Notable Books
Pimp My Rice, BY NISHA KATONA
According to the US Rice Producers website, one quarter of the world’s human energy runs on rice. Rice is simple. It’s readily available, cheap and quick to prepare. It doesn’t need lots of prep, it lasts forever in your cupboards, and once you get a pot to simmer, it likes to be left alone. It’s the backbone of so many of the world’s cuisines, and it does even more in the capable, creative hands of Nisha Katona, the brain behind the super-popular Curry Clinic on Twitter. We love books that make you think of a staple in a whole new culinary light. Pimp My Rice is good, cheap fun.
Toast, BY RAQUEL PELZEL
The smell of toasting bread might be one of our nostalgic favorites, and the photography in this gorgeous cookbook is enough to make you homesick and hungry. Recipes range from humble to elaborate, all celebrating what was a first kitchen feat for many of us: making toast. From the perfect cinnamon toast, to Smashed Tot and Egg Toast, Romesco Toast with Garlicky Mustard Greens and Cranberry Upside Down Toast— this book offers something for every kind of eater, and every occasion. The perfect gift for college students, or folks whose kitchen lives changed in light of kids now headed off to college.
The Southerner’s Cookbook: Garden & Gun, FROM THE EDITORS OF GARDEN AND GUN
At edible Upcountry, we know that Southern food is one of America’s great regional cuisines, and it’s satisfying to see the rest of the country stepping into line behind us. Who better than the folks at Garden and Gun to gather this new generation of Southern food culture in one lovely volume? The Southerner’s Cookbook: Garden & Gun offers traditional recipes, essays from great Southern voices like Julia Reed and Rick Bragg, maps to the best barbecue, classic Southern ingredient combinations (pork rinds and hot sauce, anyone?), and a full glossary of terms that might fly right by those of us who grew up elsewhere.
Finding Yourself in the Kitchen, BY DANA VELDEN
A regular contributor to the James Beard Award-winning blog, The Kitchn, Dana Velden is also a Zen priest. In this new book, she looks for the deeper meaning behind what satisfies our hungers. How can we better nourish ourselves? What gives us energy? With the right perspective, how we face challenges in the kitchen might show us how to face challenges elsewhere. Lots of books teach you to cook. Not many dwell on the kitchen’s power as a space that feeds us, body and soul.
Thug Kitchen Party Grub, BY THUG KITCHEN LLC
We loved Thug Kitchen when it hit the shelves last year, for all its irreverent, no-nonsense, plant-based recipes that actually tasted good, and for its healthy dose of bad-ass attitude. The dynamic duo is back this season, with a social bent to their recipes and lots more colorful language. From appetizers like Deviled Chickpea Bites to main dishes like Mexican Lasagna, cocktails for a crowd, and sweets that are more than just sugar, Thug Kitchen’s Party Grub delivers festive eats without all the fat, calories and guilt. And we’ve never laughed so hard reading a cookbook in our lives.
