These are two new cookbooks in my ever-expanding library. This time of year I make a big change in my diet toward lighter, fresher foods. In the winter I want comforting, hearty food, but when we start getting longer days my body craves bitter greens and fish and fruit. The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg is a wonderful reference for any creative cook. It is a compendium of knowledge about food flavor and flavor pairings. It allows you to intuitively match food flavors. I just made the most delicious beet salad with roasted hazelnuts and blue cheese. I just used the food pairing ideas from the book rather than a recipe. Brilliant! Harvest to Heat by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer, focuses on how chefs are working with their local farmers and food artisans to create innovative, high quality dishes. The forward is by Alice Waters, the foremother of this restaurant concept. I also looked at this very eye-opening talk by Jamie Oliver about why we need to teach kids how to eat and cook. It was Leslie, of A Creative Mint who led me to this TED talk. Look at her blog here.
Good to see you are eating healthy stuff, Lari! I was just wondering how you were doing. Hazelnut and blue cheese sounds wonderful... In Japan I once ate spinach with peanuts which is very yummie too!
ReplyDeleteHi Kitty! I've had my head stuck in designing, but ready to come out. Peanuts and spinach sounds good too. I need to head over to your blog....
ReplyDeleteI just went by the library and checked out a stack of cookbooks in the hope of finding one I like this spring. I will definitely have to check these out in particular, they look great!
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