grispelle (warm fritters drizzled with local honey) and pitta 'mpigliata (pastries filled with walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon). For the feast of Carnevale, Southern Italians celebrate with bugie("liars")--sweet fried dough dusted in powdered sugar, meant to tattle on those who sneak off with them by leaving a wispy trail of sugar. With fail-proof recipes and information on the desserts' cultural origins and context, Costantino illuminates the previously unexplored confectionary traditions of this enchanting region.

    Some of DeeDee Stovel's creative spins on incorporating this highly nutritious, low-fat vegetable into delicious dishes include Caribbean Black Bean Pumpkin Soup; Pumpkin Sage Risotto; Spring Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Pepitas; White Bean, Chicken, and Pumpkin Chili; Pumpkin Pizza with Gorgonzola Cheese; Pork Tenderloin with Red Wine Pumpkin Sauce; Lemon-Pumpkin Strudel; Chocolate-Pumpkin Brownies with Apricot Surprise -- and seven kinds of pumpkin pie!

    In this bold cookbook, chef Tadashi Ono of Matsuri and writer Harris Salat share a key insight: that live-fire cooking marries perfectly with mouthwatering Japanese ingredients like soy sauce and miso.Packed with fast-and-easy recipes, versatile marinades, and step-by-step techniques, The Japanese Grill will have you grilling amazing steaks, pork chops, salmon, tomatoes, and whole chicken, as well as traditional favorites like yakitori, yaki onigiri, and whole salt-packed fish. Whether you use charcoal or gas, or are a grilling novice or disciple, you will love dishes like Skirt Steak with Red Miso, Garlic-Soy Sauce Porterhouse, Crispy Chicken Wings, Yuzu Kosho Scallops, and Soy Sauce-and-Lemon Grilled Eggplant. Ono and Salat include menu suggestions for sophisticated entertaining in addition to quick-grilling choices for healthy weekday meals, plus a slew of delectable sides that pair well with anything off the fire.Grilling has been a centerpiece of Japanese cooking for centuries, and when you taste the incredible dishes in The Japanese Grill--both contemporary and authentic--you'll become a believer, too.

    And while those days are often the busiest, your slow cooker is ready to do nearly all the work for you! Tammy Algood’s The Southern Slow Cooker Bible serves up 365 recipes, covering a year’s worth of dishes that let you effortlessly pair the flavors of the South with the convenience of slow cooking. Algood covers all the favorites—from whole chapters devoted to Southern mainstays such as grits, macaroni and cheese, stuffed peppers, and pulled pork, you’ll find yourself returning to this collection over and over again. Learn what every good Southern cook knows—that the proper cooking technique can yield positively succulent results for just about any cut of meat. Algood’s Barbecued Roast Beef Sandwiches are evidence enough of that. Discover desserts that will have you sharing the recipe with anyone lucky enough to try the mouthwatering Is It Done Yet Peach Cobbler. Have a crowd to feed for breakfast? Be sure to include Late Brunch Hash Brown Casserole on the Menu… the Maple Sausage and Cheese Strata too! Keep going, and your oven will be jealous! This collection shows you how easy it can be to savor the flavors of those classic Southern recipes your whole family has long adored. Discover new ways to do Chicken and Dumplings or Squash Casserole, and enjoy the extra time you gain by making Andouille Sausage Gumbo the easy way. If you’re looking for a moist and delicious dessert with a kick of Southern charm, the Sorghum Spiced Spoon Cake is the perfect pick. Need a knockout side dish to round out your next cookout? What could possibly be more Southern than Macaroni and Pimiento Cheese? No matter where you start, The Southern Slow Cooker Bible will keep you eager to work your way through the entire mouthwatering collection.

    Over the centuries, Phoenicians, Athenians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, and Italians have ruled the islands, putting their distinctive stamp on the food. Aglaia Kremezi, a frequent contributor to GOURMET and an international authority on Greek food, spent the past eight years collecting the fresh, uncomplicated recipes of the local women, as well as of fishermen, bakers, and farmers. Like all Mediterranean food, these dishes are light and healthful, simple but never plain, and make extensive use of seasonal produce, fresh herbs, and fish. Passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, most have never before been written down. All translate easily to the American home kitchen: Tomato Patties from Santorini; Spaghetti with Lobster from Kithira; Braised Lamb with Artichokes from Chios; Greens and Potato Stew from Crete; Spinach, Leek, and Fennel Pie from Skopelos; Rolled Baklava from Kos. Illustrated throughout with color photographs of the islanders preparing their specialties and filled with stories of island history and customs, THE FOODS OF THE GREEK ISLANDS is for all cooks and travelers who want to experience this diverse and deeply rooted cuisine firsthand.