Joy and Cooking: The Cookbooks of 2022

There’s something undeniably attention-grabbing about a “Best of” list. 2022 is ending and, people want to know about the noteworthy cookbooks. This year I’m going to try something a little different – not quite a gift guide, yet not a “Best of” list either. Where I want to go with this post is simple – help home cooks find a little joy in their kitchens. Joy is what moves me forward and, it’s never steered me wrong when I’m talking about cookbooks (it was one of the favourite parts of my conversation I had with Lindsay Cameron Wilson on her The Food Podcast this year (link here). However, my joy may not necessarily be someone else’s joy because we all have our own personal set of criteria concerning joyful kitchen experiences. So, through the next 8 sections, I’ll briefly discuss some of the books that stood out to me this year. For any books that I’ve already reviewed, I’ll add a link so that you can visit that review for more information. There will be books I haven’t reviewed yet but still deserve a mention. Continue reading “Joy and Cooking: The Cookbooks of 2022”

Book Club Tuesday: Carpathia

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Food is intertwined with personal journeys and life stories. It can create a bridge that connects us across borders, languages, and cultural differences. When I cook the recipes in this book — making borș, grilling peppers, crushing garlic for mujdei, making pickles — the fragrances remind me of how Romanian cooking is part of the collective European heritage and landscape. (10)

In my heart, I’ve always seen cookbooks as a way to vicariously travel and experience the world, and since the early spring, when all of the quarantine, lockdowns, and sheltering in place occurred, this method of travel has become even more practical. Upon opening the cover of Irina Georgescu‘s new cookbook, Carpathia, the reader is met with Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Carpathia”