Green Options » cookbook

Organic, Shaken and Stirred: New Book from Paul Abercrombie Offers Eco Cocktail Recipes

Julie Knapp — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:29:23 +0000

As you plan for a season of holiday parties, why not serve eco-conscious cocktails alongside the organic free range turkey and local pumpkin pie? Get started with Organic, Shaken and Stirred. The drink recipe book by Paul Abercrombie will teach you how to make your home bar green and create 100 amazing concoctions using organic liquors, fruits and mixers.

There’s no need to pour guests a glass full of artificial ingredients, synthetic pesticides included. Instead, with eco tricks, you’ll support sustainable farming and products with eco-friendly packaging. And when friends imbibe in an organic cocktail like a Hot Buttered Maple Rum, Acai-Lum Sangria, Kentucky Christmas or Pineapple Caipirinha with Sweet Lime Espuma, you know they’ll be on board!

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Green Books Campaign: From Seed to Table

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:19 +0000

Editor’s note: This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally-friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on the Eco-Libris website.

Thinking about giving gardening a try? While the traditional growing season has ended in most parts of the US for this year, it’s not too early to start planning for next Spring. You may want to check out books on starting a backyard garden, and there are plenty of them out there. You may also want to find some of the books that offer suggestions and recipes for the produce you grow. And, if you need encouragement to grow organically, there are still more books on that subject.

If you want a book that covers all three of those areas, though, your choices get much more limited. Janette Haase’s From Seed to Table: A Practical Guide to Eating and Growing Green* not only provides readers with gardening instructions and tips, recipes and menus, and essays on the environmental issues surrounding agriculture and food production, but does so in a month-by-month structure that gives you the information you need when you need it.

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Organic Marin

Beth Bader — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:52:32 +0000

The September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition will publish a widely distributed study that contradicts previous research pointing to health benefits of organic over conventional. The release of the study findings made headlines across major news sources such as CNN and UK news outlets like The Independent and Daily Mail. So, is organic really not any better for you?

The debate continues, and there are more studies showing organic produce has more nutritional values. There is also some interesting research that shows the variety, or cultivar, makes more difference than organic versus conventional, giving heirloom and pre-industrial agriculture varieties a nutritional advantage. Additionally, buying fully-ripened local produce can also be better for you. In the end, organic is less about nutrition than it is about the absence of pesticides and chemicals and sustainable methods.

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Vegan Soul Kitchen

Beth Bader — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:31:01 +0000

Just to be transparent here, I am not a vegan. This doesn’t stop me from exploring Bryant Terry’s latest book, Vegan Soul Kitchen. I like the earthy blend of soul food traditions that Terry creates so well for this book. The twist, of course, is that the collard green recipe doesn’t call for bacon — every recipe is vegan, healthy and layered with flavor.

What you won’t find in this book is a laundry list of the usual recipes. What you will find is recipes for many soul food standard ingredients that Terry has made his very own, giving each a unique spin and a soundtrack to set the mood. Both the music picks and the rhythm of the recipes vary in composition from pure, simple and soulful gospel to complex jazz arrangements a la Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. This is not your same old cookbook. And I like that. A lot.

Standouts on my list of first to try include, appropriately, the greens that in season right now: Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux, Sweet Sweetback’s Salad with Roasted Beat Vinaigrette, Wilted Swiss Chard and Spinach with Lemon-Tahini Dressing.

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Cookbook Review: Vegetarian Cooking for Mommies

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:22:21 +0000

VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies is an aesthetically pleasing book, as you can tell by the cover, by Laura Theodore, the Jazzy Vegetarian. The focus of this vegetarian cookbook is making fruits and vegetables the “star” of your meals.

Whether a dedicated vegan or serving an occasional vegetarian meal, this book offers over 60 healthy and delicious alternatives to “store bought” fare.

There are so many reasons that women (and men) should be vegetarian or eat a mostly vegetarian diet (I admire those folks who practice animal husbandry, as I could never butcher an animal and eat it). From the environmental impact of cutting meat from your diet to the health benefits, VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies makes it easy to go veggie.

I love how the recipes in VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies are organized:

5 Minute Prep
Quick Prep
Advanced
Vegan
Dairy

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More-with-Less Still Delivers After Twenty-Five Years

Gina Munsey — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:29:07 +0000

When searching for a natural-foods cookbook, it’s easy to get swept away in the eye-popping visuals, the thick, glossy pages, and the sleek typefaces. The choices are dizzying; one national bookseller offers over 15,000 cooking titles, and that’s not even counting the 150,000 additional options offered in the wellness section.

But while colorful photos of expertly-arranged super foods may be appealing and even inspiring, the relentless demands and limitations of everyday life often call for something more practical. It is moments like this when recipes from the classic More-with-Less Cookbook, in its 47th printing, never fail to impress.

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A Cook’s Journey: New Cookbook Savors Slow Food in the Heartland

Lisa Kivirist — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:51:52 +0000

As the hurried frenzy of the holidays descends upon us, even the most mindful diners can get caught up in the seasonal time crunch, losing touch with our dining experiences. Take a break and linger over the stories and messages behind a new cookbook by Iowa chef Kurt Michael Friese for a hearty serving of appreciation for our food sources: A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland.

As a Wisconsin farmer myself, it tickles me to see the spotlight on the Midwest’s rich culinary scene once again. Too often we get stereotyped by dominating images of corn and other tasteless monocrops. Sadly, this burgeoning, vibrant local, sustainable food scene goes unnoticed.

But as Friese so aptly summarizes of his passion for our nation’s heartland, historically many great centers of the world’s diverse culinary heritage have centered on the core of a nation’s grain belt, such as France, German, India or China. This inspired Friese to deeply explore thirteen Midwest states – from Ohio to Oklahoma to North Dakota - to discover some of the most innovative, sustainable and creative culinary practices around today.

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Cook Like a Manly Man! The Art of Manliness (Free!) Man Cookbook

Bryan Luukinen — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:37:21 +0000

Are you a real man? Then cook like it! The Art of Manliness is a blog “dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man“, and through contributions from readers like you, they’ve put together a Man Cookbook full of recipes to help you rightfully claim your manliness.

Sorry fellas, but you won’t find a single recipe in here that involves the word canape, and precise directions about how to make that “to-die-for” souffle will not be found. However, there are some killer recipes for manly dishes like Hungarian Goulash, Redneck Caviar, even Thai Basil Tempeh for the Veg Man.
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Outstanding in the Field a Farm to Table Cookbook by Jim Denevan

Beth Bader — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:26:31 +0000

If buying local is the way to lower your carbon footprint and enjoy foods at their peak, then you likely can’t get any more local than chef and artist Jim Denevan’s “farm-to-table” dinners. You see, for Denevan’s events, the table is usually just a few feet from the very crops that are being served.

Denevan’s unique concept, dubbed Ouststanding in the Field, began with a few such on the farm dinners and has expanded over the last nine years into a country-wide tour of dinners. Denevan and his team travel in a 1953 bus dubbed “Outstanding.” They follow the harvest season, hosting dinners at farms, and even in sea caves, anywhere that the best of ingredients can be sourced — just feet away from the table. The dinners feature the farmers, fisherman or local food artisans whose harvest comprises the menu, alongside the efforts of local chefs.

The dinners themselves are set up like works of art, arching tables, candles in the earth, each diner’s plate brought from home to give him or her a way to add a personal touch to the event. The events, held for one night only, then whisked away to being anew in another locale have a fleeting beauty to them, not unlike Denevan’s own sand sculptures, some of which stretch for miles, and last only hours.

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Eco-Libris: “Get It Ripe” Book Review

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:33:09 +0000

Editor’s note: Veganism certainly isn’t the only choice available for people looking to green their plates; however, if you decide that you’d like to forgo animal products, you need a place to start. This week, our friends at Eco-Libris take a look at one such resource: Jae Steele’s forthcoming book Get It Ripe. This post was originally published on Monday, May 5, 2008.

Today on our Monday’s green books series, we’re getting into the kitchen and learning how vegan food can not only be notorious but also very yummy!

Our book for today is:

Get It Ripe: A Fresh Take on Vegan Cooking and Living

Author: Jae Steele

Jae Steele is a registered holistic nutritionist and runs the vegan blog Domestic Affair. She has authored various self-published cookzines including Vegan Freegan and Ripe. She lives in Montreal.

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press

Published on: May 29, 2008

What it is about (from the publisher’s website): Get It Ripe is a vegan cookbook for the 21st century, with an emphasis on holistic living and whole food (i.e. unprocessed and unrefined) ingredients. Jae Steele is a registered holistic nutritionist; she has also been a professional vegan baker, and worked on organic farms on both the east and west coasts of Canada. Her life experiences, and her love of vegan whole foods, are at the heart of Get It Ripe, which not only features uncomplicated yet delicious animal-free recipes, but advice and information on various aspects of holistic vegan living, including special diets (all recipes are wheat-free), simple steps for cleansing and detoxing, building your own kitchen compost, information on ethical consumerism, and the connections among mind, body, and spirit.

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Minnesota Cooks Rock: New Book Showcases Tasty Local Fare

Lisa Kivirist — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:06:36 +0000

We northern Midwesterners tend to be humble cooks. Too often we don’t view our everyday fare as anything special. As a born and bred Midwestern gal, I sometimes fall in line with my peers and lust over hip California cuisine, Big Apple restaurant trends or Food Network designer chefs. The greens may seem greener over the border, which unfortunately results in us under-appreciating how good we have it in the land of cheese, wild rice and rhubarb.

But I’m forever reformed and now proudly flaunt my Midwest roots after bonding with The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes. A new release from Renewing the Countryside, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization that champions the positive stories of rural revitalization, this photography rich book is a love song for local food. Through narrating the stories of 31 of Minnesota’s chefs and restaurants, the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook offers 100 recipes that celebrate locally grown, organic and sustainable cookery.

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Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s “Joy of Vegan Baking” Now Available

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:35:36 +0000

We’re delighted to share some very good news with you: our own Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s first book has been released. The Joy of Vegan Baking: Compassionate Cooks’ Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets, according to the publisher, "puts to rest the myth that vegan baking is an inferior alternative to non-vegan baking, putting it in its rightful place as a legitimate contender in the baking arena." As Green Options readers might expect, Joy is more than a cookbook: Colleen adds "tidbits, food lore, and baking tips" to a wide range of recipes.

If you’d like to get a sneak preview of the book, check out its website, where you’ll find a table of contents, a plethora of great reviews, and even some sample recipes (including chocolate cake — woo hoo!). Colleen will be on the road over the next few months promoting the book, so also check out the list of events to see if there’s one near you.

Congratulations, Colleen! We’ll be expecting that batch of vegan brownies in the mail any day now…