Today I'd like to recommend you cookbooks by Heidi Swanson, the author of a lovely 101 Cookbooks food blog. First of her books, Super Natural Cooking was published a few years ago, second one Super Natural Every Day has been out since April 2011.
Those of you who follow 101 Cookbooks blog, know probably that Heidi is a vegetarian. Her cooking is not only super natural and super healthy, but also super tasty. Also, her recipes are very creative, made with plenty of interesting ingredients.
First of Heidi's cookbooks Super Natural Cooking starts with a description of various products which the author uses in her kitchen (the first chapter is actually entirely devoted to that). Heidi introduces different kinds of flours, fats, and natural sweeteners.
The second chapter, titled Explore a Wilde Range of Grains, is a collection of recipes using various kinds of grains, including those less known as quinoa, teff, or amaranth. My absolutely favorite recipe from this part of the book is the one for Espresso Banana Muffins which I urge you to try!!!
One of the most interesting chapters is chapter 3 in which the author describes the properties of fruit and vegetables depending on their color. You can find out what lycopene is and why it's worth to eat calendula flowers.
The following chapter is entirely devoted to Super Foods, which are basically all types of food super rich in vitamins and minerals, such as legumes, nuts and grains, sprouts, tea, or yogurt.
In Chapter 5 Heidi focuses on all kinds of sugars and sweeteners such as cane sugar, honey, or agave nectar. The books finishes with a small collection of basic recipes such as vegetable stock and tomato sauce, but you will find here also some more sophisticated recipes e.g. cashew cream.
Super Natural Food Every Day also begins with a description of ingredients. The introduction is followed by seven chapters: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Dinner, Drinks, Treats, and Accompaniments. The recipes are easy and quick to prepare. There are plenty of ideas for snacks and drinks here. Also, the ingredients seem a little bit simpler than in Super Natural Cooking. Although, let's be honest here, for some of the ingredients you will have to visit a few more places than your regular grocery store.
Both of the books have beautiful graphics; most of the recipes are illustrated with beautiful photographs taken by the author. These are not books for everyone though, as I already mentioned, ingredients used by Heidi are expensive and hard to obtain. Not everything can be simply found in a regular grocery store. But cooking with Heidi's recipes is a warranty of a tasty and healthy meal rich in nutrients.
Have a nice evening everyone,
Karo
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