Culinary Gems

Everyone loves to enjoy a good meal. That being said, can everyone cook a good meal? There is no need to wear a white coat or go to cooking school to be capable of creating a tasty dish. Everyone can still learn new ways to produce a wonderful meal. Practice helps to make perfect in a kitchen; reading improves learning in all respects, including the production of breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner.

Peter White Public Library continuously adds new books on baking, cooking, diet, culinary adventures and experiences. Our new section of books is sure to offer ways to entice and spice up any meal. For example Forks Over Knives, The Cookbook by Del Sroufe, explores the many ins and outs of plant-based eating regardless of the season.  The book has hundreds of recipes from soups to salads, from barbecue sauce to ginger peach muffins. If you've caught a summertime cold, a wonderful remedy can be found in this book: Thai Noodle Soup. The mixture of ginger, chili peppers, garlic, mushroom, citrus, and cilantro will do wonders towards releasing antioxidants.

The Miracle of Tea – Practical Tips for Health and Home by Dr. Penny Stanway, is another way to keep a summer cold at bay. The book is not filled with recipes; rather it is filled with how to mix different teas correctly to combat whichever type of mild illness or stress one may be dealing with.  There is history on tea and what exactly is within the pouches that steep in hot water. Want to learn more about tea? Peak inside the The Miracle of Tea.

What goes better with tea than a lovely baked good? Baking can be an extraordinarily grand time, especially when one gets to taste their own product.

When deciding what to bake this summer, check out The Violet Bakery Cookbook by Claire Ptak (Foreword by Alice Waters). Any cookbook that includes a foreword by Alice Waters has something special inside. Buns, cookies, muffins, scones, pies, and cake are what make this book worthwhile. The strawberry ginger poppy seed scones pair wonderfully alongside a hot cup of chamomile tea. They were great with a hot cup of coffee too.

Pie also has a way of tasting great with a cup of tea or coffee. Within a magnificent book titled In a French Kitchen by Susan Herrmann Loomis, is the cultural experience of an author who moved to France. She writes about her friends and her personal culinary habits and the necessities needed to survive in French kitchens. At the end of each chapter are recipes tied into these fun filled experiences. The book is a page-turner and filled with mouth-watering dishes. The rhubarb ginger tart is fascinating. It is a great dessert after a dinner of fresh white fish cooked in parchment with butter sauce. A lovely pair to the white fish is harissa potato chips from a cookbook that claims to be reinventing vegan cuisine; Crossroads by Tal Ronnen, Scot Jones, and Serafina Magnussen.

All of these culinary gems and more can be found within the adult nonfiction collection at the Peter White Public Library.

--Shane G. Sizemore (Maintenance Department)