New Cookbooks

Who needs garlic and onions with these gems around!

A few months ago, I decided it was time to upgrade my cookbook collection. Most of the books I owned I'd purchased as a vegetarian. As a result, they are virtually obsolete in my life.  In fact, if I were a person who was capable of throwing things away, I might actually do just that! (Alas, I missed that gene.)

Moving on. So my new cookbooks are of the paleo variety. Grain Free, Wheat Free, Dairy Free, Happy Meat cookbooks. And, overall, my eating has certainly improved with these recent purchases. However, it's really one cookbook that really has made the difference, Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.

And it's all about SPICES!

In my last blog I mentioned that I have to give up onion and garlic for  a while. Now, this is something I really can't imagine. Onions and garlic are in EVERYTHING. And as far as I've known for the last 40 something  years, should be in everything!  They're what adds the flavor, right? How do you not eat them? Well, the answer seems to be hang out with my new best friend Melissa (see previous blog Cool Kids), and her favorite spices Rogan Josh and Ras El Hanout.

So far I have made six recipes from Well Fed.  That is perhaps more recipes than I have made from a single cookbook ever!  And if not ever, certainly the first time in the span of a month (I will note that the cookbook hasn't been out for a month, I first pulled some recipes from her blog.) My current new favorite breakfast food (mixed with steak and eggs) is velvety butternut squash and her lamb rogan josh with the beautiful spice above, is umm, finger licking good!

I just tried my latest Well Fed recipe, Chocolate Chili!  OMG. I don't even like chili and I can't stop eating this stuff. Melissa had suggested I cook up some carrots and celery and substitute them for onions and garlic. So I did just that with the chili. Woah, Nellie, this chili is good! Though, it has nothing to do with the celery and carrots and everything to do with the cocoa, cumin, chili powder and various other spices that I would never think to add on my own. 

Garlic and onion, who?