An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

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Over the past fifty years we have been crippled in the kitchen--relying on television shows, you-tube clips, photographs, and recipes to venture into the realm of food preparation. Cooking for me (when not in emergency mode with my tiny children) is meant to be cathartic, and a creative process as much as a scientific one. The award-winning, bestselling author of An Everlasting Meal serves up an inspiring, money-saving, environmentally responsible, A-to-Z collection of simple recipes that utilize all kinds of leftovers—perfect for solo meals or for feeding the whole family. Fill a bowl with the carrot ribbons, add a light sprinkle of toasted cumin or coriander, a little vinegar and salt, then dress it with a lot of good olive oil.

So, this book is for people who like traditional French and German food, with a hippie twist that makes it low-protein and low-spice. Perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that I am already familiar with many of her strategies here (using leftovers, using all parts of the ingredient, etc. As the Christian-Catholic finds new truth and strength in repeated celebrations of the mass, so the one-caring finds new delight in breakfast, in welcoming home her wanderers, in feeding the cat who purrs against her ankle, in noticing the twilight. That’s where Tamar Adler can help—her area of culinary expertise is finding delicious destinies for leftovers.Adler’s conversational tone feels like a friend cheering you on as you rummage through your fridge for dinner. I enjoyed the author’s insightful writing about her cooking knowledge; and really, this guide to all things culinary would be on my kitchen shelf instead of in my bookcase, if I’d wanted to remain a full-on omnivorous eater. Everything has parsley and Parmesan in it, and everything is served on toast, and worst of all, vegetables are served cold! In an age when every recipe seems to come with a list of ingredients as long as my arm, Tamar Adler's approach to food is disarmingly simple, refreshingly intuitive, and utterly sensible. Unfortunately, she lacks Fisher's genius of finding the unexpectedly perfect word, and too often she misses and lands on twee, pretentious or just meaningless.

Put them on a board and squish down with the bottom of a mug or jar or something, then wiggle it around a bit. Not long after that, I realized that one of the reasons I loved this book so much is that it reminds me of my grandmother. An Everlasting Meal is elegant testimony to the value of cooking and an empowering, indispensable tool for eaters today. What I think makes this book so special is that it is not about food in isolation ("here are a bunch of things that taste great!

The boundary lines are full of needful skills, basic concepts, and a mindset of endless, resourceful creativity. I agree with her on moral principles--cruelty and factory farming practices necessarily impinges on our plate.