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In a follow-up to the wildly popular Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi once again proves that vegetables can be much more than an unappetizing side dish hastily steamed in the microwave. These beautifully photographed, flavorful recipes are an inspiration to those wishing to eat healthier in the age of the "vegi-renaissance." Books mentioned in this post Plenty [...]

September, when we are still working to preserve our summer fare amidst the first rains of fall, brings books on harvesting and preserving. Let's enjoy these last of the summer-oriented cookbooks and also: Cookbook Season! September, October, and November bring a bumper crop of new cookbook releases. Keep an eye out next month for a [...]

September, when we are still working to preserve our summer fare amidst the first rains of fall, brings books on harvesting and preserving. Let's enjoy these last of the summer-oriented cookbooks and also: Cookbook Season! September, October, and November bring a bumper crop of new cookbook releases. Keep an eye out next month for a [...]

One guy that I dated a while back had a whole brigade of work to-do lists for various projects written in Sharpie on blank white paper. The moment I saw them all lined up on clipboards on his kitchen counter, he had my heart. Another fine fellow in my life left a to-do list out [...]

With chapter titles such as "Crumbly," "Drippy," and "Flaky," how can you not get "hungry" looking at the recipes in this fantastic baking book? Charmian Christie brings the best recipes from her popular blog to your home kitchen in a very approachable, relaxed (and delicious) way. Books mentioned in this post The Messy Baker: More [...]

This fantastic cheese-making cookbook from Portland's own indie crafter is so easy to use it's almost hard to believe. Almost. I've made yummy cheese from the step-by-step photo recipes in it several times now, thanks to Claudia's simple, encouraging instructions. This book boasts 16 varieties of fun cheese recipes to try, all in one hour [...]

July. The deep summer month that brings a belated spring cleaning, picnics, and the beloved abundance of backyard bumper crops (or an abundance of farm-fresh produce from the weekly CSA delivery box). There is a joy in opening a community-supported agriculture box, followed a few days later with, What the heck do I do with [...]

For any would-be-canner who is short on space or time, Preserving by the Pint is exactly what you've been dreaming of. This book teaches you how to create delicious preserves without committing to an entire pantry full of any one thing. The pictures are gorgeous and so inspiring that I'm already planning my summer preserving [...]

Consult with The Bar Book before your next cocktail party and make it extra special. Morgenthaler utilizes his many years of practice behind the bar giving expert tips and techniques that transform even the most basic gin and tonic into a work of art. Books mentioned in this post Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique [...]

With Memorial Day under our belts and the hot summer fast upon us, we're already in the thick of barbeque season. To be honest, I've yet to fire up my sturdy Weber, but I've been doing some hearty armchair reading of recent releases. June is turning out some fine BBQ titles. There's nothing like a [...]

I was chatting idly with my best friend the other day, and as usual, we ended up talking about books and food (this is doubtless a big reason why we are friends in the first place). Sometimes it's one, sometimes it's the other, but in this particular case, it was both of them combined. "I [...]

One of the trends we're seeing in new cookbook releases this May is the concept of small-batch cooking. Portland loves food, so cheese making and home beer brewing are right up our alley. And what better to serve with small-batch goods than homemade street food? There are stores and restaurants I will go to especially [...]

Once again, Marisa McClellan provides us with a great book on preserving in small batches. With so many farmers' markets springing up, there is an abundance of unique fruits and vegetables available, yet these delicious homegrown items come at a higher price than at a supermarket. Preserving by the Pint allows you to experiment with [...]

April's newly released cookbooks represent the cusp of winter/spring by featuring both cozy comfort foods to keep us warm in these still-cool weeks and fresh-from-the-garden veggies ahead of harvest season. Warming up my kitchen with a French Provincial flair is From Scratch by Laurence Laurendon. This has a winning combination of simple, hardy recipes and [...]

With the Toro Bravo cookbook, three of my very favorite things have come together — Toro Bravo, McSweeney's, and Powell's. One of the reasons that I moved from Catalina Island to Portland in 2002 was Powell's. I can't count the number of times over the years that I applied for jobs at various Powell's locations [...]

I am a pizza fanatic and thought I knew everything there was to know about making amazing pies at home. Jim Lahey took my pizza making to the next level. The book is worth it just for the simple oven technique he offers that helps make the most of your pizza stone; my pies have [...]

Here at Powells.com, in addition to exclusive interviews, original essays, and Q&As, we feature a wide selection of guest blogs from noteworthy authors. Each week, a new author contributes to our blog for five days straight, revealing everything from their thoughts on the writing process to details about their favorite neighborhood cat. We're constantly amazed [...]

I haven't yet been able to shake the civic funk I always find myself in around election time. The election roller coaster — an undulating set of peaks and valleys marked by anxiety, excitement, frustration, apathy, and euphoria (all that democracy!) — never fails to leave my stomach weak, a gnawing sort of ache that [...]

I write about coffee. This is a relatively strange niche, but it's one I love. Unfortunately I and the approximately two other people in the world who do what I do have a problem: we have no good way of talking about coffee. I mean that literally. We don't have the words for it. We [...]

It's been quite the week in post-hurricane NYC: at my place we've played halfway home to many stranded out-of-town friends, and we've watched local friends twist in the wind over 2½-hour-long commutes into the city. But before all this mayhem, I had a grand blogging plan surrounding my latest trip: less than a week ago [...]

I'm a fan of marrow beans — an intriguingly named, old-fashioned bean I found on a recent trip to Kalustyan's and couldn't pass up. Some say marrow beans taste like bacon or even fatty bone marrow. In a world where pumpkin may just overthrow the gastric tyranny of bacon worship, these beans could be the [...]

I eagerly await the hard rains of winter on the Oregon coast. Life always becomes leaner and my writing begins to move in mysterious, fluid directions. I feel a new book coming on. But, for now, fall lingers, pumpkins ripen, high school football teams clash spiritedly in the night, and I habitually visit my beach [...]

I am of the school that likes to read while eating. (Is that even a "school"? And of what — reading?) No, needs to read while eating. I know this is both very bad manners and apparently bad for the waistline, too: I have read that the dieter should eat without distraction, so as to [...]

Cooking and writing don't really go together. Which isn't a problem, unless you are a food writer. I, unfortunately, am. Friends who write fiction tell me that when they hit a tricky patch of writing, their eating often goes weird. They subsist on black coffee and buttered toast. Or they set up their laptop in [...]

When I started working in restaurants in high school, I never heard the phrase "rock star chef." I wanted to be a rock star, or at least party like one. But the more I got into cooking, the more I realized that juggling sauté pans and order-fire calls from the expediter was like performing — [...]