Minimalist Cooking: free e-cookbook from Stone Soup Blog
August 12, 2010 – 5:46 pmI hesitate to post this. It is not a vegan or vegetarian cookbook. But I really admire the concept of it, and I think some of my “non” cook friends will appreciate it (you know who you are). Stone Soup has put out a free e-cookbook of what the author calls “minimalist home cooking”. Meaning, all 65 recipes involve no more than 5 whole-food (not processed crap) ingredients, and no more than 10 minutes of preparation. I think it’s a swell idea, and many of the recipes are vegan or vegetarian-adaptable. The photos are beautiful as well. I love that she has come up with that many simple, quick recipes — none of them involve fancy ingredients (ok, maybe the occasional age balsamic vinegar. But you should have some of that in your cupboard already if you know what’s good for you.) or fancy equipment.
Another thing I like is that one of her objectives with minimalist cooking is to give people who wouldn’t consider themselves to be experienced or capable cooks confidence in the kitchen. I’m on board with this goal. I think that a lot of our national problem with obesity and ill-health stems from our collective move out of the kitchen and into the fast-food (by that I mean actual fast-food chains, but also big-box chains like Ryan’s or Applebee’s) restaurants. Home-cooked food is usually healthier, less-processed, and contains less additives.
Even the ADA is acknowledging that the simple act of cooking your own food can make you healthier. Here’s an article from USA today that outlines some reasons why (it’s a bit old, but they still apply). So I’m supportive of folks who want to make healthy cooking easier and more accessible to those who might consider it to be difficult in terms of time, money, or effort.
Stone Soup author Jules Clancy has also been challenging herself to eat for $2 a day. Which I also think is cool. Give her e-book a download, and let me know what you think.