101 Cookbooks

My friend Kirsten told me about a blog she loves called 101 Cookbooks. Kirsten is an amazing cook and shares my love for culinary adventure. She's also one heck of a home and family cool hunter. So when she says she loves something, I am compelled to check it out.

So off I went gleefully to the site and of course fell in love. Heidi Swanson (the owner/writer/photographer) has created a beautiful resource for people who love real food. It's labeled as a healthy recipe resource but I feel that's too narrow a description. It's to the point for sure, as 101 Cookbooks features recipes which use natural ingredients. But it's so much more for me. As someone who has a reputation for eating bizarre things (bizarre as in eating starfruit and kumquats not insects or durian - that's Andrew Zimmern's job) this is a place of affirmation. A place where people like me, who love food, can go for inspiration. A place where food is treated as something beautiful and sensuous.

But let me say, I tend to get really excited about things at first. And sometimes what I initially get excited about, I'll later realize was just meh. Yes, I'm a jump in first, ask questions later kind of gal. So I've learned to be slightly skeptical when I start to feel the fluttering of fuzzy feelings.

So before I get too involved with the beauty and grandeur of this site (too late perhaps?), I should tell you I have made the following recipes from the site (with my brief notes on each):

Jamaican Veggie Patties These are one of the best things I've ever eaten!
Lentil Soup Mmmm, so yummy and so hearty &
Black Bean Brownies I was very excited to try this one

And before you scrunch up your nose thinking black beans don't belong in brownies, let me say they were pretty delicious! And when Jonah (JONAH! whose diet consists of yogurt, milk, mac & cheese, occasionally some chicken nuggets and frequent bowls of raisin bran—yeah, yeah, I know a preschooler who likes raisin bran?) asked for more brownie, I knew I had hit gold.

So bookmark the link and try something new. Afterward, we'll grab a cup of coffee together and discuss our return to a world free from high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and excessive amounts of corn and soy hidden in our processed foods. A place where food is once again something we savor.

Heidi Swanson's book (she's published two)