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CookbooksArts & Culture

Lifestyles: November 2019

Feature by Susannah Felts

★ Garden to Glass
Mike Wolf’s Garden to Glass, which explores the intersection of gardening, foraging and beverage design, offers instant appeal. Wolf, who worked with chef Sean Brock at Husk in Nashville, is a curious and passionate guide, taking readers into his garden and onto trails where he gathers ingredients for bitters, cordials, shrubs and more. These are featured in recipes that will enhance any bar program or make you one hell of a home mixologist. Beautiful watercolor illustrations and interviews with specialists give this study of botanical cocktails a dimension not achieved in other guides.

Pity the Reader
Pity the Reader, a hefty, essential new volume of Kurt Vonnegut’s writing advice and life stories, is certainly a book first and foremost for writers, with chapters on plot, character, talent and diligence. But it’s also a gold mine for any Vonnegut fan or creative seeker. Suzanne McConnell, our trusty guide through the book and a student and friend of the late author, exhaustively plumbs Vonnegut’s archives, revealing choice bits from interviews, letters, drafts and published novels. It’s fascinating to observe Vonnegut’s revisions (and rejections) and fascinating, too, to learn how the nitty-gritty of his life shaped his works. And it’s a joy to see how McConnell interacts with the ideas and words of her mentor, weaving and contrasting them with insight from her own multidecade teaching career. 

A Place at the Table
Now more than ever, America must celebrate the countless contributions of its foreign-born population. A Place at the Table, a project from the Vilcek Foundation, which recognizes the work of immigrants in the arts, sciences and humanities, takes up this cause in stunning fashion. The editors gather profiles of 40 of the best foreign-born chefs working in cities across the U.S. today and share recipes from each. The result is a trip around the world through cuisine, from Thai Dang’s grilled salmon and snow fungus salad with Vietnamese herbs, to Erik Bruner-Yang’s takoyaki hush puppies, to Maneet Chauhan’s naanzanella. Simply scanning the ingredient lists and gazing upon the photographs of each dish feels like a journey, something of a foodie fever dream. 

★ Garden to Glass Mike Wolf’s Garden to Glass, which explores the intersection of gardening, foraging and beverage design, offers instant appeal. Wolf, who worked with chef Sean Brock at Husk in Nashville, is a curious and passionate guide, taking readers into his garden and onto trails where he gathers ingredients for bitters, cordials, shrubs and […]
NonfictionFood & DrinkCookbooksArt

Gift books: For the friend with the best dinner reservations

Feature by Thane Tierney

These books jump out of the oven and onto your shelf.

The holidays are galloping upon us like so many overachieving reindeer, and that means many of us are in vapor lock, wondering what to get our gastronaut (please, NOT “foodie”) friends and family. The possibilities run into the thousands, if not millions, but we’ve trekked off the road more traveled to discover some volumes that will surprise and delight.

Anthony Bourdain: The Last Interview edited by Melville House
In Anthony Bourdain: The Last Interview, the late chef, author, journalist and raconteur, never shy about expressing his opinion, states his case about food: “Well, there’s nothing more political. There’s nothing more revealing of the situation on the ground, whether a system works or not.” His words serve as a good guide through all these books, and in a person’s wider eating life.

Women on Food edited by Charlotte Druckman
Historically speaking, the “system,” especially as it pertains to women in restaurants, hasn’t always worked all that well. While the Irma Rombauers and Julia Childs and M.F.K. Fishers of the world were given wide berth in waxing poetic while guiding homemakers, in the pro kitchens of the world they were often overlooked or demeaned (or worse). No more. In Women on Food, editor Charlotte Druckman enlists the aid of a talented brigade, including the likes of Nigella Lawson, Dorie Greenspan and Julee Rosso, to articulate the state of the food world from a female perspective. As the joke goes, “What do you call a woman chef?” “Chef.” I am in sympathy with the authors in hoping for a day, and soon, when we look back on a book like this and wonder why it was necessary. 

Chicken Genius by Bernard Radfar
Moving from the political to the aesthetic, Japan, perhaps more than any nation, has given life to the adage that “we eat with our eyes first.” And so it is with Bernard Radfar’s Chicken Genius: The Art of Toshi Sakamaki’s Yakitori Cuisine. Aram Radfar’s informative, imaginative photography, alongside the book’s step-by-step recipes and techniques, is a delight to the eye as well as the appetite. It may take you a while to bring your knife skills up to pro level, but this book will aid you at every step, starting with the proper way to disassemble a whole chicken with some degree of craft, and just possibly art.

Delicious Metropolis by Wayne Thiebaud
Speaking of art, let’s turn to Wayne Thiebaud. He couldn’t have grown up anywhere other than Southern California for his canvasses to look the way they do. In Delicious Metropolis, he rolls out a dessert cart overflowing with pinwheel lollipops, pastel-frosted pastries and the promise of an endless summer, not a cloud in sight . . . unless it’s made from whipped cream.

Eat Joy edited by Natalie Eve Garrett
And if every picture tells a story, it’s also true of every recipe, as Natalie Eve Garrett and her contributors prove in Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food From 31 Celebrated Writers. From Anthony Doerr’s hilarious recipe for brownie mix (“Sit on floor. Cut open bag of brownie mix. Add water. Stir. Eat with fingers. Repeat when necessary.”) to Rosie Schaap’s moving tale of her first Passover Seder as a widow in New Mexico, Garrett has gathered not only the “what” of her talented essayists’ relationships with food, but more importantly the tragedies and triumphs behind the “why.”

Vignette by Jane Lopes
If I were able to offer only one book to someone who cares to know about wine, it would be Jane Lopes’ Vignette: Stories of Life & Wine in 100 Bottles. Light and frizzante as a moscato but thoroughly researched, the book walks you through the often confusing world of viniculture with recommendations that will give you the confidence to peruse any carte du vin with authority.

Ruffage by Abra Berens
At a time when many of us are moving toward a more plant-based diet, Abra Berens’ Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables provides a veg-by-veg road map studded with tips, techniques and recipes geared toward getting the most out of the stuff we grow. Sure, you’ve grilled corn, but have you puréed it? Have you ever braised celery? Have you marinated peas? Berens not only shows you how but also explains why you should. It’s not strictly vegetarian, but it does place the plant at the center of the plate, rather than as an afterthought or mere side dish.

As Bourdain says in The Last Interview, “There are no secret recipes. There are no secret techniques. Everything that you learn in a kitchen you are either told, open-source . . . or you have learned it over time, painfully.” With these books, you can sidestep some of those missteps—or just look at the pretty pictures. Either way, you’ll come away with a greater appreciation of the culinary arts, both visual and practical.

 

Thane Tierney lives in Inglewood, California, and writes extensively on food-related topics both in magazines and on his blog, templeofthetongue.com.

These books jump out of the oven and onto your shelf.
Food & DrinkCookbooks

5 great cookbooks to give your friends (so they’ll invite you to dinner)

Feature by Susannah Felts

If giving cookbooks to my friends for the holidays (in hopes that they’ll invite me to dinner) is wrong, I don’t want to be right. These five guides stand out from the pack for their innovative angles, spellbinding designs and accessible recipes for cooks of all levels of expertise.

★ The Forest Feast Mediterranean
It’s hard not to feel a little bit envious of Erin Gleeson. The bestselling cookbook author spent three months traveling with her family through France, Portugal, Spain and Italy to research The Forest Feast Mediterranean: Simple Vegetarian Recipes Inspired by My Travels. It’s as gorgeous as her previous books, awash in watercolor illustrations and bright vegetarian dishes that leap off the page into your sunniest kitchen dreams. Images of Gleeson and her family star alongside scenic shots from the region that inspired this book, but of course the real heroes are its 100 recipes, which include mouthwatering salads, decadent pastas and small shareables like caponata, a burrata bar, bruschetta, tartines, tartlets, tortilla espanola and pintxos, which are appetizers on long toothpicks, unique to the Barcelona bar scene. Best of all, there’s a travel guide in the back in case you’re hungry to follow in Gleeson’s picturesque footsteps—and you will be.

Mixtape Potluck
Is there anyone more creatively connected than Questlove? The musician-DJ-writer-ideas guy has friends in every corner of the arts and entertainment industry, and he assembles them in Mixtape Potluck as contributors to what might be the most fabulous party ever-. Questlove asked each of the roughly 60 notable figures—including Carla Hall, Padma Lakshmi, Q-Tip and Amy Poehler—for their “super-special secret recipe,” resulting in a staggering range of dishes, from Fred Armisen’s plantains two ways to Martha Stewart’s grape focaccia. But it’s not just a celebrity hodgepodge. Questlove gives each friend a song as inspiration, noting that “the songs and the dishes do not have a direct relationship.” All the songs are listed at the end, along with smart tips for hosting a potluck and cuing up your own party jams. Bold photography by Marcus Maddox makes its own noise, with a distinctly 1970s vibe. You and your coolest friends need this book; there’s really no question.

Skillet Love
My husband, head chef in our house, uses a cast-iron skillet nearly daily, so I couldn’t wait to show him Skillet Love: From Steak to Cake. The result? “This one’s a keeper,” he proclaimed after we made picadillo-stuffed peppers, skillet salmon and pound cake. (Yes, pound cake. In fact, that’s the recipe that begot this book.) Or how about a massive chocolate chip cookie, gooey in the middle? If the humble workhorse that is the cast-iron skillet is new to you, Anne Byrn provides an overview on care, seasoning and the many tricks a skillet can pull off, from stir-frying and dry-roasting to searing, frying, baking and even pan-grilling. “There really isn’t anything on your dinner list that the skillet can’t accomplish,” Byrn writes, and this book is beautiful evidence of that.

The Little Women Cookbook
“What exactly would the March sisters have eaten?” That’s what librarian authors Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada asked themselves about their favorite novel, before making it their mission to explore Victorian-era cooking and share the best of it in The Little Women Cookbook. Each sister gets a chapter, with subheadings like “Amy’s Little Artistic Fête,” at which Proper Roast Chicken and Elegant Raspberry Ice Cream is served, or “Jo’s Standing Joke of a Dinner,” with Lobster Salad and Plenty of Potatoes. Along the way we learn historical tidbits about the era and read short excerpts from Little Women. What fun it would be to read the classic novel with family or friends over the course of several months, whipping up dishes from this book along the way. 

South
The late, great writer and Southern-food expert John Egerton would probably look fondly upon what chef Sean Brock is doing for Southern and Appalachian cuisine these days, lovingly sharing the gospel of the region’s traditions with a new generation. Though the concept of seasonal, local eating may seem like a trend worn thin, it’s anything but that for Brock; it’s the correct (and most delicious) way to live and eat. In South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations, you’ll find everything from fried bologna and tomato-okra stew to spring lamb with rhubarb butter. There aren’t too many lengthy ingredient lists amid these simple but deeply considered preparations for vegetables, grains, meats and fish. Brock shares tips for cooking up a big pot of greens and selecting fireplace cookery and fills in the gaps with plentiful background on the region that gave birth to these dishes. And tucked within, too, are Egerton’s Beaten Biscuits. 

If giving cookbooks to my friends for the holidays (in hopes that they’ll invite me to dinner) is wrong, I don’t want to be right. These five guides stand out from the pack for their innovative angles, spellbinding designs and accessible recipes for cooks of all levels of expertise. ★ The Forest Feast Mediterranean It’s hard […]
NonfictionPop CultureCookbooks

Gift books: For the culture vulture who’s seen everything

Feature by Jessica Wakeman

Why choose between the page and the screen? These books are great for culture vultures who want to enjoy the two together.

Binging With Babish by Andrew Rea
Food on film can be as memorable as any character. What would Harry Potter be without butterbeer? Or “Seinfeld” without soup? In the vast universe of YouTube chefs, Andrew Rea stands out with his unique conceit: cooking dishes from TV and film to eat in real life. 

His channel’s millions of subscribers watch him prepare dishes like the Krabby Supreme from “Spongebob Squarepants,” cheesy blasters from “30 Rock” and even “the grey stuff (it’s delicious!)” from Beauty and the Beast. Rea’s new cookbook, Binging With Babish, compiles many of these recipes for the home cook. It includes serious dishes, such as creme brulee from Amélie and cannoli from The Godfather. But there are also plenty of not-so-serious recipes, such as Buddy’s pasta from Elf (spaghetti with M&Ms and a crumbled fudge PopTart, anyone?). Each recipe comes with Rea’s tips for preparation and a verdict on its edibleness.

Movies (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano
We all know one film aficionado who remembers bits and bobs about movies long after everyone else has forgotten them. This person can be tricky to shop for, as they’ve seen every movie already and have plenty of opinions about them. Enter Movies (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano, author of The Rap Year Book. Over the course of 30 essays, Serrano dives deep into topics that movie nerds love to debate, with a focus on famous films since the 1980s. Who are the members of the perfect heist movie crew? Who gets it the worst in Kill Bill? 

Movies is illustrated by Arturo Torres and, as a whole, feels internet-y in its composition, as it contains charts, listicles, a yearbook and even a script. There’s a distinctly masculine feel to the essays, with only a handful addressing films starring women. Nevertheless, any cinephile will find this a fascinating read—and for everyone else, it’s a fun coffee table book.

Why choose between the page and the screen? These books are great for culture vultures who want to enjoy the two together.
NonfictionCookbooks

Gift books: For the mensch with the most

Feature by Jill Ratzan

The nights are getting longer, the weather is getting colder, and Hanukkah is just around the corner.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates both an ancient military victory and the flame of a tiny oil lamp miraculously lasting for eight days. It’s a chance for families to light candles in a menorah, say blessings, exchange gifts . . . and read books! Two new offerings are perfect for Hanukkah gift-giving.

The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia by Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz & Mark Oppenheimer
The hosts of Tablet magazine’s “Unorthodox” podcast branch out into book format with The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia, a compendium of all things Jewish, covering everything from bagels to the Book of Life, Shabbat to “Seinfeld.” Alternately irreverent and profound—but always informative—entries range from single sentences (“chutzpah: What it takes to think you can write an encyclopedia of Jewish life”) to four-page spreads (check out the sections about Jewish gangsters and Jewish Hollywood). Photographs of Jewish people and places abound, and quick-reference sections about holidays answer such questions as “What do we do?” and “Anything good to eat?” 

The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia is a great gift for the Jewish maven in your life who’d relish quoting facts about the history of the garment industry or brushing up on their Yiddish curses.

The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koenig
You can never have too many cookbooks, and The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koenig is one you’ll pull off the shelf over and over again. Sections for standard cookbook fare, such as soups and stews, are joined by Jewish-specific chapters (“Dumplings, Noodles, and Kugels” is a go-to), and symbols indicate when a recipe is gluten-free, vegan or meets other criteria for ingredients or prep time. 

Dozens of photographs show Ashkenazi favorites like braided challah, fruit-drenched blintzes and crisp pickles alongside curried fish balls from South Africa, coconut rice from India and beloved Middle Eastern desserts like sweet egg meringue and sufganiyot (jelly donuts). You’ll find recipes from chefs at renowned restaurants and for food-specific holidays like Passover. Best of all, every recipe begins with a story: where the recipe comes from, what traditions surround it and how it can best be accompanied. 

Give The Jewish Cookbook to a Jewish cook who wants to combine the tastes of their childhood (wherever it may have been) with adventurous forays into Jewish cooking around the world.

The nights are getting longer, the weather is getting colder, and Hanukkah is just around the corner.
NonfictionFood & DrinkCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: January 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

These three new lifestyles releases will help you kick 2020 off right.

★ The Thank-You Project
You probably have several thank-you notes to write after the holidays, which may feel like just one more item on your to-do list. But what if you thought about thank-yous differently? When she turned 50, Nancy Davis Kho began writing thoughtful letters of gratitude to the people (and places and things) that had shaped her life for the better. In The Thank-You Project, Kho shares stories from her project and encourages us to embark on our own versions. Her process boils down to three main tasks: “see, say, and savor” your memories of formative people, places and things. Kho is a funny, relatable and not-too-sentimental guide to this deeply meaningful practice.

Weeknight Baking
Procrasti-baking: It’s a thing. You’re on a massive work deadline, but you’re mixing cookie batter because baking makes you feel good. Michelle Lopez of the blog Hummingbird High knows all about it, and she’s here to help all of us fit baking into our busy lives. In Weeknight Baking, Lopez applies time management skills to flexible recipes, so you can put together a cake over a few nights or substitute ingredients when the pantry doesn’t cooperate. She shares a list of the right tools—for instance, you’re going to want a quarter sheet pan for freezing cookie dough. Of course, you may be looking for instant gratification, and Lopez has your back there, too, with her “Single Lady Chocolate Chip Cookie” that gives you one beautiful, 4-inch-wide personal dessert in only 12 minutes. What weeknight doesn’t need that?

Growing Good Food
There are lots of good reasons to grow a garden, and now we can add climate change to the list. In Growing Good Food, Acadia Tucker explains that regenerative farming—which focuses on healthy, organic matter-rich soil—is one simple way to soak up carbon emissions. In making the case for a nation full of “carbon-sucking mini farms,” she recalls the victory gardens of World War II, a successful grassroots response to the war effort. Her book outlines steps for becoming a carbon farmer, no matter how small your plot, and suggests starter plants (go with perennials, not annuals), fertilizers, organic pest control solutions and how to make good compost. This is a slim but smart volume of gardening expertise and a necessary call to arms.

These three new lifestyles releases will help you kick 2020 off right. ★ The Thank-You Project You probably have several thank-you notes to write after the holidays, which may feel like just one more item on your to-do list. But what if you thought about thank-yous differently? When she turned 50, Nancy Davis Kho began writing […]
NonfictionNatureFood & DrinkCookbooksAnimals

Lifestyles: February 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Three new lifestyles books to help you vent, treat yourself and get in touch with nature.

★ Rage Baking

Indeed it is a cookbook, but Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford’s Rage Baking is also a genius idea—the very text that we, an army of citizen bakers, have been waiting for. Among more than 40 contributors to this feisty and inspiring collection of recipes, essays and interviews are luminaries Ruth Reichl, Ani DiFranco, Dorie Greenspan and Rebecca Traister. There are recipes like “Power Muffs” and “No More Sheet Cake.” The recipes, like the women behind them, represent diverse culinary traditions, from cornbread to bulgur flatbread to challah to focaccia. But they all share one ingredient: “I am anger wrapped in hopelessness wrapped in despair wrapped in more anger,” writes Tess Rafferty. “And when I can’t stand it anymore, I cook.”

$9 Therapy

I’ve seen many a self-care book, but this one struck me as fresh. First, there’s the catchy title: $9 Therapy. But the subtitle is the clincher: “Semi-Capitalist Solutions to Your Emotional Problems.” What do co-authors Megan Reid and Nick Greene mean by that? First, what it’s not: “a guide to getting your shit together.” What it is: funny at every turn and packed with small, practical hacks and crafts—DIY sheet spray! DIY makeup brush cleaner!—that will cumulatively make you a more functional human being. A book that perfectly, humorously captures a corner of the zeitgeist is always a win—even if, alas, it doesn’t retail for $9. Buy it anyway, along with a gallon of white vinegar. 

Close to Birds

Truly one of the most breathtaking titles I’ve explored in a long time, Close to Birds, first published in Sweden, achieves the delicate balance of jaw-dropping photographs and thought-provoking text. Authors Mats and Åsa Ottosson didn’t set out to create a traditional bird-watching book, a guide for seekers of the most elusive specimens. Instead, among the birds featured in stunning color against white backgrounds are an ordinary mallard, a common sandpiper, a Eurasian sparrow and a common starling. “Being receptive to birds is both much simpler and much bigger than [determining species],” the authors write. “It’s not a hobby; rather it can be seen as a loving receptivity to the larger we to which humans are lucky to belong.” You’ll learn, gasp and see birds anew.

Susannah Felts is a Nashville-based writer and co-founder of  The Porch, a literary arts organization. She enjoys anything paper-related and, increasingly, plant-related.

Three new lifestyles books to help you vent, treat yourself and get in touch with nature. ★ Rage Baking Indeed it is a cookbook, but Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford’s Rage Baking is also a genius idea—the very text that we, an army of citizen bakers, have been waiting for. Among more than 40 contributors to this […]
NatureCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: March 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

This month’s best new lifestyles books teach you how to enjoy the simple things in life, understand a new language and cook with a song in your heart.

★ Meals, Music, and Muses

“Cooking without a song—in your heart, if nothing else—is like cooking without salt and pepper,” writes chef Alexander Smalls in Meals, Music, and Muses. Here, recipes grounded in the culinary traditions of the African American South are grouped according to the “seven styles of African American music that set the bass line for this medley of meals.” Fried sweet white corn and a salad of field greens and black-eyed peas are among the “green things” that Smalls associates with gospel music; rice, pasta and grits are the stuff of spirituals. Roast quail, pan-fried rabbit, pork loin roasts? Divas, all. There are biscuits and beans and pie to the tune of jazz, opera, jukebox music and serenades (sweet endings), with the pleasure of Smalls’ storytelling along the way to deepen the flavor.

How to Wash the Dishes

How is it that reading a book on washing the dishes could offer such pleasure? How to Wash the Dishes, by Seattle design and architectural bookstore owner Peter Miller, is a tiny, perfect book that offers just what its title proclaims, with a side dish of calm. In serene and measured prose, Miller reminds us that “washing the dishes in a sink, with clean, warm water, is a luxury” and “a task of order and of health and hygiene.” Also, to no small degree, “every time you wash the dishes is an opportunity to practice mindfulness and to reduce waste.” Great satisfaction can come from holding fast to these truths and focusing on the task at hand, not rushing, not thinking too much of other things.

The Complete Language of Flowers

Flower lovers will marvel at S. Theresa Dietz’s The Complete Language of Flowers, an A to Z of flowers and plants listing symbolic meanings, possible powers, folklore and facts. The flowers are alphabetized by Latin name, which lends this volume an air of the exotic, but the book’s handy index is probably where you’ll start when you want to find out what your snake plant might do for you (protection) or what bluebonnets represent (forgiveness, self-sacrifice and survival). This guide could be helpful for writers and artists seeking to infuse their work with floral imagery, or for designers and gardeners planning a project. But it’s also simply a gorgeous conversation piece, the perfect addition to a spring coffee table vignette.

This month’s best new lifestyles books teach you how to enjoy the simple things in life, understand a new language and cook with a song in your heart. ★ Meals, Music, and Muses “Cooking without a song—in your heart, if nothing else—is like cooking without salt and pepper,” writes chef Alexander Smalls in Meals, Music, and […]
NonfictionNatureCookbooksArts & Culture

Lifestyles: April 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Whether you want to be educated, inspired or deliciously distracted, these releases can help.

★ Earth Almanac

The internet’s useful and all, but have you picked up an almanac lately? Ken Keffer’s Earth Almanac is a fine specimen, focused on phenology, the interconnection of living things through seasonal change. Each of its 365 entries explores a particular natural creature, phenomenon or feature; on the day of this writing, Keffer looks closely at the “twittering flights of the American woodcock,” aka bog sucker, mud bat or brush snipe. Beautifully illustrated, Earth Almanac makes a delightful daily read-aloud with family. Keffer’s generalist approach offers encouragement to budding naturalists, inviting us to action as field data collectors and advocates for the earth. “People are more likely to protect what they are familiar with and what they care about,” he writes.

How to Be an Artist

In 2018, Jerry Saltz, senior art critic for New York magazine, wrote a piece on how to live more creatively, featuring 33 “nodes and nubs of advice.” It proved wildly popular, so Saltz kept going, thinking more deeply about how to make art a part of one’s life—and what is art, anyway? The result is the trim, brilliant How to Be an Artist, which combines color reproductions of famous works with inspiring directives, pep talks and juicy reflections on art-making and sustainable creative practice. Whether you’re a proud amateur or a frustrated expert, these are words worth taking to heart. Saltz’s knowledge veins run deep, and his voice is crisp, frank, intimate and urgent. 

Procrastibaking

As I polish off this column a day past my deadline, you can bet that I’m loving a new cookbook with chapter headings like “Better-Late-Than-Never Brownies and Bars,” “Late-for-Everything Loaf Cakes” and “Sorry-for-the-Delayed-Response Savory Bakes.” This is Erin Gardner’s Procrastibaking, and it is giving me life. Never mind that I absolutely want to try every delicious-sounding recipe, of which there are more than 100, and most of which are making a successful appeal to my sweet tooth. I also want to nail the word search, mazes and other games that are sprinkled throughout the book like finishing sugar. But first I must finish this column . . . or must I ? After all, the majority of these treats can be turned out in under 50 minutes, I’m told.

Whether you want to be educated, inspired or deliciously distracted, these releases can help. ★ Earth Almanac The internet’s useful and all, but have you picked up an almanac lately? Ken Keffer’s Earth Almanac is a fine specimen, focused on phenology, the interconnection of living things through seasonal change. Each of its 365 entries explores a particular […]
NonfictionNatureFood & DrinkCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: June 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Cook with a surprise ingredient, understand modern-day manners and build an herbal arsenal with the help of these three engaging reads.

★ The Duke’s Mayonnaise Cookbook

My first thought upon discovering The Duke’s Mayonnaise Cookbook was: an entire cookbook devoted to . . . mayonnaise? Risky business. My second thought was: But . .  . it’s Duke’s, a brand with a cult following—especially in the American South, where I live. And when you’ve got a following like Duke’s, you do what you want—like show up in a recipe for peppermint fudge brownies. Ashley Strickland Freeman makes a strong case that Duke’s belongs in brownies, as well as in many other seemingly unlikely recipes, because mayo is “a beautiful emulsification of eggs and oil and a touch of vinegar for acidity, all ingredients vital to cooking and baking.” Her cookbook makes my mouth water, with crowd-pleasers such as bananas Foster bread with browned butter-rum glaze, pimento cheese grits and firecracker shrimp tacos. And of course, there’s elote—delicious Mexican street corn slathered in mayonnaise.

Minding Miss Manners

In Minding Miss Manners, Judith Martin’s arch, acid wit laces every lesson on behaving with propriety in a culture where monstrous jerks are, more than ever, on parade and in power. “A new era of freedom to be loutish, pushy, vicious, and hateful is upon us,” she writes. “That an etiquette-free society would be a joyous, or even livable, one must be the biggest social hoax since it was declared that Americans’ basic problem was sexual puritanism, and if all were acting freely on their desires, everyone would be happy, and there would be no more sex crimes. We are now forced to see how that has played out.” Ahem! This book is bracingly funny and full of pitch-perfect truth bombs for our very weird and wooly times. 

Plant Magic

For Christine Buckley, herbalism is more than just the process of using plants for their beneficial properties. It’s a way of being in the world—more in tune with the earth and mindful of one’s own interconnected mind, body and spirit. In Plant Magic, Buckley takes us deep into the practice of herbalism, showing us how to cultivate a meaningful relationship with the plant life around us. Her “herbal arsenal” details 21 of the most useful and accessible plants, such as cinnamon, thyme, lemon balm and ginger. Roost makes gorgeous books, and this one is no exception

Cook with a surprise ingredient, understand modern-day manners and build an herbal arsenal with the help of these three engaging reads.
NonfictionCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: July 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Three books invite you to bake delicious, vegan treats; learn to walk more lightly on the planet and travel by tent with children in tow.

★ Perfectly Golden

Angela Garbacz makes her cookbook debut with Perfectly Golden, a trove of treats from her popular bakery, Goldenrod Pastries in Lincoln, Nebraska. Garbacz became devoted to dietary-­inclusive baking after developing a dairy sensitivity, and her bakery uses nondairy milks exclusively (almond is her go-to). Here she reveals her top tricks for delicious sweets that are also gluten free and vegan, including decadent buns, cakes, cookies and more. (You can make any of the recipes in the traditional way, too, using cow’s milk and eggs.) While this bright and cheerful cookbook is decidedly contemporary in its methods, Garbacz bakes from a strong family tradition, and she includes tweaked versions of old favorites, such as her mom’s turtle cookies: cooked in a waffle iron and dolloped with peanut butter frosting. It’s truly a guide to sweets for all tastes and preferences.

An Almost Zero Waste Life

You probably think that a zero-waste life sounds appealing. You may also think it sounds exhausting to achieve. I’m with you on both counts, but after exploring the solutions offered by Megean Weldon in An Almost Zero Waste Life, I’m newly enthusiastic about my family’s ability to slash our trash. Weldon is practical in her guidance, and she urges readers to use up their disposables before replacing them with sustainable alternatives. After that, small changes start to add up: Snip old T-shirts into rags, start composting and cook more homemade food. I especially like Weldon’s weekly menu examples, designed to cut vegetable waste, and her section on holidays, which includes a list of 101 zero-waste gift ideas.

See You at the Campground

Though See You at the Campground was published earlier this spring, I think it deserves a shout-out now as we enter prime camping season. Parents and podcasters Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi lay out the pros and cons of vacationing via tent, RV or cabin and are forthcoming about their missteps as they learned to navigate the great outdoors with their three sons. Now seasoned experts, they share packing lists, choice campgrounds, campfire grub, campground etiquette and advice for exploring national parks. Armed with this book, even the most avid camper will be better prepared for the next adventure with children in tow.

Three books invite you to bake delicious, vegan treats; learn to walk more lightly on the planet and travel by tent with children in tow. ★ Perfectly Golden Angela Garbacz makes her cookbook debut with Perfectly Golden, a trove of treats from her popular bakery, Goldenrod Pastries in Lincoln, Nebraska. Garbacz became devoted to dietary-­inclusive baking […]
NonfictionReligion & SpiritualityNatureFood & DrinkCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: August 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Investigate the power of habit, make delicious Chicano food or ponder a new approach to your lawn with this month’s trio of lifestyle reads.

★ The Power of Ritual

The “sacred” may seem conceptually distant from our increasingly secular lives, but it shouldn’t, says Casper ter Kuile in The Power of Ritual. He argues that any habit or practice can become sacred through ritual, allowing us to develop our own modern versions of spiritual life. Here he explores how reframing habits as rituals can help us build connection on four interweaving levels: with ourselves, other people, the natural world and the transcendent. “What I propose is this: by composting old rituals to meet our real-world needs, we can regrow deeper relationships and speak to our hunger for meaning and depth,” he writes. In a world that can frequently feel upside-down and precarious, this well-researched book may provide vital ballast.

Chicano Eats

Esteban Castillo grew up near Los Angeles, making frequent trips to his parents’ homeland of Colima, Mexico. When he later moved to Northern California, he found Humboldt County seriously lacking in the cuisine of his family, so he started a blog to celebrate that food culture. Chicano Eats brings his work to print in festive color, highlighting the ingredients, kitchen tools and playful hybridity of Chicano cooking—Mexican cuisine shaped by immigrants to America over generations, reflecting a community “who’s neither from there or here.” The perfect pot of beans, arroz rojo and salsa molcajete will get you started, and then it’s off to botanas (snacks) such as carnitas poutine, lots of tacos, several versions of pozole (a stew made with hominy and pork) and much more.

Lawns Into Meadows

Americans love lush, green lawns. But the truth is, all those manicured yards are hard on the environment. They guzzle water, chemicals and fossil fuels and do nothing to encourage a biodiverse ecosystem of pollinators, wildlife and microbe-rich soil. In Lawns Into Meadows, Owen Wormser shows us how to forgo grass in favor of native plant meadows, a more climate-friendly option for your green space. Wormser suggests 21 hardy, easy-to-grow perennials that will fill out in no time, like black-eyed Susan, golden­rod and purple coneflower, along with meadow-­making designs to suit a variety of yard sizes. If this is a topic that interests you, there are many more guides in the nifty Citizen Gardening series from Stone Pier Press.

Investigate the power of habit, make delicious Chicano food or ponder a new approach to your lawn with this month’s trio of lifestyle reads. ★ The Power of Ritual The “sacred” may seem conceptually distant from our increasingly secular lives, but it shouldn’t, says Casper ter Kuile in The Power of Ritual. He argues that any […]
NonfictionCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooksBody, Mind & Spirit

Lifestyles: October 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

In this month's roundup of new lifestyles books, witchy recipes, spooky treats and meat-eating plants provide the seasonal escapism we all crave.

★ A Kitchen Witch’s Guide to Recipes for Love & Romance

Food gives us energy; food is energy. This framing of cooking as a blend of mindful practice and energy work, right alongside reiki and acupuncture, is at the root of Dawn Aurora Hunt’s A Kitchen Witch’s Guide to Recipes for Love & Romance. Adding witchcraft to the mix—think candles, smudge sticks, essential oils, mantras—takes things from healthy and delicious to sensual sorcery. Bow tie pasta with lemon and artichokes, when paired with the practice of “creating a sacred space for enriching love and togetherness,” becomes a way to rekindle the flame and honor a season of new beginnings. Peaches and cream? Way sexier with a sigil carved into the peach flesh. Grab your wooden spoons, some white sage and a box of matches, and make some kitchen magic for—and with—your partner.

The Wicked Baker

The Wicked Baker is Helena Garcia’s celebration of all treats spooky and strange. If you take even the eensiest dram of pleasure from Halloween, you’ll enjoy every page. A Cousin Itt made of shredded phyllo wears round green spectacles of gingerbread dough. A cake resembling a black candle drips blood-red “wax” icing. Many of these complex creations are not for the faint of heart. But hey, the Brain Cinnamon Rolls sound manageable, and I’m game to whip up the pale green Slime Pudding that’s little more than Greek yogurt, condensed milk and citrus. This book brings the holiday escapism we all crave.

Killer Plants

Killer Plants is your go-to for carnivorous cultivars like bladderworts, pitcher plants and Venus’ flytraps. “The plants in this book present a bit of a challenge to their keepers,” author Molly Williams tells us upfront. That is, they’re pretty persnickety when it comes to care—they insist upon distilled water and special potting mix, for starters—but are possibly worth it for the weird-and-rare factor if you’re a plant-hound. Williams even goes a step further in a section on “Rare Carnivorous Plants You May Never Find,” which reads like an episode of “Nature.” Niche though these plants may be, entire shops and societies around the world are devoted to them. A list of contacts rounds out the book, so you can go forth and find your fellow killer-plant people.

In this month's roundup of new lifestyles books, witchy recipes, spooky treats and meat-eating plants provide the seasonal escapism we all crave. ★ A Kitchen Witch’s Guide to Recipes for Love & Romance Food gives us energy; food is energy. This framing of cooking as a blend of mindful practice and energy work, right alongside reiki […]

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