Here at Lemuria, each employee takes on the responsibility of lovingly (for the most part) tending to his/her own section in the store. I lucked out and inherited cooking, which is a perfect fit since I a) like to cook and b) thoroughly enjoy reading a cookbook just like I would any other book. There are so many beautiful books in my cooking nook, but here are just a few that have recently come in, which highlight the fresh, tender ingredients of spring:

Sophie Dahl, author, former fashion model and granddaughter of beloved author Roald Dahl, has published her second cookbook Very Fond of Food: A Year in Recipes. Dahl progresses through each season meal by meal with plenty of appealing photos to accompany her recipes. Of course I flipped straight to the spring section and found several enticing recipes including:

  • Spicy Eggplant and Tomato with Poached Eggs
  • Pea, Pesto, and Arugula Soup
  • Radishes (one of my absolute favorite spring/summer veggies) with Truffle Salt, Mint, and Olive Oil

 

 

Since I am growing fresh spring greens in my back yard, I was immediately drawn to this next cook book, Salad for Dinner by Jeanne Kelley. Focusing on greens as the entire meal, Kelley has put together a wonderful and tasty array of salads satisfying enough to be your main course. Here are a few that caught my eye:

  • Pea and Orecchiette Salad with Perlini Mozzarella and Mint
  • Chicken, Avocado and Mango Salad
  • Mixed Greens with Farro, Bacon, Dates, Walnuts, Pears and Parmesan

 

James Peterson, winner of 7 James Beard Awards has come out with a revised version of Vegetables: The Most Authoritative Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking, with More Than 300 Recipes. Authoritative is an understatement. Peterson goes through an entire alphabet of vegetables and lays out each vegetable’s properties and several ways to prepare each one with an abundance of rich photos to help illustrate his techniques. I found the pages on peeling and seeding tomatoes and the proper way to finely chop an onion especially helpful:

Any of these would be a great addition to your cookbook collection and it probably couldn’t hurt to incorporate a few more veggies into your spring diet!

by Anna

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