Tuesday, September 14, 2010

One cookbook, two recipes

Can you guess what it is?

002 azuki beans with {buttercup} squash, pg. 241

013 fried udon noodles, pg. 229, with napa cabbage and broccoli

The Kind Diet. I hesitated to purchase this cookbook because I figured much of the introduction wouldn’t really be useful to me. I also don’t like to fall in line with what’s hot, or what some high profile person tells me to do. (Maybe Alicia Silverstone isn’t high profile to everyone, but I was a teenager when Clueless came out and she made a formative impact on my youth.)

Every recipe that I’ve made from The Kind Diet has been marvelous, simple, and delicious. The recipes are more like instructions on how to use what might be unusual ingredients. There aren’t many ingredients and there aren’t too many steps.

I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty good cook, but now that I’m trying so many new ingredients I find myself in need of a little guidance. This book has been perfect for someone like me.

I’m not saying this is my favorite cookbook, but it’s impressing me. Actually, I only have one cookbook that’s not been worthwhile so far, and I’m still giving it more chances. What’s your favorite cookbook?

10 comments:

  1. the udon noodle dish looks very yummy. my sister has this book and she went veg and has lost over thirty pounds! she loves it!
    (:

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  2. I need to look through the Kind Diet. I also thought the same thing as you, I don't need to read about why its important to be vegan, I already know. I figured the recipes were basic vegan recipes but the ones you posted look really good and original. I guess I was wrong!

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  3. The beans and squash are a perfect fall meal. I don't own the Kind Diet so I'll have to go write down the recipe in the bookstore.

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  4. I love the Kind Diet, maybe it's because Alicia Silverston is the one who got me on track to becoming a vegan. I had just decided to be vegetarian when I got her book for my birthday, but after I read it...I was vegan bound. :} I do love her recipes. Right now my favorite cook book is "The Hippy Gourmet". The recipes in it are so simple. I haven't tried Alicia's squash recipe yet, but I will soon. Yours looks very good!

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  5. Thanks for the input on the Kind Diet. I just requested it from the library yesterday. Like you I wasn't certain that I needed to buy it. My cookbook collection is already ridiculous.

    My favorite cookbook isn't actually a cookbook. It is "Culinary Artistry" and it tells you which foods go together. Since I like to make my own recipes that book gets used most days at my house.

    Ali

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  6. I would definitely suggest flipping through the book to see if you like it. Many of the recipes are super simple (like, cook some beans and put squash on them). I'd never cooked azuki, buttercup, or udon before, though, so this has been helpful for me.

    I'll have to look into Culinary Artistry and Hippy Gourmet. I think I like simple recipes - I get turned off by too many ingredients!

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  7. Oh squash and azuki? I never would have thought of it! I like Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World pretty well :)

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  8. I would give the intro a chance; it's actually very interesting and not mostly about why to be vegan; it's about foods and how chewing is important and things like that. I loved the intro far more than the recipes.

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  9. Butternut squash? Yes yes yes!

    I love(d) Clueless. It's amazing how Alicia Silverstone can be so influential in various stages of our lives...

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