I love food. Eating food, discovering food, smelling food, and, most recently, cooking food. I’m a homebody Cancer sign, so I get crazy pleasure from creating meals for my family to enjoy. Now that I’m six days away from moving into a dorm and away from my kitchen, I’ve been obsessive about checking some items off my recipe bucket list. At the center of the flurry are my three favorite cookbooks— The Love and Lemons Cookbook, The Foodie Teen, and One Part Plant— which I rely on for serving up unique dishes that never fail to please (if I don’t mess up, that is). Taking a page from Leslie over at Cupcakes & Cashmere, today I’m sharing my favorite bits from each book, including my favorite recipes and few still on my “to-make” list. So keep scrolling…I guaruntee your stomach will start growling. 🙂
I’ve been pulling recipes from Love and Lemons’ food blog for a couple years, and was thrilled to receive their debut cookbook as a Christmas gift. Aside from dozens of scrumptious all-veg dishes, L&L also provides formulas to put a fun twist on go-to basics like pesto, hummus, and salsa.
Favorite recipes: Farmstand Peach Pizzas, Grilled Pepper and Quinoa Taco Salad, Coconut Rice with Brussels Sprouts
Must-try: Carrot Ginger Grain Bowl, Spicy Cornbread, Pea and Sweet Potato Samosas
U.K.-based teen blogger Alessandra Peters’s cookbook is 100% allergy-friendly, but don’t let that fool you: These dishes are packed with fun and variety that’s sure to please everyone from your carnivore dad to your vegan cousin.
Favorite recipes: Single-Serving Melt-in-the-Middle Gooey Chocolate Pudding (aka my beloved ramekin cake called out here!), Egyptian Dukkah-Crusted Chicken with Cauliflower Tabbouleh, Meatballs in Moroccan Tomato Sauce w/ Cougette Noodles
Must-Try: Spicy Thai Red Curry Soup, Orange-Ginger Beef, Broccoli & Bok Choy Stir Fry, Cumin & Courgette Chicken Poppers
I love anything and everything from podcaster, plant-based wellness advocate, and all-around cool lady Jess Murnane, and her debut cookbook is no exception. Just flipped through these pages is a culinary adventure, and Jess offers plant-based takes on classic dishes from all ends of the globe, and makes you laugh while doing so. Also: Lena Dunham wrote the foreward, NBD.
Favorite recipes: Almond Cherry Muffinds, Chilaques with Cilantro Cream, Saag Plant-neer
Must-Try: Nut Butter Chocolate Tart, Creamy Millet Salad, Creamy Mushroom Lasagna
Mmm…just typing all of that made me want to hop in the kitchen and get working on something delicious. That, and take stock of all the cookbooks I’m hoping to add to repertoire before long. Right now I’m coveting A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones, Savvy Cook by Izy Hossack, This Cheese is Nuts! by Julie Piatt, Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor (aka the blogger behind Cookie and Kate!), and The Yoga Kitchen by Kimberly Parsons. While I’m trying ot restrain myself in the lead-up to college, I just might crack and place one last Amazon order…
Where do you find your cooking inspo? Are you a cookbook fiend, a Pinterest obessive, or do you like to make it up on the fly? Let me know your style in the comments below, along with a few of your favorite recipes that I need to make!
xx