6 Best Cookbooks for Relaxing, Soulful Meals During Quarantine
In this episode, I'm sharing the cookbooks that have been the most used and helpful to me during these early weeks of quarantine. These are the titles that have been feeding my soul, my tummy, and aligning with my community. I’ve been buying a local CSA box from Local Roots NYC, while independently supporting my favorite Greenmarket farmers. When I get my Local Roots CSA subscription box delivered, I go straight to the indexes of my favorite cookbooks to uncover any recipes I can create with my new produce finds.
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Bri Books 6 Best Cookbooks for Relaxing Meals During Quarantine
Book 1: “From the Oven to the Table: Simple Dishes that Look After Themselves” by Diana Henry. Thanks to the Local Roots CSA, I’ve been able to experiment more with cooking meats! This cookbook is full of tips on what to look for in your fresh produce and ingredients. I literally wrote the words “GET OUT” in the margins of the “From the Oven to the Table” cookbook! The recipes are so simple, and they make you feel alive from the inside out. A couple of my favorites are Fettuccine with goat-cheese pesto and roast tomatoes, along with the recipe for roast salmon and string beans with cornichons and mustard crumbs.
Book 2: “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman. I mentioned this book on the Bri Books episode “How to Build Confidence in the Kitchen” featuring Danielle and Sherrod of “Slice and Torte” Podcast. This cookbook is where I go for technique and ingredient-specific help. For example, I was in search of a chili recipe to make with my Local Roots ground beef, and found the perfect one in “How to Cook Everything” (pssst…here’s the recipe.) I needed a simple breakdown of ingredients and ratios, and from there we were able to riff off of the recipe and create something that’s authentic to our pallets and our pantries.
Book 3: “Every Day is Saturday: Recipes and Strategies for Easy Cooking Every Day of the Week” by Sarah Copeland. This cookbook is the ultimate comfort food companion. Every recipe tastes like you’re eating at your favorite neighborhood joint; these recipes are 100% restaurant-worthy quality. I love Sarah Copeland’s ‘catch-all’ take on easy, leftovers-based, nibbly Sunday night dinners. The meals in this cookbook call on ingredients you already have--especially the mains! The Pizza Night recipe was the first one I fell in love with from this cookbook, along with the “Always On Vegetable Soup.” This cookbook reminds me to be my own best chef.
Book 4: “Jubilee: Recipes for Two Centuries of African-American Cooking” by Toni Martin-Tipton. I mentioned this book on the “5 Most Delicious Cookbooks” episode of Bri Books. This book brings together the depth of African-American cuisine and techniques, and shines a loving light on the roots of American food. This cookbook is built on learning and sharing our knowledge, and I’m 100% committed.
Book 5: “Vegetable Kingdom” by Bryant Terry. Terry is a James Beard Award-winning chef, educator and author of the iconic book “Afro-Vegan.” Terry’s renowned for his efforts to create a healthy and equitable food system. This cookbook is BANANAS! It’s already inspiring the ways I take in the fresh flavors of spring.
Book 6: “Cook Beautiful” by Athena Calderone, which I discovered at Sezane. Athena is a creator of beauty, a stylist, a lifestylist, an interior expert and advocate, she breathes life/ texture creativity into rooms. In this cookbook, she reveals the secrets to preparing unforgettable meals. At an event at Sezane, one of my favorite French brands, where Athena connected with the audience about how to cook and live a more beautiful life. You can feel how Athena loves to create a sense of belonging and warmth in both food and in life. One of my favorite things about the book is that it’s broken into seasons--you can come back to different sections for inspiration! Athena was featured on Glamour.com as 1 of 11 female interior designers to support (and follow on Instagram). Athena Calderone’s entire ethos is that you don’t need a sprawling space and an endless supply of farm-fresh food to live well— just need a bit of tender care, attention to detail, and inspiration. But the farm-fresh food doesn’t hurt ;) (Hiii, Local Roots!)
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