After guerilla-cooking for most of my adult life (What's in the fridge? That would be good with some noodles or rice), I've only recently discovered the goodness of cookbooks--and the recipes that lie therein. I'm now a big fan of about 4 or 5 of them, but the one pictured here is the one that stole my heart and got me started on my new love affair with cookbooks. The good ones are so much more than a compilation of recipes-- they are whole culinary philosophies illuminated and expressed. My mom gave Nourishing Traditions to me a couple of years ago and it's not just a cookbook, folks: it's a lifestyle. One that embraces whole cream, pounds of butter and organ meats (and banishes refined sugar from the diet). I've yet to try the recipes highlighting the latter, but the two former? Well, let's just say that "2%" is a swear word around here--these cream cheese pastries have more calories in them than I consumed during my entire college career. (Note: cream cheese=homemade, page 169-divine). We had these with NT meusli for breakfast...
...and then headed out to plant our Hardy Garden. (i.e. the one that will weather a few more chilly nights and, as they pointed out today after these little guys were in the ground, some hail later this week). Kale, arugula, mesculin mix, spinach and chard are in the ground...
...and being very tenderly cared for.
