I think Earth Day needs a bit more appreciation! We need to spread love to all things nature and learn more about sustainability. I know when it comes to food, things can feel a little difficult. This is why some cookbook authors have given us lessons on how to cook cleaner, healthier, and better for the Earth. Let’s see what is new this year for spring 2021.
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The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet
If we all learned how to produce zero waste, our carbon footprint would decrease immensely! One of the most prominent places where waste builds up is in the kitchen. Learning how to use all parts of food products is just one way to help our planet.
The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet cookbook will guide you on how to use more and throw away less. There are tips at the end of almost each recipe that share what you can do with leftover parts of each dish. For instance, half of the cilantro that never gets used up can be used for dressings and sauces for later.
This cookbook has about 75 vegan and vegetarian recipes. What I enjoy most is that everything is about learning how to cook with scraps. We can create all kinds of dishes like fermented staples or sauces for later. Make sure your food doesn’t go to waste and use everything! This might seem difficult at first, but with The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet it will be easy.
Check out her blog @ZeroWasteChef to learn more about becoming a plastic free/zero waste kitchen!
The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes
#EATMEATLESS: Good for Animals, the Earth & All
As we know, plant-based diets are all the rage right now, but do we talk about how it affects wildlife? In Jane Goodall’s cookbook #EATMEATLESS: Good for Animals, the Earth & All we learn how to cook better for ourselves and the planet.
I love that this cookbook isn’t preachy, but it definitely lets us know that transitioning to plant-based is better for everyone involved. Mostly, as I look through it, it doesn’t feel like I am being judged, because Goodall acknowledges that many of us look at plant-based eating apprehensively. She reassures us that it doesn’t have to feel like a huge overhaul in your life and can be quite delicious.
Her cookbook focuses more on eating better for the planet and all the animals that share this lovely world with us. I haven’t seen a cookbook with this perspective yet, mostly it is about becoming a healthier you. Now I can feel good about what I eat for the planet.
Forage: Wild plants to gather and eat
One thing that I think we all need to start doing, especially after this incredibly reclusive year, is go outside! This Earth Day I want to spend in the sunshine and admiring what this beautiful green planet has to offer.
With Forage: Wild plants to gather and eat cookbook we not only learn about all the plants surrounding us, but also how to cook delicious treats and meals with them. There are 50 plants we learn about in detail including habitat, flavor properties, and even diagrams to show each part of the plant.
Everything is beautifully illustrated in this cookbook with little recipes to go along with it. I want to know everything about these plants as humanly possible – especially since I live in the Pacific Northwest! There are plenty of ingredients in my backyard to create yummy dishes.
The Forager’s Pantry: Cooking with Wild Edibles
Isn’t the cover of The Forager’s Pantry: Cooking with Wild Edibles cookbook absolutely stunning? This cookbook is perfect for those who enjoy exploring the world and different flavors it has to offer. These recipes are incredibly distinct and utilize all kinds of foraged foods.
I thoroughly enjoy how this cookbook is divided up. The chapters include: spices and herbs, greens, flowers, fruits, seeds and nuts, etc. That way it will be easy to navigate while searching for items and cooking! We also have charts for seasonal availability, so we can be on the lookout during our next hiking trip!
Ellen Zachos, the author, does a fantastic job explaining which ingredients can be pickled, frozen, fermented, etc. This mean that we will not only lessen our carbon footprint by foraging, but also learning how to utilize every ingredient.
There are a lot of items that I would not have thought of doing to utilize my foraged ingredients. For instance, a savory version of puff pastry swirl with delicious onions, mushrooms, and other goodies you might find while exploring.
Definitely take a look at The Forager’s Pantry: Cooking with Wild Edibles cookbook, especially if you’re an outdoorsy person!
Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook
I like to think of Earth Day as a way to enjoy the simple things in life. I think by overcomplicating we forget to see what is ahead of it and don’t “stop to smell the roses”. This is why I thoroughly enjoy the Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook. Vegetables should be enjoyed simply as much as we delight in complicating recipes.
All 110 recipes in this cookbook are paired with a bright and colorful photo that showcases each vegetable or fruit. If you thought vegetables looked unappealing before, this cookbook will convince you otherwise. I had no idea that my mouth would be watering for eggplants, but it did!
Eric Ripert, the author, is the chef and co-owner of the New York restaurant Le Bernardin. This restaurant holds three Michelin stars and has been highly rated in the New York Times for a couple decades. He definitely knows his food!
In this cookbook, everything is simplified with most recipes only having at max, eight ingredients. Some of the recipes are a tad more elaborate, but not by much. This means we can savor what the Earth has to offer in its purest form without much alteration. I really admire the message in this cookbook!
Sprouts, Shoots & Microgreens: Tiny Plants to Grow and Eat in Your Home Kitchen
Many of us are living in places where gardening and foraging is just not possible. We live in huge urban areas and space is incredibly limited. That’s why the Sprouts, Shoots & Microgreens: Tiny Plants to Grow and Eat in Your Home Kitchen cookbook is so pivotal for a greener planet!
Did you know growing microgreens, sprouts, and shoots only requires a glass jar and and water? That is it! This cookbook will guide you on how best to set up your little micro-garden even for the tiniest of living spaces.
The author, Lina Wallentinson, provides a thorough introduction that shows us all the different kinds of microgreens and sprouts we can grow at home. For instance, it never occurred to me to use mung bean sprouts in recipes, not just the bean. There is even a whole chapter dedicated to the nutritional value of microgreens, sprouts, and shoots in this cookbook. Wallentinson shares an abundance of recipes that you will adore!
There are dishes like pancakes, parfaits, salads and more to keep utilize all those greens you’re growing at home.
Even with tiny spaces we can still try to be as sustainable as possible!
The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes)
Oftentimes, usually during summer, I’ll take a look at the produce section in my local grocery store, and realize there are some strange fruits around the world. Admittedly, it is intimidating buy yet alone cook with these fruits. This is why I really love The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes) cookbook. It’s a way to understand and appreciate nature for all its quirks.
This book lists twenty-six weird fruits and introduces us to them in a fun, poetic way. These essays explain some scientific aspects of the fruits or fun quips about them, such as “related to the apple” and “clothes stainer.” It’s an entertaining read, which will help you remember these unique fruits!
The author also explores the question as to why these are difficult fruits. Surely it is more than the fact that they are a rarity or unique in American (or in parts of America.) Some, it’s the cultivation or how to best prepare these fruits. This book demystifies all those looming questions.
Along with the essays are food profiles and recipes that you will love to try out!
Herb: A cook’s companion
Who else wants to have their own herb garden at home? I sure do! This is why I need Herb: A cook’s companion cookbook! There are over 100 recipes with descriptions for most common herbs.
In this cookbook, we learn about the different flavor profile to some of our favorite herbs and spices we use in our cooking almost daily. This includes what tastes best with what and what pairs well.
One of my favorite parts about this cookbook is learning the different techniques to keep or use each herb. For instance, I have a ton of mint in my garden at the moment. There are only so many mojitos I can make, but I still have a surplus of mint. With this cookbook I can learn what other recipes to use mint in, how to dry it or preserve it! I don’t want anything to go to waste.
The photos are glorious. Everything is so lush and vibrant – perfect to eat! It looks like there is a photo for just about every recipe in Herb: A Cook’s Companion.
The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes
The The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes cookbook is a treasure. This is a very informative and personal cookbook with stories about Farmer Lee Jones and the Chef’s Garden.
His garden has been an inspiration for many chefs around the nation, because he’s grown different kinds of microgreens, vegetables, fruits, and more that are so unique. Chefs want to get their hands on this fresh produce to show us how awesome they are!
I thoroughly love this snippet from the summary here: “The Chef’s Garden grows and harvests with the notion that every part of the plant offers something unique for the plate.”
There are more than 500 fruits/vegetable entries with explanations for each. I am absolutely in love with the photography, as it shows all of these plants at their best.
There are 100 recipes that basically teach us how to make vegetables super easy and tasty. I’ve never seen some of these before, which is exciting! Did you realize that even vegetables can be used for desserts? There is a recipe for an onion caramel and beet marshmallow I am dying to try out in the The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes cookbook.
Celebrate Earth Day by cooking more sustainably, with zero waste, and really understanding where your food comes from. Appreciate all the gifts Mother Earth has provided and feel nourished!
~Kaiti
