Diana Lamb

“So, if I’m cooking, I’ll be steaming vegetables, making some nice salad, that kind of stuff.”

– Paul McCartney

Open-Faced Pesto Melts, Easy Cheesy Lasagna, Pinto Bean Tostadas, Rice and Lentil Burgers, Fruit Juice Gummies and No-Bake Brownie Bites await you in “Vegetarian Family Cookbook” by Kristen Wood. You can sneak more fruits and veggies in while serving flavorful snacks like Creamy Coconut Fruit Dip with apple slices, Banana Oatmeal Bars, Baked Broccoli Tots plus Chickpea and Zucchini Nuggets dipped in Rosemary Honey Mustard Sauce. Picky eaters of all ages will find much to like among these 100 meat-free dishes.

Saving time while creating delicious food is the theme of these next two cookbooks. First up is “Speedy Bosh!” by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby. In it, they will show you how to take advantage of common kitchen appliances, ready-made ingredients and their wealth of kitchen hacks to quickly and efficiently get yummy dishes on the table in 30 minutes or less. Now, it’s possible to make Teriyaki Tempeh, Deep, Dark Smoky Chili, and Happy Chick’n Parmo without spending hours in the kitchen. For dessert, there’s Red Velvet Sorbet, Blueberry Cheesecake Shake and Creamy Lime Pie.

Secondly, is Ally Lazare’s “Plant-Based Diet in 30 Minutes.” Her focus is on creating quick and tasty vegan food that is low in salt, sugar and saturated fat. Ally gives us a dozen breakfast ideas to fuel our mornings like Zucchini-Carrot Oatmeal Muffins, Pumpkin Spice Scones, Pancake Tray, Two Ways plus Very Berry Smoothie and Go Green Smoothie. For lunch and dinner there’s Buffalo Ranch Pasta Salad, Egg-Roll-in-a-Bowl Stir Fry, Seven-Layer Burritos, Greek Veggie Bowls with Hummus and Crab Cake Burgers using chickpeas and hearts of palm.

Cafe Gratitude is a popular plant-based restaurant with six locations serving Southern California. Since 2008, the executive chef, Seizan Dreux Ellis has been creating fresh, whole-food-inspired vegan fare to enthusiastic diners. Now, home chefs can replicate their favorite restaurant dishes from his new cookbook, “Love is Served.” Here is a sampling of what’s inside: Honeydew Melon and Cucumber Gazpacho with Spicy Pepitas, Indian Curry Bowl, Tempeh Caesar Wrap, Pad Thai Kelp Noodles and Hawaiian Pizza with an Ancient Grain Crust. To satisfy that sweet tooth, indulge in some Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar, decadent Black Lava Cake with Caramel Sauce, Key Lime Pie and chewy Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies.

“What I’ve enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn – I love it!” Jamie Oliver

Nom Wah Tea Parlor, located in New York City’s Chinatown, has been serving up delicious plates of dim sum with steaming cups of tea for over a century. Traditional favorites like Roast Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao), Scallion Pancakes and Spring Rolls now share the table with new flavor innovations like Sweet Potato Kale Wontons, Chorizo Potato Dumplings and Chinese Chopped Cheese Dumplings. More taste bud teasers to make are Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage, Garlic Eggplant Noodles, Walnut Shrimp, Sweet and Sour Pork Chops and Moon Cookies. History, stories and 75 recipes are seamlessly brought together in Wilson Tang’s “The Nom Wah Cookbook.”

“Chaat” by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy introduces us to the wide variety of prepared foods available on-the-go in India. Chaat is described as “The sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, creamy, hot and cold snacks – street food, really – found in Indian markets, train stations, and home kitchens.” Some drinks and dishes may be familiar such as curry, chutney, samosas, chai and the sweet yogurt drink called Lassi. Maneet provides the base recipe for this refreshing beverage and a variety of flavor ideas including mango, strawberry and brewed espresso. New and tempting chaat to try might be Vada Pav (Potato Fritter Sandwich), Lemon Rice, Brinjal Achaar (Eggplant Pickles) and Jhal Muri (Puffed Rice with Peanuts, Chickpeas and Vegetables.) Maneet has gathered recipes from all over her home country so you can experience a taste of India in your home kitchen.

Sabrina Ghayour, author of “Persiana” invites us back to her table for more Middle Eastern-inspired recipes with “Simply: Easy Everyday Dishes.” Sabrina serves up tasty food you’ll want to add to your weekly meal rotation. For instance, Pomegranate Molasses and Honey-Glazed Meatballs, Harissa Chicken Noodle Lettuce Cups, Lamb, Cumin, Cilantro and Chile Kebabs, Ultimate Falafels plus Crispy Cod Wraps with Salsa and Harissa Lime Mayo. When it’s too hot to cook, Tomato & Peanut Salad with Tamarind Ginger and Honey Dressing, Pear, Chickpea and Green Leaf Salad with Maple Harissa Dressing and Strawberry, Soft Goat Cheese and Pistachio Salad are cool and refreshing ideas to keep in mind.

“The Chilean Kitchen” by Pilar Hernandez and Eileen Smith gives us 75 traditional recipes from this South American country. Chileans are very fond of bread whether it is the flaky container for savory fillings like Caramelized Onion or Beef Empanadas, sweetened for dessert as in Sweet Christmas Bread or a filled basket of Quick Skillet Bread on the table at mealtime. Hearty soups and stews are also favored and go well with bread like Potato-Squash Stew with Beef, Brothy Seafood Soup loaded with fresh mussels, shrimp, calamari and whitefish, Creamy Chickpea Soup and Grilled Steak Soup. Chile is known for its wines so this cookbook would not be complete without a few spirited drinks such as Chilean White Sangria with ripe sliced strawberries, Mulled Red Wine and finally, Earthquake Cocktail.

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” Charles M. Schulz

A 9x13x2” baking dish is the only pan you’ll need to make every sweet recipe in Edd Kimber’s latest book, “One Tin Bakes.” For those of you who may not know, Edd Kimber is a British baker, food writer and the winner of the first Great British Bake Off competition. With this book, home bakers can create Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Squares, Peanut Butter Brookies, ‘Coffee’ Coffee Cake with an espresso swirl and Apple Fritter Monkey Bread. Chocolate lovers will want to bake Edd’s favorite dessert which is the Milk Chocolate Caramel Sheet Cake sprinkled with nuts and cacao nibs.

On the front cover of this next book is a gorgeous layer cake adorned with multi-colored pastel buttercream flowers. It is the first of many luscious cakes, cupcakes and other confectionery delights in Bobbie Lloyd’s “The Magnolia Bakery Handbook.” Bobbie is very generous with her baking knowledge, instructions and techniques so that home bakers have opportunity to achieve picture-worthy results. Besides dazzling cakes, there are cookies, bars, muffins, scones and a chapter dedicated to banana pudding. This pudding chapter features flavor combinations such as Java Chip Banana, Peanut Butter Banana, Salted Caramel Banana and Pumpkin-Gingersnap Banana Pudding.

Of all desserts, ice cream is the most accommodating and versatile. A scoop dresses up a serving of cake or pie, it can be sandwiched between two cookies, doused in hot fudge or scooped into a waffle cone and eaten before it melts. Rose Levy Beranbaum, who is best known for her baking books, has confessed her love for ice cream. “Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss” contains the secrets for making super creamy frozen desserts without any iciness. Flavors range from the familiar vanilla, strawberry, and cookies ‘n’ cream to the more unique Silken Black Sesame, Turkish Stretchy and Red Wine ice cream.

If you were to choose a favorite pie, what would it be? Maybe it’s banana cream, chocolate silk, pecan or deep dish apple. Whichever it is, you’ll find it and many more within Ken Haedrich’s book, “Pie Academy.” Creating a pie crust from scratch is easy when you follow Ken’s clear and simple directions provided at the beginning of the book. There are 25 different pie doughs including crumb crusts that don’t involve a rolling pin. For variety, there are 255 delicious fillings to place in those crusts like Blueberry-Peach, Maple Pumpkin, Sour Cream-Blackberry, Snickers Brownie and Coffee Mud Pie with an Oreo Crust. January 23^rd was National Pie Day. However, it’s not too late to make one in honor of Pi Day on March 14^th.

These cookbooks and many more are available now through A.K. Smiley Public Library’s “Books-To-Go” program. For more information, please visit our website at www.akspl.org or call 909-798-7565.

“You want happy endings, read cookbooks.”  Dean Young

Carne asada tacos, carnitas burritos, Baja fish tacos, killer quesadillas, and mushroom asada bowls are a sampling of the 75 recipes contained in “Trejos Tacos” by actor and L.A. restaurateur Danny Trejo. For something sweet, Danny offers both regular and vegan donuts in flavors like Margarita, cinnamon sugar, vegan berry and vegan coco loco. This book will make you instantly hungry for Mexican food!

Food allergies and dietary preferences are sweetly accommodated in Angela Garbacz’s book, “Perfectly Golden.” Now everyone can safely devour warm sticky pecan buns, pumpkin loaf cake, graham cracker cream pie, orange blossom cake with lemon buttercream frosting, rich chocolate ganache tart, and soft molasses cookies that are rolled in sugar before baking for a sweet crispy coating.

Simple, flavorful and wholesome fare is what you’ll discover in “Amish Family Recipes” by Lovina Eicher. Hearty and filling meals abound with chicken pot pie, Swiss steak, cabbage rolls and zucchini pizza casserole. The Amish are known for their baked goods and desserts. Save room for a warm slice of peach bread, frosted banana cake bars, sour cream apple pie, and cool, creamy chocolate pudding.

“Everyone Can Bake” by Dominique Ansel teaches home bakers his foundation recipes and techniques for consistently better baking results. You might start with strawberry banana bread or lemon pound cake. Soon, you may be inspired to bake a show-stopping raspberry cream puff cake or hazelnut chocolate cherry cake filled with chocolate mousse and coated with a smooth dark chocolate glaze.

Some more new cookbooks to whet your appetite include: “The Feast of Fiction Kitchen: Recipes Inspired by TV, Movies, Games & Books,” “Clean & Simple Diabetes Cookbook: Flavorful, Fuss-Free Recipes for Everyday Meal Planning,” “Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen,” and “That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life.”

For more information on how to check out these titles using our Books To Go program, please visit our website, www.akspl.org, or call 909-798-7565.