Cookbook gift ideas

November 17, 2004 in More Healthy Cooking Resources

Making your list and checking it twice? Don't forget to add the bookstore to your holiday shopping plans. Cookbooks and other food-related tomes are always welcome under the food lovers or gourmet cooks tree. Here are two fabulous selection - one somewhat scientific, one soulful -  that are guaranteed to get make some mistletoe magic! Both books are available online at http://www.chapters.indigo.ca or at any Chapters or Indigo bookstore.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. 2nd Edition by Harold McGee, Scribner, $49.95

In the library of almost every serious cook, there is one big blue book. The first edition of On Food and Cooking that introduced everyday cooks to the inner workings of the science of food, and influence a whole new generation of chefs and cookbook writers.

That book has been revised and updated after a 20 year hiatus. At a binding-busting 884 pages, one can see why it took so long. The revised edition is as fresh and vital as the original. The science goes much deeper than before, and throughout, it's more clearly explained. McGee is able to translate the dry scientific information into elegant, entertaining prose. It�s the kind of book you open just to look up one detail and find yourself browsing an hour later.

If you've got a foodie who loves to delve into the how's and why's of cooking, this is a gift that will keep them reading all year.

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes by Maya Angelou, Random House, $42.00

"Food is important not just as fuel for the body, but as devices for the growth of the soul," says Maya Angelou, the 76-year-old celebrate writer and poet. Stories of her most memorable meals -  including recipes handed down from her grandmother and mother and across the table from her sister-friends -  are chronicled in this just published cookbook.

Having learned to cook from a grandmother born into slavery who labored her whole life over a wood-burning stove, Angelou's passion for food is flavored with respect for what it took for her forebears to create the dishes she loves. While Angelou now lives in Winston-Salem, N.C., and has a place in New York City, she has called Los Angeles home off and on since the 1950's. She discovered her love of Mexican food there. She also sought out Creole restaurants in her neighborhood. At her own dinner table, anyone with a lack of appreciation for the food and the joyful spirit of the meal is handed his coat and shown the door!

Even if you never cook any of the recipes, this book promises to be a fascinating read from such a rich and interesting life.

All research on this web site is the property of Leslie Beck and is protected by copyright. Keep in mind that research on these matters continues daily and is subject to change. The information presented is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. It is intended to provide ongoing support of your healthy lifestyle practices.

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