But nothing is moreconvenient than grocery shopping in the backyard. A vegetable garden offers the best defense againstrising food prices, the most environmentally sound way to eat, and better exercise than any gym. It willturn anyone into a wonderful cook, since nothing tastes more vibrant than homegrown. And it can takeless time every week than a trip to the supermarket.In Grow the Good Life, Michele Owens, an amateur gardener for almost two decades, makes an entertaining and persuasive case for vegetable gardens. She starts with two simple but radical ideas: Growing food on a small scale is easy, and it is absurdly rewarding.With her wry, funny, and accessible approach, Owens helps beginning gardeners overcome obstacles that keep them from planting a few seedlings every spring. She explains why dirt isn't dirty; the health benefits of growing one's own food; and that vegetable gardens are not antithetical to the frantic pace of modern life, but simple and undemanding if intelligently managed.Grow the Good Life is not just another how-to. Instead, it will teach you the true fundamentals of vegetable growing: how to fit a garden into your life and why it's worth the trouble.

    VEGGIEStAN or 'land of the vegetables'. there is of course no such word, and no such country. But in this upbeat guide to Middle Eastern vegetarian cookery Sally Butcher proves that the region more than merits the term, and that its constituent nations are simmering, bubbling, bursting with sumptuous vegetarian traditions and recipes. Written in her trademark engaging and knowledgeable style, Sally takes a fresh look at many of the more exciting ingredients available on our high streets today as well as providing a host of delicious recipes made with more familiar fare. From fragrant Persian noodle rice to gingery tamarind aubergines, pink pickled turnips and rose petal jam this book is filled with aromatic herbs and spices, inspiring ideas and all the knowledge needed to cook wonderful vegetarian food.

    With sparse, affecting prose, and an unsparing eye toward her, and her environment's, darkest corners, Grant's story follows the sometimes smooth, sometimes jagged, always revealing contours of her life: from her days as a dancer struggling to find her place at Juilliard, to her experiences in and out of four-star kitchens in New York City, to falling in love with her future husband and leaving the city after 9/11 for California where her children are born. All the while, a sense of longing roils in each stage as she moves through the headspace of a young woman longing to be sustained by a city, to a mother now sustaining a family herself.Written with the raw transparency of a diarist, Everything Is Under Control is an unputdownable series of vignettes followed by tried-and-true recipes from Grant's table--a heartrending yet unsentimental portrait of the highs and lows of young adulthood, motherhood, and a life in the kitchen.

    No one was more stunned by this unexpected turn of events than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future. As she struggled to process what had seemed unthinkable, Reichl turned to the one place that had always provided sanctuary. “I did what I always do when I’m confused, lonely, or frightened,” she writes. “I disappeared into the kitchen.”My Kitchen Year follows the change of seasons—and Reichl’s emotions—as she slowly heals through the simple pleasures of cooking. While working 24/7, Reichl would “throw quick meals together” for her family and friends. Now she has the time to rediscover what cooking meant to her. Imagine kale, leaves dark and inviting, sautéed with chiles and garlic; summer peaches baked into a simple cobbler; fresh oysters chilling in a box of snow; plump chickens and earthy mushrooms, fricasseed with cream. Over the course of this challenging year, each dish Reichl prepares becomes a kind of stepping stone to finding joy again in ordinary things. The 136 recipes collected here represent a life’s passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; a decadent grilled cheese sandwich that accompanies a rare sighting in the woods around her home; a rhubarb sundae that signals the arrival of spring. Here, too, is Reichl’s enlivening dialogue with her Twitter followers, who become her culinary supporters and lively confidants. Part cookbook, part memoir, part paean to the household gods, My Kitchen Year may be Ruth Reichl’s most stirring book yet—one that reveals a refreshingly vulnerable side of the world's most famous food editor as she shares treasured recipes to be returned to again and again and again.

    Karl E. Lutzen and Mark Stevens guide you through the best tools for all your brewing needs, from DIY homemade versions of commercial brewery equipment to simple devices that make brewing easier and safer. Learn which gadgets and gizmos work best for measuring, mashing, bottling, kegging, and more. With the proper tools close at hand you’ll save both time and money, leaving you free to focus on enjoying your homebrewed beers.

    A man who was larger than life, Peter pulls Susan out of her comfort zone to taste the fine life, literally. Together they embark on a rollicking adventure through Michelin-starred restaurants in France to the souks of Morocco and the waters of the Red Sea and the Caribbean. They explore the world, and along the way discover the most desired tables (sometimes in a tent) and the best markets, moving from Peter's adventures with Hemingway to sampling delectable treasures in an Alpine meadow.When they return to New York, Susan and Peter—a writer, photographer, gourmand, as well as an inventive chef—incorporate their adventures into their daily American life. As they explore three-star restaurants, French farms, and Italian cheesemakers, the reader gets a taste of famous gastronomic dishes and their chefs, in addition to learning about mouth-watering recipes, culinary moments around the Buckley's kitchen and table with family and friends, and many of their New York food secrets.If much has been written about La Haute Cuisine in the past, nothing compares to the fresh, personal, and tantalizing tone Eating with Peter offers. All twenty-eight recipes in the book have thoroughly been tested, and should invite the reader to recreate the joys of Susan and Peter's experience.

    Katie Morford has the key to a quick and easy for weekdays, slow and luxurious for relaxed weekends—you can turn your morning into an exercise in good nutrition and great taste. You'll find breakfasts that can be eaten at the table (Egg-in-a-Nest Pesto Pizzas), at the bus stop (Strawberries and Cream Spoon Smoothies), or on the run (Milk and Cereal Bars), all healthy alternatives to cold cereal and prepackaged bars that even picky eaters will love. Rise & Shine is tailor made for busy families who want to do mornings just a little bit better. It's a toolkit of ideas and inspiration to make a nourishing breakfast not only doable, but delicious.

    With classic as well as creative options, such as chicken & waffles, waffle sandwiches, and waffle sundaes, this new, beautifully designed and deliciously photographed title proves that waffles aren’t just for breakfast anymore.Who can resist the aroma of freshly baked waffles in the morning? Watching with anticipation as thick pats of butter melt into the indentations, before pouring sticky-sweet maple syrup over the top? Or the moment your fork sinks into a stack of waffles, dripping with goodness, and you taste the first bite? With this book, you can re-create these delicious moments and dozens more. Breakfast isn’t the only time to make good use of your waffle iron. With the recipes to prove it, this book shows just how easy it is to serve waffles for brunch, lunch, dinner—even dessert. Savory waffle sandwiches for a midday meal are a unique spin on classics like PB&J and BLTs. Or, try waffles studded with cheese and spinach or sweet corn and roasted red peppers for dinner. And for dessert, satisfy your sweet tooth with decadent chocolate or fruit-filled waffles topped with scoops of ice cream, toasted nuts, and more. The possibilities are endless. Each recipe includes easy instructions for standard or Belgian waffle makers; some can even be made in a stove top Hong Kong–style waffle maker with delicious results. Filled with tempting full-color photography and lots of batters and toppings to mix and match, you’ll have plenty of inspiration for every occasion.

    Heat is the chronicle—sharp, funny, wonderfully exuberant—of his time spent as Batali’s “slave” and of his far-flung apprenticeships with culinary masters in Italy.In a fast-paced, candid narrative, Buford describes the frenetic experience of working in Babbo’s kitchen: the trials and errors (and more errors), humiliations and hopes, disappointments and triumphs as he worked his way up the ladder from slave to cook. He talks about his relationships with his kitchen colleagues and with the larger-than-life, hard-living Batali, whose story he learns as their friendship grows through (and sometimes despite) kitchen encounters and after-work all-nighters. Buford takes us to the restaurant in a remote Appennine village where Batali first apprenticed in Italy and where Buford learns the intricacies of handmade pasta . . . the hill town in Chianti where he is tutored in the art of butchery by Italy’s most famous butcher, a man who insists that his meat is an expression of the Italian soul . . . to London, where he is instructed in the preparation of game by Marco Pierre White, one of England’s most celebrated (or perhaps notorious) chefs. And throughout, we follow the thread of Buford’s fascinating reflections on food as a bearer of culture, on the history and development of a few special dishes (Is the shape of tortellini really based on a woman’s navel? And just what is a short rib?), and on the what and why of the foods we eat today.Heat is a marvelous hybrid: a richly evocative memoir of Buford’s kitchen adventure, the story of Batali’s amazing rise to culinary (and extra-culinary) fame, a dazzling behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a famous restaurant, and an illuminating exploration of why food matters. It is a book to delight in—and to savor.

    Studies have shown that the keto diet stabilizes mood, raises energy levels, controls blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol, and more. Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by keto--they don't have a lot of time to cook, they have a whole family to feed, or they worry that they'll miss their favorite meals. That is why Maya Krampf created her now hugely popular website, Wholesome Yum, to share easy keto recipes all with ten ingredients or less. And now, in her first cookbook, Maya is determined to show people that a keto lifestyle does not have to be complicated, time-consuming, unsustainable, or boring. The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook features 100 super-simple, I-can't-believe-that's-keto recipes including flourless chocolate chip peanut butter waffles, sheet pan sausage breakfast sandwiches, crispy keto chicken fingers, spaghetti squash ramen soup, keto garlic bread sticks, cinnamon roll pizza, and much more. You don't have to give up your favorite foods--virtually anything you like to eat can be made keto, and delectably so. The book also features a primer on the keto diet, essential pantry-stocking tips, and a section dedicated to creating Maya's signature "fathead" keto dough that is used to prepare delicious keto breads, pastries, tortillas, and more.

    Even as Victoria was selling bottles worth hundreds and thousands of dollars during the day, passing sommelier certification exams with flying colors, and receiving distinction from all kinds of press, there were still groping patrons, bosses who abused their role and status, and a trip to the hospital emergency room.It would take hitting bottom at a new restaurant and restorative trips to the vineyards where she could feel closest to the wine she loved for Victoria to re-emerge, clear-eyed and passionate, and a proud “wine girl” of her own Michelin-starred restaurant.Exhilarating and inspiring, Wine Girl is the memoir of a young woman breaking free from an abusive and traumatic childhood on her own terms; an ethnography of the glittering, high-octane, but notoriously corrosive restaurant industry; and above all, a love letter to the restorative and life-changing effects of good wine and good hospitality.

    In her most intimate and compelling cookbook yet, Alice invites readers to step not into the kitchen at Chez Panisse, but into her own, sharing how she shops, stores, and prepares the pantry staples and preserves that form the core of her daily meals.  Ranging from essentials like homemade chicken stock, red wine vinegar, and tomato sauce to the unique artisanal provisions that embody Alice’s unadorned yet delightful cooking style, she shows how she injects even simple meals with nuanced flavor and seasonal touches year-round.  From fresh cheeses to quick pickles to sweets and spirits, these often-used ingredients are, as she explains, the key to kitchen spontaneity when combined with simple grains, vegetables, and other staple items.  With charming pen-and-ink illustrations by her daughter, Fanny and Alice’s warm, inviting tone, the latest book from our most influential proponent of simple, organic cooking ensures a gracious, healthy meal is always within reach.

    No one wants to waste his or her precious dollars on an unenjoyable bottle, and with Parker's advice in hand, no one ever will. Employing his famous 100-point rating system, Parker rates more than 8,000 wines from all the major wine-producing regions in the world -- including newly expanded sections on the popular wines of California and Italy. Each wine producer is evaluated separately, and Parker's independence allows him to be completely honest in his opinions. In addition, the book includes other essential information, such as how to buy and store wine, how to spot a badly stored and abused bottle, and how to find the best wine values for under $10.

    Getting through life in your twenties isn't easy--especially if you're broke, awkward, and prone to starting small grease fires in your studio apartment. For best friends Lucy Madison and Tram Nguyen, cooking was an escape from the daily humiliation that is being a twenty-something woman in a big city.Pen & Palate traces the course of Lucy and Tram's devoted friendship through miserable jobs and tiny apartments, first loves and ill-advised flings, successes and setbacks--always with a shared love of food at the center of the narrative. A modern take on Laurie Colwin's classic Home Cooking, this coming-of-age memoir for the Girls set weaves together comical (mis)adventures and recipes meant to be shared with a best friend and a bottle of wine.

    Ten years ago, New Yorker Elizabeth Bard followed a handsome Frenchman up a spiral staircase to a love nest in the heart of Paris. Now, with a baby on the way and the world's flakiest croissant around the corner, Elizabeth is sure she's found her "forever place." But life has other plans. On a last romantic jaunt before the baby arrives, the couple take a trip to the tiny Provencal village of Céreste. A chance encounter leads them to the wartime home of a famous poet, a tale of a buried manuscript and a garden full of heirloom roses. Under the spell of the house and its unique history, in less time than it takes to flip a crepe, Elizabeth and Gwendal decide to move-lock, stock and Le Creuset-to the French countryside.When the couple and their newborn son arrive in Provence, they discover a land of blue skies, lavender fields and peaches that taste like sunshine. Seduced by the local ingredients, they begin a new adventure as culinary entrepreneurs, starting their own artisanal ice cream shop and experimenting with flavors like saffron, sheep's milk yogurt and fruity olive oil. Filled with enticing recipes for stuffed zucchini flowers, fig tart and honey & thyme ice cream, Picnic in Provence is the story of everything that happens after the happily ever after: an American learning the tricks of French motherhood, a family finding a new professional passion, and a cook's initiation into classic Provencal cuisine. With wit, humor and scoop of wild strawberry sorbet, Bard reminds us that life-in and out of the kitchen-is a rendez-vous with the unexpected.