Let's Eat!

As I am always on the lookout for new cookbooks that promise healthy meals in very little time, I was eagerly awaiting Mark Bittman's new cookbook, Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less. Bittman is the author of the popular How to Cook Everything series, and I've always liked his easy to follow, no frills recipes. Since his last book, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, he has been focusing more on healthier recipes with local and seasonal ingredients, which I like. Kitchen Express is great. The recipes are super-simple and laid back. The recipes are about a paragraph long and very few exact measurements are used. He uses phrases like "heat a couple of tablespoons of butter," "add a bunch of chopped spinach," and "beat an egg with a little buttermilk and a couple of handfuls of grated cheddar." I love that. It makes me feel less anxious about getting the exact right amount of an ingredient. And I think it encourages cooks to learn to focus on the food-when it looks done and if it tastes right, rather than trying to rigidly follow a recipe. My only complaint is the lack of photographs. I like pictures in my cookbooks and Bittman's books never have photos. The recipes are divided into seasons: Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, each featuring ingredients that are at their freshest at that time. Since I think we can definitely say we are well into fall, I'll try the Gruyere Apple Grilled Cheese, the Apple Cider and White Wine Slushy, and the Pumpkin Creme Brulee. Mmmmm. Doesn't that sound delicious?